Hello, everyone!
Today, I would like to talk about the civilization that isn't talked about enough in Western history books: the Mongol Empire. They were a very successful group of pastoral people that are most often painted as bad guys by the losers in history. This is because they didn't really write down history themselves, so we have to get it from unbiased sources.
So let's talk about the Mongols in a more neutral way.
This is Chapter 11, by the way. It's the last post of the year.
First, let's admire their equality toward women. Women were not treated very well throughout history, but in the Mongol Empire? They were also in battles! There was even a Mongol princess that had a huge winning streak when it came to wrestling. It must have been strange for a patriarchal empire to see women on the battlefield, but maybe that was one of the reasons why they won so many battles. Since women make up roughly half of the human population, why not have them conquer with you?
The Mongols really liked ruling China. They liked ruling China so much, they started their own laws to benefit the empire and oppress the Chinese people. The law discriminated the Chinese very clearly, so it's no wonder China tried to get rid of all evidence of Mongolian rule after the Mongolians stopped ruling China.
But you know what country was never under the influence of the Mongol Empire? It was Japan. The Mongols just couldn't win against Japan. The victory was so impressive to the Japanese that they invented a new word during the battle: kamikaze. It means "divine wind," referring to the typhoons that caused the Mongols to leave. Yes, the term was also used in World War II, but it wasn't referring to typhoons anymore.
Also, it was really impressive how the Mongols didn't convert people to their religion. Instead, they were very accepting of other people's religions. They also used shamans in their Mongolian religion, which had similar roles to fortune tellers (telling the future, talking to spirits, etc.). It's amazing how it didn't spread as they spread, as that's really rare in history not to see forced conversions while conquering.
Finally, the Mongol Empire encouraged trade with other countries. It was great that medical practices were spread throughout Eurasia, but it wasn't great that the Black Death spread throughout Eurasia. On the bright side, both things lead to Europe becoming really strong, which, like Mongolian trade, was a mixed bag. Coincidentally, both European colonization and Mongolian trade lead to the spread of diseases, but unlike Mongolian trade, the Native Americans did not benefit from smallpox.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Madison Rambles #14: The Different Civilizations + Columbus's Journey
Hello, everyone!
Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and discovered America after losing his way to India. That may sound ridiculous today, but people actually believed that a century ago. There's a lot of controversy over Columbus Day because it's celebrating the genocide of Native Americans, so we won't be celebrating Columbus in this post.
Instead, I'll talk about the different civilizations around Columbus's time, including the Native Americans. It's a late counter-Columbus Day, if you will.
This is Chapter 12, by the way. We'll get to Chapter 11 soon, don't worry.
So Christopher Columbus was a complicated figure, to say the least. He was certainly not the hero everyone portrayed him to be, but even today, Columbus Day is still celebrated. Still, even if he is a terrible person for enslaving the Native Americans and spreading plagues, he did represent a new era in history: colonialism. On one hand, the United States of America and Australia are successful countries due to colonialism. On the other hand, millions of people had to suffer, especially Native Americans and African people. No wonder America notoriously sugarcoats history (I even heard one of the reasons the Revolutionary War happened was because Britain started banning slaves).
China was going to go out to sea just like Europe, but they mysteriously stopped. Can you imagine what would happen if China colonized the world instead of Great Britain? Chinese, most likely Mandarin, would become the lingua franca, people would be complaining about the brutality of Chinese colonialism, languages would have to convert from their alphabet to Chinese characters often... someone should write a story on that. Though, considering China is becoming a world superpower again, I wouldn't be surprised that became the reality a century from now.
The Byzantine Empire was conquered by a 19-year-old Muslim. He had cannons, the Byzantine Empire had walls, and the Muslims managed to conquer the Byzantine Empire. That was the moment Rome truly fell: when a 19-year-old ruler told his soldiers to fire the cannons. It's the failures like these that make history entertaining, but at the same time, that conquer was brutal.
Finally, the Inca and Aztec Empire had something in common with the United States of America: the rags to riches story. It would go like this: people who lived very remote places quickly got an army together, conquered, and created a massive empire. They were run very differently, but it's amazing to see how developed they were. They even had artificial islands! They made fertile Sealand! I want to see those artificial islands and the crops on them right now.
Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and discovered America after losing his way to India. That may sound ridiculous today, but people actually believed that a century ago. There's a lot of controversy over Columbus Day because it's celebrating the genocide of Native Americans, so we won't be celebrating Columbus in this post.
Instead, I'll talk about the different civilizations around Columbus's time, including the Native Americans. It's a late counter-Columbus Day, if you will.
This is Chapter 12, by the way. We'll get to Chapter 11 soon, don't worry.
So Christopher Columbus was a complicated figure, to say the least. He was certainly not the hero everyone portrayed him to be, but even today, Columbus Day is still celebrated. Still, even if he is a terrible person for enslaving the Native Americans and spreading plagues, he did represent a new era in history: colonialism. On one hand, the United States of America and Australia are successful countries due to colonialism. On the other hand, millions of people had to suffer, especially Native Americans and African people. No wonder America notoriously sugarcoats history (I even heard one of the reasons the Revolutionary War happened was because Britain started banning slaves).
