- Intelligence - To solve the problems facing humanity.
- Selflessness - To think of the greatest good without concern for gains.
- Creativity - To see the world and its problems in a way to bring change.
- Empathy - To understand and relate with your fellow person.
- Benevolence - To act in kindness towards your fellow person.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
What does the world need from us?
What does the world need from us in five words?
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
WW Part 6: Ch 22 (End of Empire), Ch 23 (Capitalism & Culture)
Ch 22 (End of Empire)
It was the beginning of the end for the established empires of the world.
During the 20th century numerous Empires dissolved or were reformed:
European colonial rule ended for several reasons: these Empires had been severely weakened during the World Wars discrediting these nations and the legitimacy of their rule, self-created Empire-like nations (United State / USSR) opposed the older regimes, the United Nations created a platform to rally against anti-colonialism, and internal nationalist movements made independence possible.
Influential nationalist movements began around charismatic and intellectual leaders who mobilized the people into peaceful, and guerilla military forces to take action:
In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk repealed remnants of the old empires as he attempted to modernize his country under a new secular nation. Islam was relegated to the private life, while all forms of government were modernized to reflect European Enlightenment thinking, and modernized European dress and actions for men and women.
Ch 23 (Capitalism & Culture)
The end of World War II saw the capitalist victors setting up the infrastructure to prevent future Depression-era conditions in the form of the World Bank and the International Monetary FUnd [IMF]. The purpose of these institutions were set rules for commercial and financial dealings among other capitalist nations while promoting free trade.
During the postwar reglobalization efforts, money and goods became globally accessible in three ways.
A pattern of globalization is the migration of people from developing, or third world, nations to industrialized nations in Europe and North America.
Economic globalization helped to create the largest economic growth in recorded history. This had tremendous impact to the world nearly everywhere, as infant mortality declined, literacy increased, and life expectancies expanded. This rapid increase in wealth also created an enormous gap between the poor and wealthy, as never before seen.
The U.S. is seen as an “American Empire” which uses economic penetration, political pressure, and military action to create compatible systems of government with with c to interact with without directly governing.
Liberation from oppression was a key concept in the post Cold War world. In the U.S. civil rights demands of African and Hispanic Americans created a culture of resistance to the unjust U.S. system. Across the world, a feminist resurgence focused on:
In the wake of enlightenment, religious belief and practice had declined dramatically as science became the dominant religion of industrialized world. In the pre-industrialized and developing nations (China, Latin America, and Africa), conversion to Christianity and Islam spiked in contrast.
Fundamentalism was the reaction the pious took against scientific scrutiny of religion. In the west, a return to a literal interpretation of scriptures and their fundamental truthfulness was at the core of this fundamentalist movement, which created a rift with more modern ideas such as homosexuality and abortion rights. In Islam, to combat secular influences on society, a stricter return to Quran based laws and government were established in many Muslim nations, and many revolutionary movements were established to create Islamic states
Humanities ability to impact the planet is a distinctive feature of the Anthropocene Era. Wars and civilizations have come and gone since humanity's early years, but the environmental impact seen since early civilizations were formed can still be seen across the planet.
Environmentalism took shape in the early 19th century as poets identified the impact of industrialization of the surrounding countryside. In the 20th and 21st century, environmentalist approaches were abound bringing more direct widespread visibility the plight of the planet.
It was the beginning of the end for the established empires of the world.
- In the 18th and 19th centuries the Americas had become independent of the British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese colonizers.
- In the 1940’s, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Burma, Indonesia, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel had all achieved independence. Between the 1950s and 1970s, 50 African colonies had achieved the same independence.
During the 20th century numerous Empires dissolved or were reformed:
- The Austrian and Ottoman Empires collapsed as a result of World War 1, creating a series of independent nations throughout Europe and the Middle East.
- The Russian Empire collapse and was reformed as the USSR.
- The German and Japanese Empires collapsed after World War 2.
European colonial rule ended for several reasons: these Empires had been severely weakened during the World Wars discrediting these nations and the legitimacy of their rule, self-created Empire-like nations (United State / USSR) opposed the older regimes, the United Nations created a platform to rally against anti-colonialism, and internal nationalist movements made independence possible.
Influential nationalist movements began around charismatic and intellectual leaders who mobilized the people into peaceful, and guerilla military forces to take action:
- Gandhi and Nehru in India
- Sukarno in Indonesia
- Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam
- Nkrumah in Ghana
- Mandela in South Africa
- Britain ruled India without integration into their society, and inadvertently provided the motivation and means by which to rebel. By governing from a position of racial superiority, and through repeated attacks of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, they helped to create a single Indian identity distinct from Britain. Through creation of infrastructure necessary to expedite trade and communication (railroads, schools, printing press, etc.) they created the means by which native Indians could step up and begin asserting the will of the people. Initially the Indian National Congress (INC), formed of English-educated Indians, was treated with little regard, though in order to acquire support for the War Effort the British gave way to INC reforms.
- After establishing himself in South Africa as an organizer for racial and political rights for Indian Muslims, Gandhi returned to India during a period of British repression and antagonization. Upon his return Gandhi became a key player in the INC; his mass-campaigns, support for Muslims, and incorporation of Hindu themes, found support from all castes and religions throughout India. His goal was not steered towards social revolution, rather a moral change in all Indians. To this end, he worked to raise up the lower castes and women, scrutinized the caste system, and sought a return to self-sufficient local governments over Industrialization.
- A growing divide between the nations Muslim and Hindu people threatened India’s unity. During the British declaration of their intent to leave, these religious and ideological differences led Gandhi and the INC to partition the country into Muslim (Pakistan) and Hindu (India) nations.
- The struggle in South Africa was not from an oppressive nation leagues away; rather it was an internal, almost civil conflict, between the Dutch Boers and the 80% black South African majority.
- Unlike India, South Africa had a complex industrial economy based initially on gold and diamonds, but also stele, chemicals and heavy engineering. This white-dominated economy created a dependence for those employed in farms, mines and factories.
- During the Apartheid, the white-controlled economy attempted to separate the races in every way possible while retaining their workforce.
- The African National Congress (ANC) as an organization of male, educated, professional Africans who sought to change the existing order through peaceful protests and petitions. While the ANC fought for African rights and a change to the social order, this was still denied to women who organized under unionized protests.
- During the 50’s the ANC broadened its support and attempted non-violent civil disobedience, similar to Gandhi. This existed in the form of boycotts, strikes, and pass burning. The result was an armed response and shooting of unarmed demonstrators, the imprisonment of the ANC leadership (including Mandela), and a restriction of major political parties.
After the demonstration restrictions began, more guerilla methods were employed to sabotage and assassinate key targets. Additionally women and youths were incorporated into the struggle, coming to a head during a bloody conflict in the neighborhood of Soweto.
External pressures were also imposed on South Africa during this time, which isolated it from the global community. The restrictions materialized in the form of exclusion from international sporting events, refusal of artists to perform in the country, and restricted private investments.
The combination of internal and external factors led the abolishment of apartheid policies, and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.
- Communism: China, Vietnam, and Cuba
- Democracy: India, South Africa, Mexico, Tanzania, and Senegal
- Military Regimes: Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East
- Dictatorships: Uganda and the Philippines
In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk repealed remnants of the old empires as he attempted to modernize his country under a new secular nation. Islam was relegated to the private life, while all forms of government were modernized to reflect European Enlightenment thinking, and modernized European dress and actions for men and women.
Ch 23 (Capitalism & Culture)
The end of World War II saw the capitalist victors setting up the infrastructure to prevent future Depression-era conditions in the form of the World Bank and the International Monetary FUnd [IMF]. The purpose of these institutions were set rules for commercial and financial dealings among other capitalist nations while promoting free trade.
During the postwar reglobalization efforts, money and goods became globally accessible in three ways.
- Foreign Direct Investment - A firm in one country sets up facilities in another country.
- Short-term Movement of Capital - Purchase of foreign currency and stocks for quick turnaround.
- Personal Individual Funds - Credit Cards which eased the transfer of money cross borders.
A pattern of globalization is the migration of people from developing, or third world, nations to industrialized nations in Europe and North America.
Economic globalization helped to create the largest economic growth in recorded history. This had tremendous impact to the world nearly everywhere, as infant mortality declined, literacy increased, and life expectancies expanded. This rapid increase in wealth also created an enormous gap between the poor and wealthy, as never before seen.
The U.S. is seen as an “American Empire” which uses economic penetration, political pressure, and military action to create compatible systems of government with with c to interact with without directly governing.
Liberation from oppression was a key concept in the post Cold War world. In the U.S. civil rights demands of African and Hispanic Americans created a culture of resistance to the unjust U.S. system. Across the world, a feminist resurgence focused on:
- In the West, equal employment and rights rather than voting rights brought attention and action against the gender divide.
- In the South (Latin America, Asia, and Africa), colonialism, racism, and independence were interconnected with women's struggle.
In the wake of enlightenment, religious belief and practice had declined dramatically as science became the dominant religion of industrialized world. In the pre-industrialized and developing nations (China, Latin America, and Africa), conversion to Christianity and Islam spiked in contrast.
Fundamentalism was the reaction the pious took against scientific scrutiny of religion. In the west, a return to a literal interpretation of scriptures and their fundamental truthfulness was at the core of this fundamentalist movement, which created a rift with more modern ideas such as homosexuality and abortion rights. In Islam, to combat secular influences on society, a stricter return to Quran based laws and government were established in many Muslim nations, and many revolutionary movements were established to create Islamic states
Humanities ability to impact the planet is a distinctive feature of the Anthropocene Era. Wars and civilizations have come and gone since humanity's early years, but the environmental impact seen since early civilizations were formed can still be seen across the planet.
Three of the key factors impacting the environment during the 20th century:
- Population explosion, longer life expectancies, and reduced death rates.
- Incorporation of new energy sources fossil fuels, hydroelectric, natural gas, nuclear, etc.)
- Economic growth or development
Environmentalism took shape in the early 19th century as poets identified the impact of industrialization of the surrounding countryside. In the 20th and 21st century, environmentalist approaches were abound bringing more direct widespread visibility the plight of the planet.
