ch 24

Throughout the twentieth century, a dense web of political relationships, economic transactions, and cultural influences increasingly brought the world together. By the 1990s, this method of booming interaction was known as globalization. Globalization has a long history upon which twentieth-century globalization was built. The pace of globalization increased rapidly after World War II.  Most commonly, “globalization” refers to international economic transactions.  There is a time of reglobalization where the global economic transactions heightened after WWII.  World trade sky-rocketed and money became highly mobile globally.  Central to the process are transnational corporations, huge global businesses that operate in many countries simultaneously. large numbers of workers, both laborers and professionals, moved all over the world from poor countries to richer ones.  With all of this comes growth, instability and inequality.  The idea of liberation traveled around the world in the 20th century when discussing feminist movements.  Feminism has been a big ongoing discussion in the last coupe of chapters.  Every area has its own issues that deal with feminism.  There was the development of the idea of the third world.  From all the problems that existed in the world, feminist movement has owned the highest potential for change.  Something I found interesting that threw me off is how not all feminist problems completely dealt with gender, but also minority, class and party lines.   Feminism has progressively reached a point to become international.  Chapter 24 also talks about Religious and global modernity. “Fundamentalism” is a major reaction against modernization and globalization.  This is threatening to existing religions.  The Global environment has been transformed for several reasons.  Human impact on earth comes down to three things including world population, use of fossil fuels, and massive economic growth. 

ch 23

There was a struggle for countries independence with attempts to end empire rule in world history.  The fall of many empires came in the 20th century.  It seems as if the independence of many countries and the fall of empires worked hand in hand with each other.  In the late 1940's, countries that obtained their independence include India, Pakistan, Burma, Indonesia, Syria, the Philippines, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel.  Between the 1950's and 1970's came African independence.  Austrian and Ottoman empires fell in the beginning of WWI.  Russian empire was crashed in the 20th century and then rebuilt as the USSR.  German and Japanese empires collapsed at the finale of WWII.   Within these world changes that so many countries were experiencing, there were freedom struggles for many.  The main ones included the case of India and ending British rule, and the case of South Africa ending Apartheid.  There were also experiments with Freedom.  One is that the new nations that were coming up from colonial rule faced the problem head on of how to parlay independence into economic development and industrial growth, unification, and political participation.   There were also experiments with culture.  I find it surprising how long that it has taken some countries to gain independence, and how some countries are still working on it.  This section of history is still going on.

women's issues brought up in the presidential race

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0413-romney-women-20120413,0,6215563.story

In the 2012 presidential race, women's issues we could say are a "big issue".  There is discussion about women's health care and employment issues.  If elected, Romney wants to get rid of programs that give government aid like planned parenthood and medicare.  He does not believe in helping to lower university tuition costs because he thinks it is like giving "free stuff" which is not okay with him.  Romney's Republican budget would also be cutting programs that support low-income women and children.  According to Romney, Obama is responsible for policies that have hurt the opportunities for women to obtain well-paying jobs.  These topics bring up a lot of concern for the future of the women and their families in this country, therefore, effecting nearly everyone in the country.  There are many people that struggle as it is, while getting help right now.  what would happen to women and children if that help is taken away?  There seems to be a lot of conflict within certain arguments, even without the opposing side's input.  How is a women supposed to not be able to plan a pregnancy and not get any help if she does have an unplanned pregnancy because her rights of planning it were limited?  How are women, or even men on this topic supposed to find well-paying jobs if it is not okay for them to get "free money" or if it is an uncontrollable topic to keep college tuition under control?...

women of the arab spring

http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2011/womenofthearabspring.asp