China was going to go out to sea just like Europe, but they mysteriously stopped. Can you imagine what would happen if China colonized the world instead of Great Britain? Chinese, most likely Mandarin, would become the lingua franca, people would be complaining about the brutality of Chinese colonialism, languages would have to convert from their alphabet to Chinese characters often... someone should write a story on that. Though, considering China is becoming a world superpower again, I wouldn't be surprised that became the reality a century from now.
The Byzantine Empire was conquered by a 19-year-old Muslim. He had cannons, the Byzantine Empire had walls, and the Muslims managed to conquer the Byzantine Empire. That was the moment Rome truly fell: when a 19-year-old ruler told his soldiers to fire the cannons. It's the failures like these that make history entertaining, but at the same time, that conquer was brutal.
Finally, the Inca and Aztec Empire had something in common with the United States of America: the rags to riches story. It would go like this: people who lived very remote places quickly got an army together, conquered, and created a massive empire. They were run very differently, but it's amazing to see how developed they were. They even had artificial islands! They made fertile Sealand! I want to see those artificial islands and the crops on them right now.
Monday, November 18, 2019
Madison Rambles #13: We're Finally Talking About China!
Hello, everyone!
Today, I'm going to announce that I'm doing these posts a little differently from now on. You see, the previous posts were long, talking about all of the previous sections and how I feel about them.
I'm not going to be talking about all the sections anymore. It took up to two hours to do, and honestly, that's not the kind of homework I want to do after a 30+ page reading.
So now, I'm going to make these blog posts more accurate to the title: I'm going to ramble. I'm just going to talk about my thoughts, regardless of section. Here I go...
By the way, I'm talking about Chapter 8.
Did you know that China did foot binding? The Chinese people would break a girl's foot, let it heal, and then break it again, going through the cycle until the girl's foot was small enough. It's very painful, and I'm glad it's not as popular anymore.
There was also the concept of "becoming Chinese," similar to the concept of "becoming American." That's because China was like the America of its time period! Even nowadays, China is starting to catch up to the United States. I wonder when it will overtake it...?
そして、中国の文化を覚えたかったので、日本人は中国に行きました。だから、日本語で書く時、漢字を使います！いいですね。しかし、漢字はすごく難しいので、漢検も難しいです。大変ですね…
(Also, because Japan wanted to learn about Chinese culture, Japanese people went to China. Because of that, when writing in Japanese, you use kanji (borrowed Chinese characters used in Japanese)! Isn't that great? However, because kanji are very difficult, the Kanken (a famous Japanese kanji test) is also very difficult. It's terrible, isn't it?)
Finally, let's talk about gunpowder, because China accidentally made it when they were making an elixir of life. It's great for fireworks... but it also helped to invent guns. And while that might have helped us in warfare, it also killed millions, if not billions of people. So it's really an ironic double-edged sword. And before anyone says that I'm using ironic wrong, an elixir of life that kills people is situational irony. There's no arguing that.
Today, I'm going to announce that I'm doing these posts a little differently from now on. You see, the previous posts were long, talking about all of the previous sections and how I feel about them.
I'm not going to be talking about all the sections anymore. It took up to two hours to do, and honestly, that's not the kind of homework I want to do after a 30+ page reading.
So now, I'm going to make these blog posts more accurate to the title: I'm going to ramble. I'm just going to talk about my thoughts, regardless of section. Here I go...
By the way, I'm talking about Chapter 8.
Did you know that China did foot binding? The Chinese people would break a girl's foot, let it heal, and then break it again, going through the cycle until the girl's foot was small enough. It's very painful, and I'm glad it's not as popular anymore.
There was also the concept of "becoming Chinese," similar to the concept of "becoming American." That's because China was like the America of its time period! Even nowadays, China is starting to catch up to the United States. I wonder when it will overtake it...?
そして、中国の文化を覚えたかったので、日本人は中国に行きました。だから、日本語で書く時、漢字を使います！いいですね。しかし、漢字はすごく難しいので、漢検も難しいです。大変ですね…
(Also, because Japan wanted to learn about Chinese culture, Japanese people went to China. Because of that, when writing in Japanese, you use kanji (borrowed Chinese characters used in Japanese)! Isn't that great? However, because kanji are very difficult, the Kanken (a famous Japanese kanji test) is also very difficult. It's terrible, isn't it?)
Finally, let's talk about gunpowder, because China accidentally made it when they were making an elixir of life. It's great for fireworks... but it also helped to invent guns. And while that might have helped us in warfare, it also killed millions, if not billions of people. So it's really an ironic double-edged sword. And before anyone says that I'm using ironic wrong, an elixir of life that kills people is situational irony. There's no arguing that.
Monday, November 4, 2019
Madison Rambles #12: Christian Division
Hello, everyone!
Last time, we talked about the second most popular religion in the world, Islam. Now, we're going to talk about the most popular religion in the world, if all groups are combined into one religion, Christianity.
I don't even think I need to explain what Christianity is. It's so popular, fiction references it constantly, whether it's Christmas, referencing the Holy Trinity, or even quoting directly from the Bible (and that's not even including the genre of Christian media, such as Veggietales).
So let's talk about the religion that represents nearly a third of the world, Christianity.
This is Chapter 10, by the way.
