Industrial Revolution

These current chapters are the most interesting ones that I have read so far.  Interesting is probably not the word I should use in describing them, but they were interesting in a way that caught my attention and allowed me to stay focused on the reading and the different subjects.  I was able to even read them faster than all the other chapters allowing me to remember all what I read in one reading. 

It’s definitely encouraging to know where the Industrial Revolution began.  With new technology innovation being created which lead to an increase in the output of goods and service, the output increased in Britain between 1750-1900.  One of the best breakthroughs in new technology was the steam engine.  Funny how we take the steam engine for granted and just always felt they were always here. 

The spread of the Industrial Revolution started from Britain to Western Europe, then to the United States, Russia and then to Japan.  It then became global by the 20^th century.  There are some debate as to why industrialization appeared first in Great Britain and why it started in the late 19^th century, because other parts of the world had great technologies also, like Islamic world in 750-1100 c.e., and also India, which was the center of cotton.  China as we know also let the world in technological innovation somewhere between 700 and 1400 c.e.  All of these had slowed down by the time the modern era came around. 

Why Britain?

Because Britain was the most commercialized of European’s largest countries.  Unfortunately the smaller farmers were being pushed out.  There were lots of workers willing and able because they did not have much of an option to go and find work anywhere else.  British commerce was worldwide, which they also received a great deal of protection from the Royal Navy.  

Great Britain seems to focus on the Scientific Revolution, of logic, deduction, and mathematical reasoning.  They were also in close contact with scientist and entrepreneurs.   Overall, Britain had a lot going for them, which they were not devastated by the Napoleonic wars.

The First Industrial Society. 

There was a large increase of output as industrial went forward in Britain.  The new and quick development of the railroad system was one of the output.  Funny when I read about the railroad system in Europe, I can clearly see me on the European Rail.  For which I have taken it many times while traveling from country to country in Europe.  I wondering if this is the same one that I have rode many time before. 

There is so much to talk about in this chapter, that am going to have to write in two part.  In my further discussion, I would like to talk about the unions. I have many friends and relative that belong to the union, which I have know clue as to what they really do for people, beside help them save their job.  Perhaps I should have been part of a union many years ago, because working for lawyers, I find they can let you go at any moment for no reason at all.  But there are some downs to working for a union and perhaps I will discuss in my future blog.

Early Modern World

 Empires and Encounters

Reading this chapter was a bit different then what I remembered reading in high school or any other history class I have taken in the past years.  I remember several weeks ago our professor had a question regarding Columbus Day.  Something to that affect as: Should we get rid of Columbus Day?  Well according to chapter 14, Native Americans already have objected to this 500^th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the America.  The president, Winona LaDuke, of the indigenous Women’s Network writes: “Columbus was a perpetrator of genocide…, a slave trader, a their, a pirate, and most certain not a hero” (p. 403).  Those are pretty harsh words to say about someone that we have been celebrating his discover for five hundred years.  So then if all what is said about Columbus is true, why and the world would anyone want to celebrate it after all what he and his soldiers did to the Natives.  Are the old history books still being used in elementary school still?  if so, these children are going to have a shock of their life, like we all have.  

As I read on through the chapters, to my dismay, there were 60 million to 80 million Native Americans (precise number remain the subject of debate), living prior to pre-Columbian.  Once Columbus arrives he brought European disease that the Natives not been immune to.  From those diseases around 90 percent of Native American populations were dead.  That percent of have clearly destroyed the whole Native American community for the Caribbean.    Even in Central Mexico the population ended up being 1 million by 1650 from just from all the dieses that the European brought to the Natives.  What got me a bit boiling inside was when I read what Governor Bradford said, “such conditions represent the “good hand of God” at work, “sweeping away great multitudes of the natives… that he might make room for us” (p. 407).  What I would like to read more about him and find out how he died.  I bet those words bit him in his dying years.  I always say, “What goes around, comes around.”

Since there was much Native mortality, it created a labor shortage in the Americas.  The dying of all the Natives did not make room for immigrant newcomers.  They migration of Europeans and African slaves created an entire new societies of people.  Besides bringing their germs, the Europeans brought plants and animals to the Americas.  All of these spread widely in the Eastern Hemisphere, especially potatoes, which brought a huge population growth. 

This exchanged with the Americas reshaped the world economy and in addition, slaves were imported to the America.  The network of communication, migration, trade, transfer of plants and animals is known as “the Columbian exchange”.  When I hear this, to me it should be called “The death exchange.”  The Europeans got most of the reward, because the brought new information which helped lead to the Scientific Revolution, but did all the Natives really had to die in such enormous quantity?  Life and history is so wonderful to learn about, but also painful to know about what people had to endure to get to where we are now.  I wonder what the future student will be reading about us in centuries to come.  

