Chapter 20: An Accident Waiting to Happen

While the rest of the world might view Europe and Europeans as a monolithic force with global reach, the continent was beset with many rivalries. As part of the long-term legacy of the post-Roman era of unity, Europe was a chessboard of competing nation-states in the west and multi-ethnic empires in the east. These conflicts would dramatically threaten Europe’s overall power in the world.

This assassination set in motion a series of states going to war based upon alliances. These alliances were initially designed as a deterrent, but in the end they made the conflict in the Balkans a much larger war. Nationalism was also at the heart of the outbreak of the war. Throughout Europe, people identified with their larger nation-state and often cheered the declaration of war against perceived enemy states. This popular support for war made the First World War a unique moment in world history.

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, June 28, 1914. The spark that set off the war was the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne by Serbian nationalists during his visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina. When he was killed, few could predict that within six weeks, a European-wide war would break out.

Revolutions of Industrialization

Industrialization offered new opportunities to people with important skills, such as carpentry, metallurgy, and machine operations. Some creative people became engineers or opened their own businesses, but for the majority of those who left their farming roots to find their fortunes in the cities, life was full of disappointments. Most industrial jobs were boring, repetitive, and poorly paid. Workdays were long with few breaks, and workers performed one simple task over and over with little sense of accomplishment. Unlike even the poorest farmer or craftsman, factory workers had no control over tools, jobs, or working hours. Factory workers could do very little about their difficulties until later part of the period, when labor unions formed and helped to provoke the moral conscience of some middle class people.

Religion and Science

After reading chapter 15 Religion and Science, Bridging Hindu/Muslim Divide, I agree with Sikhism.  There shouldn't be your God or my God, religion was created by humans.  The caste system was created by humans who were well off, more wealthier or educated than others.  The Hindu book, Bhagavad
Gita, does not mention the caste or the status of a person, instead it states that all human beings should treat each other equally.

Hindu's in Fiji Island, does not believe in the caste system.  In 1800's when British took Indian's from all over India to Fiji, to work on the sugar cane plantation.  The caste system was dropped, because we had no connection to India.  Fijian -Indian's follow the religion but there has been a lot of changes.  Our food is heavily influence by Nepal, and the dialect has changed as well.

Chapter 9 The Messenger and the Message

The rebirth of a new religion was by an individual name Mohammad Ibn Abdullah.  When he was a child he lost his parents, so his uncle took care of him.  In order to stay with his uncle he had to work as a shepherd.  As Mohammad got older he became a trader and traveled as far north as Syria.  When he turned 25 he married a rich widow and fathered her six children.  He was deeply troubled with religion.  Later, he strongly believed that he was Allah's messenger to Arabs.

As the messenger of god, Muhammad presented himself in the line of earlier prophets, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and many others.

Chapter 7 Commerce and Culture

What was the impact of disease along the silk roads?

People were exposed to unfamiliar diseases to which they had little immunity or effective methods of coping.  The spread of some particular epidemic diseases led to deaths on a large scale.

Greek city-state of Athens in 430 – 429 B.C.E. was suffering from a new disease that had entered Greece through seaborne trade from Egypt.  It killed about 25% of their army and weakened the city state.

Between 534 and 750 B.C.E. outbreaks of bubonic plague spread the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea through the black rats that carried the disease arrived through seaborne trade with India.  The capital city of Byzantine Empire, lost thousands of people per day. 

In the fourteenth century the Black Death, identified variously with bubonic plague, anthrax, or a package of epidemic diseases, swept away nearly 1/3 of the population in Europe, China, and the Middle East.

Some people were benefited from the disease which increased appeal to religions-Christianity & Buddhism.
Tenant farmers/urban workers demanded higher prices and became wealthy.

Early Classical Era: Chapter 3 State & Empire

Early Classical Era:  Chapter 3 State & Empire

Part 2:

How did the Rome grow from a single city to the center of a huge empire?

Rome spontaneously started as a small city on the western side of central Italy in the 18^th 

century B.C.E.  The city was so weak that they started to kidnap women from the neighbor city to maintain they’re popularity.  They later became the center of an enormous imperial state that include the Mediterranean basin and included parts of continental Europe, Great Britain, North Africa, and the Middle East.

At one point Rome was ruled by a king but later established republic, where rich men were dominated and they were known as patricians.  They loved their political system and believed that they had more freedom than some of their neighboring countries.  Later they build launched their empire building enterprise. 

Between 264 and 146 B.C.E, the victory between the Punic Wars with Carthage, extended its capital and made Roman control over the western Mediterranean, which included Spain. This power also brought ancient civilizations of Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia, under Roman domination.  They also expanded their territory in France and Brittan.

Poor soldiers hoped for land, loot, or salaries. If the ones who did well or had a great connection got house, properties, promotions.

I'm done

First task completed!