Seattle has been a technology center since the latter half of the 20th century.
Pax Americana ( Latin for `` American Peace '' , modeled after Pax Romana , Pax Britannica , and Pax Mongolica ) is a term applied to the concept of relative peace in the Western Hemisphere and later the world as a result of the preponderance of power enjoyed by the United States beginning around the middle of the 20th century and continuing to this day . Seattle . The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s , with companies like Microsoft becoming established in the region .