Quiz 4

1) Umut Uras. “Turkey turning Hagia Sophia back into mosque divides social media.” Al Jazeera. July 11, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/turkey-turning-hagia-sophia-mosque-divides-social-media-200711104417533.html

Who really cares what they’re saying on social media. The real issue is the converting a world monument and iconic place into a religious place of worship. This debate had already taken place many years ago so why does Erewhon feel we need to go back-and-forth. Originally the Byzantine Empire built the church in as a cathedral in Constantinople in 537 A.D.  It was the largest church in the eastern Roman Empire for many years. It functioned as a church for almost 1000 years until it fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. After the conquest of Constantinople, the Turkish eventually converted it to a Muslim mosque. If the recent decisions materialize it will be a very sad day for the world since not everyone will get to enjoy this world’s gem. 

The issue is far greater than social media. Sure it is today’s way of expressing yourself, however, it does very little actual impact on governmental decisions. I would suggest that everyone who has an opinion on social media not just say their opinion but actually act on it. Putting words into action is in the real way to in act change. This is the only way we can revert certain decisions that have been made. 

 

2) Anne Mawathe. “Coronavirus: Why Africans should take part in vaccine trials.” BBC. May 18, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52678741

 

Apparently, the Corona virus vaccine trial on Africans controversy began in April of 2020, but it seems to have been a strict over reaction to an idiotic statement. The controversy was sparked by two French doctors while they discussed a vaccine trial that was occurring in Europe and Australia. The trial was looking into whether a tuberculosis vaccine would work against the corona virus. The comment made by one of the French doctors was insensitive but I have a feeling he meant well. His comment, although inappropriate, was meant to address the little resources some parts of Africa have. It is well documented that after a vaccine is created, it often ends up in wealthier countries who are willing to pay for it. Some parts of Africa also lack the capital investment, which makes the advancement in medicine difficult. Many of their own doctors seek careers elsewhere taking there wealth of knowledge with them. It would be good if the World Health Organization (WHO) created an avenue for investment in Africa. 

 

It’s very true that African people have been used in the past on experimental drugs and in some cases causing serious side affects or disabilities. Even though the comments were insensitive, they may not have been as derogatory as everyone assumed. 

 

3) Ganesh Chakravarthi. “Is it Time to Embrace the Anthropocene? The Anthropocene requires that humanity take responsibility for preserving the earth and its species.” The Diplomat. February 11, 2020. https://thediplomat.com/2020/02/is-it-time-to-embrace-the-anthropocene/

 

It is time for us to embrace Anthropocene. As the article says it will take hundreds of years to revert any damage to the earth so we have to act now. The current state of our planet did not happen overnight. We have been burning fossil fuels for over 200 years, particularly, since the industrial revolution. It took hundreds of years if not thousands to get to where we are. Some of the carbon emissions damage, however, has occurred in the last 200 years. If we embrace and truly learn about Anthropocene we can begin to change human behavior. It will be very difficult to change peoples habits if we don’t embrace Anthropocene and make everyone aware of the movement. We saw a real change in the environment when Canada created the emissions and fossil fuels act. Within a couple of decades we notably saw a difference in the ozone. 

 

If we had remained hunters and gatherers and lived off the land we probably would not be facing this epic destruction of the earth. We need to rally around this movement and let it be known if we are to save our planet.

Module 10 - Chapter 23

Factors which contributed to the economic globalization in the second half of the twentieth century were the organization of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This created the United States as the central point for the economic currency. This was established during a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.  

Additionally, the development of containerized shipping, large oil tankers, and express air services dramatically lowered the cost of shipping goods. This new more connected world economy vastly favored the reduction of tariffs, promoted global capital investment, created a new mobile workforce, and the privatization of many government run enterprises. This new global market operation and within nations was the most expansive and effective means for the world economies.   

The global North/South divide found expression in the past century by creating a huge disparity between the have’s and have not’s. The global expansion has not been equal to the North and South. As North America and Europe gain power over the South by investing in capital and entrenching themselves in the economy. As the economy grew for the North, it has worsened for those in the south. For example, the United States invested heavily in Mexico and China because of cheaper labor. This meant that companies from the North would get rich off of the poor people in those other countries. Even the financier and investor George Soros, said globalization has created a disparity and divide where the rich have gotten richer and the poor poorer. 

