- Suleiman the magnificent:
Suleiman the Magnificent is a Muslim legendary sultan known to be the most successful ottoman ruler. He was the longest reigning sultan among the Ottoman Empire and lived to the age of 72 having reigned from 1520-1566. He steered the Empire to a great height when he extended it to cover up to the Balkans, Gates of Vienna and Hungary. He was viewed as a Muslim religious leader and a ruler for the Muslims in the territory where Islam was the only religion.
Suleiman the Magnificent was a shrewd leader who grew to be an iconic element to date. His relevance today is most felt in the Islam religion which is still inspired by his determination to be the best always. The sultan is also relevant to the modern leaders who can learn the need for a centralized state for any rule to be a success. Centralization of state authority with clear lines of administration is a relevant trait which the modern leaders can draw from Suleiman.
The present day solidarity, faith and loyalty among the Islam religion is also a great extent a derivative of Suleiman’s significance to the modern world. It is such loyalty which surfaces the Jihad, a holy war, and it serves to protect Islam and the states.
In general, Suleiman’s relevance to the modern world is much to the rulers of the states. With the advent of globalization and the accompanying imperialism, leaders can emulate the leadership skills of Suleiman to ensure that they are successful in their leadership roles. Suleiman is a role model for the modern day leaders because he lived to success. He is also viewed as a muslim cleric whose ways and actions todate guide the Muslim in their faith. (bbc religions islam history)
- Hanseatic league:
It was an economic/ commercial confederation established in the 14th century in North Germany to control and protect trade and other commercial activities within the region. It was made up of the towns in northern Germany and the neighborhood and served the role of facilitating economic transactions and defending the member parties. The towns which made the league were Hamburg and Luebeck which were located on opposite sides. The league was basically founded due to the dangers, risks and challenges that faced the merchants of the region along the way. In particular, the league was a direct result of the trade that was conducted along the “Kiel salt road”. The growth and expansion of the league was fuelled by the massive trade activities between the merchant associations of Hamburg and Luebeck which motivated other cities in north Germany to join. More cities joined the league such as Danzig, Cologne and Baltic Port cities. The presence of such ports ensured some faster and reliable form of transport for the merchants. The league was ruled and governed by a parliament which controlled inter-city trade activities and other common policies if trade. The availability of ships and many trade goods in the Germany cities saw the massive expansion of the League which sought to establish monopolies in the markets it supplied. The league reached its peak in the 15th century and its last official assembly was held in 1669. (bbc, Europe)
The league is today a relevant landmark for the development of trade across the entire world. It shows the present day traders the inevitable need to operate in trade associations and groups so as to streamline trade activities and increase efficiency. It has immensely contributed to the recent advances and developments in international and regional trades. (bbc. UK news,)
- Revolutionary millenarianism:
Millenarianism is a strong belief by a social, political, religious movement or a group in an impending great change after which all things will be changed and never be the same again. For example in religion, Christianity in this case, the believers are guided by the strong belief that there shall come a time when Jesus shall come back to pick the righteous to heaven while the sinners and the evil will be send to hell. A revolution means a massive change which is never optional for any party. A revolution is able to transform any system in which it occurs. In Christianity, the a thousand year mark represents a millennium which is a sign of Christ’s victory over evil. A revolution is an aggressive push for change.(bbc, millenarianism)
In the present world, revolutionary millenarianism has been evidenced by the recent uprisings by various groups against others. Good examples are the civil and religious wars which have become a common feature of the present world, such as the wars between Muslims and Christians in Philippines. Wars have become the daily order of the present world all courtesy of revolutionary millenarianism.( F. Fernandez,p.74)
- Dutch East India Company:
It was a successful Dutch company which served the interests of the Dutch Government since its inception in 1602 and lasted up to 1800. The company was mandated with the duties of exploration and colonization of other regions in the 17th and 18th centuries. After its establishment, the company saw a fast growth and it established headquarters in many countries across the world to facilitate the activities of the Dutch government in colonization. The Company started crumpling down with the end of its trade with its trade with Japan and China in 1666. The third Anglo-Dutch war of 1672 was also a major blow to the life of the company. It lasted up to December 1800 when it had negligible powers and fell down.
