The Opium Wars

During the 19th century, the Opium War broke out between Britain and China. China had traded many goods with Britain including tea, which is now very popular and important to Europe. Britain began to trade opium with China to prevent any problems in the future with the one sided trade. Opium is a highly addictive drug in which is made from poppy plants. The use of opium made much of China's population addicted, damaging China's economy when they tried to pay for all the opium using tea, gold and silver. In 1838, Chinese government started to regulate opium trade with Britain and would not allow opium into the country. China wouldn't back down to the pressuring British, leading to British attackings on China. This was known as the Opium Wars. Britain ended up victorious and China was forced to sign a treaty that allowed opium to be traded in its ports. The treaty made the sale of opium legal and caused the Chinese economy to weaken.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

Mountains of the Moon is a historical film about explorers John Speke and Richard Burton. It talks about their journey through Africa's territory and their search for the Nile River. They dealt with many problems while on their mission because they were unfamiliar with the area. They also had to deal with scorching hot weather and short supply of food and water. The African tribes that lived in Africa weren't very friendly to John and Richard because they never seen white people before and they felt that their territory was being invaded. The tribes attacked them but these fights resulted in retreats. Later on in the movie they dealt had problems with other tribes and animals like lions and insects.

Although the Europeans were new to Africa, they had many advantages. Their strongest advantage was their technology. They had more up-to-date and better weapons such as guns, which are more handy than spears or bows and arrows. The Europeans' technology was so superior that it helped them conquer Africa. This also helped them discover the Nile River, and a lake which they named Lake Victoria after their queen.

The Meiji Restoration of Japan

Japan had always been a country dedicated to isolation. They didn't want to trade with any other countries and only looked out and worried for themselves. In 1853, European explorers such as Mathew Perry voyaged to Japan and wanted trade of water and coal. The Japanese were stunned by the European's technology. Since Japan was an archipelago, a small group of islands, it would be easy to trade. The Japanese disliked the idea of opening trade with the Europeans and many fought the Europeans because of this idea. But with the helpof superior and such advanced technology, Mathew Perry was able to force trade with Japan. This led to the fall of Japanese shogunates and the restoration of power for the Emperor Meiji.

Trade helped Japan move towards modernization. Japans government was expanded and the country became more open to trade. Japan was introduced to many other outside cultures and goods. The population and industrialization increased. The Emperor had limited control and less power than the shogun and he soon became meaningless. All of these changes led to such a strong and advanced country as Japan is today.

Karl Marx and Communism

Karl Marx didn't like life situations during the Industrial Revolution and he wanted a new form a government, so he created the idea of Communism. He helped make the Communist Manifesto which were the rules and principals of Communism. Marx's idea of Communism was created to end Capitalism and Socialism, make all people share the same rights and end the bourgeoisie class system.

Karl Marx believed that a Communist country was supposed to be ruled by its people. All people should have the same rights and pay no matter what profession. He didn't like how some had power and others didn't . Workers shared common wealth their bosses and class system would no longer be used. Although Karl Marx's ideas were very fair, they weren't used in Communist countries. Instead, the people were controlled by a strict dictator and had limited rights. The people couldn't speak against the government and the media was censored.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

Karl Marx didn't agree with the industrial revolution. He didn't like the fact that factory owners controlled the workers because they were the ones doing all the work. Working conditions in the factory were harsh and dangerous. Karl Marx invented the idea of communism, an imrpoved and classless society, and wanted the government to be used by all of the "common" people. The industrial revolution inspired Karl Marx's idea of communism because he disliked how the people, especially the workers, were being treated. He also didnt like how the workers had no power. Karl Marx came up with common people ruling all of the other people and treaing them equally. This new idea would have everyone working for the same amount of money and society and government would produce only what was needed.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

After many revolutions took place in many parts of the world, a new type of government was needed. Some wanted monarchys to rule the people again, but an idea of nationalism came upon the people. Nationalism is the belief that ones loyalty and belief should bein people who share common cultures. Countries should also become nation states, making borders to seperate these states. All the people followed the same common rules.

The United States is a nationalist country. We have a common flag, national anthem, follow the same laws and almost everbody in the US share a common culture, whether its religion or political views. Although some people aren't born in the US, they still mantain nationalist qualities. For example, everyone supports their countries in sports or wars.

Nationalism helped create many nation states. Empires were being broken apart by nationalist movements, such as the Russian and Austrian-Hungarian empires. Italy was once ruled by Austria, but the people wanted change so during 1848, many violent revolts broke out. People wanted to make Italy a nation state, but their attemts failed. A prime minister named
Camillo di Cavour helped unite Italy and gain its freedom as a nation state.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

Simon Bolivar was a famous military leader. He was also a famous liberator, whose accomplishments help free many South American countries from the rule of Spain. He was a well educated man who was born in Venezuela. He was schooled in Spain and traveled through Italy and France. In Europe and America, Bolivar was inspired by enlightenment thinkers such as Locke. When traveling through the US, he finally realized that it was time for his country to have a revolution. Bolivar started a revolution that led to Venezuela's independence on July 5th, 1811. After freeing Venezuela from Spain's rule, he continued leading his army and started freeing more countries. He then established the republic of Colombia, in which he granted himself president. He continued to free more countries and eventually freed Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. After this, Simon Bolivar was considered the greatest revolutionary hero for South America.