This article discusses the middle east pro-democracy uprisings.  It is surprising to many that it is not just men that are risking and losing everything they have in these protests.  Women are also playing leadership roles.  Arabs are not so surprised by this because they have a larger sense of feminism tradition.  Across the region, women have been the most consistent supporters.  Many women in from surrounding countries suffer from discriminatory legislation.  These women understand that "democracy" does not mean democracy for al men and women.  Tunisia and Egypt are two states in their post-revolution stage.  despite all the threats of women being beat and worse things that take place, women are holding their ground and continuing to push for equality.  This article states that they will never go back to square one.  They are taking a bold and fearless stand for what they believe in.  That is very honorable.  What is intriguing about this is that these women protesting is making an impact on other societies in a positive way.  I think that women will soon realize that they can make a stand for themselves and fight for their own rights.  These stories exudes some inspiration to other women in the world that are struggling with the same issues, they are influencing them to be strong and believe in themselves.

ch 22

This chapter is all about communism and socialism.  Inspired by Karl Marx, the communism had its roots in 19th century communism.  Communists promoted revolution. one third of the world was governed by communism.  Many expressions of communism shared common ground. They had a common ideology that was based on Marxism.  They were an inspiration of the 1917 Russian Revolution.  Relations between communist countries were often marked by rivalry and hostility.  Communist revolutions outlined the charisma of the French Revolution.  Russia had a revolution in a single year that was sudden and explosive.  Social societies were built in the USSR in the 1920's and the 1930's and in China in the 1950's.   Communist feminism began to spread and there were more pushes for women's liberation and equality.  Socialism spread in the countryside.

ghandi & mlk

MLK was strongly influenced by Ghandi.  They are both very wise individuals that have impacted this world during their time on Earth.   MLK once stated "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.  This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant".  There is a quote by Ghandi that I found that relates to MLK's quote.  Ghandi says, "When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of the truth and love has always won.  There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall-- think of it, ALWAYS".  Both of these men have a very strong belief in truth and love.  The tiniest acts of love will always be more powerful than the greatest hatred in the world.  Whether it is wanted or not, truth will always find its way out.  They both state that truth and love always wins.  Ghandi made a major impact on MLK, who had a major impact on the United States history.  Without the dreams, wisdom, and love instilled in MLK, this nation would not be what it is today.  It is quite intriguing  to imagine how everything happens for a reason and how God created these individuals to have such great purpose in this world.  I am amazed when I think about how different the lives of Americans would be without MLK, and then without Ghandi to have been such an influence on him.  I wonder how Ghandi came across all of his wisdom.  Did he learn it through his own thoughts or throughout he influence of others around him.  Could it be a spiritual thing to where God was speaking to him?  I think of that question because a lot of his quotes sound very similar to what the bible preaches.

sections 5 and 6

these sections discuss the work force and labor unions.  in section 5 there are two competing values. these are the requirements of the common good and the advantages of individual ownership of property.  Pope John says that everything in this world is meant equally for all.  The right to private property is valid and necessary.  colonialism is a major concern of Catholic social teaching.  another concern is that there is a challenge of economic development in the poor areas of the world.  Catholic social teaching offers two sets of ideas in section 7.  one is that the church insists that everyone is obligated to do everything they can to help the problem that world poverty has put on common humanity by their morals.  the second thing is that they invite believers to ponder the reasons these problems have come about and come up with ideas of how to improve the situation.