Monday, July 4, 2016
WW Part 6: Intro, Ch 20 (Collapse at the Center), Ch 21 (Rise & Fall of World Communism)
Intro
This section posits that the beginning of World War I (1914) was the introduction to a new age of human civilization. There are many arguments by historians regarding the brevity of the period, and it’s recency to modern times affecting our view of events. Considering the monumental events and social upheaval which transpired, I find it a hard topic to argue when compared to previous years; World War I, World War II, Communism, the development of nuclear technology, and the end of traditional empires all occurred during this era. During this period of war and strife, the global population boomed as the spread of American crops (corn and potato), and scientific improvements in medicine and sanitization all increased the average life expectancy. In additional to life expectancy, the international trade infrastructure now reflected a more modern form of silk road where technology furthered trade.
Ch 20 (Collapse at the Center)
The “Great War”, referring to World War I, was in essence a European civil war which was spurned by the Scientific and Industrial revolutions. This modernization of society galvanized nations such as Germany and Italy, while old European powers (England, France, and Russia) maintained uneasy control.
The beginnings of WWI and the division of European powers, were sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by Serbian Nationalists. This event split Europe into two camps and started the outbreak of war; The Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and The Triple Entente (Russia, France, and Britain). While the assassination was the catalyst for war, it was the industrialized militarism (large technologically advanced standing armies), and Slavic nationalism (which Austro-Hungarian’s opposed) which had begun the bubblings of conflict.
Battles occurred all over the world, due to the colonial reach of the European powers. While Europe was the primary battleground, French, English, and Japanese forces fought in Africa, China, and South-East Asia to take German colonies. Other nations were brought into the fray as either ally or enemy, with the Ottoman Empire siding with Germany, and America siding with France and England.
Trench warfare created huge casualties and prolonged what was expected to be a brief war, as each side fought for and ceded inches and yards.
During this period, governments expanded their reach either thru social propaganda or through mobilization of entire populaces to fight or manufacture for the war effort. The aftermath of this war brought equally significant social and cultural changes; new programs were established to support returning veterans, women were driven back into their homes and families, and the loss of life allowed for social mobility. Additionally, the cost of war had led to the collapse of the German, Russian, and Austro-Hungarian empires, creating independent Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and a plethora of smaller nations, and a new communist Russian government.
The official end to the war occurred in 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty led to:
Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal (1933-1942) was the US government's attempt to address the continuing Depression. The Deal was based on the principle that by creating social spending programs (roads, dams, etc.) that it would reduce unemployment and moderate the recession. The social aspects of such programs also created the beginnings of the Social Security system, minimum wage, and welfare programs aimed at assisting the poor, unemployed and elderly, as well as subsidizing farmers.
In contrast to communism, Fascism also took hold in the aftermath of The Great War. Fascism was focused on increased nationalism, purification, and mobilization of its citizens headed by a charismatic leader The fascist movement had a lasting impact in Austria, Hungary, Romania, and more significantly in Italy (Mussolini) and Germany (Hitler). Under this new form of government, Mussolini created a unified cultural identity through state run infrastructure, and established the Catholic church the religion of Italy as it established a new “Roman Empire”. The Nazi party, under Adolf Hitler's guidance, reflected the Italian form of nationalism and used violence as a political tool to enforce its ideals. On a platform of racial superiority, hatred of Jews, and a opposition to communism, the National Socialist party took hold after the onset of the Great Depression, and quickly solidified its power through outlawing of conflicting government parties.
At the same time as Communism and Fascism were taking hold, Japanese Authoritarianism was established and attempted to reduced democracy at home. While Japan was on the winning side of The Great War and initially began establishing many democratic programs at home (male suffrage, two-system party, etc.), the Great Depression created a chaos similar to that of the Russian revolution. Social unrest and a general sense that democratic officials were unable to address the situation, led to tighter and tighter control of local affairs. While no charismatic leader appeared, as in Italy and Germany, a Nationalist movement did take hold focused around a cultural uniformity and fealty to the Emperor.
Word War II began in Asia, with Japan’s capture of Manchuria as a result of reduced influence caused by Chinese Nationalism, eventually became an all out conflict with China in 1937. Japan’s dependency on American goods, isolated location, and increasing US hostility towards their expansion led to attacks on French, British, Dutch, and American colonies in the south pacific islands to end its dependency on foreign powers. As America perceived Japan as aggressive, oppressive, and a threat to US interests, an oil embargo was imposed which led to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and ultimately America entering the fray of World War II on the allied side.
On the European side of World War II, Nazi Germany played on the perceived injustices of the Versailles treaty to galvanize its citizens and begin re-militarization. Expansion began slowly as Hitler’s forces entered the Rhineland, and began annexing Austria, parts of Czechoslovakia, and its ultimate attack on Poland triggered WWII and a European coalition response by England and France. France was quickly defeated, and Britain was under continued aerial attack, while Germany began an attack on the Soviet Union. German forces, focused on blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics to rapid push throughout Europe, North Africa, and the western Soviet Union. While Germany was wildly successful, America's contribution of people and resources helped to bring an end to the war by 1945.
World War II was the most costly war in human history, with an estimated 60 million lives lost (combatant and civilian). The Soviet Union represented 40% of the total losses, as Hitler perceived the conflict as an ideological one in which soldiers were granted a pardon for breaking international law. This new “total war” style warfare allowed nations to forgo morality in order to win, and America was not immune. The nuclear bombs dropped on Japan showed the extent to which America had become invested in the conflict, as a single bomb wiped out tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike. Likewise it was this approach towards warfare, and perceived inferiority of other races that led to the Holocaust in which German’s enthusiastically attempted the extermination of Jews and other undesirables to create a racially pure society.
In many countries, as in the United States and Soviet Union, women took on more prominent roles in industrial production to fund the war effort.
With the war concluded, the European nations were weekend, with Western Europe being protected by the United States, and Eastern Europe under Soviet control. The virtues of communism began to seep into China, and eventually helped to ceed control from the Japanese through unification.
Ch 21 (Rise & Fall of World Communism)
Modern Communism was inspired by the ideas brought forth by Karl Marx during the Industrial Revolution. Communism reflected what Karl Marx described as the final stage in which from revolution social equality would spring. Following the events of WWII and the forming of the Soviet Union, Communism spread to China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, and eventually in Afghanistan. Though communism did spring up globally, the type of socialist utopia envisioned by Marx did not; as none of these budding nations experience the advanced industrial capitalism he saw as a prerequisite to social upheaval. One would argue that without industrialized capitalism, those societies lacked the infrastructure and experiences necessary to bring them into the socialized golden age they envisioned Communism to be.
During the end of World War I, social upheaval was underway as working class men and women protested food shortages and for peace. During this time communists came into power, ending the three century reign of the aristocracy in Russia. The provisional government was unable to establish order with the war still ongoing, and political infighting preventing real change. The more radicalized Bolsheviks, headed by Lenin, promoted Marx style social reforms which resonated with people in the larger cities. During an evening coup, Lenin’s party seized power, sparking a civil war between the “communist” Bolsheviks and their supporters, and officials, landlords, regional nationalist forces, and some western powers (Britain, United States, France, Japan). Against all odds, the communist party held it’s own, and with a peace treaty signed between itself and Germany, were able to remove itself from the global conflict to focus on its current civil war. Through an authoritative approach, they created a strange hold on resources and people, helping to end the war within three years; the aftermath being the formation of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Soviet Union).
Stalin, the leader of the USSR through World War II, saw the need to prevent western invasions. Using the occupied territories from WWII (Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria), Stalin created puppet communist governments loyal to him as a barrier between the West.
With the collapse of the Chinese imperial system, chinese working class formed the small Chinese Communist Party (CCP), without the guidance of Karl Marx’s teachings. Led by Mao Zedong, the CCP was forced out of the urban centers by the Nationalist Party headed by Guomindang. The Nationalist Party proposed modernization of the nation through public works initiatives, in part due to the support of Western powers, and remaining elites and landlords within China. As China lacked the industrialization or middle-class necessary to start a Marxist revolt, Mao recruited from Chinese peasants and began a form of guerrilla warfare to take back lands. With the promise of reforms towards women's rights, women’s associations flocked to join the CCP ranks, but were quickly adjusted to placate traditional males within the armies. With Japan’s invasion of China, and the subsequent breaking of the Nationalist Party, the CCP numbers swelled as they focused their attacks on the Japanese invaders. The CCP now actively addressing foreign imperialism and peasant exploitation, created a platform to take control over the Nationalist Party once WWII ended.
Socialism in Russia (Stalin) and China (Mao) had the daunting task of building a modern society with socialist views at it’s core. The governments led with absolute authority, but were expected to be representatives of socialist reforms. With totalitarian control, no conflicting parties were allowed, and all ways of life influenced by thought must be along the socialist lines.
Feminism experienced a surge of support from the Lenin run USSR, as equality was government mandated, and programs such as Zhenotdel were created to educate and train women to be equal citizens. This lasted 10 short years and was abolished during the Stalin form of USSR due to pressures from male citizens. Likewise, China instituted a similar, but far less authoritative system to the Zhenotdel which gave women some control over marriage and divorce, and control over property.
In the countryside, both forms of socialism had sought to restructure the land into an equitable system. In the USSR, the peasants had done this spontaneously and was supported the new government. In China, groups were created by the CCP to directly address the inequities with the landowners, usually through peaceful means.
Industrialization was a single fundamental need identified by the USSR and the CCP. The precursor to this industrialization require massive mobilization of the population and land resources creating an economic boom. The outcome of this industrialization on both cultures were: a rapid urbanization, exploitation of the land to support industry needs, and the creation of privileged elites to oversee.
Mao Zedong became aware that this Soviet influenced industrialization was creating the inequalities that the CCP had fought against. To combat this, he initially responded with the Great Leap Forward, which promoted small-scale industrialization in rural areas over cities in order to spread the technological knowledge beyond city elite. Unfortunately this led to massive famine, which temporarily discredited the CCP. The next attempt made to steer society away from capitalist tendencies, was the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. This campaign attempted to bring health care and education to the countryside, and create a gender neutral government approach; although corruption and opposition allowed this little success.
The Cold War was very chilly *buh dum bum*. This military conflict consisted of largely voluntary American influenced group (NATO) and an imposed Soviet influenced group (Warsaw Pact). The divide stemmed from a western desire for open democratic societies influenced by a capitalist world economy. With a very Capitalist vs. Socialist standoff occurring, several wars between these groups tethered on creating an all out global war.
During the Cold War, the United States became the defender of Western capitalism against the encroaching communist movement. Thru support of other nations, participation in defense alliances and treaties, and secretive approach toward protection established the US as a “national security state”. With the only surviving industrial and military complex after World War II, American maintained a booming economy by which to combat the growing communist movement. In contrast, the Soviet Union created its own version of the military industrial complex, in which citizens were subjected to incessant government propaganda to garner support. Regardless, Eastern Europeans rejected Soviet communism in favor of more direct Marxist socialism. Furthermore, significant ideological difference caused a divide between the Soviet Union and China, with the Soviets removing all support from the Chinese government with hints at larger conflict.
