The face of global cultures, economics, and politics shifted enormously over the course of the nineteenth century, affecting the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America in profound ways. In many instances, the changes benefited Baptists, who discovered new freedoms to witness, resettle, and establish their churches in territories formerly prohibited. In Europe, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist, and the Spanish and Portuguese empires – the continent's previous superpowers – weakened and began to disintegrate. Those developments not only created new possibilities for Baptists on the European continent but also often opened new venues in those nations’ former colonies. The Napoleonic Wars brought further changes to Europe's political landscape. Gradually, Britain emerged as the world's leading nation, extending its empire until it finally dominated one-fourth of the world's population and about one-third of its land area by the century's end. As noted in previous chapters, this made new spaces available for Baptists among the ever more varied populations that were now under Britain's sovereignty.

Technological advances enabled European powers to dominate much of the rest of the planet. Developments in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and other sciences laid foundations for the transformation of civilizations and cultures. Medical advances, while modest compared to those of the twentieth century, initiated a rapid growth of population among Western peoples. Railroads transformed land transportation and radically altered the ways people lived and worked. They also accelerated urbanization, augmenting the number and locations of cities with populations that surpassed a million inhabitants.