 

References: 

Robert W. Strayer, Eric W. Nelson - Ways of the World_ A Brief Global History with Sources, Combined Volume (2015, Bedford_St. Martin’s) - libgen.lc.pdf

 

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_(New_Hampshire)#/media/Fichier:Mount_washington_hotel_1905.jpg

 

 

https://www.airseacontainers.com/blog/what-are-shipping-container-dimensions/

 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Soros

Module 10 Chapter 22

International circumstances and social changes which contributed to the end of colonial empires included a new found belief that independence was the key to self identity and prosperity. Dictatorship based on colonial rule did not work anymore because it was opposite to what Europeans practiced and operated under at home. American colonialism ending, helped around the world but also, more recently, Mexico’s independence and divestiture of  United States and British controlled oil in their own country played a big role.  One country at a time began to cease colonial rule. Self-national determinations were more favorable. 

 

Second and Third generation highly educated, mostly men, knew Colonization was not the only way to progress. These young educated people had witnessed European and democratic ways, and knew national independence was the key to economic and social progress. They insisted on immediate independence. As the book describes on page 979, independence promised national freedom but also personal dignity, abundance, and opportunity. 

                     

 

The Colonial experience and the struggle for independence shaped the agenda of developing countries in the second half of the twentieth century in different forms. It was not always done seamlessly nor was it streamlined. It took many months and years of intense negotiations.  One of the struggles was in identifying what group should remain in charge once decolonization took place. We’ve seen this in recent times during the Arab Spring of 2011. People wanting independence but once they achieved the independence they fought internally for power primarily between the Sunni and Shiite people. Nevertheless, decolonization required gradual political reforms and investments. Many small countries who sought independence found it difficult to be self sustaining so they joined established larger established countries. One example was the Polynesian islands joining the United States.   

                         

References: 

Robert W. Strayer, Eric W. Nelson - Ways of the World_ A Brief Global History with Sources, Combined Volume (2015, Bedford_St. Martin’s) - libgen.lc.pdf

 

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Can-Mexico-Reverse-Its-Steep-Output-Decline.html

 

https://wayback.archive-it.org/11788/20200107171921/http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/

 

https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/21/africa/chinese-funded-railways-in-africa/index.html

Module 9 - Chapter 21

Communism exercise influence during the twentieth century was primaraly associated in Russia, China and Mongolia. In the after math of World War II as Japan was defeated Russia was able to influence areas such as the northern part of Korea. This is one of the main reasons North Korea was established as a communist country. Russia being the larges country by size and China being the larges by population made it so almost one third of the world power were communist by the 1970s. Mongolia was another large proponent of communism. 

Karl Marx was one of the people to establish communist social equality and social development. Some would argue Karl Marx was a philosopher but others will say he was a revolutionary. He analyzed the theory of the value of labor and service value. He felt that at some point ones labor is not worth the effort as others become wealthier and there for a communist state where everyone receives the same allotment would suit people best in the long run. 

(Karl Mark - Philosopher or Revolutionary) 

The communist experiment, which was committed to equality, abundance, and a humane socialism, generate failed economies and oppressive, brutal, and totalitarian regimes because it was not sustainable. It did not generate equality for everyone. It gave poor people, who were the majority, just enough to live and a fewer wealthier people more than there share. Inherently communism works for the leaders of government and the people in power. Marxist ideology spoke about equality however they had routinely exploited the poor laborers and women. Socially people were not equal. If you were a person of power, you had more rights and wealth and if not you had nothing to show for yourself nor did you have similar rights. This disparity is what caused many of the revolutions. By the 1970 many of the communist countries began to cease but it wasn’t until the 1990’s until the full light was shed on communism and what a failed government it could be for common people.  