The end of communism came with a pop rather than an explosion.
This section posits that the beginning of World War I (1914) was the introduction to a new age of human civilization. There are many arguments by historians regarding the brevity of the period, and it’s recency to modern times affecting our view of events. Considering the monumental events and social upheaval which transpired, I find it a hard topic to argue when compared to previous years; World War I, World War II, Communism, the development of nuclear technology, and the end of traditional empires all occurred during this era. During this period of war and strife, the global population boomed as the spread of American crops (corn and potato), and scientific improvements in medicine and sanitization all increased the average life expectancy. In additional to life expectancy, the international trade infrastructure now reflected a more modern form of silk road where technology furthered trade.
Ch 20 (Collapse at the Center)
The “Great War”, referring to World War I, was in essence a European civil war which was spurned by the Scientific and Industrial revolutions. This modernization of society galvanized nations such as Germany and Italy, while old European powers (England, France, and Russia) maintained uneasy control.
The beginnings of WWI and the division of European powers, were sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by Serbian Nationalists. This event split Europe into two camps and started the outbreak of war; The Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and The Triple Entente (Russia, France, and Britain). While the assassination was the catalyst for war, it was the industrialized militarism (large technologically advanced standing armies), and Slavic nationalism (which Austro-Hungarian’s opposed) which had begun the bubblings of conflict.
Battles occurred all over the world, due to the colonial reach of the European powers. While Europe was the primary battleground, French, English, and Japanese forces fought in Africa, China, and South-East Asia to take German colonies. Other nations were brought into the fray as either ally or enemy, with the Ottoman Empire siding with Germany, and America siding with France and England.
Trench warfare created huge casualties and prolonged what was expected to be a brief war, as each side fought for and ceded inches and yards.
During this period, governments expanded their reach either thru social propaganda or through mobilization of entire populaces to fight or manufacture for the war effort. The aftermath of this war brought equally significant social and cultural changes; new programs were established to support returning veterans, women were driven back into their homes and families, and the loss of life allowed for social mobility. Additionally, the cost of war had led to the collapse of the German, Russian, and Austro-Hungarian empires, creating independent Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and a plethora of smaller nations, and a new communist Russian government.
The official end to the war occurred in 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty led to:
- Germany to lose its colonial empire, was required to pay heavy reparations, and it’s military forces were restricted.
- The Armenian genocide by the Ottoman empire.
- End of the Ottoman empire, and the establishment of independent Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine states.
- Revolt in Chile as reduced exports to support the war led to mass unemployment and starvation.
- United State became a global superpower.
Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal (1933-1942) was the US government's attempt to address the continuing Depression. The Deal was based on the principle that by creating social spending programs (roads, dams, etc.) that it would reduce unemployment and moderate the recession. The social aspects of such programs also created the beginnings of the Social Security system, minimum wage, and welfare programs aimed at assisting the poor, unemployed and elderly, as well as subsidizing farmers.
In contrast to communism, Fascism also took hold in the aftermath of The Great War. Fascism was focused on increased nationalism, purification, and mobilization of its citizens headed by a charismatic leader The fascist movement had a lasting impact in Austria, Hungary, Romania, and more significantly in Italy (Mussolini) and Germany (Hitler). Under this new form of government, Mussolini created a unified cultural identity through state run infrastructure, and established the Catholic church the religion of Italy as it established a new “Roman Empire”. The Nazi party, under Adolf Hitler's guidance, reflected the Italian form of nationalism and used violence as a political tool to enforce its ideals. On a platform of racial superiority, hatred of Jews, and a opposition to communism, the National Socialist party took hold after the onset of the Great Depression, and quickly solidified its power through outlawing of conflicting government parties.
At the same time as Communism and Fascism were taking hold, Japanese Authoritarianism was established and attempted to reduced democracy at home. While Japan was on the winning side of The Great War and initially began establishing many democratic programs at home (male suffrage, two-system party, etc.), the Great Depression created a chaos similar to that of the Russian revolution. Social unrest and a general sense that democratic officials were unable to address the situation, led to tighter and tighter control of local affairs. While no charismatic leader appeared, as in Italy and Germany, a Nationalist movement did take hold focused around a cultural uniformity and fealty to the Emperor.
Word War II began in Asia, with Japan’s capture of Manchuria as a result of reduced influence caused by Chinese Nationalism, eventually became an all out conflict with China in 1937. Japan’s dependency on American goods, isolated location, and increasing US hostility towards their expansion led to attacks on French, British, Dutch, and American colonies in the south pacific islands to end its dependency on foreign powers. As America perceived Japan as aggressive, oppressive, and a threat to US interests, an oil embargo was imposed which led to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and ultimately America entering the fray of World War II on the allied side.
On the European side of World War II, Nazi Germany played on the perceived injustices of the Versailles treaty to galvanize its citizens and begin re-militarization. Expansion began slowly as Hitler’s forces entered the Rhineland, and began annexing Austria, parts of Czechoslovakia, and its ultimate attack on Poland triggered WWII and a European coalition response by England and France. France was quickly defeated, and Britain was under continued aerial attack, while Germany began an attack on the Soviet Union. German forces, focused on blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics to rapid push throughout Europe, North Africa, and the western Soviet Union. While Germany was wildly successful, America's contribution of people and resources helped to bring an end to the war by 1945.
World War II was the most costly war in human history, with an estimated 60 million lives lost (combatant and civilian). The Soviet Union represented 40% of the total losses, as Hitler perceived the conflict as an ideological one in which soldiers were granted a pardon for breaking international law. This new “total war” style warfare allowed nations to forgo morality in order to win, and America was not immune. The nuclear bombs dropped on Japan showed the extent to which America had become invested in the conflict, as a single bomb wiped out tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike. Likewise it was this approach towards warfare, and perceived inferiority of other races that led to the Holocaust in which German’s enthusiastically attempted the extermination of Jews and other undesirables to create a racially pure society.
In many countries, as in the United States and Soviet Union, women took on more prominent roles in industrial production to fund the war effort.
With the war concluded, the European nations were weekend, with Western Europe being protected by the United States, and Eastern Europe under Soviet control. The virtues of communism began to seep into China, and eventually helped to ceed control from the Japanese through unification.
Ch 21 (Rise & Fall of World Communism)
Modern Communism was inspired by the ideas brought forth by Karl Marx during the Industrial Revolution. Communism reflected what Karl Marx described as the final stage in which from revolution social equality would spring. Following the events of WWII and the forming of the Soviet Union, Communism spread to China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, and eventually in Afghanistan. Though communism did spring up globally, the type of socialist utopia envisioned by Marx did not; as none of these budding nations experience the advanced industrial capitalism he saw as a prerequisite to social upheaval. One would argue that without industrialized capitalism, those societies lacked the infrastructure and experiences necessary to bring them into the socialized golden age they envisioned Communism to be.
During the end of World War I, social upheaval was underway as working class men and women protested food shortages and for peace. During this time communists came into power, ending the three century reign of the aristocracy in Russia. The provisional government was unable to establish order with the war still ongoing, and political infighting preventing real change. The more radicalized Bolsheviks, headed by Lenin, promoted Marx style social reforms which resonated with people in the larger cities. During an evening coup, Lenin’s party seized power, sparking a civil war between the “communist” Bolsheviks and their supporters, and officials, landlords, regional nationalist forces, and some western powers (Britain, United States, France, Japan). Against all odds, the communist party held it’s own, and with a peace treaty signed between itself and Germany, were able to remove itself from the global conflict to focus on its current civil war. Through an authoritative approach, they created a strange hold on resources and people, helping to end the war within three years; the aftermath being the formation of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Soviet Union).
Stalin, the leader of the USSR through World War II, saw the need to prevent western invasions. Using the occupied territories from WWII (Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria), Stalin created puppet communist governments loyal to him as a barrier between the West.
With the collapse of the Chinese imperial system, chinese working class formed the small Chinese Communist Party (CCP), without the guidance of Karl Marx’s teachings. Led by Mao Zedong, the CCP was forced out of the urban centers by the Nationalist Party headed by Guomindang. The Nationalist Party proposed modernization of the nation through public works initiatives, in part due to the support of Western powers, and remaining elites and landlords within China. As China lacked the industrialization or middle-class necessary to start a Marxist revolt, Mao recruited from Chinese peasants and began a form of guerrilla warfare to take back lands. With the promise of reforms towards women's rights, women’s associations flocked to join the CCP ranks, but were quickly adjusted to placate traditional males within the armies. With Japan’s invasion of China, and the subsequent breaking of the Nationalist Party, the CCP numbers swelled as they focused their attacks on the Japanese invaders. The CCP now actively addressing foreign imperialism and peasant exploitation, created a platform to take control over the Nationalist Party once WWII ended.
Socialism in Russia (Stalin) and China (Mao) had the daunting task of building a modern society with socialist views at it’s core. The governments led with absolute authority, but were expected to be representatives of socialist reforms. With totalitarian control, no conflicting parties were allowed, and all ways of life influenced by thought must be along the socialist lines.
Feminism experienced a surge of support from the Lenin run USSR, as equality was government mandated, and programs such as Zhenotdel were created to educate and train women to be equal citizens. This lasted 10 short years and was abolished during the Stalin form of USSR due to pressures from male citizens. Likewise, China instituted a similar, but far less authoritative system to the Zhenotdel which gave women some control over marriage and divorce, and control over property.
In the countryside, both forms of socialism had sought to restructure the land into an equitable system. In the USSR, the peasants had done this spontaneously and was supported the new government. In China, groups were created by the CCP to directly address the inequities with the landowners, usually through peaceful means.
Industrialization was a single fundamental need identified by the USSR and the CCP. The precursor to this industrialization require massive mobilization of the population and land resources creating an economic boom. The outcome of this industrialization on both cultures were: a rapid urbanization, exploitation of the land to support industry needs, and the creation of privileged elites to oversee.
Mao Zedong became aware that this Soviet influenced industrialization was creating the inequalities that the CCP had fought against. To combat this, he initially responded with the Great Leap Forward, which promoted small-scale industrialization in rural areas over cities in order to spread the technological knowledge beyond city elite. Unfortunately this led to massive famine, which temporarily discredited the CCP. The next attempt made to steer society away from capitalist tendencies, was the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. This campaign attempted to bring health care and education to the countryside, and create a gender neutral government approach; although corruption and opposition allowed this little success.
