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?).
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
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.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Madison Rambles #8: Society is Unequal
Hello, everyone!
Today, I'm not exactly feeling the best today. One of my favorite video game companies, AlphaDream, filed for bankruptcy, and they've been a major inspiration in my life. So if I don't sound as cheerful as I usually am, then that's the reason why.
So what better way to cheer me up than to talk about unequal societies and slavery? Yes, what a sad coincidence that we're talking about inequality on a day where I'm not feeling the best mentally.
Anyway, this will be talking about the entirety of Chapter Five.
Intro to Chapter Five
The caste system is ingrained into Hinduism. Because of its religious value, even to this day, the caste system remains in full force. It's even on dating websites, as marrying someone of another caste is taboo in Indian society.
But in many other aspects of modern day society, the world is changing rapidly. Slavery is now looked down upon throughout most of the world. Emperors are much less common in the world. Even the fact that I'm a woman in college would have been mind blowing 200 years ago!
Even then, we still suffer from some of the same issues we've faced for thousands of years, such as sexism, poverty, and inequality in general. It shows how some issues take a long time to solve, and it's very rare for a person to significantly speed up the process.
Society and the State in China
It's time to talk about China again!
So China has been an empire for a long time. The emperor and state officials have ruled the land for centuries, but what was one of the ways they elected officials? Educating them!
Yes, China had schools for the potential officials in 124 B.C.E. It was open to all males, but it tended to favor the wealthy. Still, it was possible for a commoner to become an elected official, which, in my opinion, is one of the most progressive things I've heard of for the time period.
Still, peasants were treated poorly in society. Everything was against them, including nature and the landlords. Why else would you expect the peasants to revolt numerous times?
Poor merchants, though. They were oppressed so much by the Chinese government. Still, it wasn't uncommon in China to become a wealthy merchant, and some officials even liked the merchants. I wonder how they could get so rich with the law against them...
Class and Caste in India
India is starting to get mentioned a lot, too. Not that I'm complaining; India tends to get neglected in the history books for some reason.
No one knows where the caste system exactly came from. It has survived for over two dozen centuries, so at the very least, it's an ancient practice that still goes on today.
The caste system is in this order: Brahmin (priests and teachers), Kshatriya (warriors and rulers), Vaisya (farmers, merchants, and artisans) and the Sudra (just labor work). There's also the class below the Sudra, known as the "Untouchables," but the book states that they are not associated with the caste system.
It's impossible to be in a higher class in your lifetime. When you're born into a class, you're in that class for your entire life. You can only progress within your caste and hope that your next lifetime, you go onto a higher caste.
Basically, you know your role in life at birth. It brings up the philosophical question Brave New World brings up: would people be truly happy if they knew their role in life since birth, even if that means never progressing further and inequality? That is a question different cultures would answer differently.
Slavery: The Case of the Roman Empire
If there's one subject that you would never bring up at a party, it's slavery. It's an uncomfortable subject for both sides, but I think it's important to talk about it and it's history.
Slavery is an ancient practice, started around the Paleolithic era. However, when civilizations became a thing, the practice of slavery grew tremendously. However, although slavery existed in Eastern civilizations, it was more widespread in Western civilizations.
Rome and Greece loved slavery, so much that Aristotle claimed that people were "slaves by nature." Also, around the time Jesus Christ lived, roughly 83% of citizens were slaves. Even good people owned two or three slaves. It's shocking to hear this information.
However, there are a couple things that made Roman slavery a bit less worse than the atrocities of American slavery. Roman slavery didn't depend on race; although some groups of people were thought to be "slaves by nature," they weren't writing on tablets explaining how their race was superior. Also, slave owners were expected to give slaves the necessities of life.
Even then, slaves were abused in multiple ways and were not viewed highly. Also, it's slavery. Why would I support treating human beings like cattle?
Comparing Patriarchies
Sexism has existed for a long time. Let's not deny that fact. But sometimes, ancient societies are less sexist than we think.
China was not that kind of society most of the time. When Confucian texts state the inferior position of wives, you know society isn't exactly equal. Even at birth, there is a ritual for baby girls to show their place in society.
It did get better, though. By the Tang Dynasty, women were portrayed as being able to handle business and traditionally "male" activities. Also, there was Empress Wu, who was a woman. However, by the Song Dynasty, it wasn't as progressive. Maybe I'll learn more about it when I read more of the book...
In Athens and Sparta, in terms of gender roles, Sparta wins. In Athens, despite their democracy, women weren't allowed to participate in law independently. In some cases, they weren't even allowed some of the government privileges men had. Women were also expected to stay inside the house and reproduce, without learning how to read and write.
Sparta, on the other hand, not only trained their men intensively, but also their women. The men were sent to military training at age seven, leaving the women at home. However, in order for them to produce warrior sons, they had to train their bodies in intense ways. Running, wrestling, throwing javelins, driving chariots... women training could be intense! And since the men were away, women ruled the house in ways Athenian women could never dream of.
So moral of the story; if you want a more equal society, make it a militaristic society where boys go off to war at age seven and women do intense training to improve their wombs. Then again, the book claims it's still a patriarchy, and it's homophobic...
