The turmoil in ideas that Europe had experienced in previous centuries continued into the 1800s, as Europe was disturbed by a growth in technology and capitalism, the factory system, a developing middleclass, lower class unrest, and by advances in the sciences and medicine. A few Europeans in the 1800s continued the attempt at putting it all together in what was called philosophy, while a few in China, Japan and India were becoming increasingly interested in ideas from Europe concerned with science and technology.

Modern civilization, intended as the current civilization in which we are living, and that is constantly changing, is in one sense the product of the last century.

pressures for increased democracy

governments seek to arouse the energies and support of their populations

old customs loosen

ancestral religions are questioned or transformed

demands for individual liberation

expectation of higher standard of living

a drive for more equality

The European colonial empires in the begining of 1,900 represent the zenith of European influence on the rest of the world. From this moment forward, the position of Europe will steadily decline, but all peoples in the contemporary world will be caught up in the process of modernization which usually turns out to mean acquiring or adapting some of the technical skills and powers first exhibited by Europeans.