The Cold War was very chilly *buh dum bum*. This military conflict consisted of largely voluntary American influenced group (NATO) and an imposed Soviet influenced group (Warsaw Pact). The divide stemmed from a western desire for open democratic societies influenced by a capitalist world economy. With a very Capitalist vs. Socialist standoff occurring, several wars between these groups tethered on creating an all out global war.
- North Korea invading South Korea led to Chinese and American involvement.
- A divided North and South Communist conflict in Vietnam led to American intervention.
- In Afghanistan soviet forces intervened to prevent an Islamic state from overthrowing the forming Marxist socialist government.
- Cuba earning the ire of the United States by nationalizing American assets steered them towards communism without Soviet intervention.
During the Cold War, the United States became the defender of Western capitalism against the encroaching communist movement. Thru support of other nations, participation in defense alliances and treaties, and secretive approach toward protection established the US as a “national security state”. With the only surviving industrial and military complex after World War II, American maintained a booming economy by which to combat the growing communist movement. In contrast, the Soviet Union created its own version of the military industrial complex, in which citizens were subjected to incessant government propaganda to garner support. Regardless, Eastern Europeans rejected Soviet communism in favor of more direct Marxist socialism. Furthermore, significant ideological difference caused a divide between the Soviet Union and China, with the Soviets removing all support from the Chinese government with hints at larger conflict.
The end of communism came with a pop rather than an explosion.
- The death of Mao Zedong led the CCP to abandon the Maoist form of communism while retaining governmental control of China.
- In Eastern Europe local movements toppled communist governments in succession.
- In Soviet Russia, reformist Gorbachev came to power in an attempt to save Soviet socialism; however the many infrastructure dysfunctions led to the end of the Soviet Union and the Cold War.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
WW Part 5: Intro, Ch 16 (Atlantic Revolutions), Ch 17 (Revolutions of Industrialization), Ch 18 (Colonial Encounters)
Intro
This portion of the book touches on the “age of man”, or Anthropocene, in which humanity begins to shape its ecosystem, rather than simply being a component within it. One could argue that this had occurred centuries before during the beginning of large scale agricultural works projects implemented by early empires. In addition, the author views the following chapters from a Eurocentric lens, to highlight Europe's dominance within this period of time, and to temper that with its brief occurrence within the entirety of history.
Ch 16 (Atlantic Revolutions)
This chapter sets the tone for the numerous revolutions within the Atlantic, and places them within the greater context of the Afro-Eurasia revolutions which preceded them.
During the seven year war, Britain and France battled in North America, the Caribbean, West African and South Asia. It was this war which financially crippled both nations, and led to heavy taxation of their colonies. This heavy taxation, paired with the enlightenment spread throughout the colonies, were the catalysts for both the American and French revolutions.
The North American Revolution (1775-1787) began as a struggle for independence from the authoritative British rule. All this was done to preserve the freedoms which were established during early colonization, and which the British seemed intent on tightening its control. Freedom from religion, no titled nobility, and the wide availability of land were all worth fighting to preserve; although this only applied to free-men (not slaves). With the exception of early colonial thoughts on slavery, their approach to applying the Enlightenment towards a political infrastructure (democratic-republic) created the first and future model for a new government system which resonated with the French, as well as future oppressed populations.
The French Revolution (1789-1815) continued where the American Revolution left off, with thousands of French soldiers returning home from the colonies with enthusiasm for change. With King Louis XVI initiating the Estates General, he gave a platform to the poor and disenfranchised (Third Estate) to organize under the banner of the National Assembly. This assembly created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which challenged the monarchies authority, essentially triggering the French Revolution. While the American revolution fought a far away enemy, the French revolution was fought in the heart of France, pitting brother against brother in many cases. While attempts were made to create a more constitutional monarchy, more radical measures prevailed as lords were attacked, records burned, all culminating with the execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Antoinette. These freedom fighters, created a destabilizing, and ultimately corrupt, presence within France leading to the its leader Robespierre’s execution for abuse through Dictatorship. The French Revolution at this point was starting from scratch, and as it attempted to create a new Republic, it created a platform for key Enlightenment ideas, such as women’s equality, that were ultimately unsuccessful but shed light onto their contributions to the Revolution. Ultimately this revolution changed shapes and spread through conquest as Napoleon Bonaparte took power and established a military dictatorship with all the social equality for men, but none of the liberty.
The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) was born out of the social inequalities between the slave majority, the stratified white dominated hierarchy, and the mixed-race minority. The spark of the French Revolution created a violent result for over a decade; although none could agree on the true principles of the islands revolution. The rich looked for greater autonomy for the colony, but balked at the demands of poor whites for equality. Both white groups opposed the “rights of man” being applied to slaves, ultimate leading to a slave revolt which left the island bloody and resulted in the first successful slave revolt in history. With the renaming of their nation from Saint Dominque, the Haitian nation created its declaration of Independence which outlined all citizens (black) were legally equal, and citizenship was denied for many whites. While they were independent, the French forced this a financial form of oppression on them which created a national poverty that persisted through years.
Spanish American Revolution (1810-1825) begun with the native-born elites (creoles) created the beginnings of a movement to protest heavier taxis and tariffs, but it wasn’t until Napoleon's deposing of the Spanish king Ferdinand VII and forcing the Portuguese royal family into Brazilian exile was action forced upon the Latin American colonies. With authority decentralized, the culturally divided peoples of Latin American began the long process of freedom. In Mexico a social radicalism led by two priests spurned the poor and hungry to take arms, and it wasn't’ until the wealth Creole and Church united and quashed the insurrection that a less violent social independence was formed. Ultimately through a division of all peoples against the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors, created a nationalist movement with liberal ideas influenced by the French Revolution. Ultimately these regional identities prevented the formation of a unified Latin America, and created a new underdeveloped, impoverished, unstable government system throughout the freed colonies; this is in stark contrast to the North American uprising which started from nothing and was growing into an empire all its own.
Europe continued to change, with the British involving itself in India and China, and the French opening opportunities in Africa and the middle-east.
The Abolition of Slavery (1780-1890) began with early Enlightenment thinkers and religious Quakers and Protestants in Britain and the US condemning the practice as an affront to god and to a social conscious nation. These thoughts paired with events like the Haitian slave uprising created a public view change toward Slavery being morally wrong, costly, and potentially disastrous. Citizen and political pressures on governments allowing slavery ultimately led many nations to pass laws which made the act illegal. Primarily in the southern states of the United States was this fought fervently, until the conclusion of the Civil War; although even this created a form of segregation which lasted through the twentieth century. In Russia, peasants were granted noble land with which they worked to pay for, more or less creating the same monetary inequity within a new stratified hierarchy. Ironically, the abolishment of slavery was championed by the British who imposed colonial rule within Africa to reduce the slave trade.
Nationalism took hold as the collapse of previous monarchies and governments gave way. A sense of local community became less important to the larger National identity which was bridged by common heritage and language. This national concept gave individual groups a way of rallying behind an identity regardless of which empire they belonged to.
Feminism became a key subject as Enlightenment took hold of western thinking. Beginning with the French Revolution, women and few men begged the question that if reason shared by both men and women, than liberty and equality must too. With the industrialization sweeping Europe and North America, education and employment opportunities gave women a sense of freedom from the household, and began a transatlantic Women’s Suffrage movement in which women thinkers unified and continued to seek equality. While this often provoked negativity from some men, and even family oriented women, the concepts galvanized and spread throughout Latin America and Asia.
Ch 17 (Revolutions of Industrialization)
The Industrial revolution sprung from Great Britain, and while unlike the Agricultural revolution which independently started seemingly simultaneously, it had a similar dramatic impact on the world. It began as the result of an increased population, and a dependence on fossil-fuel energy (coal, wood, etc.) which local ecologies could no longer sustain. Humans began to impact the air, land, and sea with pollutant byproducts of the great industrial machine, while simultaneously creating mass quantities of goods, and enormous technological leaps of innovation. Ultimately it was the continual improvements in production and massive economic growth which perpetuated the Industrial Revolution, and likewise significantly impacted the face of our planet.
The question of why Europe, and more specifically Great Britain, did the Industrial Revolution begin. While no clear cut explanation exists, there are signs of the beginnings of the same technological growth periods in Asia, Islam, India, and other early Modern civilization; all of which stagnated during the time of Europe's rise. One explanation is that Europe’s relative infancy forced it’s royalty into alliances with the merchant class as a way to extract loans and funds for preferential rights. This capitalist economic structure paired with surrounding nation rivalries created the perfect situation to bread rapid creativity. Additionally, Europe's colonization efforts help extract precious resources which created a significant financial boost with little to no loss of capital. Probably the most unique, was the religious dispersal around the world created new trade networks with which to create demand for goods and trade.
The question of why Britain, is equality perplexing. It is thought that their existing agricultural innovations helped to feed an emerging population boom, and that a lack of government regulation on such enterprises allowed businessmen to run facilities with impudence. From a scientific lense, Western Europe's approach to technological improvement was seen as logical, deductive, and mathematical; while Britain's approach was more based on experimentation, observation, and a practical commercial application. It is also worth noticing that Britain had large non-renewable fuel reserves in close proximity, and the favors given to entrepreneurs helped exploit that rapidly.
As the first industrial society, the societal norms had been demolished and replaced with new opportunities for those few who could navigate the tumultuous time.
The middle class (doctors, factory owners, etc.) exploded during this time, giving rise to the notion that the “respectability” attributed with upper-middle class is what one should strive for. This new dominant class also led to new social reforms which granted the right to vote among other things. While this didn’t necessarily trickle down to women, women began taking on a new role as housekeeper and moral compass.
The largest population majority was that of the Labor Class which increased due to rapid urbanization, and led many to work in less than healthy or safe conditions, competing for work in industrial factories, or other modern businesses. In this group, gender was a much less divide as women and girls took factory jobs to supplement the family income.
It was these deplorable working conditions of laboring in the industrial workforce which sparked many socialist movements, most notably was that of Karl Marx. His analysis of industrial capitalism led him to believe that it’s unstable nature would ultimately lead to collapse through upheaval. Overtime his teachings formed the a type of social democracy which was championed by trade unions and new party leaders; however it ultimately led to little success until it met with more violent communist movements. Improved conditions, and the opportunity to move out of the laborer class eased tension, and as World War I broke out, a sense of Nationalism was developed which created a galvanizing unity.
