Copernicus: From the Renaissance Era; when science and art were booming. He devised a model of what he believed the universe had looked like. His model involved placing the sun in the center of the Universe, unlike the opinions of the majority which involved their home planet Earth, as the center of the Universe. Today, his model’s impact on the field of astronomy is apparent.
2. Mongols: Used to refer to the group of people who were once part of an empire in the beginning around the 12th to 13th century. They resided in Asia and were once led by the notorious Genghis Khan – whose reign was the first thing that led to Mongolia growing into a powerful empire which would eventually reach places now known as Moscow and Baghdad.
3. Colombian Exchange: After the New World known as The Americas was ‘discovered’, the eastern and western world would later begin sharing things the other half didn’t have. This would end up becoming a trade of foods, people, technology, ideologies and animals that would play a vital role in the development of The Americas and the advancement of the Old World.
4. Industrial Revolution: This took place throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Through advancements in technology, consumerism and capitalism were given new windows of opportunity as concepts such as mass production came into existence thanks to the birth of new advanced manufacturing equipment that lives now in factories. Societies shifted from being more rural to more industrial – with factories becoming a popular thing, employing people and children to get production needs met. Not everyone agreed with the technological advancements of this time.
5. Louis XIV: Once a monarch of France prior to Napoleon’s birth and eventual military leader. He became the monarch of France at the small age of only 4 years old. Louis XIV had through a few wars, won some territory for France. A mistake on his behalf was how he unknowingly led France into an economic depression which would cause the public to change their opinions about the current governing system.
Section 2:
Topics: The Black Death (option 1) & The French Revolution (option 3)
Black Death
Ravaging the Eastern World during the Middle Ages, the Black Death (also known as the Bubonic Plague) would eventually be claimed to have wiped out nearly 60% of Europe’s entire population. The Black Death was a disease that would be imprinted in the minds of millions of people during the mid 1300s due to its devastating effect on the lives of millions; wiping many out on a rapid level. Being caused by rodents, the disease would prove to be no easy epidemic to either fight or control, with that being said it had a tremendous negative impact on Europe in many ways; to the church, art, and a long-term reduction in the overall number of people living in the world during the time.
Religion was very influential during the 14th century and had a notable influence on many things. When the plague came, the church was impacted and they began to shrink in numbers. Due to the severity of the plague, people were wondering if the whole plague could be the result of a punishment sent by God. The thought of this frightened people and led them to question their loyalty to the church – especially when many felt like their prayers to have the plague lifted weren’t being heard. As a result, the church was in a way blamed for the occurrence and was also asked for answers to the plague. After everything was said and done, the church wasn’t able to find a solution. Religious attitudes were impacted in a positive way as well. In fact, there were people who felt the need to turn to the church for salvation so they could end up in Heaven once they died to the plague.
Art was visibly influenced by religion as many of the paintings were of scenes from The Bible. While the plague was a huge issue, painters began shifting their focus towards more Realism oriented works that involved portrayals of the aftermath of the Black Death which gives viewers a visual representation of how terrible the effects of it were. Paintings would show hordes of people lying dead on the ground or skulls and skeletons used to symbolize the impending death that awaited them. Something worth taking note of is that in many of the paintings that while death is certainly represented in them, the bigger picture is that death is illustrated to be the victor of a struggle. Survival wasn’t guaranteed and death was looming over the shoulders of many.
To have such a large death toll, the Black Death will always be remembered as the absolute menace of the Eastern World during the 14th century. Part of the reason why the death toll was so high was the fact that the disease would leave victims dead within one to two days. Rapid deaths didn’t give physicians enough time to react and figure out what could be done to reduce the outbreaks level of severity. Nearly 100 million lives were lost and the world’s population would be unable to recover from such a loss for many years. In some places, the populations were less than half of what they had been a century prior. Deaths weren’t limited to common folk as scholars, and government officials were also affected. Thus, government and academia were left with empty seats to fill.
The Black Death was an epidemic that threatened the entire population of Europe and even posed a threat to society as death tolls were so high, there wasn’t many ways for the governments of the world to react to it. Without a doubt, the influence of this period of devastation had an everlasting effect on the development of the Eastern World. The profound effects of the Black Death on the church, art and the vast reduction of citizens were not only enduring but also part of what made the epidemic go down in history as one of the things that forever will be recognized as the largest recorded devastation in the history of humanity.
French Revolution
The French Revolution was an uprising against the monarchy of France which lasted 10 years; from 1789 to 1799. France was in grave financial trouble and owed greatly to unsmart financial decisions made by their government; such as getting involved in wars, and the imposing of unfair taxes with no justifiable reason, with the eventual execution of Louis XVI.
One of the biggest reasons why the French Revolution was the financial trouble the country was facing. France was facing a shortage of money because they had invested a lot of it in aiding the 13 Colonies in their war against Great Britain; a long-time enemy of the French. America and the French would develop an alliance that would eventually benefit both parties. France’s involvement in the American Revolution further deepened the financial hole that France had been put in during the 7 Years War that was fought against Great Britain. The financial depression had the potential to ruin French society if nothing was done. There were food shortages and there was nearly no money to buy food for the people of France.
Something that troubled the common folk of France was the unfair amount of taxes that were being imposed on the lower class, while the upper class was able to get away with paying much less in tax. This was seen as an abuse of power which became part of the fuel that made the revolutionaries further want fight for change. It made no sense that the poor would pay more in tax than the rich upper class. Eventually people refused to pay tax to the French monarchy as a way to prove their point despite paying tax having been a major obligation.
Louis XVI was responsible for keeping France in a bad financial situation that wouldn’t improve due to improper running of the government and financial planning. His actions had stirred anger in the already frustrated people of France. The monarch’s negligence was the driving reason as to why he would later end up executed. He stood in the way of the reform wanted by the revolutionaries using his ‘God given right to rule’ France. Ultimately this led to his demise, and also to the escalation of the conflict with the revolutionaries because of his ignorance.
Rebellion during the French Revolution was driven by financial unfairness and negligence of the monarch of France. The result of the Revolution would be the execution of the monarch Louis XVI and a new ray of hope for the people of France. They wouldn’t be plagued by unfair taxes and worried by impending financial ruin caused by poor planning. After the French Revolution, France would be less burdened by looming financial trouble, tax being excessively charged on the lower class, and moving on without a monarch who lacks a good head on his shoulders leading the country.
Extra Credit:
The most interesting thing I’ve learned in the first part of class was about the Mongol Empire. I never knew much about the empire until I was able to read and see just how much of an influence it would eventually have over such a large part of the world (at the time since The Americas had not yet been discovered). Also something that shocked me was how Genghis Khan was only the person who set the stage for Mongol’s rule and not the person who had ruled all throughout the empire’s entire existence. Not to mention the fact that he is the only notable figure as it seems whose name is popularly known even today.