ch 21

This chapter talks a lot about the first World War.  By 1900 Europe had controlled most civilizations.  World War I is when Europe finally began to be challenged.  Italy and Germany became one and Germany started to become very powerful.  There was a balance of two rivalries in Europe known as the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.  The Triple Alliance was made up of Germany, Italy, and Austria.  The Triple Entente was made up of Russia, Britain, and France.  This rivalry is what sparked the world war.  Components that caused the breakout of the war are weak nationalism, industrialized militarism, and  Europe's colonial empires.  World War I was predicted to be a quick war.  Germany was defeated in 1918.  The war became a war of trench warfare. Each country's entire population was mobilized.  This meant a few changes: an expansion of government authority, women replacing men in factories, and labor unions excepting sacrifices.  The war led to questioning of enlightenment values and the superiority in the
West and it's science.  Asia and Africa increased their military skills and political awareness.  The United Stated appeared to be a global power.  The most significant post-war change had to be the the Great Depression, which hit in 1929.  Unemployment was a big issue going on, while people were losing their life savings.  MAin causes for the Great Depression include the booming of the American economy in the 1920's, stock market driving stock prices way up, and the crash of the stock market making the weak economy crash with it.  The worldwide empires made way for there to be a depression world-wide.  The positive to think about all of this is that the depression did end.  The bad economy of then reminds me of how bad everyone says the economy is now.  Knowing that people survived the Great Depression gives me more faith that this time of struggle will come to an end for everyone.  What is sad is that the World War I lead to a World War II that was even more global than the first World War and where 60 million people suffered death.  If there was anything that should be called the Great Depression, it should be that idea right there.  That is such a devastating number.

ch 20

The European colonial conquest was focused mainly on Asia and Africa from 1750 1900.  It was affected by the Industrial Revolution.  Many new players included the United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Japan.  The beginning of the second wave European Empires was founded on military use or the threat of it.  India and Indonesia interacted with Europe for trade.  There was planned conquest in Africa, the Pacific Islands, and Southeast Asia.  The hardest places to conquer were the places that didn't have a central society and formal state structure.  European settlement and diseases killed a lot of the Native-Australians and New Zealanders. Japan took over Taiwan and Korea the way that Europe takes over a society.  Russia and the United Stated kept on growing.  Liberia was settled by U.S. slaves that were set free.  Ethiopia and Thailand proficiently avoided colonization.  Societies of Asia and Africa created many responses to the European threat.  There were many different colonial economies.  This included wage labor, cash-crop agriculture, coercion, colonial rule, and forced labor and the power of the state. Eventually, women ended up having to do more work than men.  There was also some identity and cultural changes in the colonial era, all with things that had to do with education, religion, and race and tribe.

invisible hand

Invisible Hand is an interesting article that mainly highlights Adam Smith's theory that is still so widely used in economics today.  A main idea is how when the demand of something is high, then then price will go up.  it is possible for a market to fail for certain reasons, but this idea is very efficient for decision making in the economic world.  The Invisible Hand explains how consumption of different resources will be very important to the economy's welfare.  The article mentions how there is an invisible hand that helps the market get to a healthy level for the society, but I don't exactly understand the analogy being made with an "invisible hand".  What is invisible and why is it invisible? What is the hand and why not something else like a car or person?

ch. 18

Europe's modern development has a  lot to do with the industrial revolution.  The industrial revolution period goes from about 1750 to 1900 and is what lead to the scientific revolution.  This is where Europe began its dominance.  First off, human population grew immensely over time to where it got to a billion people in the early 1900's. There was  wide usage of new energy sources and there was a culture based on innovation.  Europe had the most interaction with so many different cultures.  It was very diverse in who they could do business with.  This promoted change and new, creative ideas.   The Americas was the source for food, raw materials, and silver.  Britain, being the biggest country in Europe, was a big deal during the industrial revolution.  There was a speedy railroad development, an expansion in mining, manufacturing and services, decrease in agriculture and a wide transformation in daily routines.

Ch 17 continued

In 1830, 1848, and 1870, there were some smaller revolutions that took place.  There were movements for equality, which lead to more social equality and freedom.  Between 1780 and 1890, slavery was abolished throughout the world.  People that were critical of slavery were thinkers of Enlightenment.  Religious groups began to speak their minds about the negativity of slavery.  People started to realize more and more that slavery was not necessary for the economy to grow and maintain itself.  For many people, this movement meant a big change in their lives.  This is for the victims and also the slave owners.   At the same time, I'm sure most of the population knew that it was the right movement.  For those who were not brought up in a way to know that equality if for every one and is not dependent on color, then that is sad.  Abolition was strongest in Britain.  With this movement, I believe that it was a very positive thing in history, and I'm sure people would agree.  However, many of the results that came with the movement of abolition were unexpected, meaning that not everything seemed to be so positive right away.  Of course with this colossal change, not everything was going to change overnight.

