New article out – Folk Beliefs of the Upper Normie III: “Europe was a Backwater Before Colonialism”

This looks at how a mistaken argument from the California School in the 'great divergence' debate became conventional wisdom.

This folk belief holds that before the colonial era (i.e. around 1500) Europe was a poor and primitive backwater compared to the civilisations of Asia, particularly those of China, India, and the Middle East.

It can be found in the pages of The Guardian, the Financial times, and in popular histories. Niall Ferguson wrote in 2011 in Civilization that “Western Europe in 1411 would have struck you as a miserable backwater”. While Peter Frankopan wrote in Silk Roads that as a result of the European discovery of sea routes to America and Asia, “suddenly, western Europe was transformed from its position as a regional backwater into the fulcrum of a sprawling communication [...] and trading system.”

In this article I go into the history of the 'great divergence' debate. How the group of scholars termed the California School worked to combat eurocentrism by highlighting the historical achievements of Asia, and in some cases, trying to prove that Europe had been a backwater. I'll also compare with those like Angus Maddison who attempt to quantify the great divergence, and I go into the technological history of Europe compared with Asia in 1500 and in the years after.

Finally I go into the question of why this belief became so widespread.

Hope you find it interesting!