May Madness - Montezuma I

Here's the link to my visual:

Montezuma I

MOTECUHZOMA ILHUICAMINA He was a wise warrior, statesman, anda noble leader.He was the ruler of the aztec triple Alliance!!BUt nevertheless, you should vote him! | Create Infographics

4/28 Homework

To what extent was WWI a global war?  Why did most Asians fight for the allies if they were pro-German?

World War I was a global war to the extent that Europeans had requested their colonies to join and assist them. Asian thought that the Great War was a European civil war yet they were involved and drawn in to fight. Many Asians had fought for the Allies due to personal reason for example, China hopes to checkmate Japan’s plans of aggression, and also that they were controlled by Allied Nations. At that moment, they were, before the ideas of democracy and independence, were under the mercy of their owners or "mother countries". Also, by aiding in success, it could lead to the colonies’ independence.

Map & Question

Map

When I was creating the map, certain questions popped in my head. For one thing, I did not know that Netherlands and the Dutch were the same. I also wondered how the land was split up. They were random plots of land which would go with one nation when the land in the territory was administered by a completely different nation. What made the leaders distribute their lands the way that it is? What happened to natives of those particular lands? How did the larger powers deal with the widespread population?

White Man's Burden Reading

Compare and contrast the sorts of adjectives Kipling uses to describe native peoples as opposed to Europeans; how does his very language usage convey his sense of white superiority?

Kipling describes native people very negatively versus his description of white men to establish that they(the Europeans) are superior to the natives. Kipling refers to the natives as "half-devil", and therefore not civilized. He even tries to say that the natives should let go of their tradition and adopt European tradition. Kipling believe that, if there was imperial rule in the Philippines the natives would not suffer anymore as the white men would "save them"(sounds great!; he also believed that imperialism was superior than the govt. of the natives). Kipling also notes that the way Europeans do things is the "right way" and that they are very ahead of the game; they are superior to the natives. Overall Kipling makes a not so valid point about how the Europeans are superior and the natives are not(and so on..and so forth...).

Political Cartoon - Japan

Historical Significance:

In the 19^th century, the Japanese society was in turmoil. The agricultural productivity was declining, crop failures, famine, harsh taxation, starvation; many sold their lands, left their homes, increasing debts which all lead to the oppositions against the Tokugawa bakufu. They, in turn, responded with conservative reform which provoked strong opposition. That was not the only issue the Tokugawa bakufu had to deal with, they also had foreign pressures. The Tokugawa bakufu faced the insistence on the establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations by foreign lands such as Great Britain, France and the United States. The United States sought ports for Pacific merchants and whaling fleets which could stop for fuel and provisions. The Tokugawa official had refused such request and stuck to their policy of excluding all Europeans (except the Dutch that controlled trade in Nagasaki) and American visitors to Japan. Although in 1853, that situation has been changed when Commodore Matthew C. Perry, with his trained guns, came to the bakufu capital Edo and demanded the shogun to open Japan to diplomatic and commercial relations and sign a treaty of friendship. Other followed soon after winning similar rights and Japan agreed to series of unequal treaties that opened Japanese ports to foreign commerce.

The Political Cartoon:

            This political depicts a scene where the Tokugawa have created this wall, keeping everyone away. They are a few foreigners that are trying to climb this wall and the man with American flags climbs the wall and is standing on it with a paper that says Treaty. The wall is a metaphor for the Japanese’s refusal to establish diplomatic and commercial relations. They are many who try to create these relations but the Tokugawa stick to their policy of excluding foreigners such as Europeans and Americans. The man who is holding the American flag is Commodore Matthew C. Perry who trained his guns and demanded for diplomatic and commercial relations and sign the treaty. The other men that are also climbing men are Europeans. As the illustration depicts, the other men are about to reach the top and are behind the American. Due to their treaty of friendship with the Japanese, the Americans help the Europeans to sign treaties with Tokugawa who had opened their ports for foreign commerce. 