Islam and Mongol

Islam

The chapter on Islam has been the hardest for me so far to understand.  When I do hear the word Islam I can’t help but think of the words 9/11, Osama bin Laden, and the attack on the United States. 

As I read further about “Women and Men in Early Islam” had me a bit confused.  There seemed to be some controversial as to how women are treated.  According to the debates with the Quran, did “it’s teaching release women from earlier restriction, or did they impose new limitation” (p. 314)?  As I continue reading, at a spiritual level Quran stated explicitly that women and men were equals, but at a social level Quran viewed women as subordinate, especially in marriage.  According to our readings, Quran gave women control over their own property and in the early Islam women played public roles and were able to pray in mosques, and didn’t have to be veiled nor did they have to be in secluded.  But lower-class women didn’t have the “luxury” of seclusion.  So what does this really mean?  If you were wealthy you were treated better and if you were poor you weren’t?  Again, I don’t understand Islam at all.

MASAI

The Mongol Empire was way more exciting and interesting to read and learn about.  First the Masai of East Africa had no large states or chiefdoms, nor did they have pastoral or agriculture.  Matter of fact, they felt that felt that farming was seen as demeaning.  They were seen as arrogant, aggressive and lazy, and unwilling to do hard work such as cultivation.  At an early time of their history, they actually had raised sorghum and millet to later abandoning it sometime before 18^th and 19^th centuries.  The Masai would interact with settled people and allowed outsiders into their society.  The funny part that I thought were so called “two-faced” was that they called hunters “poor people without cattle,” but yet, they had to depend on hunter and farmers for animals skins, bows, and arrow, shield, and most of all honey, which was used for ritual ceremonies.  Since Masai had military success, they encourage farmers to adopt elements of Masai, like their hairstyle, cattle terms, and name for High God, long spear and practice of drinking cow’s mild before battle.  It seems they also “adopted elements of Masai military organization” (p. 341)

Breakout:  The Mongol Empire

I am not sure how I feel about these people.  I read very good things about them and then not so good things about them.  One thing I know is that they formed the greatest “land-based empire in history their breakout from Mongolia in the 13^th century” (p. 341).  Their population was to my surprised just around 700,000.  They had no major culture, nor did they have no new religion.  More interesting is that they did not try to spread their ancestor worship to others.  Ruler even went to religious specialist, shaman to see if they could foretell their future.  It be more interesting if there were more about what these shaman said and if any of what was said came true.  The Mongol culture as of today is confined to Mongolia.  Before Temujin (known as Chinggis Khan) thought the Mongols were unstable tribes and clans always feuding.  He was recognized as “universal ruler.”   He setbacks marked outer limits of Mongol Empire, such as difficulty penetrating the tropical jungles of Southeast Asia, he failed the invasion of Jan in 1274 and 1281 and was defeated by Egyptians.  By the end of his life he says, “I have accomplished a great work uniting the whole world in on empire” (p. 345).  What made all this work was it was very organized and discipline.  Also the loyalty to his men made a big difference too.  Chinggis Khan wrote “I eat the same food and am dress in the same rags as my humble herdsmen” (p346).  This was the first I have heard a leader with step down at his herdsmen level and be at their side or in front of the killing zone line. 

Classical Era

Late Classical Era

When I first heard my professor speak of the Silk Roads, I imagine these beautiful ancient roads made of silk.  But I knew that there could not be such a road made of silk.  However, even after reading the chapter and finding out what was meant by the Silk Roads, I still had in my mind these beautiful silk roads that people would travel on.  I just couldn’t get that out of my mind. 

This chapter on the Silk Roads was more than interesting to know how people were exchanging goods within one society to another, however, was I found more interesting was how the silk was either morally to some people and sacred to others.

Back in 500-1500 c.e., long-distance trade became more important than ever before.  These trades were mostly indirect, by a creation of networks and exchanges across the Afro-Eurasian world.  So basically, the good would be handed off to someone else at one point of another and continued on down the Silk Road. 

A question was asked in this chapter as to why trade was significant and how by doing so, how was trade help change societies that were connected to the trade?  First, it altered consumption and with “enabling West African to import scare salt” (p. 218).  It also encouraged specialization.  Traders also became a separate social group.  Trade also provided the elites with prestige goods.  Trade also brought religious idea, new technological innovation, plants and animals, but unfortunately it also spread disease along the trade routes. 

What type of goods traveled along the Silk Roads?  First, as we know from our readings that these road were being traveled by camels which crossed the harsh and dangerous steppes.  Also China at first had control of the silk technology, but soon it led to drain of resources from Roman Empire to east.  The Romans are the one that that the silk as morally decadent.  Since silk is very see through, women were wearing revealing clothes that one could see parts of their body.  This was sort of funny to me because, when I look at what people were now, is probably way more revealing?  The Romans would all have a heart attacked now if they saw the silk garment people are wearing in this century. 