The Beginning of Chapter 10
Did you know that 60% of Christians come from Asia, Africa, or Latin America? I know; it's surprising how a religion that originated in Europe is mostly practiced in, well, not Europe. It shows the success in the spread of Christianity, rivaling even Islam. Though, I do hope most of that conversion was through personal choice and not through violent means...
Sometimes, "Christianity" is a bit too much of a broad term, because there are so many different types of Christianity. There's Eastern Orthodox, Catholicism, Protestantism, Anglicanism... there's a lot. And later on, we'll see how they sometimes don't get along very well.
Christian Contraction in Asia and Africa
In Asia and Africa, Christianity had to compete with other religions, most notably Islam.
In the Middle East, Islam stayed the dominant religion. While Christianity and Judaism were sometimes allowed to be practiced there, but they sometimes had to pay a tax. Occasionally, however, they faced violence, such as destroyed churches and having their crops burned. Religious freedom tended to vary depending on the ruler.
As for China, sometimes they allowed Christianity, and sometimes they didn't. Now, to my knowledge, Christianity can be practiced in China.
In Egypt, Christianity used to be the dominant religion until the Muslim conquest. However, today, roughly 10% of Egyptians identify as Christians, showing that it's very difficult to eradicate a religion from an area.
Byzantine Christendom: Building on the Roman Past
How did Christianity become the dominant religion? That would be mainly because of the Roman Emperor, Constantine.
However, by spreading Christianity throughout Rome, he ended up splitting the religion into two: Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism. This is because Rome was also split into Western Rome and the Byzantine Empire.
Eastern Orthodox and Catholicism did not get along well. They disagreed on several things, from where the Holy Spirit came from to even the importance of faith. This is most likely why the split is still here today.
By the way, did you know that Russia converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in 988? It's still a major part of Russia to this day.
Western Christendom: Rebuilding in the Wake of Roman Collapse
So Western Rome fell. Whether you believe it was due to invaders, Christianity, or Rome getting too lazy, Rome is now a distant memory that no longer exists. That led to the Dark Ages of Western Europe, a dangerous time of no central government.
Feudalism was born because people needed protection from invaders. They would give the landowners certain materials, and they would get protection in return. Contrary to popular belief, serfs had rights, and in some cases, it was better to be a serf than an independent, free citizen.
And then there were the Crusades, the religious wars of the era. I remember my high school history teacher teaching about the First and the Third Crusade, because, in his opinion, those were the most important and interesting ones. The Third Crusade in particular was of interest, and he even taught the legends behind the Christian kings teaming up to take back the Holy Land.
Interestingly, he argued that the Crusades are still happening today. Whether he's right or what events he's talking about is up to you.
The West in Comparative Perspective
Just like some U.S. presidents, nobody expected Europe to be the winner of so much of late world history. Even in the 1500's, they just started colonizing the New World and catching up to China and the Islamic World.
So what happened? They learned from other cultures.
Europe went back to Greek texts and learned how to think critically about the world around them. They learned medical knowledge and math from the Islamic world. They even copied some of China's technology, such as paper.
In the end, Europe became dominant in the world. It's descendant, the United States of America, is now a global superpower that rivals China. So it's worth it to learn about the past and to learn about other cultures, because they may have some useful knowledge that people could learn from.
Last time, we talked about the second most popular religion in the world, Islam. Now, we're going to talk about the most popular religion in the world, if all groups are combined into one religion, Christianity.
I don't even think I need to explain what Christianity is. It's so popular, fiction references it constantly, whether it's Christmas, referencing the Holy Trinity, or even quoting directly from the Bible (and that's not even including the genre of Christian media, such as Veggietales).
So let's talk about the religion that represents nearly a third of the world, Christianity.
This is Chapter 10, by the way.
The Beginning of Chapter 10
Did you know that 60% of Christians come from Asia, Africa, or Latin America? I know; it's surprising how a religion that originated in Europe is mostly practiced in, well, not Europe. It shows the success in the spread of Christianity, rivaling even Islam. Though, I do hope most of that conversion was through personal choice and not through violent means...
Sometimes, "Christianity" is a bit too much of a broad term, because there are so many different types of Christianity. There's Eastern Orthodox, Catholicism, Protestantism, Anglicanism... there's a lot. And later on, we'll see how they sometimes don't get along very well.
Christian Contraction in Asia and Africa
In Asia and Africa, Christianity had to compete with other religions, most notably Islam.
In the Middle East, Islam stayed the dominant religion. While Christianity and Judaism were sometimes allowed to be practiced there, but they sometimes had to pay a tax. Occasionally, however, they faced violence, such as destroyed churches and having their crops burned. Religious freedom tended to vary depending on the ruler.
As for China, sometimes they allowed Christianity, and sometimes they didn't. Now, to my knowledge, Christianity can be practiced in China.
In Egypt, Christianity used to be the dominant religion until the Muslim conquest. However, today, roughly 10% of Egyptians identify as Christians, showing that it's very difficult to eradicate a religion from an area.
Byzantine Christendom: Building on the Roman Past
How did Christianity become the dominant religion? That would be mainly because of the Roman Emperor, Constantine.
However, by spreading Christianity throughout Rome, he ended up splitting the religion into two: Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism. This is because Rome was also split into Western Rome and the Byzantine Empire.