Page 886 - Young Turks

How do the plans of the Young Turks privilege their own age cohort within the Ottoman Empire?

As statement 3 states, any Ottoman that is of age twenty can vote without having any property. This ensures that the young Turk, who does not have property at the age twenty, can vote. Statements such as 16 and 17 state that education is free to every citizen. Also, secondary and higher education will be public. This helps the young Turks to obtain a good education.

Briton's Anatomy of a Revolution

The steps of the revolution are:
The first stage:
       The first action were taken were distinct opposing groups were created and a small and slightly unorganized groups that represent the majority against the grievances. The government is forced to use force but it's late to do so and the power is incapable of ruling.
The second stage:
       There's a conflict between the moderate and extreme revolutionaries, and the radicals win as a result of their better organization. The following revolutionary government creates an era called the Terror, with harsh rules and violence.
The third stage:
       There's an ebb in zealousness and a Thermidorian Reaction occurs. With this reaction, life comes back to back to normal, and another ruler comes to power, bringing a revised version of the former governance.

Neil Ferguson: 6 Killer Apps of Prosperity

Ferguson poses the question as to how the westerners became dominant in the 'global scene', and answers it effectively. He brings up examples of historical figures, who also questioned this and attempted to answer this question such as Muteferrika, who said that is "because they have laws and rules invented by reason". This statement has a great weight to it, as it notes how European institutions (governments etc.) "embraced" the ideas of the people(which were common sense) and laws were made as such. Ferguson also makes it very clear, it was not geography or national character it was ideas and institutions that led to the west's dominance. A great modern example that Ferguson mentioned was the division of a country that has very similar culture but given different governments and that is why became totally different. He refers to the separation of North Korea(which had communism) and South Korea(which was a democratic/republic). North Korea, stagnated technologically and South Korea as a contrast is a much more advanced country, or more "dominant". Ferguson then says how the west diverged from the East, through his "6 killer apps". The first was competition. In Europe there was competition, between all corporations and various institutions versus China which was very monolithic. Then he mentions the scientific revolution; in Europe there was a grand revolution which was not seen anywhere else in the world. Then he mentions property rights; in North America where people actually owned land versus a country like Latin America where a select few owned land. Then he mentions modern medicine(the obvious one!); in Europe(west) because of this life expectancy nearly doubles versus the sorcery( & mercury 'dranks') in China.Then he mentions the consumer society, where people must buy stuff(West produced and sold a bunch of goods). Finally, he mentions the importance of work ethic; where people will work if there are institutions that provide incentive for work(such as the land grants) in the West. To end his talk, he mentions this idea of re-convergence where the East and West will be on the same level in terms of "world dominance". To answer one of his questions, is the west deleting their apps? Yes, as American are simply losing their work ethic(deleted app 6). Whereas, China for example is ahead in terms of math scores and patents(more innovation/technological inventions). To answer another one of his questions, can Africa get the sequence right? Before I answer this, I must say that my answer is based of a Fareed Zakaria segment. Africa is a unique country as they necessarily do not adhere to the usual sequence of events (they do not necessarily need to gain security then gain democracy). Africa has taken use of some of the apps, as it is one of the most promising places (some parts of the country) economically. Africa is developing a thriving, consumer society and they have a great work ethic which may led to Africa being the next superpower(in terms of wealth). Overall, this was a very interesting Ted talk, and points out the obvious which is that the west is not as dominant as it once was. It is intriguing to see how many other countries are catching up to the west, and it will be very interesting to see the affects of this on the "global scene" in the coming years.

Islamic Pocket Map

Olaudah Equiano on the Middle Passage

On the basis of Equiano's account, what measures did the crews of slave ships take to ensure maximum profits from their business of transporting human cargoes?

The enslaved passengers traveled below decks in hideously cramped quarters. The ships had given the slaves enough room to sit but not stand and some were forced to lie in chains on small shelves. The crew of the slave ships had fit a lot of slaves into one ship in order to maximize their profit for business. The conditions on the ship were horrific and the crew member took the initiative to save lives, to gain profit, by forcing them to eat and had pitched the sick out in the ocean before they infect the others slaves and waste limited supplies of food.

