Chapter 13
This chapter really introduced ideas that were not as well known. When I think of expansion, I only think of Columbus discovering the Americas, what happened to Native Americans and the African slave trade. Since it was a horrible time, those parts of the discovery are what I remember mostly. I knew there were changes back in the Old World, but most of the history I have learned only focused on the New World.
The Western Europe empire was said to be a lot different than the changing Europe back home, which makes sense since they had the "freedom" to do things differently than back in Europe. What drove Europe and why were Europe the ones to discover the Americas? The proximity of their location made it easier for them to cross the ocean. Europe was closer to the Americas. Also it made sense that since Asia was dominating the trade, they didn't need to look anywhere else, which is something I didn't know. Most of what I was taught was that Europeans wanted to leave the oppression of their King, but there were multiple factors as to why they sought out for land. Europeans knew where they stood in comparison to the Asian traders. Europe needed to expand and find resources so the middle man can be taken out. This was also an opportunity for people to make something of themselves.
When the Europeans settled in their new found land I didn't know there were so many other factors that added to the demise of the Native population. We are taught about the wars but not the natural causes that came with introducing foreign people. While the Natives weren't as "advanced" as the other parts of the world, it is interesting to know that they weren't immune to many other diseases. Just relatable with today and how there's an increase in food allergies due to all these changes in the environment etc. A lot of the population of this new world decreased because of this. It wasn't just the Natives but also those in The Caribbean, which I could have figured but it wasn't taught to me in other history classes.
The Columbian exchange is what promoted slave trade. There were a shortage of workers, and slavery was well and alive in the Old World. So the process of trading slaves was already well known. They were introducing new animals and new crops. These crops are what increased the population; corn and potatoes were cheap and accessible to most of the population. The new way of thinking in the Americas shook how the Old World was thinking. New ideas and the conventional way of thinking was now evolving. Western Europe was now in power and Europe back home was no longer ignored.
Latin America was also changing and were more accepting to the Spanish conquests. Many wanted to ride on the success of them defeating others they couldn't. We often see that happen today. Forces joining together. Intermarriage were more accepted than up north. Cross cultures started to appear as well as different religions. Christianity was forced on many locals. They had to assimilate or face consequences.
While there was a lot of changes happening in the New World, there were a lot changing in the Old world as well. Russia was changing and growing. They started to expand and conquer territories next to them. They figured it would be better to grow their area, which makes sense since America was already taken. They had the means to focus on growing their empire at home, whereas Europe felt like they had to expand elsewhere. Russia absorbed its territories as well as China. China did not have global reach but had regional reach. China started to grow its size, but Qing enforced its teachings. China did not grow for economic reasons but for defensive one since Russia was expanding as well. China did respect differences of other cultures, such as monks.
The Ottoman empire also started to grow. They were taking in Turkish people. There was a divide between Hindu and Islamic people. Islamic rulers tried to assimilate Hindu people, but others did not find that good. There was some toleration built but then repealed. Religion was what tore them apart. Christendom also started to change. Some areas tolerated Christianity, so Islam conversion was low.
There was just so many changes going on during this time. Often times we do not hear about the slavery that went on in other places, but clearly it was occurring even before it was brought to the Americas. Some places tolerated change more than others. Mixed races started to increase, but the New World was not as accepting with multiethnic people. This was definitely a changing world.
The Western Europe empire was said to be a lot different than the changing Europe back home, which makes sense since they had the "freedom" to do things differently than back in Europe. What drove Europe and why were Europe the ones to discover the Americas? The proximity of their location made it easier for them to cross the ocean. Europe was closer to the Americas. Also it made sense that since Asia was dominating the trade, they didn't need to look anywhere else, which is something I didn't know. Most of what I was taught was that Europeans wanted to leave the oppression of their King, but there were multiple factors as to why they sought out for land. Europeans knew where they stood in comparison to the Asian traders. Europe needed to expand and find resources so the middle man can be taken out. This was also an opportunity for people to make something of themselves.
When the Europeans settled in their new found land I didn't know there were so many other factors that added to the demise of the Native population. We are taught about the wars but not the natural causes that came with introducing foreign people. While the Natives weren't as "advanced" as the other parts of the world, it is interesting to know that they weren't immune to many other diseases. Just relatable with today and how there's an increase in food allergies due to all these changes in the environment etc. A lot of the population of this new world decreased because of this. It wasn't just the Natives but also those in The Caribbean, which I could have figured but it wasn't taught to me in other history classes.
The Columbian exchange is what promoted slave trade. There were a shortage of workers, and slavery was well and alive in the Old World. So the process of trading slaves was already well known. They were introducing new animals and new crops. These crops are what increased the population; corn and potatoes were cheap and accessible to most of the population. The new way of thinking in the Americas shook how the Old World was thinking. New ideas and the conventional way of thinking was now evolving. Western Europe was now in power and Europe back home was no longer ignored.
Latin America was also changing and were more accepting to the Spanish conquests. Many wanted to ride on the success of them defeating others they couldn't. We often see that happen today. Forces joining together. Intermarriage were more accepted than up north. Cross cultures started to appear as well as different religions. Christianity was forced on many locals. They had to assimilate or face consequences.
While there was a lot of changes happening in the New World, there were a lot changing in the Old world as well. Russia was changing and growing. They started to expand and conquer territories next to them. They figured it would be better to grow their area, which makes sense since America was already taken. They had the means to focus on growing their empire at home, whereas Europe felt like they had to expand elsewhere. Russia absorbed its territories as well as China. China did not have global reach but had regional reach. China started to grow its size, but Qing enforced its teachings. China did not grow for economic reasons but for defensive one since Russia was expanding as well. China did respect differences of other cultures, such as monks.
The Ottoman empire also started to grow. They were taking in Turkish people. There was a divide between Hindu and Islamic people. Islamic rulers tried to assimilate Hindu people, but others did not find that good. There was some toleration built but then repealed. Religion was what tore them apart. Christendom also started to change. Some areas tolerated Christianity, so Islam conversion was low.
There was just so many changes going on during this time. Often times we do not hear about the slavery that went on in other places, but clearly it was occurring even before it was brought to the Americas. Some places tolerated change more than others. Mixed races started to increase, but the New World was not as accepting with multiethnic people. This was definitely a changing world.
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