World History

Is it more useful to view the two world wars as separate and distinct conflicts or as a single briefly interrupted phenomenon? I believe the two world wars were a single briefly interrupted phenomenon. World War I was a continuation of the conflict between European Nation States over dominance in Europe and the fight over colonies abroad. It resulted in Revolution in Russia and near revolution in Germany and Hungary. The Germans never accepted their defeat. There was an armistice in 1918 which the allies turn in to a defeat for Germany. In his book Economic Consequences of the Peace, John Maynard Keynes argued that the sanctions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were so onerous that Germany could never pay them, and they would lead to another war. John Maynard Keynes was proven right even though the Great Depression was a major cause for Hitler’s rise to power.      

Question 2. There have been many epidemics in the past, some of which were so widespread that they could be called pandemics. The plague begin in China in 1331, by 1347 it had affected Europe and the Middle East.  In the first wave of infection in Europe it was thought that half of Europe’s population died. The mortality rate of the infection was as high as 90%. There is no immunity to the plague, and even today the mortality rate is 11%. The plague had some important consequences. The Mongol Empire and Its Silk Road trade suffered enormously and lead to the end of the Mongol Empire. In Europe the loss of the population was so severe that workers demanded higher wages which led to social tension and may have played a role in several peasant revolts. The devastation of the Mongol Empire led to an increase in European sea traffic, trade, and exploration.   Another great epidemic was the Great Dying. When the Spanish conquered MesoAmerica and the great i...

“ It was the best of times , it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,… it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”( A Tale of Two Cities) This July 4 Th we are in the middle of a pandemic of which our nation is the epicenter, we have a president who seems incompetent, and once again the issue of race has boiled to the top. It seems that race and slavery were our original sin as a country. We celebrate July 4 Th because our Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on that date in 1776.   It declared that “All men are created equal.”   Among those left out were African slaves. Our civil war was fought over the issue of slavery. More American combatants were killed in the civil war than in all our other wars put together. Black slaves volunteered for the union army in large numbers and played a key role in the union victory and their own self liberation. Despite this, Reconstruction failed, and Black American...

Question 10 Answer Oliver's question 9 I think your post is quite accurate. Whether the octopus image represents greed or the simple fact that Britain was a colossal Empire is in the mind of the beholder. It is certainly true that in the modern world the issue of incredibly rich corporations and individuals have become bigger issues today. Seemingly, Nations states are more and more doing the bidding of elites. It seems that the common people have loyalty to the nation state while the wealth have loyalty only to their wealth. Interestingly, Matt Taibbi wrote a book on the 2008 financial collapse called Griftopia. In it he described Goldman Sachs as a giant blood sucking octopus just like the image of Britain.

World History Week 7 1)What was The Great Dying? Cite examples and details from the historical record in your response. Could this be considered a genocide? Why/ why not? The Great Dying was the massive death of Native inhabitants of the Americas after contact with Europeans. It was due to the fact that the Natives had had no exposure to the Old World infectious diseases such as small pox, measles, and others. Up to 90% of Native population died in South America, Mesoamerica, North America and the Caribbean. Genocide is define as the deliberate killing of a large group of people, so this mass death due to disease cannot be considerate genocide. 2) What did native Siberians and Native Americans have in common in terms of their experiences with Europeans during the early Modern period? Native Siberians had some experiences in common with Native Americans in the consequences of their contact with Europeans. They experienced lethal diseases and depletion of many of the animals ...

Page 678 Q 1 Why did Christianity take hold in some places more than in others? Chapter 15 Page 678 Q 1 Why did Christianity take hold in some places more than in others? Christianity did very well in those countries that it conquered. The people of these countries were defeated people. They faced lethal diseases, forced labor missionary activity, and general social disruption. Some people in these countries voluntarily adopted Christianity because as a result of their defeat they felt the Christian God was superior to their Gods. On the other hand, china was a strong undefeated country with an ancient culture. China was a large country completely outside of the control of European nations. Conversion would have to be by persuasion and not by force. The population was very large and had several religions and school of thought with a long written tradition.  Eventually Christians missionaries were banned by an emperor due to the suspicion of subversion.  Similarly th...

Chapter14 Q 3   page 633 What lasting legacies of early modern globalization are evident in the twenty-first century? Pay particular attention to the legacies of the slave trade. Early modern globalization had a lot in common with our current global economy. Much productive activity was geared to export rather than local consumption. There were large private companies like the British East Indian Company operated globally. There was an international currency in silver and gold while now the international currency is the US dollar. One last thing legacy of Early Modern Globalization is racism. Three of the Major products of the American colonies were sugar, tobacco, and cotton. Due to the scarcity of population and the labor intensity of this industries, slaves were brought from Africa in large numbers.   They came to be looked upon as inferior or even subhuman. We have yet to completely free ourselves from this attitude as is evident from the current ongoing demonstrat...