Concerns for a Modern World

                This week brings us to the last chapter of Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World.  This week’s reading deals with the subjects of global interaction on an economic level and environmental impact of humans on the world.

                It’s true that business has increased and become a world-wide effort for most large companies.  The internet has made it possible for work to continue on projects around the clock, as workers in India finish their shifts, workers in the United States start theirs.  Information can be shared between the various teams of workers by sending files over email.  The internet can link groups of people all over the world to enable sharing of work and a team effort. 

                This global environment has also made it possible for large corporations to take advantage of certain economies by opening factories in areas that have very low costs of living.  This allows them to pay very low wages, escape union requirements, and sometimes avoid other regulations with regard to environmental waste and hazardous chemicals.  The result is a low cost product for the corporation, and eventually the consumer, but the effect on the workers receiving the low wage may not be as positive.  For some, the conditions are dangerous or may have long-term health risks.  For others, the long hours and poor conditions do little more than take these workers away from their families for long periods of time.  The pay is barely enough to buy them food.

                Another issue discussed in this chapter is the impact of humans on the environment.  This last century has seen the population of the world quadruple.  That’s amazing growth!  The amount of food and energy consumed by this large population has put a definite strain on certain areas.  We have melting polar ice, a shrinking ozone layer, and rising sea levels.  The amount of man-made chemicals that we have sprayed on various crops has put toxins in the earth and the sea.  Genetic manipulation of plant life has messed with all kinds of natural life cycles.  Antibiotics fed to healthy livestock have created new generations of “super-bugs” that are resistant to drugs.  There are many things to be concerned about.

                However, as we progress, we learn more about our environment and about the things we have done to hurt it.  We are faced with options, and we can begin to change our ways and do what we can to protect this world.  There is much harm that has been done, but there is still time to right some of this wrong.  I do not believe that all is lost just yet.  We just need to be more aware.

                As I close out the last entry of this World History blog, I have a few thoughts.  The first one is amazement that in eight weeks we have read the entire textbook!  Whoo-hoo!!!  I’m not sure I’ve ever taken a class that completely finished a book of this size!  I don’t know what I’m going to do with all the free time I’m going to have on my hands now that I don’t have this book to read!  My final thought is that this book was the first history book that I’ve seen really TRY to present all sides of history.  There are some notable omissions…. the Vikings, for example…. but a real attempt was made to present all sides, and I appreciate the new perspective I have gained.  

World War, Communism, and Great Changers of the Developing World

                This week’s reading introduces more modern topics.  We read first about World War I, or ‘’The Great War” and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.  This was followed by the Great Depression, with American companies producing more goods than the rest of the war-ravaged world was able to purchase.  We read about a growing Fascist movement in Italy and how Mussolini begins to lead the Italian people into a new militaristic regime, and then Hitler, who rallies the Germans and begins to attempt to take back some of the territories lost in the first world war.  As the Nazi party, led by Hitler, rises to power, the Jews are blamed for Germany’s troubles and a systematic extermination of them begins as the Nazis march across Europe, aggressively expanding their territory.  During this time, we also have great change happening in Japan, along with a growing military.   By 1941, Japan decided to assert itself in a battle for economic power with the United States and attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into what was now another World War.  Fighting continued with Japan for another 4 years until the atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The conflicts with the Nazis ended in May 1945.  Europe and Asia were left in rubble, with many cities and villages completely devastated and hundreds of thousands dead.  The following decades were devoted to recovery.

                Our next chapter discusses the rise and fall of communism in the Soviet Union and in China.  The rise of communism brought redistribution of land, more equality to women and peasants, and more industrialization to the countries.  Both the Soviet Union and China were able to grow and rebuild under the communist regimes, yet there were problems with food shortages and famine that cost the lives of millions of people.  During the 1950s, communism spread to parts of Vietnam and Korea, and the Eastern European countries of Hungary and Czechoslovakia.  By the late 1980s however, there was a lot of unrest in some of the wide-spread countries within the Soviet Union.  There began to be rebellions in various areas, including communist China, and by 1989, the Berlin wall came down, and the Soviet Union began to break apart.  It’s interesting to look back at these events as history, as I remember when they happened! 

