Final short answer review Q

Where were the key webs or networks of influence, communication, and exchange through which peoples of the 15th century interacted?

Ø  Webs of empire, large scale political systems that brought together a variety of culturally different people 

Ø  Webs of religion that linked far flung people through shared beliefs

Ø  Trade networks among people occupying different environments and producing different goods 

How did the various empires deal with colonial subject who practiced different religions?

Ø  The Spanish empire in Latin America was the most insistent that colonial subjects convert to Catholicism 

Ø  British were not as invested in spreading Christianity in North America

Ø  Chinese empire up heals a policy of religious tolerance

Ø  Mughal empire practiced a policy of religious tolerance

What factors contributed to the predominance of African slaves in the Atlantic slave trade?

Ø  Native American populations were decimated by european disease

Ø  Marginal Europeans were Christians and therefore supposedly exempt from slavery

Ø  European indentured servants were expensive and temporary 

Ø  Africans were skilled farmers and had some immunity to both tropical and European diseases  

How did science in the 19th century both reflect the influence of the enlightenment and undermine its basic assumptions?

Ø  Like enlightenment thinkers, scientists like Darwin and Marx believed in progress and formulated general laws to explain events in a rational way. Darwin introduced laws of natural selection, and Marx incentivized laws of historical development 

Ø  Unlike enlightenment thinkers, 19th century scientists emphasized conflict and struggle rather than reason and education

Ø  Sigmund freud applied scientific methods to study the human mind and emotions. His conclusions challenged the view of individual as a rational, thoughtful, independent being 

Among the Atlantic revolutions, why is the French Revolution considered to be more radical than the American revolution?

Ø  While the American revolution expressed the tensions of a colonial relationship with a distant imperial power, the French insurrection was driven by a sharp conflict within french society

Ø  The French Revolution, especially during its first 5 years, was a much more violent and far reaching movement than its American counterpart

Ø  French revolutionaries perceived themselves to be starting from scratch in creating a new social order, whilst the Americans sough to restore or build upon earlier freedoms 

Ø  The French Revolution led to efforts to create a wholly new society, as symbolized by revolutionary leaders instituting a new calendar and turning the cathedral of notes dame, albeit temporarily, into the temple of reason. 

Why did the Industrial Revolution occur first in Europe?

Ø  The political system of Europe (composed of many small and highly competitive states) favored innovation

Ø  In the several centuries after 1500, Western Europe became the hub of the largest and most varied network of exchange in the world. This new global network generated extensive change and innovation and stimulate european commerce 

Ø  The conquest of the americas allowed Europe to draw disproportionally on world resources and provided a glowing market for European machine product goods 

Ø  The relative newness of the european states and their monarchs’ desperate need for revenue in the absence of an effective tax-collection system bureaucracy pushed european royals into an unusual alliance with their merchant classes. As a result, Europe gained an unusual degree of freedom from state control and in some places a higher social status than their counterparts in more established civilizations 

How did social class affect how women experienced the Industrial Revolution?

Ø  Women assumed roles as homemakers, wives and mothers

Ø  Having a servant was a marker of middle class status

Ø  Married women took in boarders, did laundry, and sewed clothes

Ø  Young girls and unmarried women worked in factories in unskilled jobs that offered little opportunity for advancement

What were the rationales used to justify western imperialism in the 19th century?

Ø  The need for raw materials and agricultural products to fuel Europes industrialization

Ø  The need for overseas markets to absorb surplus manufactured good and provide employment for European workers

Ø  Colonies were strategically important in the game of international power politics

Ø  Radically based rationales centered on nations of European superiority now supported by science, Social Darwinism, and the "civilizing mission.”

What did the unequal treaties imposed on China and Japan by western powers have in common with the capitulations between the Ottoman Empire and european states?

Ø  Both undermined the sovereignty of the countries forced to accept them 

Ø  Both reflected the changed balance of power in favor of Western powers 

Ø  Both granted Western powers special privileges (legal exemptions and tax breaks)

Ø  Both facilitated Western penetration of Chinese, Japanese, and Ottoman economies

Ø  Both were resented by the Chinese, Japanese, and Ottoman Turks

What 19th century developments contributed to the outbreak of world war 2?

Ø  The emergence of Germany and Italy as unified states destabilized the balance of power in Europe

Ø  The system of alliances created obligation among major European powers

Ø  The scramble for colonial empires contributed to the culture of competition and tension between European powers

Ø  The rise of nationalism fed the flames of war 

In what respect was the communist experiment in the 20th century a failure?

Ø  Consumer goods were scarce and of poor quality

Ø  Atrocities committed in the name of communism (terror in Russia and cultural revolution in china) made the communist claims to moral superiority over capitalism seem hypocritical 

Ø  Communism failed to live up to its economic promises of catching up to the more advanced capitalist countries and offering a better route to prosperity

What were the contradictions within the european empires that contributed to their collapse after world war 2?

Ø  The rhetoric of Christianity, Enlightenment though and material progress conflicted with colonial enterprise that perpetuated racism, exploitation and poverty 

Ø  The democratic values of European states conflicted with the doctoral nature of colonial rule 

Ø  The ideal of national self determination was at odds with the denial of independence to the colonies 

Ø  The nationalism that fueled European imperialism also inspired nationalism movements in the colonies

Compare and contrast the feminist movements of the 19th century and the second half of the 20th century?

Ø  Both were international movements, although the 20th century movements had a wider following outside the West than did its 19th century counterpart

Ø  Both movements sought equal rights for women, though in the second half of the 20th century - because women in the West had already achieved the right to vote - the focus feminism shifted to issues life equal rights in education and employment

Ø  In each period, the feminist movement encompassed a number of smaller movements, though the feminist movement of the second half of the 20th century had more sub movements than sis the earlier feminist movement, and some of the latter-day sub movements, especially those in the developing world, were not explicitly gender based.