Chapters 14-16

Chapters 14-16

The two words I would use to best describe these chapters are “globalization” and “knowledge”.  In chapters 14 and 15 we see the global colonization and trade over virtually every inch of the planet, from Siberia to South America and everywhere in between.  The conquest and colonization of the Americas as well as the forcing of itself into the Indian Ocean trade market made Europeans a force to be reckoned with in the early modern era.  Many other empires saw prosperity and growth as well, like China, the Ottomans and Russia to name a few.  Not all was sunshine and roses.  The human toll was devastating in many parts of the world, but none more so than in the Americas. 

               As a Mexican-American, what I found most interesting about this week’s readings is how the different cultures evolved in the Americas.  I’ve always known that my parents and the majority of the people from where my parents originate in México are creoles or mestizo.  A small percentage of the population is actually native.  Here in the United States, the natives are also a very small percentage of the population but unlike México and Central and South America, there really aren’t any mixed race populations to speak of.  I’m not saying there aren’t any, but nothing comparable to what we now call Latin America has.  I had never really thought about this, but it probably explains why whenever people ask me what nationality I am and I reply, “Mexican”, they are astounded.  They can’t believe that someone fare skinned can be full blooded Mexican.  Now I realize that I’ve never thought of it from their perspective.  In the United States, the colonists did not mix with the natives to the same degree that the Spanish did in México and Central and South America and this is because the colonists that arrived at Plymouth Rock came with their women and the Spanish did not.  Therefore, I will no longer be so critical of people who are taken aback by nationality.  J

               In Chapter 16 we see the different world religions solidify their place in history and the world, but the most interesting to me was the perfect storm that led to the scientific revolution of this era.  The author asks, “Why Europe?”  I was wondering the same thing; why not in the great empires of China or Islam?  The answers seem so obvious now.  China was too focused on education for civil service only and the Muslims were only interested in the study of the Quran.  Europeans on the other hand, were not oppressed by religion for the first time in a long time.  They had the time and interest to pursue other ideas and methodologies.  During this era many of the fundamental theories and discoveries made in math, astronomy, geometry, anatomy and more are still those that we learn today in the twenty-first century.  I think this is incredible.  China, Japan and the Muslims didn’t feel compelled to pay any attention to what the Europeans were doing for some time, but they eventually came around.