                Our final chapter of the week deals with changing values and rights in Africa and India during the past century.  We look at South Africa, with its history of apartheid and severe racial inequalities.  (Once again, I remember the slogan in the 1980s of “End Apartheid Now!”)  We read about the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the civil unrest in South Africa with the killings in Johannesburg.  The release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990 was the beginning of the end of apartheid, which pretty much ended by 1994.  In India, we look at the influence of Gandhi, who inspired millions of Indians to push back against the low status of the caste of “untouchables” and rise up in everyday life and status.  His practice of non-violent protest has been an inspiration to many, the world over, and the change he brought to the lowest of the low in India is a fine example of quiet, peaceful change in the world.

Revolution, Industrialization, and Colonization

                This week’s reading concentrates on the period of time between 1750 and 1914, and all the changes that were happening around the world.  We start out by reading about several revolutions that happened, one after another.  It seems to have been a time of great unrest. 

                We start out with the American Revolution in the British colonies of North America declare their independence from Great Britain, and go to war for their freedom.  Apparently, the French lent the colonists quite a bit of help, which I was previously unaware of, which drained their country of money and fueled their people’s appetite for a revolution of their own.  The French Revolution followed soon after, with a war of the common people against the privileged elite classes, and the eventual execution of the king and queen.  From there, we move on to the Haitian Revolution, which was essentially a large revolt of all the slaves and lowest classes in the Caribbean colony of San Domingue.  Half a million slaves turned on the plantation owners, killing many of them and burning 1,000 plantations.  By the time this revolution was over, the country had been renamed Haiti and the slaves were now equal citizens with the rest of the population.

                Along with the theme of revolution, we have people all over the world changing their thinking about slavery, and beginning to condemn the practice.  As people begin to evaluate their rights and the rights of others, they begin to determine that slavery is wrong and the sale of slaves drops sharply.  The United States was one of the countries that held on to slavery the longest, and it was only after the Civil War that the practice was finally abolished.

                Feminism is also increasing in this chapter, with women beginning to want education and voting rights, and beginning to hold paying jobs outside of the home.  Men were, of course, threatened by this and there was much resistance, so progress was slow.

                In the next chapter, we take a look at the Industrial Revolution and how it transformed Europe.  It’s interesting that the beginnings of Industrialization brought low-cost goods to so many, and yet the standard of living did not increase for most people, in fact for many it declined.  It was, however, the beginning of a fairly strong and stable “middle-class” of wealthier merchants and factory owners.  The work and living conditions of the lower classes that had the factory jobs were quite unpleasant, as they were often packed into small housing with limited food and unhygienic conditions.  The Industrial Revolution continued in the United States too, with some people becoming very rich, and others living in squalor.  The demand for inexpensive goods remained high and industrialization produced many consumer goods that had previously been too costly for most people to purchase.  The lives of many people improved with these new items.

                The final chapter of this week’s reading discusses Colonialism and its effects on the world.  We look at how Africa was colonized by most of Europe, and basically divided out into territories that could be used by the various European countries for trade purposes.  Africa had many products that were valued by the rest of the world, such as gold, diamonds, sugar, coffee, cotton, and rubber.  The Europeans were able to go into Africa and export these products for huge profits.  Unfortunately, the African people were treated very poorly, and not compensated for these resources.  In some places, such as British South Africa, there were racial tensions as well, which resulted in segregation and inequalities that lasted well into the 20^th century.  Colonization also brought jobs to Africa that took men away from their families in hopes of earning better wages.  This had the effect of women learning to cope on their own, and finding ways to improve their own situations without the men.  I found this part particularly interesting, as it showed how resourceful these women could be, even in a society that gave them very little.  They were able to find a way to make the best of what they had.