Industrialism spread across the world; most notably in the US and Russia. In the United States, industrialization began in the form of textile factories, but quickly expanded into all forms through investment from western Europe. Tax breaks, available public land, and the easy formation of companies without regulation created the perfect place for industrial expansion. Rags to riches stories gave the perception that anyone could achieve wealth, but a working class divide began with no initial socialist reforms to curb the working class abuse. Eventually coalitions of farmers and workers raised visibility on the issues to force political reforms.
In Russia, the monarchy still dominated the nation; a stark contrast to the US democracy. Later than many nations, Russia’s industrial revolution was governmental imposed, and created a state run middle-class, and a no legal recourse for the working class minority. Terrible working and living conditions had people gravitating towards Marxist socialism, forming labor parties which sparked strikes and civil protests. After an unsuccessful revolution, the Tsar created a basic constitution which granted election of a national assembly, universal education, among others benefits; though rarely were they implemented in practice. This lack of enforcement It wasn’t until post World War I did the combination of social factors and hardships of war create a lasting Revolution which evolved into the Russian socialist political system.
Ch 18 (Colonial Encounters)
Britain's 19th century expansion can be attributed to two key factors; a growing need for foreign goods, and a need to export the excesses produced by its own factories. Imperialism allowed Britain to avoid the catastrophe of revolution; addressing both social needs and appealing to the general population as Nationalism grew. This form of Nationalism created a cultural divide centered around the Nationalist idea of their own superiority over others, particularly the Chinese and Africans. This superiority created a national thought pattern of colonization being the natural progression of a superior society.
Europeans of the age preferred territorial control through trade and minor military intervention, but showed they were more than willing to apply a heavy handed military approach when challenged. Technological military superiority allowed the Europeans to create colonies of much of Afro-Asia, as few outside of other Europeans could contend with them. European penetration into India was considered undeliberate, by comparison to rushed and deliberate race for Africa between competing European nations. The conquering of Africa was unique in that there were no centralized governments with which to defeat, forcing continual village-by-village conflict. Australia and New Zealand were colonized in a similar fashion to North America, with settlements carrying diseases which wiped out the majority of indigenous peoples.
North America created its own expansion west, which further decimated the Native Americans in an attempt to destroy tribal life and incorporate them into society. Japan, Russia , and others all had various forms of the same colonization formulas in which apply to the surrounding Asian and African regions.
Through cooperation with Indian princes, Muslim emirs, and African elite were able to maintain a sense of status and wealth as local authorities and intermediaries to the greater European nations. This triggered the ire of many, and sparked large and small scale revolts throughout the colonies.
This new form of colonization brought with it some terrible changes, as racial segregation and superiority became far more pronounced. With it, also came some positive features, such as the cultural benefits which came with colonization; centralized tax-collecting, public health and sanitization, etc.
Colonial economies changed dramatically during this period as new ways of life opened as old ones disappeared.
- One such method was that of forced labor applied to public works projects such as building railroads. An inability to produce could result in appalling acts of violence and death.
- Cash-Crop farming was another form of new economy which promoted the overproduction of goods to be sold overseas. This came with its own disastrous side effects as the local terrain was decimated to make room for more farms, ultimately reducing available wildlife as a secondary local food supply.
- Another impacted economy was that of women in Africa. Female roles were primarily as farmers, but as cash-crops became a center for wealth, male dominance over farm exports increased, and a woman's role often was relegated to farming food solely for local families.
Ignoring the means by which it was achieved, colonization did bring positive change through: increased integration of Asia and Africa into the global trade network, and modern industrialization was brought into the colonies in an effort to improve the regions they governed.
Part of the colonization “improvements” included the promotion of Education and Religion throughout the colonies. This created new cultural identities; some which was an amalgamation of old and new values, while others an entirely new identity mirroring their oppressor.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
WW Part 4: Intro, Ch 13 (Empires & Encounters), Ch 14 (Commerce & Consequence), Ch 15 (Religion & Science)
Intro
Ch 13 (Empires & Encounters)
Ch 14 (Commerce & Consequence)
Ch 15 (Religion & Science)
- This chapter focuses on what is commonly known as the Early Modern Era, but which Strayer argues as more of a Late Agrarian era. By way of examples, he highlights that the following aspects of early agriculture continued throughout this era: pre-industrial energy (man, animal, wind, and water), long-established elite classes still governed Eurasia, the pervasive religion was still Islam, and much of society continued their existence in an agrarian fashion.
Ch 13 (Empires & Encounters)
- European conquest within the Americas marked a distinct imperial change, as lands oceans away were conquered in favor of closer bordered lands.
- Spain: Caribbean, Aztec, and Inca
- Portugal: Brazil
- Britain, France, and Netherlands: North America Eastern Coast
- Eastern Europeans had a distinct advantage in exploration of the Americas: proximity to the Atlantic, trade winds (consistent by comparison to Indian Ocean monsoon winds), new innovations (mapmaking, navigation, sailing techniques, and ship design), and a lack of competition (Chinese, Indian, and Muslims enjoying the rich Indian Ocean trade).
- The claim by a Spanish conquistador, “We came here to serve God and the King, and also to get rich” concisely describes the motivation of the elite and commoners to risk the journey across the Atlantic.
- “Columbian Exchange”
- Colonization efforts were furthered through: incorporation of rival indigenous peoples against their traditional enemies, diseases which diminished the native peoples.
- Isolated Mesoamerican and Andean peoples without domesticated animals did not acquires Old World immunities: smallpox, measles, typhus, influenza, malaria, yellow fever. Densely populated Caribbean islands and central Mexico were decimated by smallpox.
- Trade revolutionized both sides of the Atlantic:
- With the reduced native population, the slave trade introduced a large African workforce.
- Incorporation of cattle and work animals in the American altered many indigenous tribes way of life.
- Crops from the Americas helped to offset the slave trade population deficit, and created a population boom in areas like Ireland.
- Luxury goods, such as Mexican silver, helped Europe buy its way into the Silk trade for goods such as Tea.
- This massive influx of information and goods from the Americas helped spark the European Industrial revolution, and provided a destination for the ever growing population in Europe.
- The colonization approaches created varying forms of new society within the Americas. Some existed in settler-dominated or slave-based plantation agricultural communities, others were more radically mercantile in their strip mining of local resources. The influx of new peoples and slaves into the Americas created new cultures of intermingled peoples, either through brutal rape of women, or the intermarriage of the elite.
- The Spanish subjugation of the Aztecs and Incas took the form of crown sponsored programs which evolved over time. The encomienda was little more than a protection racket legal granted by the crown to settlers. The repartimiento was more or less the same practice but with control governed by the crown. The hacienda was a wage system which seemed intent on providing some benefits to the indigenous workers, but in reality levied huge taxes and debts for their continued existence.
- Spanish populations created a divided peoples across the new incorporated kingdoms. Not just between Spaniards and natives, but between the original conquistadors and the recent immigrants. Equally the natives incorporated and married into their conquerors societies creating a unique multiethnic culture.
- The Portuguese similarly found a sense of commercial wealth through Brazilian sugar cane, and later in gold and diamonds. Portugal's dominance of the sugar market caused the British, French, and Dutch to convert Caribbean regions into high production sugar cane territories. These new territories, with no indigenous peoples, created a large African slave market to work the farms. This slave incorporation into the Caribbean and Brazilian territories created an enduring population majority of African descent.
- British colonization was seen as fruitless until the later 18th century. Settlers came mainly to escape religious conflict and political subjugation. Puritan and Quakers created new family farms with paid laborers; creating a new form of government hierarchy. Settlers came in droves by comparison to their Spanish counterparts who were relatively timid in their colonization. These colonies decimated local indigenous people and did not intermix as the Spanish had; this created a purely anglo civilization.
- Russian expansion was similarly destructive to the native peoples north of Mongolia (steppes and Siberia); however rather than their eradication, passive attempts were made to incorporate them into agrarian Russian society and dominated tribute system, before forced Russification occurred. As a Russian population influx began to dominate the conquered regions, forced resettlement of Muslims occurred as pressures to convert to Christianity were made. Interesting, the western expansion was less financial and driven more by rivalry with the surrounding European empires.
- The Chinese opted not to expand their nation through naval exploration as their European counterparts had. Alternatively, the Chinese Qing dynasty took a military approach to conquering of Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, and establishing a treaty with the expanding Russians to solidify their borders. A focus was put on returning to Confucian teaching culturally, but the management of the conquered peoples utilized a new Court of Colonial Affairs which attempted to manage these regions without forced incorporation, and instead showed significant respect for their differences. With these two unified nations (China and Russia) controlling the heart of the silk road, trade across land diminished as it no longer reflected the cultural cosmopolitan diversity which made it so lucrative.
- In India, the Mughal Empire formed by the Turkic Muslims created a brief political unity over the indigenous Hindu. Recognizing the religious ideological differences, an effort was made by Emperor Akbar to accommodate the Hindu majority into the political-military elite, and to remove tax on non-Muslims. This created a rift with fundamentalist Muslims who found these concessions to be heretical. Ultimately civil unrest created sufficient instability for the British conquering of India.
- Similar to the Mughal’s, the Muslim Turkic Ottoman Empire spread across the Mediterranean and north Africa. Maintaining the Shia form of Islam, it created a cross cultural empire with tolerance of Christianity in it’s varying flavors.
Ch 14 (Commerce & Consequence)
- Unlike with Columbus’ accidental discovery of the Americas, Vasco da Gama intentionally sailed to India to create an inlet into the lucrative Indian Ocean trade market. As many goods from the underdeveloped Europe were seen as inferior, goods were required to be purchased in the expensive currency of precious metals (gold, silver, etc.).To bypass this trade deficit, and to remove intermediaries which cut into profits (i.e. Venice, and Muslims), this insurgence into Asia through the Indian Ocean became somewhat of a necessity for many of the western European nations.
- Portugal extended into the Indian Ocean forcibly, creating “trading post empires” in which they levied taxes and controlled a portion of trade within the region rather than large amounts of lands and people. Ultimately they resorted to trading in local goods, until their decline in the1600’s to upcoming Asian empires such as Japan and Mughal India.
- Spain, sensing itself behind in the naval trade market, sponsored Ferdinand Magellan on a round the word voyage which established itself on the Philippine Islands. The lack of competing claims by the local superpowers (China and Japan), and relatively weak indigenous hierarchical populace, led the Spanish to colonize the archipelago. This bloodless takeover led to the incorporation of Christianity in Asia, resulting in a switch in gender superiority within religious practices. Additionally, Chinese traders, and sailors became crucial to trade success with China, but resistance to conversion led to hostility, discrimination, expulsion, and racial massacres.
