Strayer Introduction Part 5 Ch 17 pp491-504

Reflection:

         In part 5 of the introduction Strayer goes into talking about hoe Europe received continental status during the time. It goes onto talking about how Europe rose by international context...this means, for example, because the Chinese fleet left Europe got the opportunity to take over the Indian Ocean. Strayer goes into explaining that it was not an easy task for Europe to become what it is now. It took a lot of work and progress to get to country it is.

     In Chapter 17, Strayer goes over how the Atlantic Revolution came from European Enlightenment. From this it was shared to others through newspapers, books, and pamphlets. During this time new ideas, free trade, religious tolerance, human rationality, and much more were being opened up. From this the Atlantic movement was being known as democratic revolution to people. To me this era/time was when countries were being advanced and more opened to new things. This was also the time when countries were competing with one another and many battles were fought. From these battles, countries' politics were changed and countries becoming more powerful. This part of history showed to me a turning point for countries and time where regions/countries were trying to find place/stability/secure.

Strayer Ch 16 pp477-488

Reflection:

         In this chapter, Strayer talks about how science brought great impact to people's religious beliefs and practices, especially in the West. Science started to spread all around the world causing a disconnection with European culture. Science has brought a division between Europe and the Islamic world. From science cam scholars, scientists, universities, and much more. The whole culture was being changed and technological developed. As science started to rule over the world people started see science more than God. Now, God is not at the center of people's eyes due to the new perspective towards science. I, personally, think that this is not right. Because of science God is being pushed away. I think that science is only good for learning to solve people's questions and curiosities, however, I do not believe that science is such a big deal to the point where religion gets pushed back and God is no longer the center of people's lives. It is also somewhat a good thing that science has developed...from this we learn about our bodies, the bacteria that lives around the world, and much more.

Strayer Ch 16 pp461-477

Reflection:

          In this Chapter Strayer talks about the cultural transformation within regions and how this connected people from afar. Cultural transformation involved science and religion. Science ended becoming to some people a religion. Science brought change to people within regions. During this time Christianity spread. During this time the Protestant Reformation came in and ruined the unity of the Roman Catholic Church. This started out with Martin Luther. Martin Luther was against to many of rules within the Catholic Church. From there he started this whole Protestant Reformation. Many people started to like and follow this Protestantism. However, this did not do much within the church and/or society. Protestantism spread throughout regions. From this the Catholic Church started to correct abuses and corruption within the church bringing renewal in the Catholic Church. I like how this chapter goes into the religious history giving us an idea of how Protestants came to be and what went wrong within the Catholic Church that brought Protestantism. Christianity played an important role during that time by helping the spread of politics and economics in Europe and visa versa. This shows how the church and a country mutually benefited each other during that time and till this day. Every region encountered Christianity differently. Religion was important to Africans as well. African religion brought slaves to the America. However, Europeans viewed their religion as witchcraft and evil. India and China, both, during that time and still till this day have different types of religion and beliefs. From these different religions brought cultural differences as well.

Strayer Ch 15 pp 449-458

Reflection:

             In continuing with this chapter, Strayer explains how the Atlantic slave trade helped the idea of buying and selling slaves throughout the regions. From the Atlantic slave trade there were some region that benefited and others regions corrupted. This shows how slaves were spread worldwide and expanded. Slavery in America and Atlantic slave trade represented buying and selling humans. I, honestly, do not like how people are given the right to buy and sell human beings. This makes me look back at history in a very negative way. In the chapter the Europeans go around regions to buy gold but also buy slaves that were on "sale". This makes me mad at the fact that slaves are being viewed and treated as like some clothes you buy at a store that is for sale. This just seems wrong to treat any human this way. This shows how during this time human value was not really viewed and thought of importantly when buying and selling slaves. Throughout the years slaves just increasingly grew rapidly. From this slave trade it really impacted the growth population in Africa while other regions such as Europe, China, and other regions grew/expanded. This shows discrimination...because of color (black) you are most likely a slave. Although there not anymore slaves, that we know of, there is still discrimination against color (black) like the past.