The Early Modern Era

                As we move into the early Modern Era, our reading begins to focus on the American continents, and the effect of European colonists in the 1400s.  It seems that much of the Native American population was wiped out by diseases brought by the earliest groups of colonists from Europe, who carried influenza, smallpox, measles, malaria, and other diseases not previously known in North and South America.  However, the Europeans also brought vegetables and fruits, wheat, rice and sugarcane.  They also brought sheep, pigs, horses, cattle and goats, which made possible an agricultural type of lifestyle that had not been an option before.  The Spanish took over the Aztec and Inca empires of South America and brought Christianity with them, as well as Spanish culture which mixed in with the cultures of the Aztecs and Incas as the groups mixed together.  The British sent colonists to North America and began to settle along the eastern coast, but did not mix much with the native peoples, who died in great numbers from the new diseases introduced by the colonists.

                During this same time, a Russian empire was being built out of territory formerly inhabited by the Mongols.  In Siberia, the Russians found a source for the furs that were highly popular with traders.  Soon the Russian Empire stretched across Siberia and the government was requiring large payments of furs by the Siberian people, which they used for building wealth in the Empire.  Russia became quite powerful within Europe, and the empire covered a large span of territory.

                Our next chapter takes us into the global trading that happened over the next few centuries.  The desire for spices, silks, cotton, and jewels prompted increased international trading. The East India Companies, both British and Dutch branches, received government charters granting them exclusive trading rights in the Indian Ocean area.  The Dutch were able to make huge profits on spices that they resold in Europe for many times the price that they had paid in Indonesia.  Silver mined in Bolivia was sent to the Philippines, where it was traded for silk and other items from China.  The Chinese embraced silver as the base for their economy and dedicated themselves to making goods that they could sell to world traders for silver.  (Interestingly, the book comments here on how the Chinese were able to make their good fairly well, and for less money than in other countries.  The domination of the market for cheaply-made products started much earlier than I thought!)

                We then move on to the slave trade that was ramping up in Africa.  While we have all heard about slavery in the United States, I have heard much less about what was happening during this time in the Caribbean and the West Indies.  The sugar plantations were labor-intensive fields with dangerous processing techniques that were tended by slaves brought over from Africa.  Over half of the slaves in the 18^th century were sent to the Caribbean, and almost a third to Brazil, for the tobacco plantations.  A much smaller percentage, about 6 percent, was sent to the United States.  The amount of humans sold into slavery during the 18^th century numbered around a staggering 6 million. 

                As we move into our final chapter for this week, we examine some of the newer scientific thinking of this early modern era, and how it relates to the religion and government of the time.  Scientists begin to discover that the sun is the actual center of the universe, that gravity makes things fall to the ground, and that the heart pumps blood throughout the body.  There are great strides made in mathematics and medicine, and people begin seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself.  Old church practices are challenged by those who see corruption and inconsistencies, and we have the birth of the Protestant faith, which is further subdivided again and again into many smaller groups.  I thought this chapter was very interesting because it seemed like everybody started having huge ideas and discoveries, and the world really changed because of it.  Of course, in real life it took more than just a few pages for this to happen, it took a couple of centuries!

Notes From Class on June 12, 2013

June 12, 2013 – Notes from Class

The Golden Age of China doesn’t fit the classical empire structure because:

·         They didn’t go far geographically in their conquering

·         They didn’t force people to adopt their culture

·         The conquered groups became more homogenous, one huge China

·         It resulted in a big, strong, stable country

Split of the Roman Empire

                Eastern portion was Byzantium

·         Kept the Roman Empire going

·         Retained knowledge of the Romans

·         Brought Eastern Orthodox religion to Russia

Conquered by the Ottoman Turks

Classical Era Empires

·         Persians                                560 – 480 BC

·         Greeks                                 480 – 150 BC

·         Romans                                300 BC – 180 AD

·         Mayans                                250 AD – 900 AD

·         Teotihuacan                          300 – 600 AD

·         Byzantium                             330 – 1453 AD

·         China                                    600 – 1200 AD

·         Islam                                     600 – 1200 AD

·         Mongols                              1200 – 1500 AD

Islamic Empire

                India

·         disillusioned Buddhists & low caste Hindus found Islam attractive

·         conversion to Islam allowed people to avoid non-Muslim taxes

Anatolia

·         Population was depleted by massacres, famine & enslavement

·         Church property and monasteries confiscated and destroyed

·         Christians had to wear special clothing, pay taxes, and couldn’t carry swords

