Chapter 13 The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century

This will be the last blog of this semester. It's a little sad seeing that I have been doing blogs for the past two semesters, not only in this class but for World History II as well. I must say that it has been beneficial to me in many ways because it lets me write my opinions about the chapter. I can connect it to different things in our world and society today so I think blogging overall has been a progressive success.

Anyhow, chapter 13 is mainly about the the worlds of the fifteenth century. Some of the topics we discussed were human communities and paleolithic societies.

Despite the agricultural revolution that society took into consideration, the topic I found most interesting was "Paleolithic Persistence." Many societies changed if not immediately after the agricultural advance, but many still held onto old Paleolithic ways. Substantial areas still held onto gathering and hunting societies. Countries such as Australia, much of Siberia, the arctic coastlands, and parts of Africa and the Americas grasped the notion of old ways. Almost all of Australia still practiced hunting and gather ways and assimilated various material items or cultural practices from outsiders such as outrigger canoes, fish hooks, complex netting techniques, artistic styles, rituals, and mythological ideas. All these aspects took place on the out skirts of Australia. They too slowly converted into modern agricultural techniques, but were not noticed after the fifteenth century because the rest of the world was "more important" and "more advanced."

I found this particular section very catchy because it shows that not everyone went crazy after the revolutions of agriculture and other aspects. Many people stayed true to their roots, because that was the means of survival their whole lives. I respect that in many ways because if you cant remember the way you started, you will never be successful in anything. Hunting and gather societies were the basis in which people ate and survived. Stone tools are what people used to hunt to catch animals. All these basic things are the most important necessities in which life have brought us too. In my point of view the people who did not jump at the sight of the agricultural and the early progress in civilizations are very commendable. They hold different qualities with makes them different from the world. They too should still be recognized in our history books because they are just as important as anyone else in society. It is people like them who have made our society in modern day as successful as it has become now.

Chapter 12 Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage

Chapter 12 is mostly about pastoral peoples on the global stage. There are many different topics about the mongols and the different countries.

The topic in this chapter that I thought was the most interesting would probably be the the plague which was a Eurasian Pandemic. The plague was later called the “Black Death” for many reasons. It was a real big issue of pestilence and originated somewhere in Central Asia. Bacteria spread throughout trade routes of the Mongol Empire and spread rapidly. This disease was carried by rodents and soon was transferred over to human beings. This plague began in 1331 and by 1347 it reached Western Europe. This disease was associated with the lymph nodes coming to swell, horrible headaches, internal bleeding, and high fever. These symptoms were inevitable to stop and most likely died within just a few days. This plague affected the entire world and fifty to ninety percent  were affected by death. Some countries like India and Sub-Saharan Africa were not affected as badly, but most countries were wiped out.

This is very scary because imagine a disease that travels so fast, you cannot run from it? Imagine something that is inevitable to beat yet you still fail in trying. Sanitary issues were horrible in these times, and it is a shame that so many millions of people had to die because of the unawareness of being clean. It is heartbreaking because technology was not as advanced as it was today, therefore many people had to pay for those facts. Human beings and rodents are never associated in times now. There are rules and regulations to all health and safety issues which is one of the best things that our society could ever develop. People know what it means to shower every day and brush your teeth every day. The basic necessities to keep clean and to stick by living in a fresh and clean environment. This shows much of a change times have come because the cleanliness from then to now is a huge difference. Its not only beneficial to ourselves but our worlds at that. Technology has come far, and only begins to advance more and more each and every day.

Chapter 10 The World of European Christendom

In chapter 10, it has a lot to do with the world of European Christendom. This was a huge topic back with the Byzantium Empire.

The topic in this chapter that I found most interesting would probably be the “Byzantine Church and the Christian Divergence.” Caesaropapism meant that the state was tied to the church. On the other hand, Roman Catholic Churches maintained independence from more political authorities. This was ironic because in Byzantium the emperor was the role of both “Caesar” which head of state and was the pope being head of Church. He made many decisions about the doctrine and treated the Church as a government department. The church and state had a great unity and community, and virtually could not be separated. Bishops and priests spread the word of the Church to every corner of the empire. It was a great experience for both state and church because they were bonded by one. Orthodox Christianity also had a big influence on every aspect of the Byzantium life.

I think that the idea of church and state being bonded by one is good in some aspects but on the other hand can also cause problems. If everyone is agreeing to the fact of church and state being affiliated then it is okay because many people are all for it. The problems arise when people disagree about the rules and regulations that church has on the state. I know that our government in this day does not have too much affiliation between church and state because we are not a one religion country. The United States has numerous religions such as Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, etc. If one specific religion was affiliated with the state, it would be like a smack to the face because everyone could not agree. I think this would be a major issue in our society today. Back then almost everyone had the same religious beliefs and attitudes so it was easier that Church and state was affiliated. I think it shows how much times have changed, because we are no where near where we were at centuries ago. It shows that many of our beliefs have branched out into more belief, resembling the growth our world has made.

Chapter 9 China and the World

In chapter 9, it talks mostly about China and the East Asian Connections. In particular, there is a subcategory that caught my eye which was “Women in the Song Dynasty.”

Women in the Song Dynasty seemed very interesting for me to read about because it talked about the different characteristics in which Song Women had in those societies. It was apparent that women and men were needed to be kept separate in every domain of life. Women did not have much rights but were compelled to always follow the “boy” and be ruled by her husband. It was the right thing to do and was expected of every women. Women were often blamed for being a distraction to men’s pursuit to be successful, an understatement in these days. The women of the Sony Dynasty had to undergo many problems such as foot binding. Foot binding was very painful, it cracked a women’s foot into a smaller size, often resembling eroticism with this act. It was very popular for them and they thrived for more attention from their husbands.