Today, I'm not exactly feeling the best today. One of my favorite video game companies, AlphaDream, filed for bankruptcy, and they've been a major inspiration in my life. So if I don't sound as cheerful as I usually am, then that's the reason why.
So what better way to cheer me up than to talk about unequal societies and slavery? Yes, what a sad coincidence that we're talking about inequality on a day where I'm not feeling the best mentally.
Anyway, this will be talking about the entirety of Chapter Five.
Intro to Chapter Five
The caste system is ingrained into Hinduism. Because of its religious value, even to this day, the caste system remains in full force. It's even on dating websites, as marrying someone of another caste is taboo in Indian society.
But in many other aspects of modern day society, the world is changing rapidly. Slavery is now looked down upon throughout most of the world. Emperors are much less common in the world. Even the fact that I'm a woman in college would have been mind blowing 200 years ago!
Even then, we still suffer from some of the same issues we've faced for thousands of years, such as sexism, poverty, and inequality in general. It shows how some issues take a long time to solve, and it's very rare for a person to significantly speed up the process.
Society and the State in China
It's time to talk about China again!
So China has been an empire for a long time. The emperor and state officials have ruled the land for centuries, but what was one of the ways they elected officials? Educating them!
Yes, China had schools for the potential officials in 124 B.C.E. It was open to all males, but it tended to favor the wealthy. Still, it was possible for a commoner to become an elected official, which, in my opinion, is one of the most progressive things I've heard of for the time period.
Still, peasants were treated poorly in society. Everything was against them, including nature and the landlords. Why else would you expect the peasants to revolt numerous times?
Poor merchants, though. They were oppressed so much by the Chinese government. Still, it wasn't uncommon in China to become a wealthy merchant, and some officials even liked the merchants. I wonder how they could get so rich with the law against them...
Class and Caste in India
India is starting to get mentioned a lot, too. Not that I'm complaining; India tends to get neglected in the history books for some reason.
No one knows where the caste system exactly came from. It has survived for over two dozen centuries, so at the very least, it's an ancient practice that still goes on today.
The caste system is in this order: Brahmin (priests and teachers), Kshatriya (warriors and rulers), Vaisya (farmers, merchants, and artisans) and the Sudra (just labor work). There's also the class below the Sudra, known as the "Untouchables," but the book states that they are not associated with the caste system.
It's impossible to be in a higher class in your lifetime. When you're born into a class, you're in that class for your entire life. You can only progress within your caste and hope that your next lifetime, you go onto a higher caste.
Basically, you know your role in life at birth. It brings up the philosophical question Brave New World brings up: would people be truly happy if they knew their role in life since birth, even if that means never progressing further and inequality? That is a question different cultures would answer differently.
Slavery: The Case of the Roman Empire
If there's one subject that you would never bring up at a party, it's slavery. It's an uncomfortable subject for both sides, but I think it's important to talk about it and it's history.
Slavery is an ancient practice, started around the Paleolithic era. However, when civilizations became a thing, the practice of slavery grew tremendously. However, although slavery existed in Eastern civilizations, it was more widespread in Western civilizations.
Rome and Greece loved slavery, so much that Aristotle claimed that people were "slaves by nature." Also, around the time Jesus Christ lived, roughly 83% of citizens were slaves. Even good people owned two or three slaves. It's shocking to hear this information.
However, there are a couple things that made Roman slavery a bit less worse than the atrocities of American slavery. Roman slavery didn't depend on race; although some groups of people were thought to be "slaves by nature," they weren't writing on tablets explaining how their race was superior. Also, slave owners were expected to give slaves the necessities of life.
Even then, slaves were abused in multiple ways and were not viewed highly. Also, it's slavery. Why would I support treating human beings like cattle?
Comparing Patriarchies
Sexism has existed for a long time. Let's not deny that fact. But sometimes, ancient societies are less sexist than we think.
China was not that kind of society most of the time. When Confucian texts state the inferior position of wives, you know society isn't exactly equal. Even at birth, there is a ritual for baby girls to show their place in society.
It did get better, though. By the Tang Dynasty, women were portrayed as being able to handle business and traditionally "male" activities. Also, there was Empress Wu, who was a woman. However, by the Song Dynasty, it wasn't as progressive. Maybe I'll learn more about it when I read more of the book...
In Athens and Sparta, in terms of gender roles, Sparta wins. In Athens, despite their democracy, women weren't allowed to participate in law independently. In some cases, they weren't even allowed some of the government privileges men had. Women were also expected to stay inside the house and reproduce, without learning how to read and write.
Sparta, on the other hand, not only trained their men intensively, but also their women. The men were sent to military training at age seven, leaving the women at home. However, in order for them to produce warrior sons, they had to train their bodies in intense ways. Running, wrestling, throwing javelins, driving chariots... women training could be intense! And since the men were away, women ruled the house in ways Athenian women could never dream of.
So moral of the story; if you want a more equal society, make it a militaristic society where boys go off to war at age seven and women do intense training to improve their wombs. Then again, the book claims it's still a patriarchy, and it's homophobic...
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