References:

Robert W. Strayer, Eric W. Nelson - Ways of the World_ A Brief Global History with Sources, Combined Volume (2015, Bedford_St. Martin’s) - libgen.lc.pdf

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/

Module 9 - Chapter 20

 

Several aspects of Europe’s nineteenth-century history contributed to the First World War. Some of them included the Serbian nationalist assassinating the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the great power of Europe competing for colonies, and spheres of influence and superiority. As well as the growing arms race in naval warships especially between Germany and Britain. During this time the Western world was trying to find it’s place in the world’s stage. The fact that area was in such close proximity made it easy to be insecure about each other’s might and who would be first in the worlds order.  

The disasters that best explain the losses Europe endured in the first half of the twentieth century are the real insecurities and the struggle to prove each country’s superiority.  The fact that they practiced and published what each other would do in case of war mounted even greater fears over each other. It was inevitable that war would eventually breakout. Because of these tensions over ten million men died during the conflict that followed. Europe was devastated during the First World War, so much so, that they lost their stage in the world order. Even though alliances were created throughout Europe, the United States replaced them as the new super power. Another disaster in Europe and in the world was the great depression, which ruined many fortunes. It would take Europe several decades to regain the position they lost in the worlds order. In many ways they are still second to the United States. 

Module 8 - Pandemics

Pandemics

 

Humanity has been battling pandemics like the Corona Virus or COVID-19 for many millenniums. Overtime, the planet has seen many mutations of viruses and we have always figured out a way to coexist. Many plagues have been well recorded. Two in particular are the plague of Afro-Eurasian and the Small Pox pandemic in Mesoamerica. Both have similarities to the novel Corona Virus. 

The Afro-Eurasian pandemic began in China in 1331 and wiped out about 50% to 90% of the population. By some account about half of the European population died from the disease in just the first two years.  The disease was so deadly, it was coined the Black Death. This disease was carried by rodents and transmitted to humans by fleas, a resemblance to the Corona Virus, almost 700 years later, traveling from bats and making the leap in the genome to humans. Basically, transferring from animal to human. The Black Death took about 50 years to get to East Africa. It’s believed it was brought there through the Chinese maritime expeditions. Another similarity to how the Corona Virus traveled in a matter of months from China to the United States via modern air travel. 

The second devastating pandemic was the Small Pox pandemic that swept though Mesoamerica with the arrival of the Spanish Monarchy. The Spanish brought diseases the native people of Mesoamerica had not been exposed to. Diseases brought to the continent were Smallpox, Measles, Typhus, Influenza, Malaria, and Yellow Fever. Influenza is one of those virus that has mutated overtime and generally attacks the respiratory track similar to Corona Virus. It is unknown whether it was a form of the Corona Virus. Either way, without modern medicine many people perished. Some estimates say approximately 9 out of 10 people died. The time became known as the Great Dying. The similarity to the Corona Virus is that others brought the diseases to the “new world”. 

Living in Mexico for the first few years of my life, I’m a walking example of the Smallpox vaccine given to every Mexican child, most likely because of the Great Dying era. It’s been 400 years and people still fear that time period. I have a scar on my right shoulder from the vaccine but at least I’m safe of that. 

 

The Corona Virus pandemic of 2020 has turned our world upside down. We were a thriving country full of energy, confidence, and hope. Only 6 months ago, we were all out enjoying the nice California weather. We had good paying jobs. We were eating and hanging out, enjoying the latest beer gardens. We were confident of our finances and future. Many of us hoped to walk the stage this past May and graduate along side other students who have sacrificed to return to school in hopes of a better life. The Notre Dame de Namur graduation did not happen. Many people have lost their jobs. Confidence has hit an all time low. What a difference six months and one pandemic can make. If only there were a vaccine, I would sacrifice my other shoulder for a scar just so we can all get back to a normal life.   

 

References: Robert W. Strayer, Eric W. Nelson - Ways of the World_ A Brief Global History with Sources, Combined Volume (2015, Bedford_St. Martin’s) - libgen.lc.pdf

Our State of the Union on this day July 4th, 2020

Our State of the Union on this day July 4^th, 2020. Throughout the text book we read about “enlightenment”. From the Buddhist challenges in and around 486 B.C.E. and numerous Chinese rebellions, to the Western World and the Columbus voyages, have all experienced “enlightenment”. Most recently for our young Country it was the Atlantic revolution where the idea of liberty and equality were most prominent and our founding fathers were enlightened. 

