Political map of the world: stages of formation (table)

The political map of the world can be viewed in two aspects. The first is a simple edition on paper that shows how the world works from the standpoint of the alignment of political forces. The second aspect considers this concept from a broader perspective, as a source of information on the formation of states, their structure and disagreement, about the reshuffling of forces in the political world, about the advantages and influence of large and powerful states on the world economy. The past gives us a picture of the future, so it is so important to know the stages of the formation of a political map of the world.

general information

Every state has its own life cycle. It is a curve that looks like a hump. At the beginning of its journey the country is being built and developing. Then comes the peak of development, when everyone is happy and everything seems to be good. But sooner or later, the state loses its strength and power and begins to gradually fall apart. It has always been, is and will be. That is why for centuries we have seen the gradual ascension and extinction of great empires, superpowers and huge colonial monopolies. Let us consider the main stages in the formation of a political map of the world. The table is presented in the figure:

As you can see, many historians distinguish five stages of modern history. In various sources, you can find only 4 basic. Such a dilemma has arisen for a long time, since it is possible to interpret the stages of the formation of the political map of the world in different ways. The table of the main sections proposed by us contains the most reliable information to date.

Ancient period

In the ancient world, the first great states enter the arena of major events. You all probably remember them from the story. This is a glorious Ancient Egypt, a powerful Greece and an invincible Roman Empire. At the same time, there were less significant but also quite developed states in Central and East Asia. Their historical period ends in the 5th century AD. It is generally believed that it is at this time that the slave system goes into the past.

Medieval period

In our minds, during the period from the 5th to the 15th centuries, there have been a lot of changes that one sentence does not cover. If historians of that time knew what a political map of the world is, the stages of its formation would then be divided into separate parts. After all, remember, during this time, Christianity was born, the Kievan Rus was born and disintegrated, the Moscow state begins to emerge . In Europe, the great feudal states are gaining strength. First of all, this is Spain and Portugal, which are vying with each other to make new geographical discoveries.

At the same time, the political map of the world is constantly changing. Stages of formation of that time will change the future destiny of many states. A few hundred years there will be a mighty Ottoman Empire that will capture the states of Europe, Asia and Africa.

New period

From the late 15th - early 16th centuries a new page in the political arena begins. This was the time of the beginning of the first capitalist relations. Centuries, when the world begins to emerge huge colonial empires that conquered the whole world. The political map of the world is often changed and altered. The stages of formation constantly replace each other.

Gradually, Spain and Portugal lose their power. Due to the robbery of other countries it is already impossible to survive, because more developed countries are moving to a completely new level of production - manufactory. This gave impetus to the development of such powers as Britain, France, the Netherlands, Germany. After the civil war in America, they are joined by a new and very large player - the United States of America.

Especially often at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the political map of the world changed. The stages of formation in that period depended on the outcome of successful military campaigns. So, if in 1876 only 10% of the territory of Africa was captured by the European countries, in only 30 years they managed to conquer 90% of the entire territory of the hot continent. In the new 20th century, the whole world has already entered almost divided between the superpowers. They ruled the economy and ruled alone. Further redistribution was inevitable without war. Thus ends a new period and the newest stage of the formation of a political map of the world begins.

The newest stage

The redistribution of the world after the First World War brought huge adjustments in the world community. First of all, four powerful empires disappeared. This is Britain, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire and Germany. In their place, many new states were formed.

At the same time, a new trend is emerging - socialism. And on the world map there is a huge state - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. At the same time, such powers as France, Britain, Belgium and Japan are being strengthened. Some lands of former colonies were transferred to them. But such redistribution does not suit many, and the world is again on the verge of war.

At this stage, some historians continue to write about the newest period, but now it is considered that with the end of World War II, the modern stage of the formation of the political map of the world begins.

The modern stage

The Second World War outlined to us those boundaries, most of which we see today. First of all, this concerns the states of Europe. The greatest result of the war was that the colonial empires had completely collapsed and disappeared. There were new independent states in South America, Oceania, Africa, and Asia.

But still there is the largest country in the world - the USSR. With its disintegration in 1991, there is another important stage. Many historians distinguish it as a subsection of the modern period. After all, in 1991 after Eurasia, 17 new independent states were formed. Many of them decided to continue their existence within the borders of the Russian Federation. For example, Chechnya defended its interests for a long time, until the power of a powerful country was defeated as a result of military operations.

At the same time, changes are continuing in the Middle East. There is a unification of some Arab states. In Europe, there is a united Germany and the Union of the FRY breaks up, resulting in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro.

Continuation of a story

We have presented only the main stages in the formation of the political map of the world. But the story does not end there. As the events of recent years show, we will soon have to allocate a new period or redraw the cards. After all, judge for yourself: two years ago, Crimea belonged to the territory of Ukraine, and now it is necessary to completely redo all atlases to change his citizenship. And the troubled Israel, sinking in battle, Egypt on the brink of war and redistribution of power, the incessant Syria, which can be wiped out of the face of the world by powerful superpowers. All this is our modern history.