Oh Strayer, don't act like Africans were not already engaged in an internal slave trade. They live in an underpopulated continent where the biggest lacking resource is labor. They're capturing and selling each other.
The Atlantic slave trade wasn't the only slave trade. In addition to an internal slave trade there was also a Muslim slave trade that transported just as many people out of Africa as the Atlantic did. It also went on for much longer than the Atlantic.
I don't know why the author didn't keep talking about pastoralists in the last chapter. That could have been done without adding the Black Death in randomly.
When is China not looking to its past? What did China do before it could look to its past on the proper way rulers should rule?
I don't know how I feel about sea-faring on giant Chinese treasure ships being viewed as a past time for the emperor of that period. Is that really all he decided he would do for fun? Am I the only one who thinks Strayer makes China sound SUPER arrogant with the 'if there's anything of value outside this country, it will be brought to us'. What? Where is your sense of adventure and curiosity? No interest in the world beyond? None? I don't buy that.
What's amazing is that however silly that map looks on page 571, it's clear the cartographer knows how small Europe is in the scheme of things. Also, the Portuguese should get some points for their work around Africa, because that's a pretty accurate outline of the continent.
Can we talk about the fab hats the Ottoman Janissaries are wearing? One of them has a plume of black feathers, two of them are wearing giant squirrel tails and that last two have bushy white brooms. I want to know who designed those.
I don't know about Strayer's snide remarks about how other historians ignore pastoralists and Paleolithic-like peoples in exchange for civilizations when he barely mentions them and they're all clumped together. So he gets brownie points for putting down two paragraphs that describes three different groups simply because everyone else ignores them?
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
The Black Death
Though I think it's a little messed up to put the Black Death in terms of European art in the Mongol section instead of a European section of that time period, I digress. I will assume that the author doesn't mean to totally blame everything on the Mongols but just doesn't have enough information on them and needs to fill out the document quota. Or perhaps Strayer really wants to talk about the Black Death.
I had a wonderful art history class at CSM my first semester of college on the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Like all things in history, before discussing an event, the causes of that event must be discussed. So our first teachings were about the Proto-Renaissance, the Renaissance before the Renaissance, and of course, the Bubonic Plague.
I find Strayer's choice of paintings a tad lackluster. His "culture of death" is wrong. It's usually known as 'dance of death' throughout the languages of most European countries. There are many paintings of the living of all stations of life, not just the rich, but also the poor and the young (paintings like these have included infants) are literally dancing with skeletons. The point of all these paintings was how death was unavoidable at this time. Everyone was the same once they were infected with the plague. Death was an equal status.
The fact that these paintings were so widespread reflects how big of an impact the plague had on Europe at the time. Death was everywhere and that was elucidated in the writing and art of the time. The people of Europe were overwhelmed by it. They couldn't bury their growing number of dead, they couldn't do anything. Their loved ones were dropping like flies. This was an absolute catastrophe. But they bounced back in a big way. the Medieval Period was a minor Ice Age and following the Plague, it began warming. The smaller population was the beginning of the Renaissance and Europe landed on the global stage in a big way.
I can't ignore it. This section needs to be in Europe. It's just messed up to include with the Mongols because their trade routes spread it. The Age of Discovery needs to include an entire section of paintings about the destruction of Native Americans if this book is going to be considered fair. Beyond the disclaimer at the beginning that it isn't necessarily the Mongols fault, none of these have anything to do with them.
I had a wonderful art history class at CSM my first semester of college on the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Like all things in history, before discussing an event, the causes of that event must be discussed. So our first teachings were about the Proto-Renaissance, the Renaissance before the Renaissance, and of course, the Bubonic Plague.
I find Strayer's choice of paintings a tad lackluster. His "culture of death" is wrong. It's usually known as 'dance of death' throughout the languages of most European countries. There are many paintings of the living of all stations of life, not just the rich, but also the poor and the young (paintings like these have included infants) are literally dancing with skeletons. The point of all these paintings was how death was unavoidable at this time. Everyone was the same once they were infected with the plague. Death was an equal status.
The fact that these paintings were so widespread reflects how big of an impact the plague had on Europe at the time. Death was everywhere and that was elucidated in the writing and art of the time. The people of Europe were overwhelmed by it. They couldn't bury their growing number of dead, they couldn't do anything. Their loved ones were dropping like flies. This was an absolute catastrophe. But they bounced back in a big way. the Medieval Period was a minor Ice Age and following the Plague, it began warming. The smaller population was the beginning of the Renaissance and Europe landed on the global stage in a big way.