As is well documented, the founding fathers were disillusioned with the Government and how poorly represented they were by the Kingdom of Great Brittan. It was because of the above that the citizens rebelled and said enough. They declared independence from the Great Brittan and were specifically upset with King George III. They were upset because the British levied additional taxes on the Colonies, “…seeking new revenue from its landowners.” as the text describes on page 702. The actions of taxation without representation caused the launch of the North American revolution.  

“As the Englishman John Locke (1632–1704) had argued, the “social contract” between ruler and ruled should last only as long as it served the people well.” This way of thinking emboldened the Colonies to take matters into their own hands. One can also make the conclusion that the Atlantic revolutions further motivated the Colonies to organize against the established rule and establish their own democratic revolutions.   

 

The Colonies made the bold statement to declare independence from Great Brittan with the Declaration of Independence on July 4^th, 1776 approximately one year after the war between the Colonies and Great Brittan had began. The Colonists were especially upset with King George III, so much that they wrote about his total disregard for this segment of English people inside the Declaration of Independence. 

 

Everything in chapter 16 seems to be a repeat of what is happening in the current state of the nation. People are upset that they are not well represented. People do not feel safe, as is written in the Declaration of Independence. People understand, even though men were created equal, men do not have equal rights and they are fed up. The Nation has seen this in all of the recent protest and calls for justice. People of this nation are still struggling with the similar issues as they were 244 years ago. They still are rebelling against a “King George III” who would not listen to their outcry. King George III was cruel and only cared about using the colonies for his own good. Very similar to the current United States President abusing his power and using immigration as a tool for political gains.  

 

One of the passages in the Declaration of Independence states, “… He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither and raising the conditions to new Appropriations of Land...” The passage is similar to the current president’s way of thinking. 

 

One can only wonder if we are experiencing the beginning of a modern revolution where people are tired of not being heard, not feeling safe, not being represented, and feeling oppressed by it’s “leader.”  

The nation currently celebrates its independence on July 4^th even though the United States of America was not recognized as independent from Great Brittan until September 3, 1783. One can only wonder if we are seeing the makings of a new revolt and new Declaration of Independence. Will this nation celebrate a new day where all men and women are seeing as created equal and will finally have proper representation. 

 

References:            

 

Robert W. Strayer, Eric W. Nelson - Ways of the World_ A Brief Global History with Sources, Combined Volume (2015, Bedford_St. Martin’s) - libgen.lc.pdf 

 

Declaration of Independence reading by Max McLean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uE-tqe0xsQ

Response to Oliver's Question #9

Oliver #9 The picture I chose is the Educated Elite which was showing asian people dressed up in European clothing posing for a photo, specifically its King Chulalongkom of Siam with the crown prince and other young students.  I suppose Strayer chose to include this because the identity and cultural change in the colonial era started to integrate or almost disregard native's own traditions to trade for another which is a constant conception of image throughout history in the attempt to blend in or look more "modern" or "fashionable" in which they would think to be more accepted.  Especially in this chapter, influence from others in regards to social status would depict those who are looked upon as inferior believe that this is whats right or how people should look.  The European presence changed the cultural identity of these Asian people, but what I wonder is if they were forced, was it their choice, a suggestion that planted an idea in their mind to accept, or truly became interested in the style as it indicated that they "enthusiastically embraced the culture and lifestyle of Europe."

Oliver,

You pose a very interesting question when presenting your answer to question number nine. Did the people in the picture really embrace the western culture or were they forced to wear those clothes. I feel that many times we begin to wear clothes because it makes us feel a certain way about our "status" particularly when you talk about a nice outfit or a nice watch. It tells most people, "hey look at me, I've made it". I'm sure this is the case for many people. I know that when young people by a new fancy car, especially a high end German car, it says, "I'm doing pretty good for myself". I can speak from experience when I was 32 years old and I bought my first BMW. 

I really hope that the gentlemen in the picture feel good about the clothes they are wearing and that they feel as proud as when I bought my first German car. I hope they were able to reflect at their own image and say, "look at me, I made it". 

Good work Oliver. 

