History Repeats Itself Essay -- History Historical Research Papers

History Repeats Itself   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  History repeats itself. This concept applies not only within the realm of a single nation's history but throughout and between nations. That is to say, that what one nation endures, throughout its economic and political history, may be compared to and be strikingly similar to that of many other nations. As we analyze social change thought the world we have noticed a cyclical pattern of histories, both economic and political, in the countries of Spain, Holland, Britain, and the United States. I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Historical Periodization:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout history and during alternating time periods, countries have grown from feeble entities, defeated by or ruled by the governing structures of foreign nations, to powerful nations. Between the fifteenth and the sixteenth century, SPAIN ruled as a great power among other nations. Its empire began when, in 1492, Spain financed Columbus's expeditions and explorations to conquer territory in the New World. Once it held its new established territory, Spain relied on the influx of gold and silver from the New World. Spain was the first country to start an empire and consequently started a trend. Once HOLLAND gained their independence from Spanish rule, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, it moved on to become a great power. Holland had relied on seafaring and the economic success of Amsterdam until around 1620. "By mid-century, however, they had used their technical sophistication and control of vital raw commodities to build successful industries . . . and supported by Holland's bourgeois virtues, trading preeminence and credit, Dutch manufactures soon dominated a number of European markets" (BP 198). Holland remained in power until its decline began in the middle of the eighteenth century. In 1750, the Dutch started losing European markets but continued as the number one market country in Europe. The British moved in where the Dutch had been. GREAT BRITAIN reached great heights in the middle of the eighteenth century. Starting out as the home of the Industrial Revolution, Britain was considered the workshop of the world. However, by the 1890's Britain was losing ground in the global market of manufacturing, specifically to the United States and Germany. The UNITED STATES, is the youngest of the nations studied in this essay, which became a major power a... ... decline again. In Great Britain polarization was reversed by redistribution of income, socialism, and welfarism. This benefited the middle and lower--middle class citizens but hurt the elite. In the UNITED STATES at the end of the "Roaring Twenties", when the stock market crashed, the major financial institutions were left to fail and die out. When the bubble of the 1980's burst, however, the United States government bailed out the companies and caused the country to go into economic decline, deficit, and ruin the budget. The "Roaring Twenties", and the "Anxious 1980's" are examples of rises and later declines of economic and political prosperity and power. Decline in the United States is occurring on both an economic and social level. America has witnessed a rapid centralization at the seat of federal power and a capital more influenced by interest groups than by voters. "Imperial capitals don't become notorious until they display wealth and develop serious, parasitic elites, not true of Washington until it came of age in the late 1960's and 1970's" (AC 29). "There is no point in mincing words. Aging great-power capitals often become parasitic cultures"(AC xix).