Western civilization is a term used to describe heritage of social norms, customs, ethical values, political systems, beliefs and technologies that there has some association with Europe.  There are several events which had a direct impact on the development of the western culture. To start with, the World War II is known to have brought about a significant impact on the social, governmental and cultural changes in the world. It is a period where millions of people were killed while others were displaced. However, despite the major losses of life and property witnessed during the war, there were other significant impacts of the war that forms part of the western civilization. For instance, the war brought about the New Order where the Americans stopped the Germans from abusing other people’s rights (Spielvogel, 2011).  Bringing to an end, the German rule restored sanity and the formation of the United Nations to ensure that different countries are at peace. The war also witnessed high technology in firearms and transport that form part of the western culture today. Reformation is another important event that has a great contribution to the western civilization. It is a period between 1517-1648. Before this period, the Roman Catholic Church dominated and controlled all the governments and people of the Christian world. The pope was considered the de-facto leader of the church and state. Nevertheless, during this era, most people started questioning the pope’s authority. The practices and behaviors of the Catholic followers were also challenged against the biblical teachings. The intention of the Reformation was to take the Catholics back to biblical teachings. However, after tussles and disagreements, the end results was splitting the church into two and thus marking the birth of Protestants (Spielvogel, 2011). The Reformation brought the religious books into the hands of the people and consequently the Catholic power was in decline. Both the wars and the actions of the famous historical figures it involved still continue to shape the world today.

Another major event of vital importance to western civilization is the tearing down of the Berlin wall.  After the end of World War II, the world felt at ease after defeating a global dictator who wanted to dominate the earth. Nevertheless, there was suspicion between the countries that had been together in the fight against Germans.  All of these countries had the desire to control as much land as possible and consequently there were quarrels between them (Kishlansky, Geary, O’Brien, & Kishlansky, 2012). The issue of democrats and communist resulted from these countries attempt to divide and control Germany. After a long tussle, the land was split into two which put one side under communist government while the other was under communist. Through the center of Berlin, a large wall was built to separate the communist world from everyone else.  Nevertheless, the collapse of the wall, on 9th Nov 1989, signified the end of communist rule and the birth of the voice of the people.

Gutenberg’s printing press is another significant event in the development of western civilization. Gutenberg invented a printing press at around 1440, and this has been an important event in western culture.  Before the invention, books were copied by hand, and this was a tiresome exercise that would take several years and energy. When Gutenberg devised a printing device that could print several copies within a short time, the whole world changed dramatically. The invention helped in spreading of religious texts in different parts of the world (Kishlansky, Geary, O’Brien, & Kishlansky, 2012). The invention also transformed political and social lives of many as information would get to several people. It is an invention that helped enhance literacy levels to even the people of lower classes. Gutenberg’s press changed, the religious world, political world and the everyday life of man.

Renaissance is another historical event whose contribution to westerns civilization cannot be ignored. Ignorance was being pushed away, and the people in the universe began to see the mathematics of a falling apple, the sparkle of a dew drop, and the wonder of a distant star (Spielvogel, 2011). During this period, most people started questioning the world order and opened the space for new discoveries. The Renaissance period marked the beginning of science, mathematics and other disciplines that people assumed. There was increased curiosity and brought an end to the Dark Age. In essence, several events explain the modern western culture.

References

Kishlansky, M., Geary, P., O’Brien, P., & Kishlansky, M. (2012). A brief history of western civilization (1st ed.). New York: Longman.

Spielvogel, J. (2011). Western civilization (1st ed.). Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.

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