Chapter 15 433-448

Reflection:

           The chapter goes over the importance of slave trade throughout countries. Europe, Asia, Western Europe, North America, and Siberia, all, were involved in trade. Some of the items were silver, fur, slaves, and many more. Europe was growing and its national monarchy. In the Indian Ocean spice trade was a great importance and value. Indian Ocean was a way for Europeans to gain access to new and more materials. Trade not only brought happiness but also concerns to the Western newcomers during this time period. Trade was not just a way for people to gain new items but also brought power to the countries that had the most and valuable item. Power and money led to war and competition. During this time period silver was an important item that was traded worldwide. This was because of the value silver had, not only silver but also fur. Fur was mostly useful for the Russians due to the temperature. I like how this chapter begins telling the audience the great importance during the modern era giving the reader information.

Chapter four Sweet Nexus Sugar and origins of the Modern World

Reflection:

          The chapter goes into talking about trade and how important this was to society. Through routes people would trade new items/materials. Some of these items were rare that only upper class would have the opportunity to buy. Trade and other factors have brought the economy of countries advanced. From these economies would bring together commercial, military expansion, and colonial conquests. How? Well, by exploiting natural resources and much more. The chapter really gets into the detail and explains the background very well for readers to bring out their feelings/emotions when reading. The text also goes into sugar and how it was used in certain countries (South Asia to Caribbean). From sugar everything interconnects from consumers -> merchants -> manufacturers -> laborers -> etc... (commodity chain). The author provides letters that pertain to sugar and how sugar is portrayed...negatively and positively during this time period. I like how the author put these letters in the chapter. It gives the reader an understanding that sugar was not all that great and that there were not any beneficial sides to have sugar and what not. The pictures provided as well gave the reader an idea of how plantation was like and the living during the time period.

Strayer Chapter 14 pp 417-430

Reflection:


            Continuing with chapter 14, the Russian Empire expanded. The expansion was not only the size of land but as well as culture. After finishing the reading I realized how Russia become strong and powerful till this day. Russia built their military by forming and gaining more weaponry. From this people (natives) had to give oath to the Russian Empire. This made me a little frustrated to see that native so weak against the Russians. People who lived in Siberia had to pay a lot of amount of cash or fur. People also had to convert to Christianity no matter what. During this time people had no choice but to follow instructions. As people traveled and moved around, the Russian Empire became a multi-ethnic empire and remained politically dominant. During this time Western Europe and Russia were the same...meaning exploitation, religious conversion, settlement, and much more. These empires during the time felt the superiority over others. There were many ways that Western Europe and Russia were similar, but there were also many ways that Russia was different from Western Europe. Russia expanded over territories that were adjacent to them. Not only Russia but also China as well expanded toward central Eurasia. China, Russia, Mongols, and the Ottoman Empires reached out but in an old historical development. The mongols and Ottoman Empire was expanded due to warrior groups which shows that they used physical power/strength to expanded. This chapter shows how worldwide countries/empires were growing and trying to gain power/superiority over one another. I do not like the way how these empires used people to get what they want however, this shows how these countries grew till this day.

Strayer Chapter 14 pp 403-417

Reflection:

          Chapter 14 goes over how the European colonial empires claimed the Western Hemisphere. From this diseases spread and Europe expanded to a great extent. As Europe become large there was more trade and society become more advance. In Europe sugar was being brought out into society. From this people started to make medicine, spice, sweetener, preservatives, and much more. Compared to the past this shows how society was advancing. People stated to trade sugar with other countries having other countries advancing as well. This shows how people are discovering new materials and from these new materials they are using it many resourceful ways. As Europe expanded further towards the Western Hemisphere, Europeans came into contact with the Spanish which introduce more new items/materials. Europeans also came into contact with America where Europeans stayed and found new resources and land. This chapter shows how society and culture were advancing and become more and more modern throughout time.

Strayer, Introduction to Part 4 (pp 397-401)

Reflection:

        Within the reading of Introduction Part 4 goes over the characteristics of two different eras. An Early Modern Era goes over the expression of globalization in the oceanic journeys of European explorers and colonial and conquest of the Americas. This era talks about the trade and route, cultures, and religion. During the modern era there were several diseases that occurred. During this time different cultures went around trading such as plants, animals, and people. Religion such as Christianity spread throughout Europe, Asia, and south central Africa. Another era that this introduction goes over is the late Agrarian Era. During this time trade routes were developed and more complex. Religion such as Hinduism spread and other scholarly values. Part 4 gives a short overview of what the following Chapters will be going over. This gives me an idea of what I will be learning in the next few months in this class.