THEME 2: BIG HISTORY

By: Kasandra Bartels

History 140

PEOPLES AND EMPIRES This book starts off by explaining the First

World Conqueror, the people of Europe who began in ancient Greece. The Greeks are thought of as “extreme travelers.”

The book goes back further in history with Cyclopes, who destroyed Odysseus’s army. These people know of no travel and have never left their home.

Travel is said to broaden the horizons of life. The first person to make this discovery was Solon, who created the first political society in European history.

PEOPLES AND EMPIRES Most of Greek history is centered around

wanderers in search of knowledge. The ‘father of history’ Herodotus, traveled from Egypt to Libya, then Babylon to the Phoenician city of Tyre, and ending up in southern Russia.

Great adventures, colonization and conquest such as this required very skilled navigators with large ships.

Immanuel Kant believed that human conflict was nature forcing intelligent men to leave their homes and travel to a new place.

PEOPLES AND EMPIRES The “triumph of the west” is the

capacity to transform and army of men into men who are able to destroy their enemies.

The Athenian army comes to mind, with a soldier holding a spear and shield.

Each man shelters and is sheltered by his neighbor, they are brothers who work as one.

The survival of a soldier depends on the survival of the entire army.

GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL Some main arguments the author

highlights are illustrated in these articles and films:He argues that the Eurasian village is not

created our of pure will, that it is only the result of a chain of developers. Much like the ripple effect. This happened, so that happened too.

The first loop in the chain starts with hunter/gatherer, then moves to agriculture. This leads to food surpluses. As these societies grow, classes among the people are made. This is how empires of civilizations are developed.

GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL Eurasia had an advantage with

agriculture, because of their suitable plants and animals.

On the downside, Native Americans had troubles when growing maize, since it must be planted one by one.

Sub-Saharan Africans had mostly wild animals, while Eurasia had larger animals that were easily taimed.

As agriculture grew, societies grew. This in turn resulted in trade.

GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL America had a hard time when

developing agriculture at a given latitude for the use of other latitudes. An example of this struggle are the Rocky Mountains.

Africa also had frustrations with crops because of their extremely dry climate. Certain places had an abundance of plants and animals, while other parts of Africa had nothing. Plants and animals cannot survive in certain parts of Africa, and this created a problem with agriculture.

THE ORIGINS AND NATURE OF NEW WORLD SLAVERY Chattel slavery is the oldest institution

known in written records, which has been practiced in several countries over many thousands of years.

Many slaves became a part of cannibalism and ritual sacrifice, sexual exploitation, torture and even death.

Slaves were defined as “not one of us” an alien, so they were often treated as cattle, stripped naked and sold like livestock.

THE ORIGINS AND NATURE OF NEW WORLD SLAVERY All kinds of slavery contradicted

themselves. The main root of slavery is inequality. This refers to the desire to dominate over another person and train them to please their owners, acting as a loving pet.

Slaves were supposed to be submissive and give satisfaction with respect. They were not allowed to talk back, and to show perfect fidelity. They must accept the authority of their masters, even though the commands are harsh.