The rise of the West

Abstract This chapter explores the rise of the West by examining how geography, institutions, culture, and historical contingencies shape global inequality. It explains that while geography influences economic development, technological innovation often reduces its constraints, and that cultural theories of laziness or irrationality do not account for poverty. The chapter highlights how secure property rights and representative governance in England and the Netherlands, promoted economic growth, while absolutism hindered others. It traces the first globalization—from exploration and empire-building to trade expansion and slavery—that transformed economies and urban structures. Finally, the chapter concludes that technological innovation, rising wages, expanding literacy, and energy transformation propel northwestern Europe’s dominance.