- Dutch and English traders supplanted Portuguese through means of privatized trading companies; the British and Dutch East India Companies. Each were granted preferential trade and ability to enact war on their behalf. The Dutch dictatorially controlled shipping and production of certain spices thru brutal tactics, creating a successful monopoly on nutmeg, mace, and cloves, and cooperatively colonizing with China the island of Taiwan. Alternatively, the British counterparts established themselves in India through permission of Mughal authorities by way of bribery, as they lacked the ground might to compete. This trade allowed them to focus on cotton textiles which became a massive market in England and the Americas.
- European trade benefited some Asian territories such as Japan, who leveraged their superior military technology, and religious ideologies to stabilize the region under a single leadership. Once established, these same traders and religious practitioners were expelled violently as they were seen as a threat to stability.
- Silver fueled global commerce as mines in the Americas and Japan filtered through Manila as the primary trading currencies across Europe and Asia. While Spain and China seemingly wasted their significant silver surplus as inflation took hold, Japan used this period of wealth to implement agricultural systems, forest preservation policies, and birthing reductions to set themselves up for a future industrial age.
- As a minor ice age took hold across the world, a new trade in furs peaked across the world. Native Americans, the voluntary workforce provided the first to French, English, and Dutch settlements in the Americas. Trade with the Europeans provided trade benefits which allowed tribes to improve their standings amount the many indigenous peoples. Alcohol, not introduced before, created a dependency with local tribes, ultimately decimating their numbers. Women marrying into European households further reduced native numbers, but contributed influence by providing translators and guides. A similar process occurred in Russia as Siberian natives became dependent on Russian expansion, as they competed with private trading groups.
- The slave trade became the link between all societies of the age. Slaves represented the workforce of all conquered societies, although slave treatment and representation differed in each countries. In some, slavery allowed for the opportunity to assimilate within household lineages, and in some Islamic societies allowed for prominent military careers, In the Americas, the sheer amount of slaves created a dehumanized property concept as African slavery became a new racial component which was identified with subservience. Ironically, the original term came from the original Mediterranean plantations slaves which were Slavic-speaking people from the Black Sea.
- European demand for slaves created a supply within Africa for slaves; most of which were sold by African tribes willing to offload their conquered rivals. Slaves were bought and sold using the silver of the Americas, and trade of many European goods. Many slaves came from Western Africa, while some were transported from the Interior; though most were prisoners of war, criminals, debtors, or those not affiliated with a powerful tribe.
- The Slave Trade created a permanent link between African and the Americas, creating a enormous cultural population within the latter. Although trade did not create an extinct population as it did in the Americas or the Asian islands, culture in Africa slowed significantly. As a result new markets opened up as fewer women were sold into slavery, women took on more cultural burdens. Additionally local tribal lords prospered through formalization of the slave trade with Europeans.
Ch 15 (Religion & Science)
- In this early modern age, established religion ideologies spread throughout the world in various forms (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism). While these religions sought to expand their influence throughout the ever expanding known world, a scientific revolution was occurring throughout Europe and Asia.
- Superficially, Christianities reach extended from Western Europe through Russia, with expanding in the Americas and smaller pockets throughout Africa and Asia. In practice, Christianity was far from unified, with Martin Luther unintentionally creating a divide between the Roman Catholic Church, and what was developing as The Protestant Reformation. The reformation took a theological approach toward criticising the Catholic church's immorality and corruption. By questioning these practices, it raised questions around their authority, and provided royal families and the growing middle class the grounds for which to rebel against the church.
- The conflict became known as the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) in which Catholics and Protestant struggle spanned all of Europe until their eventual fracturing into distinct ideologies. This sparked a counter-reformation by the Roman Catholic church aimed at correcting the corrupt practices, and reaffirming their core doctrines and faith in the Papal authority.
- Catholic vs Protestant Viewpoints
- Religious Authority: Pope + Church vs. Bible + Individual Interpretation
- Role of the Pope: Ultimate Authority vs. None
- Ordination of Clergy: Apostolic Succession vs. Ordination by Congregation
- Salvation: Church Sacraments vs. Faith
- Statue of Mary: Second to Jesus vs. Less Prominent
- Prayer: To God through Mary / Saints vs. God Alone
- Holy Communion: Transubstantiation vs. Symbolic Only
- Role of Clergy: Mediators between Man and God vs. Lead through Prayer
- Role of Saints: Spiritual Role Models vs. Source of Idolatry
- Christianity spread thru exploration, trade, missionary work and conflict. Catholics (Spain and Portugal) expanded through the Crusades and its overseas expansion into the new world. Vasco de Gama and Columbus exploration brought with them their religions while they searched for good to make their patrons wealthy.
- The conquering of Latin American empires creating sense by the indigenous people that the European Gods were great. This caused large numbers of locals to adopt the Christian religion, while not completely divesting themselves of tribal beliefs. Christian missionaries did not tolerate idolatry and attempted to educate, and on occasion violently enforce, these tenants. This caused locals to began a subversive blending of beliefs in order to retain cultural religious traditions under the guise of Christianity.
- The Jesuits took a different approach to conversion in China, a unified and dominant power. Rather than directly converting the populace, they targeted the wealthy and elite by incorporating into Chinese society by learning their language and Confucian ideologies, and using their educational background as a guise for information sharing. Weak conversion in China was partly due to their subtle approach, a lack of unique ideological concepts to counter Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, and ultimately Papal attempt to restrict Chinese converts from committing sacrifices to Confucius caused emperial end to Christian presence in China.
- Islam continued its stretch through peaceful means; Sufis, scholars and traders brought their beliefs to Afro-Asia. As Islam brought with it education, literacy, and doctrines for societal structure, many incorporated these into their existing belief systems. This merging of beliefs eventually led to a renewal movements aimed at enforcing the purity and practices of the Quran.
- In China a new neo-Confucianism began to take hold which focused on introspective and “faith alone” as a moral compass for right and wrong.
- Under the Mughal Empire, a new combined religious system which merged Hindu and Muslim believes together took hold and strengthened societal ties. This devotional form of bhakti Hinduism, attempted unity through creativity, using songs, poetry, and dances as a form of prayer and ritual.
- Sikhism also established itself in the northern Punjab region of India. The focus as a rejection of Hindu and Muslim beliefs and a singular focus on god. Caste, gender, and social divides were all set aside under a single brotherhood, under the teaching of Guru Nanak. Their beliefs were predominantly peaceful, but within a larger military community which was highly praised.
- The Scientific Revolution began in Europe despite the intellectual achievements made by Islam. It’s thought that the unique legal system in Europe established autonomy for corporations and emerging universities, which kept them from religious influence and allowed a separation of philosophy from theology. It’s also believed that their access to Islamic teachings and uniquely new information about the new worlds allowed a challenge to conventional thinking.
- Science as a Cultural Revolution
- Copernicus: Sun is at the center of solar system
- Vesalius: Anatomy thru Dissection
- Bacon: Observation and Experimentation
- Galilei: Advanced astronomy (telescope, sunspots, etc.), velocity of falling objects.
- Kepler: Planets follow elliptical orbits; laws of planetary motion
- Harvey: Heart function and blood circulation
- Descartes: Mathematics and logical deduction to understand the physical world; invented analytic geometry
- Newton: Early universal gravitation; invented calculus; created inertia and laws of motion concepts.
- Europeans changed their mindset to one of human reasoning and skepticism of authority. This change in thought paired with advances in book making led to improved literacy and a heightened sense of enlightenment by scientific understanding. This spawned several beliefs about the nature of enlightenment:
- Deism believed in an abstract being who created the world but was not concerned with its affairs.
- Pantheists believed that god and nature were the same.
- Enlightenment became challenged by the artistic romanticism movement and religions entities, as much as by itself. A self-critical approach to knowledge spread throughout the scientific disciple spectrum; biology, sociology, and psychology were all scrutinized and evaluated.
- Enlightenment became an achievement which spread across the world. In China, Jesuit missionaries spread knowledge of astrology, mathematics and medicine. While Japan remained isolated to all, save the Dutch, anatomical dissection became an important topic for their intellectuals. In the Ottoman Empire, which relied primarily on Islamic teachings, cared less about the philosophical leaps and more about practical implementations of map making and calendars.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
WW Part 3: Ch 9 (Worlds of Islam), Ch 11 (Pastoral Peoples), Ch 12 (Worlds of 15th Century)
Ch 9 (Words of Islam)
Ch 12 (Worlds of 15th Century)
- Christianity and Islam emerged as a minor religion in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Civilizations; Christianity in the Middle East and Roman Empire, and Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.
- The Arabian Peninsula originally consisted of nomadic/pastoral Bedouins, cosmopolitan coastal cities, and agricultural kingdoms within the scattered oasis, all recognizing a plethora of gods and spirits.
- One city in Arabia, Mecca, was a the site of the Kaaba. This became a central worshiping spot for all gods and spirits (360+).
- The Arabian Peninsula being situated between two Monotheistic (Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism) civilizations, the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Persian Empire, helped increase the susceptibility of that form of religion in advance of Islam.
- Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (570-632 C.E.) born in Mecca, lost his parents young, and was adopted by his uncle. Muhammad worked as a shepherd to pay his keep, and eventually became a trader and traveler. At 25 he married a wealthy widow and fathered six children. During periods of meditation in the mountains he purportedly had a religious awakening that left him convinced of being the messenger of Allah to the Arab people. Over 22 years (beginning in 610), his revelations were documented in the Quran which became the sacred text of Islam.
- The message of the Quran seemed to challenge the then modern day norms of polytheistic worship, and the social injustices of tribal / clan life.
- The five pillars of the Quran were:
- Belief in only Allah and Muhammad as the messenger of God.
- Prayer five times a day.
- Social justice in the forms of generosity towards the poor and needy.
- A month of fasting during Ramadan.
- Pilgrimage to Mecca.
- Muhammad's continual calls for social justice angered the elite Meccan clan leaders leading to an exodus from Mecca and the formation of Medina.
- Ultimately the Medina Islamic community spread rapidly through successful military excursions, negotiation of alliances with tribes, and the entering of marriage alliances. It was this successful merging of faith and military might which created such a seemingly strong foundation to spread Islam across all of Arabia and to the surrounding regions.