In my point of view I think that the women in the Sony Dynasty had to undergo a series of complications with their lives. To be honest, the society we live in now is so much more equal than times back then so it is very hard to understand the inequality that took place back then. Women went through a lot of pain, and were bossed around by not only their husbands but other male figures. I could not imagine anyone bossing me around telling me what to wear, how to wear it, what to do, or even what to say with my life. My life is sacred to me in many ways, and I respect the fact that I am who I am. I am a women, but more than that I am an individual/ a human being. I thrive to be the best I can be. Not from the rules of others, but from my own knowledge. Its hard to understand how societies could be so harsh in olden times but I am very grateful for being able to embrace our society in this day and age.

Chapter 8 Commerce and Culture

This chapter is mostly about cultures and different cultures of the world. Its an interesting chapter because it has a lot to do with the Silk Roads, the Sea Roads. There is also a good chunk about the diseases in transit in the world. In particular I thought this section was one of the most interesting subjects to talk about.

The diseases of the world have a lot to do with the population number rising and decreasing. There was also many disease patterns that took in account over times in Afro-Eurasia. With different trades happening all over the world, this also carried many different diseases. The first one was the early case of the great epidemic in Athens. During this time, Roman and Han empires was greatly affected with measles and small pox. This took out a huge chunk of the population, in those times there was no cure or a way to contain the disease. Moving alone, the Bubonic Plague that took place between 534-750 c.e. took over the Mediterranean world and wiped out a good amount of people. The Black death also spread because the Mongol Empire unified which caused much diseases. Overall, millions of people died during the disease transit.

In my point of view I think it is very sad that so many people had to die from these diseases. It was a given that there was not much technology, meaning there was also not much medical help from anywhere. People were not educated enough to handle diseases like this, or to at least contain it from spreading. It is heart breaking to think about this because they were helpless and if they had the medical attention that we take so granted for now a days, millions of people could have been saved from these diseases. It is very important that we appreciate what we have because not everyone had the same privileges to keep our lives. This also shows how far society has come with not only technology but the intricate aspects of technology such as medical, food, and electronics.

Overall, this is a touchy yet huge topic in our history of Chapter 8.

Chapter 7 Classical Era Variations

The Mayan Civilization has had much success within the subject of writing and warfare. Between the years 250 to 900 C.E. was the most notable and successful achievements of their civilization. In mathematical concepts, priests created a mathematical system that included the number zero and place notion, which was capable of complex calculations. The Mayan people were very smart and skillful people. They used mathematics and combined it with night skies to figure out the rotations of different planets, the figure out when eclipses of the sun and moon would occur, to famously construct calendars, and to calculate the length of the solar system. They did not stop there, they also created an elaborate writing system that involved pictographs and phonetic/syllabic elements

Overall the Mayan civilization was a very advanced and successful civilization of their time. They were skilled in other aspects as well such as draining swamps, terraced hillsides, flattened ridge tops, and constructed an elaborate water management system. The Mayan advanced in almost all crucial aspects of every day life. I think that this is commendable upon their part because it must be take time, patience, and focus to figure out the things that they created. At this point in our society, if it was not for the Mayans that created our calendar, we virtually would not have a basic understanding of how the calendar system works. The Mayans created such an important element of our lives, that without them spending their time to create such a calendar, we would never know the importance of the days of the year. How many months, or how many hours in day. All these key elements tie in to each other, and I think its remarkable how the Mayans evolved this calendar over time.

Lastly, the hard work of the Mayans are granted, and it would not surprise me about how many other elements of life that evolved from the Mayan civilization.

Chapter 11 The Worlds of Islam

This chapter is all about the "Worlds of Islam" which talks about all aspects of the religion. One part that I found very interesting about this chapter was the section on women in men in early Islam. It’s interesting because the Quran, also known as the holy book, was a little contradictory in what they were saying about males and females.

The Quran says that men and women are all equal. It says that they both have the same rights and privileges as long as they surrendered themselves to Allah. This was true in many ways, but at the same time the Quran also stated that in marriage, men are superior to women. Reading this made me very confused based upon the fact that by just adding the world “marriage” all equality, rights, and privileges were diminished. To me it seems as though when women are married to men, it’s basically the end of their lives. They must follow all their husbands’ orders and wishes, and must not be disobedient. If this were to occur, they would be beaten. A lot was expected of women, to enjoy their sexual life willingly with their partners. Although have more than one husband per female was prohibited, polygamy was accepted for men to have one than one wife. The amount of inequality involved in this religion is amazing considering that before marriage everyone was “equal.”

In my point of view, I think that the injustice for women in this religion is horrible. I would not survive a day in the shoes of these women because I am the type of person who will talk back, who will fight for my rights, and will not be treated badly or disrespected. The religion favors men mostly because they have a lot more freedom to do what they desire. A marriage is a bond between two people who should treat each other equally. Not the male being able to have sex with whomever they please, and the female being faithful women to her husband. Things and society have changed, and the rules behind the Quran in my perspective are wrong and need to be changed. I am very passionate about what I am saying because no religion should discriminate between males and females. This is true for many reasons and should be considered because the lives of a male and female are no different. Females deserve just the same amount of care, freedom, and opportunity as men do. Not only does this happen in the Islamic religion, but it has had a pattern of forming throughout our history around the world.

The fight for justice and equality will always remain there.