·         Turks offered easy conversion to Islam

·         Sufis established schools, mills, orchards, hospices, and replaced destroyed churches

Paragraph from in-class group project on Islam and Cultural Encounter (from chapter 11)

                When the Turks invaded Anatolia, they created a classical empire situation.  They came into Anatolia while the Byzantine Empire was weak, they massacred or enslaved a large portion of the population, and they destroyed the Christian churches and monasteries.  Christians were forced to wear special clothing, were prohibited from riding saddled horses and carrying swords, and were forced to pay extra taxes.  Many chose to convert to Islam in order to fit in and live a decent life, and the Turks made it easy for them to do so.  Once Islam was firmly established in the population, the Sufis built schools, hospices, mills, orchards, rest areas, and places of worship, much as the other classical empires had done.  The culture began to build as a strong Islamic culture and was able to thrive.

Other Topics:

Birth of a New Religion

·         Desirable religion

·         5 pillars of Islam gave strong structure

·         Provided a set of behaviors

·         Was very spiritual

·         Spread across a vast empire

·         Created large armies

·         Welcomed all

Making of an Arab Empire

·         Faith spread widely

·         Birth of a golden age

·         Tremendous influence on Asia

·         Religious division within

World of Islam as a New Civilization

·         Invention of algebra

·         Discovery of sulfuric acid

·         New discoveries in medicine

·         Learning to diagnose illnesses

·         Use of mercury ointments for medical purposes

·         First hospitals

Other facts about Islam:

·         Indonesia has the greatest population of Muslims

·         Mohammed was a trader, so trade became an acceptable occupation

·         Jihad = struggle

·         There were better social positions for people in the empire if they were Muslim

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes from in-class debate:

Topic:  The 15^th century marked a period of rebirth in China that was just as significant as the Renaissance in Europe.  (Agree or disagree?) - Disagree

·         

       China had a huge maritime fleet which they withdrew completely in 1433

·         They went back to the earlier Confucian teachings

·         They re-established the service examinations

·         The government believed that China was the self-sufficient middle kingdom requiring little from the outside world.

·         In Europe there were lots of city-states, in China it was all one big empire

·         China was not looking for religious converts in new territories or military allies

·         China was not seeking conquests like the Europeans

·         Europe was actively seeking new culture and encouraging new kinds of thinking

·         China was reverting to its old traditional ways

·         The Renaissance was significant because it spread culture outwardly in a way never before

·         The Renaissance is still affecting our lives today

·         China in the 15^th century became much stronger because of its stability and tradition

·         China in the 15^th century is not talked about like the European Renaissance is

·         China in the 15^th century was not as influential on the rest of the world as the Renaissance

Other debate topic:  The Mongols as described meet the criteria of a “civilization” and they should be respected as a historically significant civilization.  (Agree or disagree?) - Agree 

·         Had a successful army

·         Built roads and canals

·         Had a postal system

·         Had some agriculture

·         Promoted trade

·         Had a census

·         Absorbed Chinese culture

·         Definitely a civilization

Quiz next week!!!

A Modern Day Empire?

                This week’s readings cover the effects of Islam, the Mongol Empire, and the Incas and Aztecs.  The overlying theme that I see in these chapters is the way a large conquering empire can take all sorts of smaller, separate groups and unite them under one common name.  As the Arab Empire expanded, it brought Islam with it.  Even though the Arabs did not require their new subjects to become Muslim, it became a very attractive option to many for the tax breaks and heightened status for merchants. The Mongols managed to invade and conquer most of Asia, and in doing so, brought together all the smaller groups to form a united China.  The Incas and Aztecs were also empire building peoples, and while they started off as small civilizations, they grew to be quite large.