Robespierre and The Reign of Terror

France's government became more democratic after the French Revolution. This caused the middle class and poor people to gain more power. But the new leaders did not meet all the people's expectations and standards. King Lous XVI lost alot of his power while radical clubs in France tried to take control of the government. These clubs also tried to get rid of anyone in the old government by using the guillotine to publicly execute people. After trying to escape France, King Lous XVI was captured, charged with treason and killed.

Because of these executions, there was much fear of France's government and people. Afer this, Maximilien Robespierre took control of the government and killed any trace of old monarchys. He also closesd churches and killed a lot of people. He was basically a dictator whose rule was known as "The Reign of Terror" due to so many executed and killed people. Later on he was killed and a new government was formed.

The French Revolution

1) Many people in France would be critical of the nobles, the King and the clergy because first off they were treated as underclassman and didn't get as much idependance, fairness and equality as the nobles, the King ad the clergy. Second, the people were forced to pay taxes during economic problems to support the King, nobles and church. The French people were not satisfied with the way their government and country was ruled because they felt as if they had no power at all.

2) The French peasants in 1789 might have grumbled about paying taxes and being forced to do military service. Also they were being treated unfairly by the government.

3) Source A shows a peasant carrying someone from the clergy and a noble on his back. This picture has many meanings but one interpretation I had of it was that the peasant had to support all the other "higher" classes and hoped for a revolution that would make him stop supporting them.

4) The author if source B describes the peasants' lives as being harsh and unfair. The peasants didn't have that much but still had to pay taxes in which were difficult for them to pay.

5) Yes. It shows that the poor had a hard lifestyle and what made it worse was that they had to pay to support the rich people. It shows that they want to go against the rich people anhd have a revolution to eliminate their harsh, unfair lives.

6) The peasants would be influenced by John Locke because they would like some of the ideas he came up with like equality, fairness and control over picking their rulers. The peasants didn't like their form of government and would rather have a democracy in France. With a democracy, the peasants would live easier lives.

7) It was banned by the government and higher authority because they didn't want the peasants to revolt against them. Since a majority of France's population at the time were peasants, the high authorities would be outnumbered if the peasants were ever to revolt. It was also banned because the government wanted their rules to be followed and they didn't want the peasants to form a new type of government.

John Locke and "The Enlightment"

The U.S. Constitution was heavily influenced by John Locke when it was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. The Constitution states that all men are equal and have the same rights. Since they are equal, they should have equal opportunities and should be treated equal. Also stated in the Constitution was that the people of the United States of America should control and make decisions for the government. The government should do what is best for the people, ensuring saftey and hapiness. If the government fails to follow the peoples' rules, the government can be abolished and a new ruler will be chosen to follow their demands.

Copernicus and the trial of Galileo

Geocentrism and Heliocentrism are both theories of the Solar System. Heliocentrism is Copernicus' belief that the Sun is in the center of the Solar System. Geocentrism is the belief that the Earth is in the center of the Solar System, making every other planet, moons and sun revolve around it. The geocentric theory came first but was proven wrong during the scientific revolution, making the heliocentric theory more accurate.

In 1633, Galileo was put on trial because he believed in Copernicus' theory of heliocentrism, which stated that the Sun was the center of the universe. Because of the bible, the Catholic church supported geocentrism and decided to put him on trial when they became angered over Galileo's book on heliocentrism. Galileo was charged with going against the Catholic church who planned on arresting or even killing him. This trial was the end of Galileo's freedom and the end of the Italian Renaissance. 

Scientific Revolution: The Scientific Method

Back in the 1500s, scholars used ancient Greek and Romans or the bible to get ideas about science. When the scientific revolution came about, scientists learned that much of the information and beliefs that was taught for thousands of years was wrong. The scientific method was used to prove or disapprove an idea or belief during an experiment. The scientific method consists of  five steps; the problem, hypothesis, experiment, observation and results and conclusion. The problem is the idea or theory in which would like to learn about or experiment on. The hypothesis is a  prediction of the outcome of your experiment. After these two steps, you then perform your experiment and take notes on what you observed happening. You put all the new information that was learn during the experiment together, and establish whether your hypothesis or beliefs was correct or incorrect. 

EVOLUTION VS. CREATION

Darwin's Theory of Evolution believes that all life and organisms are related and has descended from the same ancestors. It believes that life has evolved from non-living things and that complex creatures naturally evolve from simple organisms over time. When organisms are created mutations occur. These mutations are beneficial and are passed down from generation to generation. over time this creates new organisms. So basically this theory is that mankind is related to all animals such as apes and we share the same ancestors.

Creationism is a religious belief that humanity, life, Earth and the universe were created by one great power known as a god or deities. Creationisn deals with many religions such as Catholic and Judaism. It does not support the theory of evolution and can be very controversial.

I personally believe in creationism all because I am true to my religion. I do believe that God created everything. I also belive in Creationism because its kind of hard to believe that every single living thing is created. I definately do not want to be known as a gorillas cousin!