Chapters 22 and 23

Ch 22

Struggles for Independence

                Asia and Middle East in 1940s

                African colonies 1950s-1970s

Empires dissolved into many countries

End of European colonial rule perhaps falls under “conjuncture”—several separate developments coming together at one time…weakening of Europe after both world wars plus the thwo superpowers opposing them.  Additionally social and economic circumstances within the colonies themselves.

 

Independence took varying times from as little as four years to many decades.

 

India – Ghandi was a central figure for independence from British rule.  Did not call for social revolution but moral transformation of individuals.

 

South Africa ending Apartheid

                Independent from Great Britain in 1910

                Under the control of white settler minority (20%) with blacks having no rights. Central figure was Nelson Mandella.

 

Almost everywhere the moment of freedom generated something close to euphoria.

 

Once independent, countries had to choose a political system…communism, multi-party democracy, one-party democracy and personal dictatorship.

 

Turkey – Ataturk sought to transform his country to a modern, secular and national state.  He attempted to try and separate politics from Islam.  Viewed women as equal to men.

 

Iran – followed suite with Turkey under the Shah.  Went in the opposite direction when the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power.

 

Ch 23

World Economy

Capitalists wanted to ensure a good global economy after WWII.  Created the IMF and Bretton Woods System…in 1970s major capitalist countries abandoned earlier economic systems and viewed the world as one single market.

 

World economic growth grew by 10x from 1950-2009

 

Inflated housing market in the U.S. collapsed in 2008

 

U.S. global presence has been seen by some as an “informal empire”

 

Feminism

                Second wave focused on employment and education rather than voting rights

                Global South – motherhood, marriage and poverty

                International – women’s rights are human rights

 

Fundamentalists – cosmic war between good and evil

                Islam prominent fundamentalists of the late 20^th century – Al Queda attacked U.S on 9/11

 

Environmentalists

                Use of fossil fuels skyrocketed in the 20^th century from human activity/human footprint

 

Reflections

                Suffering is a common bedrock of human experience

                Hope is there as well, but according to Strayer, the recent past demonstrates a case for despair…look harder and you can see reason for hope (ending of slavery, people free of empires, women gaining equality, communism brought to its knees)

                Otherness – fearful of difference…our experience is the norm.  We should open ourselves up to a wider world…looking at history through this wider experience is sometimes painful but always enriching.

Chapters 20-21

Ch 20

 

First World War

                Germany “place in the sun”

                Fluctuating balance of power in Europe

                Accident – Serb nationalist assassinated the Archduke

                Lasted four years with defeat of Germany

 

Great Depression

                1929 – capitalism seemed to unravel

                World trade dropped 62%

                Unemployment hit 30%

                US response was FDR New deal (social security, min wage, public spending – highways, bridges, parks, etc.)

                Europe – fascism (revitalize and purify)…Mussolini and Hitler

               

Japan – Revolutionary Right

 

Second World War

                Genuinely global  - independent origins in Europe and Asia

                Japan went to war with China

                Japan attacked US in response to oil embargo and negotiations ended regarding hostility from US to Japan

                US entered the war in the Pacific which ended when US used atomic bombs in 1945

                Germany started their territorial expansion slowly than more aggressively .  Ended when the Soviet Union began to fight back and the US joined.

 

Recovery of Europe – civilization did not permanently collapse and rebuilt themselves in the second half of the twentieth century.

 

Ch 21

Communism – roots with Karl Marx

                1970s – 1/3 of the world’s population lived in societies with communist regimes

 

Russia – communists came to power after the revolution in 1917…Bolsheviks hit up workers…communist island next 25 years.

China – communism came in 1949—hit up peasants…recruited women by liberation and marriage law…aided by Japan invasion

Communist regimes built socialism.

Communist countries pioneered forms of women’s liberation.  Soviets Union women entered workforce

Soviet Union – culminated in terror/great purges late 1930s. 

 

Global divide/cold war

                Few years after WWII, USSR/US major political/military powers – sharply opposing views

                Nuclear Standoff – cuban missile crisis

 

China – reformed following Mao’s death in 1976 reulting in economic growth and prosperity…entered 2000 growing economic power/essentially capitalist economy with communist rule.

 

Russia-  according to Strayer – it was Gobachev’s decisions which ended communism in the soviet union.  (Economic perestoika and social policy glasnost)  He refused to use force against protesters…15 new/independent states emerged from fall of ussr.              

Chapters 16-18

Ch 16

 

Atlantic Revolutions

 

North American Revolution

                1175-1787

                Independence from Britain – union of 13 colonies into one nation

 

French Revolution

                1789-1815

                Soldiers returning home from American revolution wanted the same for them

                Driven from within as opposed to distant ruler

 

Haitian Revolution

                1791-1804

                Slaves started it with a massive revolt

 

Spanish American Revolutions

                1810-1825

                Royal Authority in disarray

                Lasted longer because societies were so divided

 

Abolition of Slavery

                Enlightenment Thinkers were critical of slavery

                Out of date and unnecessary industrial technology

                Moral virtue and economic success were joined

 

Nations and Nationalism

                Atlantic revolutions gave prominence to human community – the nation.

