Ch. 13, 14, 15

European Colonialism and Asian Empires

I was aware that the diseases that European settlers had brought to the Americas was a large factor in the collapse of the Native American societies, but I was not aware that it led to the death of “up to 90 percent of the population.” Furthermore, Strayer notes in a passage from Governor Bradford of Plymouth colony the reaction this outbreak and death was the result of “the good hand of God…sweeping away great multitudes of the natives…that he might make room for us.” I found this viewpoint to be extremely disturbing in addition to depicted images of native populations with smallpox.

The network of communication that was established by European colonial empires, known as the “Columbian exchange” reveals how the Europeans greatly benefited in becoming “dominant players” globally. New information and exchange in turn led to revolution new ways of thinking; this “Scientific Revolution” along with the precious resources (metals, crops, slaves, financial profits) would in turn provide the foundation for the Industrial Revolution.

Another interesting element I found was the Spanish conquest and colonialism of the Aztec and Inca empires, particularly in contrast with the colonial societies in Brazil and in North America. A by-product of Spain’s colonialism was a mixed-race population; as a result, mixed-race people were divided into groups called castes based on their heritage and skin color. Mixed-race people were uniquely identified and given their own status in society. In contrast, the colonial societies in Brazil had a rigidly defined racial system and unwillingness to acknowledge individuals of mixed race unions. Nevertheless, this was not as rigid as the colonial societies in North America, where “any person of African ancestry, no matter how small or distant, made a person black.”

It is interesting to note how the European colonization was unique in that it fostered slave-based systems and slave trade far more than the Asian empires of China, Mughal and Ottoman. As a result, the Europeans gained many resource and land and in turn were pushed to the forefront as a “central and commanding role on the world stage.”

The Atlantic Slave Trade

It is almost inconceivable that 12.5 million people were taken from African societies and that about 14.4 percent of slaves died during the voyage across the Atlantic. What I found even more surprising was that African societies were “willing to sell their slaves peacefully.” Often times those who were sold were from marginal groups: prisoners of war, criminals, debtors, etc.

It is also interesting that the majority of slaves were taken to Brazil and the Caribbean, where labor demands were the most intense. An account from Olaudah Eqiano describes just how terrible conditions were on the slave trade ships: “I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat…I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me.”

Europe and the Scientific Revolution

I was not aware that that idea of “corporation” as a collective group to be treated as a unit originated in Europe. Also, the emergence of universities in Oxford, Cambridge and Paris and their autonomy I found to be interesting as a leading factor in the revolution. It is also interesting that Western Europe drew from other cultural knowledge such as that of the Islamic world.

It is also interesting to read about the major figures in the Scientific Revolution and their discoveries and theories:

1.     Nicolaus Copernicus – He argued that the earth like the other planets revolved around the sun.

2.   Galileo Galilei – He developed an improved telescope, and observed sunspots, or blemishes moving across the sun. He discovered the moons of Jupiter and many new stars.

3.     Johannes Kepler – He mathematically proved that the planets followed elliptical orbits.

4.  Rene Descartes – a French philosopher, he emphasized the significance of logical self-deduction.

5.  Isaac Newton – Discovered the concept of universal gravitation, and the notion that “all bodies…are endowed with a principal of mutual gravitation.”

 In addition, with the Enlightenment is intriguing in that it introduced a new way of thought, applying knowledge to human affairs in addition to science. Despite the fact that the main theme of the Enlightenment was “the idea of progress,” a debate regarding women’s role in society led to a conclusion from Jean-Jacque Rousseau that “women are fundamentally different from and inferior to men.” However, during the Enlightenment ideas such as this were openly challenged by others such as Madame Beaulmer and Mary Wollstonecraft. It is also interesting that on some level, Confucianism encouraged thinkers of the Enlightenment as a belief system that was “secular, moral, rational, and tolerant.”

Strayer, W. (2013). Political Transformations - Empires and Encounters, Economic Transformations - Commerce and Consequence, Cultural Transformations - Religion and Science, 622-633, 527-534, 687-695, 740-748.