David Ringrose looks beyond the traditional history of European expansion—which highlights European conquests, empire building, and hegemony—in order to explore the more human and genuinely cross-cultural dimensions of Europeans abroad before 1750.

What accounts for the rise of the state, the creation of the first global system, and the dominance of the West? The conventional answer asserts that superior technology, tactics, and institutions forged by Darwinian military competition gave Europeans a decisive advantage in war over other civilizations from 1500 onward. In contrast, Empires of the Weak argues that Europeans actually had no general military superiority in the early modern era. J. C. Sharman shows instead that European expansion from the late fifteenth to the late eighteenth centuries is better explained by deference to strong Asian and African polities, disease in the Americas, and maritime supremacy earned by default because local land-oriented polities were largely indifferent to war and trade at sea. Europeans were overawed by the mighty Eastern empires of the day, which pioneered key military innovations and were the greatest early modern conquerors. Against the view that the Europeans won for all time, Sharman contends that the imperialism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a relatively transient and anomalous development in world politics that concluded with Western losses in various insurgencies. If the twenty-first century is to be dominated by non-Western powers like China, this represents a return to the norm for the modern era. Bringing a revisionist perspective to the idea that Europe ruled the world due to military dominance, Empires of the Weak demonstrates that the rise of the West was an exception in the prevailing world order.

This book explores the challenges of teaching European history in the 21st century and provides research-informed approaches to history teaching that combine civic education, historical consciousness, and the teaching of controversial social issues. With contributions from researchers across Europe, the book includes both theoretical and case study chapters. The first part of the book addresses issues such as globalization and teaching in an interconnected world, using multicultural and critical approaches, decolonizing education, and teaching uncomfortable narratives of the past. The second part of the book showcases thematic chapters dedicated to teaching intersecting topics in the European curriculum such as violence and armed conflict, social inequality, gender equality, the technological revolution, and religion. Ultimately, this volume promotes criticality, civic engagement, and reflection on social issues, thereby prompting methodological change in the teaching of history as we know it. It will appeal to researchers and students of history education, democratic education, and citizenship education, as well as teacher educators and trainee teachers in history. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

"A trailblazer in the field of premodern global history, Andrea here guides readers through the medieval expansion of the 'first Europe' from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries. Ranging from Ireland to Ethiopia, from the Mongol Empire to the so-called New World, Expanding Horizons demolishes any lingering sense that European societies remained isolated from the wider world before the modern age. Complete with maps, excerpts from primary source documents, and suggestions for further reading, this book will be an ideal resource for anyone planning to build a course around themes of global travel, exploration, and colonialism." —Brett E. Whalen, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Early Modern World, 1450-1750: Seeds of Modernity takes a distinctive approach to global history and enables a holistic view of the world during this period,without prioritizing any one nation or region. It guides students towards an understanding of how different empires, nations, communities and individuals constructed, contested and were touched by major trends and events. Its thematic structure covers politics, technology, economics, the environment and intellectual and religious worldviews. In order to connect global trends and events to human experiences, each chapter is underpinned by a social and cultural history focus, enabling the reader to gain an understanding of the lived human experience and make sense of various perspectives and worldviews. The 'Legacy' feature also discusses connections between early modern history and the contemporary world, looking at how the past is contested or memorialized today. The result is a textbook that helps the 21st-century student gain a rich and nuanced understanding of the global history of the early modern period.

This volume describes both the history and the contemporary forms, functions, and status of English in Southeast Asia. The chapters provide a comprehensive overview of current research on a wide range of topics, addressing the impact of English as a language of globalization and exploring new approaches to the spread of English in the region.

Explores the deep roots of modern democracy, focusing on geography and long-term patterns of global diffusion.