 

Feminist Movement

                Thinkers of Enlightenment challenged female inferiority

                Started with isolated voices and turned into a mass movement by the end of the century

 

Ch 17

 

Industrial Revolution

                Shift to nonrenewable energies

                Increase of goods and services

                Led to new social classes (aristocracy, middle class, laboring classes)

 

Social Protest

                Laboring Classes started to reform

                Russia - Socialist views gradually spread within the working class (Owen and Marx)

                Europeans – prompted massive migration

                U.S. – union organizations were conservative, massive immigration led to diversity, middle-class aspirations found socialism less attractive

 

Russia – Revolution

                Sole outpost of monarchy

                Workers went on strike and created soviets

 

Ch 18

Second wave of European conquests

                Focused in Asia and Africa

                “scientific racism”

                Forced labor

 

Wage Labor – migrating to work

 

Women were clearly subordinate to men but  African women had measure of economic autonomy

 

Education – colonizers used education as a means of uplifting native races

 

Religion – missionaries brought religion, medicine and education plus other

Chapters 13-15

Ch 13

European Empires in Americas

                Conquered territories were separated by an ocean, not just adjacent land

 

European Advantage

                Geographic Location

                Innovations in sailing (mapmaking, ship design, etc.)

                Motivated to better compete in Eurasian commerce

 

Great Dying

                Collapse of Native American societies

                90% of population died

                Smallpox/hunger

 

Columbia Exchange

                Brought plants and animals which thrived (wheat, rice, sugarcane plus horses, pigs, cattle, goats)

Aztecs and Incas

Colonies of Sugar

                Brazil and Caribbean

                                Slave labor…labor intensive

Steppes and Siberia

                Russian Empire

Soft gold of fur trades

                Took shape between 1500-1800

                Influx of Russian settlers

 

Asian Empires

                Chinese pushed into central euroasia

                Didn’t transform the imperial homeland

China Empire

                Qing dynasty – brought the region firmly into Chinese empire

 

Ch 14

European and Asia Commerce

                Tropical spices

 

Portuguese Commerce

                Technology on their ships were good

                Trading post empire in the indian ocean

 

Spain and the Philippines

                First to challenge Portugal

                Took over plantations and took harvest

 

East India Companies

                Privately hired companies to conquest

 

Silver

                One of the first major commodities to be exchanged on a global scale

 

World Hunt

                Fur – warmth and conveyed status

 

Atlantic Slave Trade

                Stimulated by plantation complex of Americas

 

Slave trade in practice

                Initial capture to sale on the coast was handled by Africans

                Europeans waited on the coast- rarely tried to conquer

 

Destinations of slaves – Brazil 45%, Caribbean 45%, Spanish America 5%, North America 4%

 

Impact of Slave Trade

                Slowed Africa’s growth

                Moral corruption in Africa

 

Ch 15

Globalization of Christianity

                Divided between Roman Catholics and Orthodox

 

Western Christian – Protestant

 

Conversion in Spanish America – religion of the victors took hold…Europeans saw their political and military success as power of Christian God

 

China – accepted Jesuits because of the educated elites…continued with Confucian framework

 

Kept pushing for Christianity in African culture – over time they incorporated them

 

India – bridged hindu/muslim divide

 

Science – cultural revolution …challenged the understanding of the universe

                Many thinkers particularly in astronomy

Chapters 9, 11-12

Ch 9

Islam

Arabian Peninsula

Muhammad 570-632 ce

                Revelations recorded in Quran

Mecca – revelations attracted a small following

Medina- began to create a new society and independence from Judaism

Profound transformation in just over 20 years…new religion was born

 

Arab Empire

                War, Conquest and tolerance

                Able to practice own religion as long as one paid a tax

 

Difficult to have a unified Muslim community

Women were viewed as subordinate

Made strides in math and science

 

Ch 11-12

Pastoral Societies

Mongols – stunning entry…largest land-based empire in all of human history

                Didn’t add much in terms of language, religion or civilization

Chinggis Khan – unified Mongol tribes…powerful army, thought he could unite the entire world into one empire

Mongols conquered China – allowed many accommodations since the mongols had no experience running their complex society

Mongols conquered Persia – shock to Islams, pushed peasants off of their land due to taxing and punishments …some sectors gained- wine & silk

Mongols conquered Russia – not much to take so they decided not to occupy…still collected tributes

Mongols played a major role in trade and disease

Plague/black death

Ming Dynasty – eliminate all signs of foreign rule, relocated capital to Beijing, reestablished civil service exam system, restored cultivation

Europe- cultural blossoming Renaissance

                Maritime expeditions/explorers

Ottoman – caliph renewed unity for Islam, reversed roles from the crusades

Aztec – Mexico, sun was central to all life, women seemed to have a more level field with men

Inca – Western Hemisphere’s largest imperial state

Chapters 7, 8 and 10

 Ch 7

Silk Roads

                China – silk, bamboo

                Siberia – furs, amber livestock

                India – cotton, medicine, precious stones

                Middle East – dates, nuts, almonds, dried fruit

                Med Basin – gold, glassware, perfume, grapevines

               

                Powerful states provided security

                Buddhism culture spread as well as disease

 

Sea Roads

                Indian Ocean paralleling silk road connected China with Africa

                China – silk, porcelain, tea

                India – grain, ivory, precious stones

                Arabia – frankincense, myrth, perfumes

                Africa – ivory, gold, iron

                Med Basin – ceramics, glassware, wine, gold, olive oil

 

Sand Roads

                Across the Sahara from Africa to the Mediterranean

                Gold, Salt and Slaves

 

Ch 8

China

                Unified/Golden age (Tand and Song)

                Women were still subordinate to men

                Tribute system

                Examination system

                Urban cities

Vietnam/China – fast growing rice

Japan/China – separated by 100 miles. 