I can't ignore it. This section needs to be in Europe. It's just messed up to include with the Mongols because their trade routes spread it. The Age of Discovery needs to include an entire section of paintings about the destruction of Native Americans if this book is going to be considered fair. Beyond the disclaimer at the beginning that it isn't necessarily the Mongols fault, none of these have anything to do with them.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Ch. 9
Just recently went to a Greek Orthodox wedding where most of it was sung. I wonder if Muslims got the idea of reciting their scriptures rather than just reading them from that. It's definitely got the Greek tragedies and comedies flare to it.
I don't know how radical it could be if Judaism and Christianity had been around for at least five centuries before that around the same area. Maybe for the Persians it was radical but its not like Buddhism or Confucianism isn't also based around one person.
It makes sense how Islam grew successful. Religions tend to grow greater when they find an audience. With the rich hoarding all the wealth, it makes sense that this would appeal to the lower classes as a way of helping themselves.
It's a smart way to build a religion that would unify a wide group of diverse people. It makes sense how it went so well in Africa, considering how far apart and diverse the population there is. Though its clear that the lesser jihad of the sword will present problems in the future.
A constant in history is displaced Jews being harmed or exploited by their neighbors. That has never really changed. Inquisition, Holocaust, even Crusaders went out of their way to kill European Jews.
Am I the only one that kinds the promise of material gain in the new religion kind of ironic given it rose to power condemning the growing wealthy elites?
Sound like combining political and religious power leads to religious civil war. Europe quit doing that after the disaster of the 100 years war.
I don't know how radical it could be if Judaism and Christianity had been around for at least five centuries before that around the same area. Maybe for the Persians it was radical but its not like Buddhism or Confucianism isn't also based around one person.
It makes sense how Islam grew successful. Religions tend to grow greater when they find an audience. With the rich hoarding all the wealth, it makes sense that this would appeal to the lower classes as a way of helping themselves.
It's a smart way to build a religion that would unify a wide group of diverse people. It makes sense how it went so well in Africa, considering how far apart and diverse the population there is. Though its clear that the lesser jihad of the sword will present problems in the future.
A constant in history is displaced Jews being harmed or exploited by their neighbors. That has never really changed. Inquisition, Holocaust, even Crusaders went out of their way to kill European Jews.
Am I the only one that kinds the promise of material gain in the new religion kind of ironic given it rose to power condemning the growing wealthy elites?
Sound like combining political and religious power leads to religious civil war. Europe quit doing that after the disaster of the 100 years war.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Ch. 8 reading notes
It's interesting to hear that China was affected by outsiders when their position to stay closed off before the open door policy and spheres of influence was a big thing in the 20th century. The fragmentation of China in the 2nd century sounds like Europe during the Middle Ages, though it seems like China didn't take a thousand years to reunify.
While it didn't take long to build a new dynasty, China sure seems to go through a lot of them. I guess if the ruler doesn't keep the Mandate of Heaven the way the people describe it, out they go. The fact that their meritocracy grew but was still primarily built around scholar-elites, and some positions just went to elites is a bit paradoxical.
Foot binding is not cool! Not cool!
It's interesting that China wanted to keep the nomadic tribes out as much as they could yet relied on them so much for goods. It's also interesting that the nomads were the ones in control of most of the routes for the Silk Roads.
It's hilarious that the Chinese tribute system so often worked in favor of the northern nomads but China had to keep acting like they were the stronger party. Political rhetoric never really changes. I'm getting the sense that anyone who isn't Chinese will be called a barbarian based on which direction they are from.
So Korea uses China as a trading partner as part of its rulers legitimacy; Vietnam fought the cultural implications more and were considered the lesser trading partner by China and Japan just borrowed whatever they wanted without having to worry about being invaded and taken over like Korea and Vietnam.
While it didn't take long to build a new dynasty, China sure seems to go through a lot of them. I guess if the ruler doesn't keep the Mandate of Heaven the way the people describe it, out they go. The fact that their meritocracy grew but was still primarily built around scholar-elites, and some positions just went to elites is a bit paradoxical.
Foot binding is not cool! Not cool!
It's interesting that China wanted to keep the nomadic tribes out as much as they could yet relied on them so much for goods. It's also interesting that the nomads were the ones in control of most of the routes for the Silk Roads.
It's hilarious that the Chinese tribute system so often worked in favor of the northern nomads but China had to keep acting like they were the stronger party. Political rhetoric never really changes. I'm getting the sense that anyone who isn't Chinese will be called a barbarian based on which direction they are from.
So Korea uses China as a trading partner as part of its rulers legitimacy; Vietnam fought the cultural implications more and were considered the lesser trading partner by China and Japan just borrowed whatever they wanted without having to worry about being invaded and taken over like Korea and Vietnam.
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