Module 7

1.) The Great Dying was a dramatic event in the Americas where many native people succumbed to death due the European migration.  Examples and details from historical records are show in artwork from an Aztec Artist on page 561. The picture shows disease and death among Aztecs. In page 559 we read, “Central Mexico, with a population estimated at some 10 to 20 million before the Spanish conquest, declined to about 1 million by 1650.”

 

Although the Spanish were looking for new sources of wealth and invaded the Americas, their actions could not be considered genocide. They were greedy but they did not intend to cause disease and kill off the native people. The killing of large amounts of people was an unanticipated consequence. 

 

2) The Native Siberians and Native Americans have several things in common in terms of their experiences with Europeans during the early Modern period. The Russians invaded the Siberians just as the Spanish invaded the Native people of Mesoamerica. They also took their land and abused their people particularly their women. Both groups suffered many deaths due to the invasions. 

 

3) The history and impact of the Indian Ocean trade network from the Classical to Modern periods was very interesting because it began by mirroring the Silk Road trade system where good were transported and traded from one country to another. The Indian Ocean trade had existed for years but it reached its peak at about 1000 C.E. when Venice became one of the major trading posts. Venice traded between the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Black Sea and Atlantic Coast. As time went on they learned how to navigate the waters during Summer and Winter months.   

 

4) What’s most surprising about the pie chart titled “The Destinations of Slaves” is that the percentages of slaves who disembarked in different parts of the Americas is very low compared to other parts of the world. The factors that explain why the percentages were this way are the need for large scale manual labor demands of the plantation economies in the Caribbean and Brazil and due to the large scale sugar cane production for the old world. The reason the number of slaves were so low in the Americas is because slaves were needed to live on the property of land owners to help with their local production of goods on a smaller scale where as in the Caribbean and Brazil mass production was required.    

 

5) When Strayer writes about the “echoes of Atlantic Revolutions” he’s referring to the Haitian revolution again the French. The 1700 proved to be the century of the revolutions. An example from the historical record includes the North American Revolution between 1775 – 1787 when the United States of America gained independence from England on page 701 similar to how the Haitian’s gain independence from France in as written on page 697. The 

Atlantic Revolutions are still echoing in the 21^stCentury this time do to the disparity between the rich and the poor. Bernie Sanders brought this to light in recent times. The other pressing revolution in the 21^stCentury is the crime and equality against minority races in this country. 

 

 

6) Feminists and abolitionists had in common the need for equality. They both wanted people to be treated fairly and just. Abolitionist wanted to end slavery and Feminist wanted equal education and rights for both women and slaves. They work together on issues in order to have a bigger voice and to be better herd. Feminist effectively challenged male dominance. 

 

8) The Industrial Revolution was an economical revolution sparked by the colonial empires in the Americas as well as the changing global connections of trade and power. Greater information, as well as other goods could be traded in order to enhance the live of others. The Industrial Revolution began in Europe where all the machinery and housing was built out and ready served. It began with better navigation across the Atlantic Ocean and communication with the world. The long-term significance of the Industrial Revolution to people, cities and the planet are still felt today. People live more convenient lives because of modernization. Cities are bigger in scale and can fit many more people than they could originally. These people are able to work and produce goods and serves that help the country overall. The bad consequence to the Industrial Revolution is that we have seen our planet degraded over in this same time period. Our planet has become warmers, the air has become filled with more carbon and Ozone layer in the atmosphere has begun to disappear. This can all be traced back to the Industrial Revolution’s time period.   

 

 

9) Strayer chose to include those power and specific images to demonstrate how the European depicted other races as inferior to them selves. European saw others races and less developed than they. They illustrate unequal concepts because their perception was that of a superior, smarter, and more accomplished people. The pictures used in the chapter were a simple unfounded conclusion they had developed about others because of their way of thinking.  

In general my thoughts about the European Racial Images on page 791 speaks to the ingnorance and arrogance of European people. It also speaks to their greed and how they saw them selves to be better than people of a different race. Europeans had originally distinguished themselves from other religions but with the introduction of new races they quickly turned to comparing themselves as superiors power to other races. 

Ref: European Racial Images (p.791)