                Japan’s borrowing of China’s ideas were voluntary

China/Eurasian

                China’s economic growth had a major impact throughout Eurasia

                China was recipient of the third-wave era

 

Buddhism came into China from the silk road and took root there

 

Ch 10

Christianity was around in Asia and Africa until Islam replaced most of it

Byzantine – no clear starting point.  Believed to be continuation from roamn empire

                Central player in the trade with euroasia

Russia – cultural diverse

West – rebuilt after the roman collapse

                Feudalism

                Crusades

                Cities were smaller and weaker compared to China/India/Islam

Pluralism – multicentered political system

Chapters 3-6

Ch 3

Empires and Civilizations

                500 bce-500ce had a second wave of civilizations

Persian Empire – largest and most impressive

                Held together with conquest and royal decree but also by effective administrative system

                Power was centralized

                Led by monarchy

                Strong military

 

Greek

                Hundreds of city-states and small settlements

                Small peninsula and 2-3 million people

                Led by citizenship

 

Greco-Persian Wars

                Greeks held off the Persians, against all odds, on land and sea

                Victories led to a Golden Age for Greece

 

Roman/Chinese Empires

                Roughly the same time 200 bce-200ce & similar size 50-60 million (half of the world’s population)

                Dimly aware of e ach other

 

Fall of the Roman Empire

                Many invasions/fewer soldiers

                Infrastructure broke down/less food

 

India 600 bce…Mauryan Empire

 

Ch 4

China

                Legalist View – clear rules and strictly enforced

                Confusion – thinker/teacher…social harmony through moral example. Secular outlook

                Daoist – Laozi – withdrawal from the world, simple living, end of striving

 

Buddhist – enlightenment…simplified and more accessible version of Hinduism

Hinduism – Brahma, karma, rebirth

Zoroastiasm – single high God…cosmic battle of good and evil

Judaism – High God…covenant with chosen people

 

Classical Greece – rational knowing

                Thinkers – Socrates, Plato

 

Christianity – revitalize traditions from which Jesus came from

 

Ch 5

China

                Elite of officials – landlord, peasants merchants

Castes

                India – Varna (priests/warriors/merchants/labor)

 

Roman Empire had slavery

Subordination of Women continued – even within same empire (Athens and Sparta)

 

Ch 6

Civilizations of Africa – differences grew out of environmental variations

Egypt – Nubian and Meroe

Axum- Christian kingdom – economy based on highly productive agriculture

Niger River – urbanization with no state structure

 

Maya- concept of zero and complex math

Teotihuacan – largest urban complex in the Americas

Andes – Incas

Chavin – desert coastal region and rain forests

Moche – governed by warrior-priests…excellent craftspeople

Ch 1 and 2

History of the Planet-

                Emergence of solar system 4.7 billion years ago

                Life 600 million years ago

 

Most history books focus on only the human species

What we usually study comes in the final days of the December “calendar”

                U.S.A. has been around for only the last second

 

History of human species broken down into three major phases- Paleolithic, Agricultural Revolution and Industrial Revolution

Three Cs of the world history- Change, comparison and Connection

 

Ch1

First 150K years of humans were in Africa

Intro to Eurasia was 45K years ago

Intro to Australia was 60K years ago

Intro to Americas was 15K-30K years ago

Intro to Pacific was 3,500 years ago

 

First human societies were Paleolithic and small bands of 25-50 people

Relationships between men and women were far more equal than later societies

 

Settling Down

Largest change to lives of Paleolithic occurred at the end of the last Ice Age- 16K to 10K years ago

Societies in Japan settled by the sea

 

Agriculture

This replaced gathering and hunting

Revolutionary aspect – relationship between humankind and other living things

Humans were directing the process of revolution

Intensification – more food and resources for less

Simple technology – digging stick/hoe

First full area to experience the Agricultural Rev was the Fertile Crescent

Domestication of plants and animals

 

Ch2

Emergence of Civilizations

Earliest emerged around 3500BC – southern Mesopotamia, Egypt and central coast of Peru

Civilizations had their roots in the Agricultural Revolution

Urban revolution- cities.  Uruk (in Mesopotamia) had walls around the city

Hierarchies of Class and Gender began to appear

Women were thought to be paternalistic and were offered protection but must have submitted to men

Rise of States – organized around cities or large territories

Writing and Accounting began

Interaction and exchange took place often between the early civilizations of Mes and Egypt