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.