Most events are connected to religion
Key Points:
Religious Mysticism: adherents within religions focusing on mystical experiences that bring them closer to divine - prayer, meditation
Buddhism
Christianity
Confucianism
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Middle Ages: fall of Rome before Renaissance - complicated time
Eastern Roman Empire became Byzantine Empire
Western Europe: collapsed entirely - Christianity remained strong
European Feudalism: Land Divided
Relatively isolated from external influences outside Asia for many years
Feudal Japan (1192):
Women had little rights and esteem
Religion spread and established different states
Khmer Empire (9th-15th century): Hindu Empire in modern day Cambodia, Laos, Thailand
Developments in Americas
Merchants emerged in towns - referred to as Burghers, became politically powerful
Towns often formed alliances with each other
Hanseatic League (1358): trade alliance though northern Europe to drive toward nationhood, increase social mobility and flexibility
Architecture: Romanesque to Gothic - especially reflected in cathedrals
Scholasticism: growth of education and knowledge - founding of universities for men; philosophy, law, medicine study; ideas of Muslims and Greeks - came in conflict with religion
Crusades (11-14th century): military campaigns by European Christians to convert Muslims and non-Christians, combat religious questioning
Urbanization
Trade exploded from 1200-1450
Improved with better transportation and monetary systems
Main Global Trade Routes:
Cultural diffusion - spread religions, languages, literature, art, idea, disease, plague
Bubonic Plague: started in Asia in the 14th century and carried by merchants - killed about 1/3 people
The Protestant Reformation
Key rebellions in 17th and 18th centuries:
Portuguese and Spanish controlled major shipping routes in Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Atlantic Ocean
Portugal financed explorations
Spain also did:
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): agreement between Spain and Portugal to split colonized land between them
England, Netherlands, France launched own explorations to acquire new colonies - caused rise in nationalism and powerful monarchies
Explorers
Products that aided new explorations:
Spanish implemented a hierarchical colonial society as they took over the New World
Structure:
Viceroys: governors of each of 5 regions of New Spain - established the encomienda system (system of forced labour of the natives and African slaves)
17th and 18th centuries - humankind in relation to government
Divine Right: church allied with strong monarchs, monarchs believed they were ordained by God to rule - people had moral/religious obligation too obey
Social contract: governments not formed by divine decree, but to meet social and economic needs
Philosophers of the age:
Enlightened monarchs: utilized ideas of tolerance, justice, improving quality of life
Neoclassical Period: middle of 18th century - imitated style of ancient Greek/Roman architecture
France was running out of money from monarch spending, wars, and droughts - Louis XVI proposed raising taxes to the Estates-General (governing body infrequently called by the kings)
Third Estate was facing being shut out of new constitution - formed National Assembly in 1789 out of protest and peasants stormed the Bastille shortly after
Declaration of the Rights of Man - adopted by National Assembly in 1789 and caused big changes in French government structure
Established a constitutional monarchy at first, but new constitution development led to the Convention being the new ruling body - France become a republic (led by Jacobins who later beheaded the king)
Convention threw out constitution again and created Committee of Public Safety: enforcer of revolution and murdered any anti-revolution people
French beheaded Robespierre in 1795 and established another new constitution with the Directory as the government
Napoleon overthrew the Directory in 1799 - Napoleonic Codes (1804) recognized equality of men, dissolved the Holy Roman Empire with French military and fought other countries who eventually met to overthrow him (Prince von Metternich, Alexander I of Russia, Duke of Wellington)
Congress of Vienna:
Industrial revolution in Britain can not be separated from Imperialism
Industrial countries gained power quickly to exploit colony resources
Industrial Revolution: began in Britain in 19th century - spread through Europe, Japan, US
Agricultural output increased significantly again - more people moved to cities
Domestic system (most work being done on farms or at home or at small shops) preceded
New advancements that changed production:
Also major developments in medicine and science, theory of natural selection (Charles Darwin)
Rapid creation of products was done in factories
Formation of new social classes - aristocrats were those rich from industrial success, middle class of skilled professionals, huge working class
Adam Smith: success achieved through private ownership and free market system (capitalism) - governments removed from regulation = laissez-faire capitalism
Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto - working class take over means of production and all resources would be equally - Marxism was foundation for socialism and communism
Major split among intellectuals and policymakers in regards to response to inhumane factory conditions
Factory Act of 1883: limited hours of each workday, restricted children from working, factory owners had to make conditions safer
Nationalism was strong after Napoleonic era
France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, Russia had unified
Italy and Germany, which were city-states took longer to unify and alter balance of European power
Other Nationalist Movements:
Russia:
Ottoman Empire: was at danger of collapse so Britain and France worked to maintain it to prevent Russia from gaining control over Mediterranean
Europe has coal and iron for power and factory equipment, but needed raw materials that didn’t grow there - solution = colonization
Colonization has given industrial countries great wealth
Europe had colonized nations on every continent - depleted raw materials in these nations at extreme speed and destroyed and polluted environments
Transnational Businesses: international corporations that strengthened Europe’s economic power in Asia and Africa
Europe was very ethnocentric - other cultures were barbaric and uncivilized, even as progressives were denouncing the slave trade - why?
Otto van Bismarck hosted European powers in Berlin in 1884 to discuss land claims in African Congo - encouraging colonialism
By 1914, almost all of Africa was colonized by Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium (except Ethiopia and Liberia)
Europeans added substantial infrastructure to the continent, but stripped Africa of resources, most exercised direct rule and implementation of customs over African people (except British who were already busy with India)
Europeans disregarded African boundaries, cut tribal land in half or forced enemy tribes together, ignoring history and culture
Traditional African culture also started falling apart
Poland
German Reunification
first president elected in a free and open election
After WWII, there was an increasing interest in maintaining international security - organizations like NATO, United Nations, International Criminal Court in The Hague (prosecutes war crimes), and NGOs (Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders) to provide international aid to those in need
War in the Gulf
Taliban, Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden
In early 1980s, Soviets sent troops to Afghanistan under at request of Marxist military leader Nur Muhammad Taraki
Afghanis opposed communism and fought back until Soviets withdrew troops - left a power void that warring factions vied to fill
Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist regime, filled the void after 14 years of fighting
Provided a safe haven for Osama bin Laden, the Saudi leader of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, who specifically despised the US
US:
On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacked US by hijacking 4 US planes and flying 2 of them into the World Trade Centre in New York, 1 into the Pentagon, and 1 into a field in Pennsylvania - 3000 people died
US immediately declared a war on terrorism and invaded Afghanistan - the Taliban was removed from power and Osama bin Laden was killed, but Al Qaeda still survives
Many terror attacks linked to Islamic fundamentalists still occur throughout Europe and the Middle East
End of Cold War and the Internet/technology resulted in a new and strong wave of global connection - last obstacle to true global interaction
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and European Union (EU) were created to unite global currency/trade further
English became the language of global business and communication
EU banded Europe into a single market to give US some competition in 90s
Economies faltered again during the economic crisis in late 2000s - stronger economies like Germany were able to remain stable while over-extended economies collapsed badly
Global Culture
Rise of China and India
Global Alphabet Soup