Born With A Silver Spoon Reading

Where is the silver going?  Where is it coming from?  Who are the major players in the 'silver trade'?

China was the primary buyer of silver. The Spanish America had led in supply, deriving its silver from American regions such as Mexico, Acapulco, and others in Latin America. The second supplier was Japan, although the country's exports dropped significantly in the 17th century. The major players in the 'silver trade' were Spain, and its American tributaries, Portugal, the Dutch, Japan, China, and the Philippines (it's port, Manilla).  

DBQ

I thought the essay was easy but I couldn't finish it on time. What I like about DBQs is that you don't need to bring in additional information from the outside, you just whatever information is given to you. I think it's easier then the other two types of essay. I forgot to write about why the documents important. I forgot to do analysis. I was about to finish, I only had a few documents that I couldn't mention in my essay so I need to manage my time properly. By managing my time, I can finish the essay on time in the future. I need to work on point of view and a little bit about how the essay will be set up.  

Columbus

Does Columbus deserve his own holiday? Why does he have one? Should we reconsider?

Christopher Columbus has his own holiday because he had "discovered" America. That is however incorrect because the Vikings, Polynesians, and others had already landed in the America before him. Also, one cannot discover a place if they are other inhabitants before. Columbus should not be given that much attention for accidentally landing to the Americas. He refused to acknowledge that he made it to a different, new continent. I do think we should reconsider, after all, he also brought diseases that killed many.

Menzie's Argument

Do you buy Menzie's argument that Zheng He's fleet made it to America before Columbus? Evaluate the evidence he used and explain why or why not.

I do not completely buy Menzie’s argument that Zheng He’s fleet made it to America before Columbus. It is an interesting idea but the use of evidence by Menzie does not prove his argument as well as it should. The narrator states his idea as a “theory that defines academic opinion,” already losing its credibility. Menzie states that an Italian merchant, Niccolo deConti, had sailed with Zheng He to America and that his accounts were used to make a map of the western world. It is unknown whether Niccolo deConti had anything to do with the map, but it is known that a merchant provided some information for the map. Menzie connects the two, though there is not proof to add credibility. Menzie also states that the Chinese ship, junks, would have been ideal for the journey across the Atlantic and would have been able to withstand the conditions, much better than the Columbus’ ships. The difference between the junk’s ability, what it could have done and what they actually did, and it is unknown is it unknown whether or not they actually reached America. A somewhat substantial evidence would be that the Native American DNA is closer to the Chinese than to the Europeans or African DNA. Although, it needs to be further explored in order to find out if it proves anything.

Aztec Podcast

The Three Things I Had No Idea About
1. They were considered as barbarians, different from all the other civilizations in the Mesoamerica area.
2. The language of the Aztecs did not originate from where they had lived which suggests that the Aztecs had originated from somewhere else.
3. The Aztecs were considered 'Stone Age' with neolithic obsidian tools, no wheel, etc. but they were sophisticated and advanced in arts etc.

The Two Things I Found Interesting
1. They had a theory that the Aztecs were Egyptians that had moved because of the Aztec pyramids were similar to the Egyptians. They thought that the Egyptians sailed across the Atlantic and created this empire.
2. The Aztecs were pretty big. They had a largest and the most ruthless empire in the pre-Hispanic empire.

The One Question I Have For The Aztecs
1. About human sacrifices, how many humans did you sacrifice for the sake of the ritual?

St. Thomas Aquinas & His Proof

What are five examples of proof that Aquinas gives to prove the existence of god?

