Chapter 16 Part 1

The beginning of this chapter began by talking about religion and how it played a role in early society. Christianity was the dominating religion of the time and was not to be messed around with. When Martin Luther did decide to mess around with it, he was excommunicated and hated by many. He was also seen as a hero, though, to some. He was not the only one who believed that the church had some major kinks that needed to be straightened out. Instead of believing that one could slowly buy their way into Heaven with the indulgences that the church was selling, he believed that faith was the only real thing that could guarantee a place in Heaven. I went to a Lutheran elementary school and was educated a great deal about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. This is why I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious. While I believe in God, I don't really believe that there are strict rules that I must follow in order to pay him a visit after I die. I know that he knows my heart and that is enough.

Chapter 15 Part 2

This part of the chapter is about the Atlantic slave trade!! Whenever I think about slavery, I always kind of wonder why they picked Africans to be their slaves. I mean, I know that it was because of their color... but in the book I read that "largely through a process of elimination, Africa became the primary source of slave labor." So there were actually no more Slavic or Native American slaves because they were either dead or unavailable (thanks to Europeans). And also, Europeans and Christians were apparently exempt by God from being slaves because they're just so cool. So they thought, "Hey! Let's enslave Africa! Plus they're a different color than us so they're weird!" And then Americans proceeded to kickstart a racial feud that would really last forever. Even today, people are accused of pulling "race cards" and other stuff like that. Because African Americans were enslaved by white men, there is still tension that exists today, whether we realize it or not.

Chapter 15 Part 1

The beginning of this chapter focused on the trading of different goods between different countries. This is when people began to want things that they did not make. America wanted spices from India and England wanted sugar from America. The main things that were being traded that the book highlighted were silver and fur. I find it interesting that these were such specific things that other countries wanted. I found it interesting that Russia relied on Siberia for fur when the Russians probably could have just hunted by themselves. I guess we kind of do the same thing now though in terms of purchasing stuff from other countries. We know we are capable of making clothing and yet we have garments from Indonesia and Thailand because it is cheaper.

Sweet Nexus, Sugar and The Origins of the Modern World

A long time ago, when the Americas were being brutally taken over by Christopher Columbus, sugar was a really big deal. Europeans didn't have much sugar because it takes a lot of hard work to produce it. Because Europeans didn't really produce sugar, Americans saw it as a way to make profit. Black people became slaves to white people and were forced to do the job that they did not want to. This frustrates me because of the treatment that the slaves endured. Also, the fact that people were well aware of what was occurring and yet did nothing to try to put an end to it is just really sad. Slavery in America is another check on the list of mistakes that we have made.

Chapter 14 Part 2

The last section of the chapter fourteen focuses on the expansion of the Russian and Chinese empire in contrast to the English Empire. In Strayer's book, Geoffrey Hosking states "the British had an empire; Russia was an empire." This statement illustrates the differences and similarities between the two empires. There actually weren't too many really similar similarities between the England and Russia actually. Or China, for that matter. Russia slowly took over countries that were near them that they were familiar with. While the British attempted to overtake a foreign land, the Russians attempted to overtake the neighbors. They demanded that the newcomers to their empire take an oath that praised their monarch! Rude. On the up side, the Chinese and Russians didn't really make their people slaves. But I think that submitting to a foreign religion, belief, etc. can be considered a form of slavery for some.

Chapter 14 Part 1

Reading about how the English came to the Americas and took what wasn't really theirs frustrated me. I have sympathy for the Native Americans and I just feel bad for them! Columbus and his crew came to America and believed that it was their manifest destiny to control the country and anyone who stood in their way. When the diseases that the English brought over began to kill off the Native Americans, they also believed that it was all happening because of God's will. Because God was a vengeful guy who wanted to practically kill off one human race so another could succeed. That Columbus was so cocky and rude towards the hospitable Native Americans is why he is now viewed as a pillaging pirate.