Eastern Orthodox and Catholicism did not get along well. They disagreed on several things, from where the Holy Spirit came from to even the importance of faith. This is most likely why the split is still here today.
By the way, did you know that Russia converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in 988? It's still a major part of Russia to this day.
Western Christendom: Rebuilding in the Wake of Roman Collapse
So Western Rome fell. Whether you believe it was due to invaders, Christianity, or Rome getting too lazy, Rome is now a distant memory that no longer exists. That led to the Dark Ages of Western Europe, a dangerous time of no central government.
Feudalism was born because people needed protection from invaders. They would give the landowners certain materials, and they would get protection in return. Contrary to popular belief, serfs had rights, and in some cases, it was better to be a serf than an independent, free citizen.
And then there were the Crusades, the religious wars of the era. I remember my high school history teacher teaching about the First and the Third Crusade, because, in his opinion, those were the most important and interesting ones. The Third Crusade in particular was of interest, and he even taught the legends behind the Christian kings teaming up to take back the Holy Land.
Interestingly, he argued that the Crusades are still happening today. Whether he's right or what events he's talking about is up to you.
The West in Comparative Perspective
Just like some U.S. presidents, nobody expected Europe to be the winner of so much of late world history. Even in the 1500's, they just started colonizing the New World and catching up to China and the Islamic World.
So what happened? They learned from other cultures.
Europe went back to Greek texts and learned how to think critically about the world around them. They learned medical knowledge and math from the Islamic world. They even copied some of China's technology, such as paper.
In the end, Europe became dominant in the world. It's descendant, the United States of America, is now a global superpower that rivals China. So it's worth it to learn about the past and to learn about other cultures, because they may have some useful knowledge that people could learn from.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Madison Rambles #11: Talking About The Second Most Dominant Religion
Hello, everyone!
If you think that I'm going to talk about Islam today, then you're correct!
I know that tensions are high between the Americas and Islam, but it is very important to talk about Muslims and their religion. They represent a large part of the world and have contributed greatly to World History. If I can talk about Christianity and its effects on history, then I can talk about Islam.
Today, I'll talk about Chapter 9. Where's Chapter 8? We'll talk about it in a later blog post. It's pretty exciting.
Intro to Chapter 9
Islam is practiced by 23% of the world's population. That's nearly a fourth of the entire world! Many people think that Islam is only really practiced in the Middle East, but it's actually practiced all over the world. Even in America, there are Muslims that are proud of their religion and dedicating their lives to Allah.
Some may think that Christians and Muslims never got along, but that's far from the truth. In some places today, such as the largely Muslim Indonesia, Muslims and Christians get along well with each other. They share the same roots and the same God, so why shouldn't they be together?
But where did Islam come from? Well, it was actually pretty recent compared to other religions...
The Birth of a New Religion
Before Islam was the dominant religion, the central region of the Arabian Peninsula had a group of people called the Bedouins. They believed in multiple gods and nature spirits, so it was likely that they would reject the notion of one true God.
That is farther from the truth. When Muhammad the prophet told the people the word of Allah, the Bedouins started to accept the belief that their was only one true God, and eventually abandoned their previous gods.
Islam is mainly about submitting to Allah, the God of Islam, and is seen an an obligation to get into Paradise after death. It relies on the Pillars of Islam, the main values of Islam. They involve believing in only Allah, praying five times a day, giving to the poor, fasting during Ramadan, and going to Mecca every year. This shows that Islam is not only a religion, but also a lifestyle that teaches people how to be good.
The Making of an Arab Empire
In order to become the second most dominant religion in the world, Islam needed to spread quickly. And with the rise of the Arab army, Islam became prominent from Europe to China.
Unlike Christianity, though, people converted to Islam as more of a connivance than a need to convert. For example, in places where there were a jizya, or a tax on non-Muslims, people sometimes converted to escape the tax and possibly join the army, which was banned to non-Muslims.
This is a good time to bring up how Islam isn't a completely unified religion, just like how Christianity has Catholicism, Protestantism, Calvinism, and the other religious sects. The two major groups of Islam are the Sunni Muslims and the Shia Muslims. Even to this day, there is disagreement between them on the correct way to submit to Allah.
Islam and Cultural Encounter: A Four-Way Comparison
Remember how Muslims were dominating the Indian Ocean's trade routes? That had some benefits for the spread of Islam.
Islam spread to places outside of the Middle East, such as India and West Africa. However, due to their different cultures and distant locations, there was some conflict between Arab Muslims and the local culture. For example, Muslims did not like the erotic art or the multiple gods of Hinduism.
By the way, did you know that Spain was once ruled by Muslims? That's why some of Spanish's loan words are from Arabic (you can tell if they start with "al", such as almohada). However, the Muslims of the area did not expect the Spanish Inquisition and were kicked out by Ferdinand and Isabella. That was much after the religious tolerance in Spain went down, and turned into hatred for any religion that wasn't the dominant religion (first Islam, then Christianity).
The World of Islam as a New Civilization
Despite the threat of the Mongols and Christianity, Islam thrived throughout Eurasia.
As stated in the last blog post, Muslims were dominating trade routes, but goods weren't the only thing they gave to the world. They were also very intelligent and gave many mathematical and scientific concepts to the world. For example, the numbers we use everyday, around the world (1234567890) were invented by a Muslim. Algebra was also developed by Muslims, and several types of surgeries were invented by them.