The relevance of the company today is displayed by the imperial advances meted by the economic powers on the poor economies. Majority of the poor economies are today living under the influence and command of some stronger economy elsewhere in the globe. The big economies are presently deploying their own exploration companies to impose their interests on the poor economies by the end of the business.
.( bbc,Exhibition of norhts slave past)
- Monocultures:
Monoculture can be used to explain an agricultural practice whereby a country or a region cultivates only one type of crop. It can also be used to mean a single culture/ people’s way of living without any element of diversity. Of great importance in monocultures is the element of homogeneity. There are no variations of items in monocultures, be it cultural practices of people or crop types.( F. Fernandez,p.84)
Monoculture is a very common and relevant element of the agricultural world today. This can be evidenced by its massive contributions in agriculture to achieve increased quantities and qualities of agricultural output. It reduces the competition for the resources in a particular niche and thereby enabling the success of a single species. Monoculture is thus a form of specialization and is increasingly being adopted in agriculture and has recently seen the advancement from small scale farming to large scale farming. It has enabled countries to specialize in the agricultural production of what they do best to ensure they enjoy their competitive advantages.
It has also been employed alongside modern technology such as the farming in green houses and it is a real boost for the agricultural sector across the globe.(bbc, science and environment)
The links between modern imperialism and economic globalization since 1500 are quite numerous. Imperialism can be defined as the deliberate extension of a nation’s authority over other nations by either territorial acquisition, political or economic influence. Imperialism saw the emergence of global networks by Europeans and these could later be exploited by businesses. Imperialism is tightly intertwined with capitalism and their co-existence is not questionable. Despite the fact that imperialism and capitalism emerged between 1500 and 1900, the global economy followed later.( .(Lecture, p.87)
It all began after the world-war II which saw the emergence of the USA as a super power and that laid the foundation for today’s global economy. After the War, the U.S.A laid hands on the global economy with the sole aim of avoiding another economic depression. The activities of the U.S to control the world economy surfaced the emergence of economic globalization. (Lecture, p.24)
The U.S.A set the world towards the attainment of a global free trade and some multinational institutions like the international monetary fund were established to assist the poor countries.(Lecture, p.22)
Although the initial aims of globalization were to establish a fair global economy, today the world is faced by some controversial issues of imperialism occasioned by the attempts of globalization. Fairness in the international trade which was initially meant to be free trade has been a topic of discussion in the recent past because some countries feel that the initial goals of the project have been infringed and violated by the super economies. Safety and security have also become a great worry for the entire global arena with the technologies some of which were beneficial to the US in the world-war II exposing the entire world to unsafe and insecure environments. Stability of the globe is in the hands of the super power in this case. Modernity which has always been accompanied by massive diversity has also led to a break off from the traditional norms of solidarity. This has really served as an impetus for the super powers to exact their will on the economic subjects. .(Lecture, p.22)
The recent economic and technological developments have in most cases served well to feed the selfish interests of the most developed countries while the poor are left to feel the pain of the adverse effects of such developments. This is a reason for the global warming which is usually caused by depletion of the ozone layer by some chemical components emitted by some technologies. A quest for democracy across the world has seen the world through a series of demonstrations and rebellions which has left some states poor and unstable thus dependent. .(Lecture, p.24)
Recently there has been a rise in imperialism which can be attributed to the expansion of economic globalization. For instance, Economic globalization has a keen focus on global poverty. It is founded on the principle of poverty eradication across the entire globe. The economic giants in the globe are in the frontline with the intention of poverty eradication. Poverty is a common feature among many countries in Africa and Asia. Religion has also been a good route for imperial influence. (Lecture, p.28)
Imperialism, capitalism and globalization are now one thing which serves the strong at the expense of the weak. Economic globalization is the reason for the rise of capitalism in the entire world. Since the days of Marx, the world has become a very competitive arena with no fairness. Although imperialism preceded globalization, it currently rides high on the globalization.(bbc. Imperialism)
References
http://www.bbc.com
F. F.Armesto (2009),The World: A Brief History, Combined Volume, Prentice Hall, N.Y
J.H.Hepp IV,(2013), Historical foundations of the modern world, Wilkes University.