- With the surrounding empires no longer at the strength they once entertained, the Persian empire fell to the Arab empire, and much of the Byzantine empire’s eastern front had been captured. This was seemingly incited through to capture profitable trade routes to further expand the empire.
- Interestingly it was the lack of forced conversion to Islam which reduced social strife among the conquered people. The existing monotheistic religions, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Judaism, continued to expand and operate within the Arab empire borders. Over time, many conquered nations adopted Islam, the Arab culture, or a combination of the two. Some did this to take advantage of the social benefits available to those of Islamic faith, others through a spontaneous natural incorporation.
- After Muhammad's death, division occurred over the role of his successor (caliph). This spurned several tribal rebellion; the most enduring being that of the Sunni Muslims who believed caliphs were rightful political and military leaders, and the Shia who believed that it should be derived from Muhammad's bloodline. This division began as a political conflict, and over times divided them over religious meaning.
- The question, “What does it mean to be a Muslim, to submit wholly to Allah?” became critical as the Arab empire continued to incorporate new cultures. It was answered in one by by the Islamic law (sharia) developed through deductive reasoning by a consensus of scholars. Another answer came in the form of the mystical form of Islam known as Sufism which focused on meditation on the Quran and renunciation of the material world.
- The divide between women and men during this era followed the traditional male dominance and subservience by women; although the Quran did provide a mix of rights, restrictions, and protection for women which reduce the number of infanticide present during the time. The separation between men and women became a standard, and even a sense of piety for both genders. As time went on, increased restrictions were applied to women through sharia law, while Sufism maintained greater participation by women within religion and society.
- Islam Case Studies
- India
- Turkic-speaking warriors from Central Asia brought Islam to Northern India. Muslim communities emerged to include disillusioned Buddhists and low-caste Hindus, those attempting to avoid taxes imposed on non-Muslims. Sufis helped to bridge the gap between certain forms of Hinduism facilitating conversion.
- Anatolia (Turkey)
- Turkish invaders eroded Byzantine authority, and again Sufis help to increase adoption, but the settlement by Turkish speakers helped facilitate an oer 90% adoption towards Islam. This became the center of the Ottoman Empire, and with the reduced cultural barrier (as compared to India), conversion continued unabated.
- West Africa
- Muslim traders across the Sahara brought Islam to West Africa. Adoption was gradual and peaceful, as merchants brought literate officials for state administration and seeming religious legitimacy. Assimilation remained mostly in the social centers and did not spread to the rural communities.
- Spain
- Conquering Arab and Berber forces brought Islam to Spain, and allowed for a social harmony between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Remaining Christians incorporated themselves into Muslim life and adopted main Islamic traditions. Ultimately these Arabized Christians remained infidels and second-class citizens, and spurned a separation into militarized factions. This continued until Christian reconquest of Spain, and while Muslims were allowed to stay, they were no longer allowed to convert.
- As with many early religions, Islam enjoyed significant expansion into surrounding regions through trade and warfare, incorporated additional cultures, and experienced fracturing as it redefined its purpose.
- Pastoral Peoples existed due to an inability to create agriculture in the lands in which they lived: inner Eurasia, sub-Saharan Africa, Arabian and Saharan deserts, sub-arctic regions, and the plateau of Tibet.
- Due to their need for large grazing areas, Pastoral Societies tended to have significantly smaller populations organized around kinship-based groups.
- Women held higher status and had less restrictions within society as they were expected to perform the same tasks as men, in addition to the child rearing needs.
- Pastoral Varieties:
- Inner Eurasian Steppes
- People: Turks, Mongols, Huns
- Animals: Horses, Sheep, Goats, Cattle, Bactrian Camel
- Southwestern and Central Asia
- People: Mongol, Uzbeks, Ottomans
- Animals: Sheep, Goats, Horses, Camels, Donkeys
- Arabian and Saharan Deserts
- People: Bedouin, Arabs, Berbers
- Animals: Dromedary Camel, Sheep
- Grasslands of Sub-Saharan Africa
- People: Masai, Fulbe, Turkana
- Animals: Cattle, Sheep, Goats
- Sub-arctic Scandinavia, Russia
- People: Sami, Nenets
- Animals: Reindeer
- Tibetan Plateau
- People: Tibetans
- Animals: Yaks, Sheep, Cashmere Goats
- Primary characteristic of nomads is their mobility, following the seasonal changes in vegetation in water.
- Nomads relied on their agricultural counterparts as living off of animals entirely wasn’t feasible for most.
- Political unity was difficult due to the fierce infighting and independent nature of most clans. Though the states which were established subside don raiding, trading, and/or extortion.
- Horseback and camel riding provided the military superiority and mobility necessary to mobilize against larger civilizations.
- The earliest nomadic empire within the Mongolian steppes, Xiongnu, subsisted on the tribute system within itself and with China, and changed the political system into a clan based hierarchical system. The Xiongnu system became the basis for the Turks and Mongols.
- The Mongol Empire was the largest land-based empire in human history. It joined the nomadic and agricultural civilizations of Eurasia. It left a relatively small cultural impact on the surrounding regions; no new language, religion, or lasting civilization. Conquered people became subordinates, and useful people were put to work within society.
- Temujin / Chinggis Khan unified the fractured Mongol Empire and set upon a course of expansion to maintain a sense of unification. With his continued legacy (Ogodei, Mongkey and Khubilai) created and maintained an empire which included China, Korea, Central Asia, Russia, Middle East, and Parts of Europe.
- The Mongol armies came to supremacy through good timing and military strategy, and pure brutality and destruction. China outnumbered them 100 to 1, and they lacked the military supremacy.
- Mongol Encounters:
- China vs. Mongols
- The Mongols had continually plundered and exploited the riches of China of the years, and let many Chinese to believe that their success was mandated by heaven. While some Mongol adoption of Chinese infrastructure and government occurred, Mongols remained independent culturally until their unification fractured.,
- Persia vs. Mongols
- Islamic Persia was conquered briefly by the infidel Mongols, and brought with it slaughter and destruction never before seen by the Persians. Additionally heavy taxes were levied against the agricultural land, and due to a lack of irrigation maintenance, destroyed fertile lands. The Mongols who conquered Persia converted to Islam and a number abandoned their nomadic ways.
- Russia vs. Mongols
- The Russian princedoms were slaughter with the incorporation of battering rams and catapults learned from the Chinese and Persians. The Mongols did not occupy Russia as it had little to offer beyond pastoral lands. Religious tolerance allowed the Russian Orthodox Church to flourish. Eventually the centralization of Russia in Moscow allowed them to break the Mongol hold , and eventually led to the demise of their expansive efforts.
Ch 12 (Worlds of 15th Century)
- Paleolithic Persistence existed within Australia and North America. While agricultural improvement were occurring in these regions, distinct hunter / gatherer traditions continued to exist.
- Several agricultural village societies continued to exist which resisted larger incorporation and hierarchical government structure (Igbo in West Africa, and the Iroquois in North America).
- The Ming Dynasty in China governed through Confucian and Daoist philosophy, and emerged post Mongol subjugation. During this time the capital was moved to Beijing, civil service exams were reestablished, and much of the Mongol damage was repaired in a historical approach to recover what was lost. Additionally, a massive naval excursion (the largest known) was undertaken in an effort to enroll distant peoples in the tribute system to reestablish the Chinese dominance.
- In Western Europe, a populace rebuilding was underway as the plague had ravaged most of the region. Additionally, the fractured nations were in a state of nation rebuilding and religious expansion, although not in the same unified way as the Chinese. The Renaissance was underway, and created a new sense of wealth and artistic expression across Europe. From a naval expedition perspective, Columbus of Spain made his way to uncharted lands in the Americas, while Vasco da Gama explored the coasts of Africa and India.
- The Ottoman Empire encompassed a huge region including the Middle East, coastal North Africa, and parts of the black sea and eastern Europe. Their defeat of the remaining Byzantine Empire removed the remaining Christian influence in their region.
- The Songhay Empire emerged in West Africa as a new Islamic Empire largely limited in faith to the urban centers. It operated the crucial trans-Saharan trade routes and allowed for the continued Islamic expansion.
- The Mughal Empire in India also emerged as a Turkic Islamic nation which blended both Muslim and Hindu traditions.
- Aztec empire of northern Mexico were a semi-nomadic people which expanded through alliance and conquest.
- Inca Empire created the largest imperial state along the Andes Mountains. Larger the than Aztecs. They created a bureaucratic system to incorporate conquered peoples.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
WW Part 3: Intro, Ch 7 (Commerce & Culture), Ch 8 (China & the World), Ch 10 (the Worlds of Christendom)
Ways of the World Part Three: Intro
- The “Third-Wave” as Strayer refers to it represented a blending of new and old world. Existing societies colonized beyond their borders or influenced their neighbors in such a way that new distinct cultural identities were formed based on early civilizations.
- Cultures such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam borrowed heavily from the existing Chinese society, as many of the newly formed nations were influenced by their dominant early societies.
- Islam became a prominent nation, defined by its religion, and encompassing large swaths of land from modern Spain and Northern Africa to Western India.
- The Byzantine Empire, embraced the older eastern portion of the remaining Roman Empire, continuing the establishment of Mediterranean Christianity.
- In Mesoamerica, the Aztec created an impressive nation based on the ruins of the earlier Maya, and in South America the Inca incorporated Andean civilization into a much larger political empire.
- During this “Third-Wave” culture interaction with other societies exploded due to several factors:
- Increase in long-distance trade through popularized trade-routes.
- Empires created a cosmopolitan ecosystem, and reinforced secure trade.
- Nomadic and pastoral cultures established civilizations, ruling over agricultural peoples.
- The spread of ideas (religion) created lasting ties among distance civilizations.
- The diffusion of technology created new industry to further expand trade (i.e. processing of silk and sugars)
Chapter 7 (Commerce & Culture)
- Silk Roads
- Connected the Eurasian region empires and city states through a series of transcontinental secure roads.
- Trade flourished for 2,000 years as large caravans spread ideas, technology, and in many cases diseases previously unknown.
- Silk was the primary luxury good traded along the route, monopolized by traders from its origin, China.
- An impressive amount of regional goods were traded, many of which in current day would be difficult to determine their place of origin (were it not for this book), while some are commodities still associated with the origin region (bamboo and ginger for example are typically associated with Asia if not China proper.
- China: Silk, bamboo, mirrors, gunpowder, paper, rhubarb, ginger, lacquerware, chrysanthemums
- Forest lands of Siberia / Grasslands of Central Asia: Furs, tusks, amber, livestock, horses, falcons, hides, copper, tents, saddles, slaves.