Basically, Muslims were advanced for their time in some areas. Why we don't give them as much credit as Euclid or Isaac Newton is a mystery, especially since we use Arabic numbers much more than Calculus (look, I know he "discovered" gravity, but why only focus on revolutionary European people?).
If you think that I'm going to talk about Islam today, then you're correct!
I know that tensions are high between the Americas and Islam, but it is very important to talk about Muslims and their religion. They represent a large part of the world and have contributed greatly to World History. If I can talk about Christianity and its effects on history, then I can talk about Islam.
Today, I'll talk about Chapter 9. Where's Chapter 8? We'll talk about it in a later blog post. It's pretty exciting.
Intro to Chapter 9
Islam is practiced by 23% of the world's population. That's nearly a fourth of the entire world! Many people think that Islam is only really practiced in the Middle East, but it's actually practiced all over the world. Even in America, there are Muslims that are proud of their religion and dedicating their lives to Allah.
Some may think that Christians and Muslims never got along, but that's far from the truth. In some places today, such as the largely Muslim Indonesia, Muslims and Christians get along well with each other. They share the same roots and the same God, so why shouldn't they be together?
But where did Islam come from? Well, it was actually pretty recent compared to other religions...
The Birth of a New Religion
Before Islam was the dominant religion, the central region of the Arabian Peninsula had a group of people called the Bedouins. They believed in multiple gods and nature spirits, so it was likely that they would reject the notion of one true God.
That is farther from the truth. When Muhammad the prophet told the people the word of Allah, the Bedouins started to accept the belief that their was only one true God, and eventually abandoned their previous gods.
Islam is mainly about submitting to Allah, the God of Islam, and is seen an an obligation to get into Paradise after death. It relies on the Pillars of Islam, the main values of Islam. They involve believing in only Allah, praying five times a day, giving to the poor, fasting during Ramadan, and going to Mecca every year. This shows that Islam is not only a religion, but also a lifestyle that teaches people how to be good.
The Making of an Arab Empire
In order to become the second most dominant religion in the world, Islam needed to spread quickly. And with the rise of the Arab army, Islam became prominent from Europe to China.
Unlike Christianity, though, people converted to Islam as more of a connivance than a need to convert. For example, in places where there were a jizya, or a tax on non-Muslims, people sometimes converted to escape the tax and possibly join the army, which was banned to non-Muslims.
This is a good time to bring up how Islam isn't a completely unified religion, just like how Christianity has Catholicism, Protestantism, Calvinism, and the other religious sects. The two major groups of Islam are the Sunni Muslims and the Shia Muslims. Even to this day, there is disagreement between them on the correct way to submit to Allah.
Islam and Cultural Encounter: A Four-Way Comparison
Remember how Muslims were dominating the Indian Ocean's trade routes? That had some benefits for the spread of Islam.
Islam spread to places outside of the Middle East, such as India and West Africa. However, due to their different cultures and distant locations, there was some conflict between Arab Muslims and the local culture. For example, Muslims did not like the erotic art or the multiple gods of Hinduism.
By the way, did you know that Spain was once ruled by Muslims? That's why some of Spanish's loan words are from Arabic (you can tell if they start with "al", such as almohada). However, the Muslims of the area did not expect the Spanish Inquisition and were kicked out by Ferdinand and Isabella. That was much after the religious tolerance in Spain went down, and turned into hatred for any religion that wasn't the dominant religion (first Islam, then Christianity).
The World of Islam as a New Civilization
Despite the threat of the Mongols and Christianity, Islam thrived throughout Eurasia.
As stated in the last blog post, Muslims were dominating trade routes, but goods weren't the only thing they gave to the world. They were also very intelligent and gave many mathematical and scientific concepts to the world. For example, the numbers we use everyday, around the world (1234567890) were invented by a Muslim. Algebra was also developed by Muslims, and several types of surgeries were invented by them.
Basically, Muslims were advanced for their time in some areas. Why we don't give them as much credit as Euclid or Isaac Newton is a mystery, especially since we use Arabic numbers much more than Calculus (look, I know he "discovered" gravity, but why only focus on revolutionary European people?).
Monday, October 28, 2019
Madison Rambles #10: Trade and Plagues
Hello, everyone!
If you've read a history book before, you know about how obsessed the world is with trading. Even today, people talk about the economy and how good or atrocious it is.
But what was trade really like back then? Was it mainly via the Silk Road, or were there other main types of trade?
That's what this chapter is on! Today will be all of Chapter 7, a whole thirty pages! That was a lot to read in one sitting...
The Beginning of Chapter 7
Despite the controversy and working conditions that Amazon is notorious for, their business model is pretty revolutionary. The longest I've had to wait for an order was a month, and that was from Japan. Back then, if I were to order from Japan, I would have to wait a lot longer than a month.
But international trade is nothing new. For centuries, countries have traded with each other using large animals and trade routes, giving each other their goods, technology, and germs. Oh, and animals, too. Why else would there be cows all across the world?
But there is one trade item that was extremely popular, and even had a trade route named after it: silk.