The first example that St. Thomas Aquinas gave is the idea of motion and change. Change occurs, according to him, when an external factor causes the change. There must be a thing that sets the change in motion as everything has a potential for change. Aquinas uses firewood as an example, the firewood has potential to be hot but that change cannot occur until something that exist lights the wood on fire. Once it has changed, the process cannot keep continuing. This thing cannot be the mover and the moved, similar to something hot cannot get hotter, but had the potential to be cold. He says that in the grand scheme of things, there must have been a first mover, which according to him is God.

The second example is chain of cause. Basically, a proof is tied with the first one, that every single cause and effect must start somewhere which is like dominoes. One cause leads to another to then another one. Not having the first cause prevents the last cause from occurring or the whole chain. The first cause, he claims, is God.

The third example of proof is that everything has a cause for existing or does not. Although, there is one thing that exists without a cause of anything. It must exist in nature of its own, independent which in other words is God.

The fourth proof that Aquinas said is that everything has certain attributes, such as good and evil etc. These degree of attributes can increase or decrease, hence they are some kinder than others. He provides an example about heat and that it continues until it reaches it’s great extent which similar to the degree of things that are found in the world which also increase towards the highest or greatest point. God, as Aquinas points out, is the cause of all existence and perfection.

The last proof is the claim of that natural beings function to a plan. These beings follow the plans of higher being than them, similar to an arrow by an archer. According to Aquinas, there must be one thing that is smarter than others and is capable of guiding itself and everything below it to which he says that that is God.

Post-Classical Africa Map

Mongol Trial

Mongol Trial 5

Today is the day! The first day of the trials where we are convicting the Mongols for their crimes! Shivesh did the opening statement and did a very good job. His opening statement was very moving, well done and showed that he was well-prepared. Nathan who did the opening statement for the defense sort of helped the prosecution. After the opening statements of both, the defense and prosecution, we moved on with calling witnesses to the stand for direct as well as cross examination. Dillon who was the Pope Innocent was first then I was. After us, Rachel was called to the stand and that was all for the first day. And hopefully tomorrow will be great for the prosecution!

Mongol Trial 6

Today is the second day of the trial. We had 3 witnesses from the prosecution that had to be called to the stand. Anjali was first then Tommy then Tori. The defense did not do so well; when Nathan was questioning the witness, he kept going in circles, he was asking irrelevant questions and eventually he ran out of time. After that, the witnesses were called to stand for direct and cross examinations. Michelle was the cross examiner and she did an amazing job! She showed sass and she should definitely be a lawyer in the future. Today was really good the prosecution side and we got the evidence that we were convicting them of. I’m looking forward to the closing statements because they are important to the trial. Ashay is going to do the closing statement from the prosecution side. I think the defense's closing statement will be interesting but they have no chance of winning this trial.

Mongol Trial

Mongol Trial Day 1

Today, on the first day, we figured out who would do what. After starting out with more than 2 lawyers, we made several changes and switches, and we now have 6 witnesses and 4 lawyers. I am the Abbasid caliph, Al-Mustasim. Today was productive, we got done what we had to and progress was made. We created our twitter and blog. I was then able to start my research. I found out information about Al-Mustasim. At home, I finished reading one-third of the chapter and took notes.

Mongol Trial Day 2

Today in class with the small amount of class time left, we basically clarified and worked on further for the trial. I completed my story about Al-Mustasim, the Abbasid caliph, and my story is pretty solid. Tonight, I read another third of the chapter and also thought about what questions the defense will ask.

Mongol Trial Day 3

Today in class we made a lot of progress. I, along with other witnesses continued working on our back stories and made helpful stories that the defense can't poke holes through. Also, the witnesses had a twitter war with the Mongol defense. I believe this trial will be intense because of the trash talks on twitter. The lawyers compiled questions for example, Maya, the direct examiner, met with the witnesses and talked to them about what she going to ask them particularly; the other lawyers were creating their opening and closing statements and the cross examiner was looking up information to find holes in the defense’s argument.

Mongol Trial Day 4

In class, we watched the documentary which took most of class time.  I talked to Maya, the direct examiner, about the questions that she will ask me. At home, I finished reading last part of the chapter and looked over some important points.