Silk was lined to the sacred in Buddhism and Christianity.  Even though silk was developed in Western Europe in the twelfth century, it was import to Islam way before this. 

What I found interesting was how Buddhism spread along Silk Roads through Central and East Asia.  Buddhism always fascinated merchants.  If people wanted to become a Buddhist it was surely all-voluntary.   The spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road where monasteries provided rest stops for merchants.    

Later Sea Roads became an avenue for commerce from the time of the Phoenicians.  Venice was a center of commerce by 1000 c.e.    Because I have been to Venice several times now, I had this visual in my mind how these trades were all taking place, but I am sure it looked nothing like it looks like now. 

I truly enjoyed reading about this chapter on trade and can see where someone would have so much to say on this.    I barely was able to touch a bit on the subject.  It truly is so fascinating how ancient people traded and sold their goods without  the technology we have now to move goods from place to place.  

The Classical Era

Africa and the Americas

The Classical era aren’t just Eurasian-the Greeks and the Romans etc.  During this era were the Americas: Maya and Moche.  And in Africa it was the Meroe, Axum, and Niger River valley civilizations.  The developments of human cultures have some similarities, like human migration and how independently agriculture took place in Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas.  This resulted in what we know as a civilization. 

The population at the beginning of the Common Era was 250 million people and according to the Snapshot on page 183 more than 80 percent of people was in Eurasia. 

The differences between civilizations in the different regions are that the Americas lacked the animals that could be suitable for domestication.  Africa lacked wild sheep, goats, chicken, horses, and camels, but soon was able to import them.  The Maya developed writing, but in Mesoamerica their writing skills were limited. 

I found it interesting that historian speaks of Africa as a geographic concept and not a culture and how everyone didn’t consider themselves as African when living there.  In the classical era, Africa had no common culture identity.  I guess it was so big that there were numerous societies, cultures, and civilization among them all.  However, most distinctive was that Africa is the most tropical of world’s supercontinents.  Because of the climate there the soil was not that good to grow vegetables etc., which in turn there would be more disease-carrying insects and parasites. 

During this time North Africa was part of the Roman Empire and was able to use the Roman Empires large estate to grow their wheat and olives.  With Arabia being so close to North Africa they were able to get domesticated camels from them. 

Now there is Axum.  Looking at the map on page 185, it is located as what we know as the present day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.  Their kingdom’s economic foundation was highly productive agriculture.  One of the reasons it was so highly productive was because they did rely on a hoe or digging stick, they used a plow-based farming system.  Which in turn they were able to have a high production of wheat, barley, millet, teff.  By 50 c.e. this state emerged, Red Sea and Ocean trade which then the taxes were a major source of state revenue. 

The capital city of Axum was a center of monumental building.  They were hundred feet tall and probably royal graves.  In town, the language that was spoken was Geez and in the rural area Agaw was spoken.  King Ezana adopted Christianity about the time of Constantine.  Coptic Christianity iss till the religion of half the region.   

Also in the classical era was a major urbanization along the middle stretches of the Niger River between 300 b.c.e. and 900 c.e.  During a long dry period there was migration of peoples from the southern Sahara in search for access to water which created a distinctive city-based civilization.  Apparently, there is no evidence of a state structure, either imperial or city-state.

Also in the classical era was the Civilization of Mesoamerica.  There was a lack of interaction with other major cultures, including with other cultures in the Americas.  What I found interesting is that these early American civilization were developed without large domesticated animals or ironworking technologies which were very important throughout the Eastern Hemisphere.  Mesoamerica area is from the central of Mexico to the northern Central America.  There was diversity of Mesoamerican civilizations.  They shared an intensive agricultural technology.  They also shared economies based on market exchange.  They also had similar religions and they interacted often with each other. 

Last is the Maya.  Something about this civilization has caught my attention as well it has caught other attention from the Classical era.  Maya ceremonial centers developed as early as 2000 b.c.e. in present-day Guatemala and Yucatan.  The something that I first mention above what attracted my attention was that the Maya developed an advanced mathematical system.  They had an elaborate calendar and creation of the most elaborate writing systems in the Americas.  By 600 C.E., the Maya lived in an “almost totally engineered landscape” (p. 194), with swamp drainage, terracing, water management system.  They also lived a peaceful society which was led by priest-kings.  Unfortunately, no city-state ever succeeded in creating a unified empire.  It seems that is collapsed due to the rapid population growth after 600 c.e. which they used up all their resources which in turned to frequent warfare.