Silk Roads: Exchange Across Eurasia
Do I even need to talk about the Silk Road? It's so well-known at this point, I don't even need to explain it.
But I will explain China's landmark product, silk. Silk used to be only made in China by women due to only China knowing how to make it. However, after a controversial origin that is still disputed to this day, the rest of the world learned how to make silk. It was still highly valuable in the world, and was even restricted to the wealthy in some parts of the world.
But silk wasn't the only thing traded on the Silk Road; culture was also spread in the Silk Road. Remember Buddhism? Despite it's original aversion to materialism, some who adopted Buddhism were rich and loved materialism. So in a way, the evolution of Buddhism is similar to the evolution of Christianity; it was anti-materialistic at the start, but that faded a bit when the rich started to adopt the religion.
However, not all was good on the Silk Road. Plagues were also spread on the trade route, most notoriously the Black Death. We don't need to talk about how disastrous that was, especially when the Europeans went to the Americas.
Sea Roads: Exchange Across the Indian Ocean
Not only was there trade by land, but trade by sea as well! Welcome to the Indian Ocean, the former largest maritime trade route.
Many Eurasian countries far and wide traded in the sea. Persia, China, African countries, India... it's a shock the history books barely talked about this trade route!
But there's one thing I want to talk about, and that's the Islamic influence in the Indian Ocean. Unlike Buddhism, which was anti-materialistic, Islam was founded by a merchant. This means that Muslims contributed greatly to the maritime culture. There were many Muslim merchants that traded in the Indian Ocean, and they converted many people to Islam.
In a nutshell, Buddhism is to the Silk Road as Islam is to the Indian Ocean.
Sand Roads: Exchange Across the Sahara
Along with the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean, there was the Sahara. And the African people couldn't do it without one animal: the camel.
We've talked so much about the culture of trade, but not enough about the animals who accomplished it. The camel has survived days without water, but it keeps on going, helping to transport the goods of the African people. Although cars replaced it in the 20th century, that doesn't excuse the centuries of trade the camel has brought the people of Africa.
Africa would have been more separated without the camel. Thank you, camel.
Speaking of separated and unable to trade very much...
An American Network: Commerce and Connection in the Western Hemisphere
We haven't forgotten about the Americas! So how did their trade fare without large animals to help out with their trade?
Well, they weren't as connected. They definitely weren't communicating with Eurasia frequently until Columbus, despite the Vikings coming over, so they weren't trading with them. And due to the lack of large animals, they didn't trade as much with each other as Eurasian countries did with each other.
However, there were signs of trade between the civilizations. For example, there was a rubber ball game that has traces in the Caribbean, Mexico, and northern South America. Also, there was an "American web" of trade that existed. However, it was not to the extent of the Eurasian trade routes, and it was more informal.
So it's not that they lacked trade. Instead, they were more loosely connected with an "American web" of trade.
If you've read a history book before, you know about how obsessed the world is with trading. Even today, people talk about the economy and how good or atrocious it is.
But what was trade really like back then? Was it mainly via the Silk Road, or were there other main types of trade?
That's what this chapter is on! Today will be all of Chapter 7, a whole thirty pages! That was a lot to read in one sitting...
The Beginning of Chapter 7
Despite the controversy and working conditions that Amazon is notorious for, their business model is pretty revolutionary. The longest I've had to wait for an order was a month, and that was from Japan. Back then, if I were to order from Japan, I would have to wait a lot longer than a month.
But international trade is nothing new. For centuries, countries have traded with each other using large animals and trade routes, giving each other their goods, technology, and germs. Oh, and animals, too. Why else would there be cows all across the world?
But there is one trade item that was extremely popular, and even had a trade route named after it: silk.
Silk Roads: Exchange Across Eurasia
Do I even need to talk about the Silk Road? It's so well-known at this point, I don't even need to explain it.
But I will explain China's landmark product, silk. Silk used to be only made in China by women due to only China knowing how to make it. However, after a controversial origin that is still disputed to this day, the rest of the world learned how to make silk. It was still highly valuable in the world, and was even restricted to the wealthy in some parts of the world.
But silk wasn't the only thing traded on the Silk Road; culture was also spread in the Silk Road. Remember Buddhism? Despite it's original aversion to materialism, some who adopted Buddhism were rich and loved materialism. So in a way, the evolution of Buddhism is similar to the evolution of Christianity; it was anti-materialistic at the start, but that faded a bit when the rich started to adopt the religion.
However, not all was good on the Silk Road. Plagues were also spread on the trade route, most notoriously the Black Death. We don't need to talk about how disastrous that was, especially when the Europeans went to the Americas.
Sea Roads: Exchange Across the Indian Ocean
Not only was there trade by land, but trade by sea as well! Welcome to the Indian Ocean, the former largest maritime trade route.
Many Eurasian countries far and wide traded in the sea. Persia, China, African countries, India... it's a shock the history books barely talked about this trade route!
But there's one thing I want to talk about, and that's the Islamic influence in the Indian Ocean. Unlike Buddhism, which was anti-materialistic, Islam was founded by a merchant. This means that Muslims contributed greatly to the maritime culture. There were many Muslim merchants that traded in the Indian Ocean, and they converted many people to Islam.
In a nutshell, Buddhism is to the Silk Road as Islam is to the Indian Ocean.
