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Homework 4/28

WWI began as mostly a European war, but soon it spread. It eventually got all corners of the world involved, including India, Africa, Japan, and the US. For this reason we can say that it was a global war, because of the vast amount of countries that took part, even though the center of conflict was with Europe. 

Most Asians fought for the Allies because either they were forced to due to being under imperial European powers, or they had their own interests. For example, India joined the Allies because of the British influence on the Indian rulers. China joined the Allies because they wanted Britain to defend them from Japan's aggression. So while Asians mostly fought for the Allies, they were not all happy about it. 

Homework 4/14

Map:

Why is Russia so massive? And why did they never try to imperialize on other continents like other powers did?

How did Britain gain the upperhand in the most imperialized lands?

Did Japan never imperialize? How did China keep out foreigners?

Pg 913

Kipling uses diminishing adjectives to describe the native peoples, such as "captives", "silent" and "sullen". Meanwhile, he uses "patience" "goal", "peace", "better", and "guard" in describing the actions the Europeans took. This language conveys his sense of white supremacy because he believes that the Europeans are better and stronger than all the rest. He believes that the natives are weak and bitter, but need the Europeans help to save them. He describes that "saving" the native peoples will be a thankless job for the noble Europeans, but it is their duty. This conveys white supremacy because he believes no other race is as honorable as they are.

Homework 4/13

In my political cartoon a man happily walks through with a hat, sunglasses and carrying two suitcases. In the background there are two small houses, with two men out front with angry expressions on their faces. Their feet are chained to the ground, while the man up front walks around freely and happily. They watch him in anger. 

This picture represents the capitulation treaties in the Ottoman Empire. The sultans signed these treaties because they did not want to bother administering justice over foreign merchants. So, this allowed European visitors to be exempt from Ottoman law. It made many Ottoman citizens angry, and eventually the practice was discarded. In my cartoon, the happy man up front is the European tourist while the other angry men in the background are chained to the ground because they are bound by the law while the European is not. 

Homework 3/30

Niall Ferguson's Ted Talk '6 Killer Apps of Prosperity' was very clear and informative. He explained the reasons for the rise of Western civilization and explained why it is coming to an end. I thought he made some very good points, for example his point about competition and how the Europeans endorsed competition in the market and among corporations and this improved their society, while China endorsed conformity by making all applicants for the government take one difficult test. One thing he said that was most interesting to me was that he doesn't think the Western Civilization will fall just because "it is the pattern of history". This is an interesting viewpoint as so many historians have predicted it is inevitable. I thought this talk was also very relevant to this class because everything he discussed we are learning about in class. For example the Ottomans destroying the telescope they had made, it helped his point and it was something we had talked about in class. 

Anatomy of Revolution

Step 1- Causes. Revolution is caused when a middle class feels a sense of injustice and is unable to be heard in the government. They begin to form intellectual groups, and often the government itself is weak or disunited.

Step 2- first stage. The first stage brings two groups directly in clear opposition, and the government is unable to effectively put a stop to it.

Step 3- second stage. The moderate revolutionaries and the radical revolutionaires clash. The radicals almost always win because they are disciplined, well-organized, and fanatical. 

Step 4- final stage. Eventually the radicals disappear and a new dictator comes back into place. People return to their normal lives.

Pocketmap Islam

Homework 3/1

Columbus has his own holiday because he supposedly "discovered" the New World. Kids are taught this from the very first years of elementary school. His discovery led to an opening up of exploration to the New World, which later led to colonizations and settlements, and the formation of a new country. But although this all seems grand and fine, Columbus does not really deserve his own holiday. He was not the only explorer to reach these waters nor the first. It is a well-known fact that the Vikings reached America before him, and though they did not colonize it, they still "discovered" it. I put "discover" in quotes because there were already civilizations living there, and really what Columbus did was create a metaphorical bridge between the two halves of the world. But he himself wasn't really all that grand. He thought he landed in Asia, and never actually admitted he made a mistake. What's more, he brought smallpox and disease to the Native Americans and wiped out more than 15% of their population. Maybe we should reconsider it and call it "Explorers Day" in honor of all the other exporers of this time. The Vikings, Magellan, Prince Henry the Navigator, etc.