The term “civilization” comes with considerable baggage, dichotomizing people, cultures, and histories as “civilized”—or not. While the idea of civilization has been deployed throughout history to justify all manner of interventions and sociopolitical engineering, few scholars have stopped to consider what the concept actually means. Here, Brett Bowden examines how the idea of civilization has informed our thinking about international relations over the course of ten centuries. From the Crusades to the colonial era to the global war on terror, this sweeping volume exposes “civilization” as a stage-managed account of history that legitimizes imperialism, uniformity, and conformity to Western standards, culminating in a liberal-democratic global order. Along the way, Bowden explores the variety of confrontations and conquests—as well as those peoples and places excluded or swept aside—undertaken in the name of civilization. Concluding that the “West and the rest” have more commonalities than differences,this provocative and engaging bookultimately points the way toward an authentic intercivilizational dialogue that emphasizes cooperation over clashes.

When in the year 1509 a handsome youth of eighteen came to the throne, the hopes of England ran high. His intelligence, his frank, genial manners, his sympathy with the "new learning," won all classes. Erasmus in his hopes of purifying the Church, and Sir Thomas More in his "Utopian" dreams for politics and society, felt that a friend had come to the throne in the young Henry VIII. -from Chapter VI American writer MARY PLATT PARMELE (1843-1911) believed that in the typically dry presentation of her day, the reading of history was a "dreary task," and so she set out to remedy that with a series of sprightly chronicles of the past and accounts of the present that encompassed the essential facts necessary for appreciating the state of the world as she saw it. With this William B. Harison; New York book, she lays bare the "multitudinous characters and details" of the "imposing strand of English Civilization" at the very height of its power at the end of the 19th century. From Caesar's invasion of ancient Britain to Victoria's crowning as Empress of India, this is a brisk and highly entertaining jaunt through the British centuries that condenses the story of one of the greatest empires the world has even seen into a lucid, easy-to-grasp pr cis. As Parmele herself said, "A little, thoroughly comprehended, is better than much imperfectly remembered and understood." OF INTEREST TO: readers of British and world history Parmele's books available from Cosimo Classics: * The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of France * The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of the United States * A Short History of France * A Short History of Germany * A Short History of Spain * A Short History of Rome and Italy * A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland * A Short History of Russia

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

[I]f New England and Pennsylvania and Ohio had been favorable to the growth of cotton and rice and tobacco, if the northern States had gradually become enmeshed and entangled in slavery, familiarized with its cruelties, and in love with its kindly features, if their fortunes, and the future of their children had depended upon its continuance, they too might have fought for its preservation. -from Chapter XXV American writer MARY PLATT PARMELE (1843-1911) believed that in the typically dry presentation of her day, the reading of history was a "dreary task," and so she set out to remedy that with a series of sprightly chronicles of the past and accounts of the present that encompassed the essential facts necessary for appreciating the state of the world as she saw it. With this 1896 book, she explained "the grand simple lines" of the story of the United States so that it would serve as an inspiration to readers young and old alike. From Christopher Columbus to the fate of the "New West" at the dawning of the 1900s, this is a chipper trip through the American centuries that condenses the story of a nation while never corrupting it. As Parmele herself said, "A little, thoroughly comprehended, is better than much imperfectly remembered and understood." OF INTEREST TO: readers of American history Parmele's books available from Cosimo Classics: * The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of France * A Short History of France * A Short History of Germany * A Short History of Spain * A Short History of Rome and Italy * A Short History of England, Ireland and Scotland