CH 15 BLOG

Chapter 15 of Ways of the World highlights the cultural transformations that occurred between 1450 and 1750, emphasizing the impacts of science and religion. The Protestant Reformation happened in this time. It began when a German priest scrutinized the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church in a document known as the, Ninety-five Theses. I think it is important to speak up when you disagree with something and I am glad he had the courage to do so when facing such a powerful establishment as the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th century. The Catholic church was criticized for the luxurious lives of popes and other church officials, the corruption of some clergy, and the church's selling of indulgences, which were intended to relieve people of punishment for sins. I would agree with his concerns with the church. I think it is wrong for the Church to use money selfishly and wastefully. I think they should have been using it to either help the less fortunate and in need or to promote the spread of their religion. The Catholic church was then divided into subgroups, including the Protestants who supported the German priest, Martin Luther, mentioned earlier. I never realized how relatively recent it was that the Church had split into these divided groups. I have heard of Lutheran and Calvinist peoples, but I had previously assumed these groups were around as long as Catholicism. It is reported that the spread of Christianity was successful in Spanish America, seeing as many Native  Americans credited the success of European government and military to the support of their Christian God. Women who had served as priests, shamans, or ritual specialists were stripped of their status when they converted to Christianity. This reminds me of when the same happened to the Filipino women who also lost their religious status in the last chapter. I wish Christianity had not put such an emphasis on men in the church and allowed women a grander position. Women have a lot to offer and stripping them of their impact in the church definitely made a lasting impact on their social status. It is also reported that the spread of Christianity was much less successful in China. The Chinese felt their needs were met spiritually and had government strong enough to stand up against the European Jesuits. It is interesting how these impacts seem to have lasted after hundreds of years. I notice that in the present, Christianity is not the major religion of China, but it is in the Americas. It was also interesting to learn about the Hindu and Muslim populations of the past. The Hindu practice of "bhakti" sounded very fascinating. I wonder what the dance, poetry, songs, and rituals were like back then. I think it is beautiful when people express their faith in such creative ways and I am glad the memory of such practices remain today. I also enjoyed hearing about the unifying of Hindu and Muslim religions. The Guru Nanak founded Sikhism, the movement that believed there is only one shared God between Muslims and Hindus and supported the equality of men and women and disregarded caste distinctions. This seems to be one of the most unifying religious movements we have learned about so far and it makes me happy to hear about such a progressive thought process back in such conservative times. It was also very interesting to learn about how Copernicus was the first to discover that the Earth is not the center of the universe. It seems like such a basic piece of information, but this discovery was revolutionary back when it was first published to the public. It was interesting how science and religion clashed, as some people who had assumed God would make humans and their planet the center of the universe were upset by the conflicting discoveries of science. I think even today sometimes tension can be found between science and religion. I am glad scientists of the past such as Galileo and Copernicus made such discoveries, because such advances in science allowed for the scientific advantages of today. These were some of the most intriguing pieces of information from chapter 15.

CH 14 BLOG

Chapter 14 of Ways of the World explores the economic transformations that occurred between 1450 and 1750. Apparently, Europeans were drawn to participation in Asian commerce by their desire for goods such as tropical spices, Chinese silk, Indian cotton, rhubarb, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. I never realized spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper were at once considered tropical spices, I had always considered them native to North America. Europeans also sought economic recovery following the devastation of the Black Death. It made me happy to read that Europe was beginning to recover after a time of such terrible loss. They were able to establish a better system for taxing citizens, improve military forces with gunpowder weapons, and were even able to expand their cities. The Portuguese did not not have much to offer in trade, but were able to offer their unique military advantages to the other trading countries of the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese set up several military bases, which were almost all obtained by force and overpowering smaller and weaker states. I do not like in history when the smaller populations are picked on by the larger and more powerful ones. If the Portuguese wanted to be involved in trade so much, they should have invented something worth trading or established protective bases peacefully at the least. The Spanish were able to easily  take over the islands of the Philippines because of the Philippines' lack of communal government and military force. The Spanish spread Catholicism among the Philippines. This made sense to me because I regularly attend Catholic church and notice how involved the Filipino community is in the church. It is revealed that the Filipino women who played major parts in society as ritual specialists, healers, and midwives were replaced by male Spanish priests. This was very disappointing to learn. I feel bad for the women of the society, who clearly lost some of their social status when their jobs were taken from them. I feel bad for the loss of culture when they were no longer able to practice their own religious traditions. I also wish that women were allowed to play bigger roles in the Catholic church not only in the past, but the present as well. Learning about the slave trade is always upsetting, but I am glad it continues to be taught because it is an important issue that I believe impacts our society to this day. It was disconcerting to hear that African men and women were traded for textiles, metal goods, firearms, gunpowder, tobacco, alcohol, and beads. I can not believe people actually thought it was okay to purchase people and that you could price them at the cost of some desired material good. How could a life be equated to something as trivial as some beads? It is crazy to see in the chart on page 692 that between 1776 and 1800, over 2 million slaves were imported from Africa. Two million people is a ridiculously large number and to imagine that many people suffering and being treated as objects is very saddening. I am glad slavery came to an end and appreciative that no one I know and care about will have to deal with such a burden. These were some of the parts of chapter 14 that resonated with me most.