Sand Roads: Exchange Across the Sahara
Along with the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean, there was the Sahara. And the African people couldn't do it without one animal: the camel.
We've talked so much about the culture of trade, but not enough about the animals who accomplished it. The camel has survived days without water, but it keeps on going, helping to transport the goods of the African people. Although cars replaced it in the 20th century, that doesn't excuse the centuries of trade the camel has brought the people of Africa.
Africa would have been more separated without the camel. Thank you, camel.
Speaking of separated and unable to trade very much...
An American Network: Commerce and Connection in the Western Hemisphere
We haven't forgotten about the Americas! So how did their trade fare without large animals to help out with their trade?
Well, they weren't as connected. They definitely weren't communicating with Eurasia frequently until Columbus, despite the Vikings coming over, so they weren't trading with them. And due to the lack of large animals, they didn't trade as much with each other as Eurasian countries did with each other.
However, there were signs of trade between the civilizations. For example, there was a rubber ball game that has traces in the Caribbean, Mexico, and northern South America. Also, there was an "American web" of trade that existed. However, it was not to the extent of the Eurasian trade routes, and it was more informal.
So it's not that they lacked trade. Instead, they were more loosely connected with an "American web" of trade.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Madison Rambles #9: Focusing on Non-Eurasian Societies
Hello, everyone!
It's time for one of the least Eurocentric blog posts. Today, we're going to talk about ancient Africa, America, and Pacific Oceania history. History books tend to neglect these civilizations with few exceptions, so I have learned a lot about these civilizations today.
We're going to be talking about the entirety of Chapter Six today.
The Beginning of Chapter Six
Native American people still exist today. History books tend to act like Native Americans disappeared in the 1800's, but that is far from the truth. Native Americans are still alive today, and have faced much discrimination since European colonization.
And the Native Americans aren't alone. Africa and Pacific Oceania also have their histories neglected. So how about we finally talk about their true history, so they don't feel excluded or discriminated against in the history books?
Continental Comparisons
So besides, "Europeans are biased," why do histories books neglect three continents' worth of history?
The book justifies this by saying that Eurasia was home to more than 85% of the world's population. This was mainly because of the lack of large animals to domesticate in those regions, so it was harder to have a large population in those areas.
Also, some of these places lacked a writing system, or tended not to write as much down as Rome or China. This meant that historians had less to work with, so they have less to put in the history books.
Honestly, that's a good reason for why we know less about these societies, but not why we sometimes neglect to talk about these societies. Because at the end of the day, this is world history, right? Even in my sixth grade world history class, the most we talked about Africa was Egypt and the other species of the genus Homo.
Civilizations of Africa
Did you know that Africa is not a country, but a continent? Sometimes, it seems like people tend to forget that. Africa isn't one country with one culture; it's many countries with many different cultures.
The Kingdom of Menroe was one such culture. Sometimes led by women, the Kingdom of Menroe was rich and had a strong military. Trade was strong there, and the civilization seemed unstoppable... until deforestation happened. Now, Nubia, the region it took place in, is part of Egypt and Sudan.
Then, there was Axum. Instead of focusing on hoe-based farming, they used plow-based farming. They eventually grew and became a major empire, after Rome and Persia. Christianity took hold there, and then... they also fell from deforestation. They also didn't take good care of the soil, and Islam altered its trade roots, so the civilization fell.
That means that the three major civilizations fell, showing how fragile they truly are. It's sad how we only talk about Rome and Persia, but not Axum.
Civilizations of Mesoamerica
The "New World" isn't quite new, as people have been living there for centuries. In fact, Christopher Columbus technically didn't discover it, as people were already there! Even if people said, "He was the first European to discover it," Leif Erikson beat him to it.
Anyway, the most prominent of these Mesoamerican civilizations was the Maya people. They made some pretty amazing discoveries in their lifetime! They could do complex calculations, predict eclipses, plot the cycle of the planets, make their own calendars... they did much more than we think! The Maya people still survive to this day, but some parts of their empire has collapsed. Even then, we need to give them more credit for their discoveries, instead of making fake conspiracy theories about the world ending because, "their Mayan calendar ended!"
I also want to give credit to the Teotihuacan, for having complex architecture and for creating impressive art. It's pretty impressive what these civilizations could do, and we don't give them enough credit.
Civilizations of the Andres
The Incas weren't the only civilization in the Andres.
There were also the village, Chavin de Huantar, which started a religious movement. There was also the Moche, that had the land ruled by warrior priests, and the Wari and Tiwanaku, two very separate civilizations.
Why weren't they really talked about? Well, they never really wrote anything down, so archaeologists have to use archaeological findings in order to find out more about them. So I'm a bit skeptical if shaman-rulers from Moche used hallucinogenic drugs for religious purposes.
But even if it's just speculation from archaeological findings, they must have had a lot of fun theorizing how all of those societies worked. And if they're correct...?
Alternatives to Civilization
Time to talk about non-civilizations! Since there are so many to talk about, I'll only briefly go over the main ones.
The Bantu was a culture that is strongly associated with a group of languages. Unlike civilizations, Bantu didn't spread by conquering, but rather, it spread slowly and naturally across Africa. This is very interesting, as typically, one would have to go out of their way to spread their culture. Today, Bantu languages are spoken throughout Africa, an impressive feat.