Ch. 17

Between 1775 and 1875, the French Revolution was the heart of a revolutionary process around the Atlantic.  however, this impacted way more than just the Atlantic world.  The French invaded Russia, Poland, and Egypt.  Many countries were beginning to open up to more women right and abolishing slavery.  Nationalism was formed by these revolutions.  These introductions to equality opened the doors for communism and socialism.  Latin America, Europe, Haiti, and North America have all influenced each other through their revolutions.  They had a lot of ideas in common.  They were also all coming out of enlightenment.  The main common idea politically here was popular sovereignty.  From 1775 to 1787, The North American Revolution had a conservative political movement, had a colonial society, and was where Americans believed that they were making a new world order.  From 1789 to 1815, During the French Revolution, they were experiencing bankruptcy, and their risings were created by social disagreements, which was far more violent.  From 1791 to 1804, similar to the French Revolution, The Haiti Revolution involved a lot of violence.  What I found remarkable about the Haiti Revolution was that  it has the only wholly successful slave revolt in world history which sparked plenty of hope and also fear. From 1810 to 1825, there was the Spanish American Revolutions, inspired by earlier revolutionary movements.  They were limited at first and made it a longer process than in North America.

enlightenment

What I learned from this is that enlightenment is about learning and gaining knowledge.  Not only for one individual, but for the knowledge and growth an entire community.  Knowledge does no good to be kept a secret.  Enlightenment could mean opening ones eyes to realize something new or different, or something they were close minded to before, but then see that it could positive to open their mind to an idea.   Actually, referring back to the question of what it means to be an enlightened person, I think that being an enlightened person means to be able to have an open mind to new ideas.  Enlightenment also has some to do with philosophy.  Someone's reasons should always be free to the public because of the reason that enlightenment should not be kept a secret.  Every person and idea could get better based on the enlightenment that is shared upon each other, because then everyone could work together to build each other up and improve on every idea.

ch 16

Christianity spread to many countries in the western part of the world and started to become very popular between 1450 and 1750.   At the same time, Christianity was beginning to be challenged by science.  The scientific theories were starting to confuse the beliefs in Christianity.  The crazy thing about scientific evolution coming into play in this time frame is that people would have to be willing to face major sacrifices to even put a scientific theory out to the public.  People did not like finding out that their beliefs of how the world has come about and evolved might not match up to science.  i can understand how this might startle people because it can make someone feel like they have been living a lie.  It can make people question everything they have ever known.  That would make me feel lost and confused.  This topic is interesting because the dilemma between whether religion or science is right is still going on in the Western world today.

Christianity was mostly in Europe in 1500.  There were some divisions within the Christian community.  The main one was between Catholics and Protestants.  Catholics had power while the Protestants protested against them for various reasons.  Some of those reasons included how they disagreed with the luxury life of the Pope.  Only priests could interpret the Bible  for Catholics.  This surprised me.  Something that didn't surprise me too much was how a lot of tax money was used to build big beautiful Cathedrals.  This is mainly because I have known about several massive and gorgeous Cathedrals.  Everyone could interpret the Protestant Bible.  However, both are Christian.  Another big difference was how the Protestants didn't like how the Catholic church had "icons" because God should be the only one worshipped.  They didn't understand that the icons just help the people have a way to relate to them because they were real people that became saints through their righteous acts in a way that Jesus would have.  They are icons but not worshipped as if they are another God.  They are recognized for living a life through God, the way He would want.  Saying that the saints are icons being worshipped like another God is like saying that the Sisters of Notre Dame are worshipped as Gods.  Something that I strongly disagree with was how Catholics were thought to be polytheist because they think that the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" was considered as not having "One God" as compared to the Protestants.  What they did not understand is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one in God.  They are all one God in different forms.  Hearing that misconception really bothered me.