                What would happen today if a country had a leader with an empire-building ambition?  Could the right person have enough influence to lead his or her armies to invade and conquer country after country, assimilating the people into that country’s culture as it went along?  Hitler tried it with the Nazis during the 1930s and 40s, but even in the countries that were defeated or occupied the people did not willingly become Germans.  There was no sense of protection, or of being part of something bigger and better.  There was only fear and hope that things would change back in the future.  The Arabs and the Mongols brought unity to groups that might otherwise be fighting amongst themselves.  Perhaps that is the difference?  Had France and Italy been constantly at war with each other, might they have been happy to have the Nazis come in and put an end to the bickering?  I don’t think so.  There really wasn’t anything for them to gain, and too much cultural identity to lose.

                I think that the reason some of the larger empires we have read about were so successful is that they did bring some good to the people they conquered.  There were some people who were skilled in certain crafts, such as metal working, stone working, and ceramics.  There were other people who were very good at farming and creating food for the people.  Within the empires there could be easier methods of trading and providing a greater amount of goods to all the people.  The governments did things for the people, as well.  They brought things like road building projects, postal services, standardized weights and measures, and irrigation systems.  Of course, sometimes conquered people were made slaves or given the lowest status and most physically demanding work, but some were able to work or buy their way into a better position.  For some, it may have been a better life than they had before.  For the conquering people, they gained wealth, and this brought a more comfortable life to them as well.

                So, could this happen today?  Would the world today allow it?  I guess only time will tell for sure…

Black Death, Foot Binding and Excommunication.... But Where Are the Vikings?

                This week’s reading covers the period of time from 500 to 1500 AD, which the author refers to as:  An Age of Accelerating Connections.  In our first chapter, we spend a lot of time learning about the Silk Roads and the Sea Roads.  These networks of routes were used extensively by traders who would move merchandise between China, India, the Middle East, and Central Asia.  I found it interesting that people were willing to make those long journeys to bring goods across continents or oceans.  That really opened up the world to different goods and cultures. The use of camels that could go without water for up to 2 weeks even allowed traders to journey across the Sahara Desert in Africa to bring goods to and from the West African peoples. It is also interesting how this increased mobility of people and goods moved diseases such as Bubonic plague throughout the world.  While I have obviously heard of the Black Death, I had no idea of the massive devastation that this plague imparted on most of the world.  This must have been one of the first truly horrible side effects of so many people living together in cities and having to deal with increased amounts of waste and rodents. 

                The next chapter talks about China and its influence on the world.  It’s interesting how other Asian cultures and communities were so strongly influenced by the Chinese.  What struck me the most, however, was the treatment of women during the Golden Age of the Song Dynasty.  While China was enjoying great progress in education, farming, culture, and technology, women were beginning to live much more restricted lives.  Confucian philosophies placed women in an inferior relationship to men and encouraged them to be submissive and quiet.   A strange tradition of binding the feet of young girls so that they would not grow to their natural size began, as Chinese men found women with small feet to be more desirable.  Thankfully, the foot-binding tradition did not spread to other cultures and eventually ended, but the Chinese ideals of women staying inside the home and dutifully serving her husband did spread to other cultures, and women no longer enjoyed the freedom that they had in previous years.

                The final chapter of this week’s reading focuses on the split between the Eastern and Roman Catholic Churches.  I’ve never considered the split in this church before.  I always assumed that because of geographical difference and cultural difference that the two sides of this religion just naturally evolved into slightly different traditions.  Apparently, it was more political than that and there were many disagreements that finally ended in mutual excommunication of both churches by each other.  We then look at some of the technologies of the times that were being shared or copied by various peoples: the heavy plows of northern Europe that were better able to till the hard soils, the use of horses for heavy agricultural chores, the windmill, and the water mill.  We read about paper and printing as well.  It seems that much innovation happened during this time, and much of it had to do with the fact that people were travelling and seeing what other cultures had done, then doing it themselves at home.  I guess it just shows that we always have things that we can learn from other people, even when we don’t necessarily like them.  I wish the author would have spent a little time talking about the Scandinavian people and the Vikings, because there was a civilization way up North too, and he’s really barely mentioned them.  I wonder if they were influenced by the Confucian thinking of the Chinese?