- India: Cotton textiles, herbal medicine, precious stones, spices
- Middle East: dates, nuts, almonds, dried fruit, dyes, lapis lazuli, swords
- Mediterranean Basin: Gold Coins, glassware, glazes, grapevines, jewelry, artworks, perfume, wool and linen textiles, olive oil.
- Silk while a main commodity for China represented a huge technological achievement in the form of textiles. Once the silkworms have created their cocoons, , they were unwound in hot water, and the fibers used to create thread and woven into textiles. The desire for silk was so great in all of the surrounding regions, either as a luxury commodity for the wealthy or as a trade lever for negotiations with surrounding regions. Ultimately the technology spread throughout the surrounding regions, creating a surplus of the good to be used to trade with farther away civilizations in Africa.
- Buddhism spread throughout the Silk Road, originating from India, and spreading through Central Asia, China, and the surrounding areas; although the form of Buddhism was altered over time. Many traders voluntarily adopted Buddhism as a way of incorporation with the wealth Indian culture.
- Disease was a significant byproduct of the continued trade among human communities. With little immunity many civilizations were decimated: Athens infected by an unknown affliction lost 25% of its army, smallpox and measles destroyed the Roman Empire and Han dynasty ultimately leading to their demise, and the most impactful was the Mongol spread of the Black Death across China and Europe. The positive outcomes from this were the further spread of Christianity and Buddhism as they offered “compassion in the face of immense suffering”, and ultimately an immunity overtime was developed which the Americas lacked due to tight trade infrastructure and a lack of agricultural beasts.
- Sea Roads
- The known sea roads connected Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, China, and the islands of the Pacific with one another. Additionally, entrepreneurially Mediterranean city-states created a trans regional exchange which linked the Mediterranean seas with the large Indian Ocean trade routes.
- Transportation across the sea routes were extremely cost efficient as a boat could carry significantly more weight, faster, and traditional silk road caravans.
- Sea Trade Goods:
- Mediterranean Basin: ceramics, glassware, wine, gold, olive oil
- East Africa: ivory, gold, iron goods, slaves, tortoiseshells, quartz, leopard skins
- Arabia: frankincense, myrrh, perfumes
- India: grain, ivory, precious stones, cotton textiles, spices, timber, tortoiseshells
- Southeast Asia: tin sandalwood, cloves, nutmeg, mace
- China: silks, porcelain, tea
- Similar to how Buddhism spread through the silk road, Islam spread across the sea road as merchants found it to be friendly to commercial life.
- India being somewhat of a trade hub at this point expanded its culture across Southeast Asia.
- East African civilizations (Swahili) expanded to into a series of city-state similar to their Greek counterparts in the Mediterranean. The introduction of Islam as the primary religion of many city-states future increased trade with their Islamic counterparts in Arabia.
- Sand Roads
- Connected North Africa, the Mediterranean, and West Africa through the Sahara. The Sahara itself held deposits of copper and salt to be exploited by traders, and it was the introduction of camels into North Africa which made the trek possible.
- Arab traders prized gold among other commodities, which was in abundance in West Africa.
- Increased trade led to the construction of many new political entities within the central Sudan: Kingdom of Ghana and Kingdom of Mali. Slavery out of the Sudan being a main export to wealthy Islamic North Africans.
- American Network
- Diffusion of culture between North America, South America, and Mesoamerica did not occur readily and in some cases not at all. A web of trade however did exist which linked the Mississippi Cultures, Mesoamerican Civilizations, and the Andean Civilizations with primarily luxury goods.
- Economic Globalization contributed significantly to the initiation and continued interaction between civilizations, allowed for the proliferation of religions and ideas, and created leaps in technological innovation not just through necessity, but through constant collaboration.
Chapter 8 (China & the World)
- “Golden Age”
- China reunified under the Sui dynasty (589-618), and solidified it through a centralized canal system linking northern and southern China (an engineering feat of the age). Ultimately this dynasty was overthrown after the exhaustion of state resources in an attempt to conquer Korea.
- The Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) build on the charred foundation of the Sui dynasty to create a “golden age” of arts and literature. The government structure consisted of six ministries: personnel, finance, rites, army, justice, public works, and a sneaky seventh which from all accounts was their to spy internally. During this time, the ability to print books was created for the first time in history. While exam systems existed to identify qualified officials, many public office positions were retained by the wealthiest of families. Prosperity during this time was gauged by the doubling of its population, and achievements to support the growing populace included agricultural selection of strains of rice which were more resistant to drought and matured more quickly. Industrial iron production increased along with the population, to support everything from military armor and weapons, to agricultural tools. Surplus in crops and cheap transportation created a commercialized trend of growing crops for trade rather than local consumption. To facilitate the sale of goods and services and the taxation related to those transactions, a paper money system was established.
- During the Tang Dynasty women led a less restricted life, and participated in all parts of society. The revival of Confucianism quickly change the focus to a more female subservient society was further restricted into the Song dynasty as Confucian ideas resurged.
- China and the Nomads of the north were a give and take in which China became reliant on the horses produced from northern lands, and yet restricted access to China's trade market and lands. China quickly created a benevolent system, from their perspective, to grant access to trade and culture in exchange for tribute as a sign of subservience to the Emperor.
- As the barbarian societies formed nomadic empires able to compete equally with China, groups like the Xiongnu confederacy enacted the same tribute system as a type of protection money to prevent excursions into China.
- Nomadic rulers of parts of China began to assimilate into Chinese culture through language, education, and ideological practices (Daoism / Buddhism), although the majority still retained their nomadic roots.
- China likewise enacted the tribute system with the newly emerging Korea, Vietnam, and Japan societies. While these new civilization adopted many major elements of Chinese culture, they retained their distinct identities and responded to the request for tribute differently:
- Korea actively embraced the tribute system which provided legitimacy for Korean rulers, exposed new trade opportunities in goods and ideas. As Confucianism took hold, a change in Korean family dynamic occurred which prohibited plural marriages, and Korean women raising children.
- Vietnam like Korea embraced the tribute system but was ruled by a Chinese official who enforced Chinese culture and language, while equally vilifying them as barbarians. Ultimately several female let rebellions ensued, which led to the creation of an independent Vietnamese dynasty in which some of Chinese culture remained.
- Japan being separated entirely by sea prevented a successful invasion by China, but many cultural aspects were voluntarily adopted. This culminated during the first pseudo-unified Japan in which a centralized bureaucratic system was established on a Chinese model. Excursions to China brought back knowledge to create a Emperor based government system and Chinese style court, and encouraged Confucianism and Buddhism. In many ways they took what they saw as the best of Chinese culture and molded it to meet their needs. Political power ultimately decentralized and unified over the years, but this period of fracture and warring led to a focus on militarization which created a distinctly Japanese Samurai caste system which was in stark contrast to Chinese beliefs. Religion wise Buddhism became apart of the culture while the traditional Shinto beliefs still retained religious dominance
- China had a significant impact on Eurasia through technological innovation. Solar evaporation to produce salt, paper making, and printing which spread across Eurasia like wildfire, and ultimately led to mass literacy to educate and spread religion. Likewise, the known world had an impact on China. Persian windmills spurred the creation of similar devices in china, the need to disseminate Buddhist teachings and images (originating from India) led to the development of printing,
Chapter 10 (the Worlds of Christendom)
- Christian Contraction in Asia and Africa
- During the Tang dynasty, a small Nestorian church founded by Persian missionary monks took root in China. Using Daoist and Buddhist concepts, the Christian message was conveyed to the Chinese in the form of the Jesus Sutras. This ultimately declined to to a Chinese political attempt to turn from all foreign religions. Mongol conquest of China allowed a Christian resurgence, many of which converted to Christianity until their rule was ended with the Confucian Ming dynasty.
- With the popularity of Islam growing, churches were on the decline in Africa. In Egypt, Christianity was the religion of the masses, even under Muslim rule. During the era of the European crusades from the west, and Mongol hordes from the east, Christians in Egypt were targeted by Muslims due to loyalty concerns, almost extinguishing it entirely. Further south, Christianity saw a resurgence in the Nubian kingdoms, due to trade with Egypt. Ultimately, this too disappeared due to pressures from Islam in Egypt and from the desert tribes. The only remaining bastion of Christian faith existed in Ethiopia, surrounded by Islam and yet protected due to their assistance to Muhammad’s followers in early Islam.
- Byzantine Christendom: Building on the Roman Past
- While the origins of the Byzantine empire are somewhat unclear, it is said that it began as a continuation of the Roman empire and based on Emperor Constantine who favored Christianity. The walled capital, Constantinople, rests on the site of the Greek city Byzantium which ultimately survived the Germanic and Hun invaders which overtook the western Roman Empire. The remaining eastern empire, while compact, reformed with a superior navy and access to the Black seas to recapture parts of the loss western Roman Empire until its eventual decline by Catholic Crusaders and Turkic Muslims (Ottoman Empire).
- The Byzantium emperor retained the power of both the head of state and church. A network of priests brought the churches messages to the entire empire.
- Eastern Orthodox Christianity was the pervasive form of Christianity which countered against a Latin Christianity centered on papal Rome, even though their belief structures remained relatively consistent. Additional differences between the two became apparent in their language Latin in the west and Greek in the east, and their divergence about the nature of the holy Trinity.
- Western Christendom: Rebuilding in the Wake of Roman Collapse
- With the ultimate demise of the Roman empire, the encompassing lands were divided into more rural communities which eventually became the regional kingdoms of Goths (Germanic), Visigoths (Spain), Franks (France), Lombards (Italy), and Angles and Saxons (England). Ultimately Roman prestige and laws remained intact, while roads and infrastructure declined. During this era the Carolingian empire of Charlemagne was established as a infant imperial bureaucracy, which led to the eventual Holy Roman Empire which was a pervasive civilization during the Middle Ages.
- The west in Comparative Perspective
- Western civilization has at this point gone through several upheavals and restructuring, but was far from dominant Islamic and Chinese civilizations. During this time, Europe began re engaging in trade with other dominant culture, and with it’s own independent invention began to catch up in the global race for cultural supremacy. The development of heavy wheeled plow and a three-field system of crop rotation allowed them to plant more and yield more from agricultural crops. Grain and water mills allowed them take advantage of the geographical differences of the region, and later industrialization allowed them to get away from human and animal energy. Borrowing of gunpowder from China and adapting it to larger range based artillery on ships, along with advances in ship building and navigation, gained them the sea and weapon superiority.
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