Global Commerce

Between 1450 and 1750, commerce is what shaped the world.  Slave trade was a big part of that, but is also just one part of the global commerce in this time period.  Another force that drove globalization in this time period was empire.  Europeans were well-known for their long-distance trade.  They wanted to do business with Asia.  Very rich and diverse commerce was found on the Indian Ocean.  It surprised me that Portuguese carried cannons on their ships.  They couldn't compete because they didn't have very high quality.  their main goal was to control commerce rather than territory.  It also surprised me that they controlled half of Asia's spice trade.  Spain and the Philippines were the first to challenge them with their small and competitive packs.  Even more important than the spice trade, was the silver trade.  It was a big cause for inflation in Spain and supported Japan's booming economy.  Fur trade was big in North America, but did start to go scarce around 1500 and started competition to obtain in.  Native Americans became dependent on European trade goods.  Russians also valued fur, only difference is that they weren't competing for it in Russia.  Capitalism changed the way people looked at economic relationships. Slave trade in Africa is responsible for a lot of the multi-regional linkages. It is also responsible for China and Europe's growth in population.  Slave trade also had a lot to do with global political changes.

Sugar!

Sugar history goes from South Asia to Caribbean.  Sugar is best grown in hot and humid areas, is very labor intensive, produced on a large scale, and requires an initial stage of processing.  At first, sugar was uncommon and rather rare.  It was considered a drug, I assume because it could be addictive and make you have more energy.  The idea hat sugar is a drug is kind of funny because it is so normal and widely used today.  It's as if sugar is a necessity.  I found it interesting that sugar in tea replaced alcohol.  It was also weird that tea took place of meals in general because people either didn't have time or money to eat.  The idea of using tea to replace a meal is very disturbing to me because I don't think tea is very filling at all and I have to eat.  On page 103, there is a chart for Importation and Population Statistics for the British West Indies in the 18th Century.  It shows that as time goes on, the total black population in Barbados, Jamaica, and Leeward Islands  increases, and the Slave imports increases with that. Thankfully, in the 19th century, the correlation between slavery and sugar was discontinued.  Not only did the discrimination decrease, but the intensive labor to obtain sugar decreased as well.  Thanks to technology, there are alternative ways such as mechanized sources to develop sugar and meet the needs of sugar in today's society.

Empires and Encounters 1450-1750

Across the Western Hemisphere are the most significant colonies, the European colonies.  This includes the Spanish, Portuguese, British, French and Dutch.  Russia was an Asian and European territory that participated in the imperial stage of the modern era.  Early Modern Era was the stage of an Empire.  Western Europe was different because they were started by maritime expansion and because they took over countries that resided across the ocean from the main land instead of right next to it.  Europe expanded their territory to cover most of the Americas.  The countries that were on the border was was helped Europe succeed.  They transported goods to and from the Atlantic Ocean.  Along with that, came diseases and people.  This lead to a shortage in labor.  They then brought over their plants and animals, along with new foods too.  These foods were inexpensive and fairly nutritious.  This is also when the slave trade occurred.  There was an economic theory known as mercantilism.  In the location of the Aztecs and Incas is where quite a few cities were started.  These cities had universities, churches, an administrative bureaucracy, and international trade systems.  The society was made up of Spanish and Indian people.  Mediterranean was introduced to sugar by the Arabs.  Sugar transformed a few countries.  the chart on page 14 is what I found very interesting.  Highland Spanish America was made up of 41.7% Native Americans, 11.9% Africans, 28.3% Mixed race, and 18.2% Europeans.  Portuguese America, also known as Brazil, was made up of 9.1% Native Americans, 49.8% Africans, 17.8% mixed race, and 23.4% Europeans.  Britain was the last of the Europeans to settle in the Americas