Chapter 22-23

Chapter 22 - The End of Empire

While reading about empires and civilizations that lasted centuries in power, it was shocking to read how the last countries that were under colonization became independent.  The end of the empire era came to its final stages when the African and Indian continents decided to take control of their countries and decided to become independent countries.  Africa and Asia waited for the right moment to fight for their independence, moments in which the European countries were not as strong as they were decades ago.  

One of the positive results from having learned for previous wars was that people with a sense of education didn’t approve living under foreign regimes, they had new ideas and started to share their views of a free independent nation with those around them.   European colonizers were being pressured and didn’t want to lose the control the had gained in Africa and Asia, These countries profits were essential to the European economy.

The independence of these countries was not easy, their leaders had specific agendas to not turn their path to independence in a blood battle, they were powerful and well strategized leaders.  Gandhi and his nonviolent followers rallied in India, in Africa freedom guerrilla fighters.  Even-though African and Asian leaders were trying to have peaceful encounters, their counter parts saw them as intruders because they wanted to be independent.  A set back that these countries didn’t see coming were the political struggles they were going to face.  once they were independent, they needed to figure their political agenda, and how they were going to run their countries.  In India and South Africa, the Communist Party took control.  

Chapter 23 - Capitalism and Culture

The words capitalism and culture don’t really seem to go together, for the word capitalism can hinder the value and real meaning of a culture.  In the twenty-first it is hard not to give more meaning to these two words, on one had, the world capitalism is playing an important role all around the world.  More and more countries are merging their businesses in other countries, this can have negative and positive outcomes for everyone.  The term globalization explains how countries start to open up factories, firms, companies and business in other countries.  With growth comes instability and inequality, while global value keeps on growing, there are other areas that benefit from it;  life expectancy have expanded in many parts of the world,  literacy has increased as well and rates in infants death have decrease.  the wealthiest people around the world are getting wealthier.  Globalization has created inequalities around the globe,   

the people that form the “upper class citizens”  continue to have and make positive changes to their present and future, they have better opportunities; while people in third world countries, don’t have the same chances of making any positive changes. 

Part 6-

Part 6

Chapter 19, 20, and 21.

It was interesting the way historians or scholars have decided to read down the periods of history.  It is hard to believe the we have being part of it since the very precise moment that Earth form.  Sadly, we are also not being careful of how we use every resource available to us.  In the Empire of Collision chapter, we learned of how European countries took advantage of other countries that were having a hard time putting their countries to function properly.  China was a powerful and wealthy country, China suffered a crisis and it was hard to recovered from it.  China didn’t want to wanted to give in preferential treatment to Britain, the Chinese emperor Qianlong, stated that China didn’t needed the imports for unwanted “barbarians.”  the fight that China had to eradicate the Opium usage in the country was unfavorable,  many Chinese citizens addiction  to opium made it difficult for those that wanted Britain to be out or their country.  The struggle that hit China also hit other countries, among those countries Japan and the Ottoman Empire.  These countries struggle to put their economy and country back in shape, but as soon as they started to compete and started to not let other countries extracts heir valuable resources, these countries started to flourish.   

WH-Week II

The Second Wave of Civilizations in World History came to change future civilizations,  earlier civilizations took care of the agricultural advantages.  Second civilizations had different views, the were working towards building greater, bigger, and powerful civilizations; or in the case of many nations they had empires.  As massive and powerful as some of these empires were, they also had they weakness.  The Persian Empire had colossal numbers of people under their empire,   35-50 million people, an empire of Indo-European people that stretched their conquest from India to Egypt. As well as the Persian Empire, the Greek, the Roman, and Chinese, it was unavoidable not to fall, a few dynasties lasted for a few centuries before they collapsed.

While reading WW, I was in shocked.  After taking a few history classes in community colleges, I though of history being repetitive, like going in circle.  After reading the prologue, I started to think about how we came to exist.  At the same time it is a bit depressing because we are using a lot of our natural resources, sadly we some habitats have been in danger of extinction because we have been wasteful.  In part one -First Things First- states that we have overusing our resources.  It also shows that thousands of years ago, earlier civilizations had different use of their natural resources.  In the Americas and some countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, were agricultural societies.