Then there are the Native Americans of what would become the modern-day United States. They didn't really have large domesticated animals, but they domesticated the most-used crop today, corn. There were also mound-building cultures in North America. Still, there was not one culture there, but many, many non-unified cultures in the Americas. So it would be incorrect to call them one culture.
Finally, there were the people in Pacific Oceania. They lived on many small islands, and yet their cultures had their similarities with each other. Also, English has lone words from some of their languages, such as tatau (tatoo) and tapu (taboo). And they're culture is still here today, alive and well. Disney even recently made a movie that starred Polynesian actors, Moana.
It's time for one of the least Eurocentric blog posts. Today, we're going to talk about ancient Africa, America, and Pacific Oceania history. History books tend to neglect these civilizations with few exceptions, so I have learned a lot about these civilizations today.
We're going to be talking about the entirety of Chapter Six today.
The Beginning of Chapter Six
Native American people still exist today. History books tend to act like Native Americans disappeared in the 1800's, but that is far from the truth. Native Americans are still alive today, and have faced much discrimination since European colonization.
And the Native Americans aren't alone. Africa and Pacific Oceania also have their histories neglected. So how about we finally talk about their true history, so they don't feel excluded or discriminated against in the history books?
Continental Comparisons
So besides, "Europeans are biased," why do histories books neglect three continents' worth of history?
The book justifies this by saying that Eurasia was home to more than 85% of the world's population. This was mainly because of the lack of large animals to domesticate in those regions, so it was harder to have a large population in those areas.
Also, some of these places lacked a writing system, or tended not to write as much down as Rome or China. This meant that historians had less to work with, so they have less to put in the history books.
Honestly, that's a good reason for why we know less about these societies, but not why we sometimes neglect to talk about these societies. Because at the end of the day, this is world history, right? Even in my sixth grade world history class, the most we talked about Africa was Egypt and the other species of the genus Homo.
Civilizations of Africa
Did you know that Africa is not a country, but a continent? Sometimes, it seems like people tend to forget that. Africa isn't one country with one culture; it's many countries with many different cultures.
The Kingdom of Menroe was one such culture. Sometimes led by women, the Kingdom of Menroe was rich and had a strong military. Trade was strong there, and the civilization seemed unstoppable... until deforestation happened. Now, Nubia, the region it took place in, is part of Egypt and Sudan.
Then, there was Axum. Instead of focusing on hoe-based farming, they used plow-based farming. They eventually grew and became a major empire, after Rome and Persia. Christianity took hold there, and then... they also fell from deforestation. They also didn't take good care of the soil, and Islam altered its trade roots, so the civilization fell.
That means that the three major civilizations fell, showing how fragile they truly are. It's sad how we only talk about Rome and Persia, but not Axum.
Civilizations of Mesoamerica
The "New World" isn't quite new, as people have been living there for centuries. In fact, Christopher Columbus technically didn't discover it, as people were already there! Even if people said, "He was the first European to discover it," Leif Erikson beat him to it.
Anyway, the most prominent of these Mesoamerican civilizations was the Maya people. They made some pretty amazing discoveries in their lifetime! They could do complex calculations, predict eclipses, plot the cycle of the planets, make their own calendars... they did much more than we think! The Maya people still survive to this day, but some parts of their empire has collapsed. Even then, we need to give them more credit for their discoveries, instead of making fake conspiracy theories about the world ending because, "their Mayan calendar ended!"
I also want to give credit to the Teotihuacan, for having complex architecture and for creating impressive art. It's pretty impressive what these civilizations could do, and we don't give them enough credit.
Civilizations of the Andres
The Incas weren't the only civilization in the Andres.
There were also the village, Chavin de Huantar, which started a religious movement. There was also the Moche, that had the land ruled by warrior priests, and the Wari and Tiwanaku, two very separate civilizations.
Why weren't they really talked about? Well, they never really wrote anything down, so archaeologists have to use archaeological findings in order to find out more about them. So I'm a bit skeptical if shaman-rulers from Moche used hallucinogenic drugs for religious purposes.
But even if it's just speculation from archaeological findings, they must have had a lot of fun theorizing how all of those societies worked. And if they're correct...?
Alternatives to Civilization
Time to talk about non-civilizations! Since there are so many to talk about, I'll only briefly go over the main ones.
The Bantu was a culture that is strongly associated with a group of languages. Unlike civilizations, Bantu didn't spread by conquering, but rather, it spread slowly and naturally across Africa. This is very interesting, as typically, one would have to go out of their way to spread their culture. Today, Bantu languages are spoken throughout Africa, an impressive feat.
Then there are the Native Americans of what would become the modern-day United States. They didn't really have large domesticated animals, but they domesticated the most-used crop today, corn. There were also mound-building cultures in North America. Still, there was not one culture there, but many, many non-unified cultures in the Americas. So it would be incorrect to call them one culture.
Finally, there were the people in Pacific Oceania. They lived on many small islands, and yet their cultures had their similarities with each other. Also, English has lone words from some of their languages, such as tatau (tatoo) and tapu (taboo). And they're culture is still here today, alive and well. Disney even recently made a movie that starred Polynesian actors, Moana.
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