Collapse at the Center 3/24/14

Today's reading was interestingly enough about the first World War, which lead history into its very next segment.We know it was basically a European war that eventually branched out to the rest of the world but people often forget that it also was part of the great depression, the rise of Germany and Hitler, as well as adding on to WW2. Why did this happen? Well I like how the book has put into perspective that by the 1900's most of the World was under the government of the Europeans, as their massive empire as well as influence spread, it didnt exactly ice their cake with neighboring rivials such as the Italians and Germans. These other countries were also seeking to gain power as form little groups. These groups were ment to bring peace to the countries and help prevent strife but in 1914 Sebrians assisnated the Hungarian heir which was part of the starting point to the first world war.

Changing China 3/21

Todays post was on the documents written by the chinease after the first Opium War. The document that I believe I liked the best was that of the Editorial on China's Examination System. This document goes into great detail about the hardships students had to go through in order to obtain there robes and graduate. It really made me laugh when talking about their hair turning with, and them having to spend part of the year toiling in class and the other half struggling with their families. The most difficult they seem to say was the eight-legged essay, with emphasises the european influence through their country. Another document that I thought really tied into was Gender, Reform, and Revolution. In this section womens roles also seemed to crop up and have the people question where traditional marriages would still be the same or if yearly contracts would instead replace them. The most important womens rights activsit at the time was Qiu Jin. She left her family in the pursuit of education, and started some revolutionary circles. These to documents are just a simple part of the entire Chinease Revolution, much because of the Opuim War, as well as the dependance on the European governments, China found themselves with overpopulation, and large areas of poverty.

The Scramble For Africa 3/13/14

             Tonight's reading was a general conclusion to Scramble for Africa in the book. It revolves around the artistic interpretations of how many artists viewed the breaking up of the contents during the 19th century. During this time it was when the European began to exploit Africa in ways other than the slave trade and began to hunt for raw materials, as well as land, and expansion in the industrial revolution. The visual sources in the book were particularly eye catching because each one was unique in its vary own way.
             The first visual source was really interesting because the artists take was entirely different than what I would have expected especially when just viewing it. Think of a modern day monopoly game in which the theme is gaining wealth and prestige by gathering land. This was the idea of was gathered from the French's overall scramble to gather parts of Africa, and was rather creative at the time.
             The second visual aid was just as striking as the first. I especially liked this one because it was more vivid and enthralling that the other sources. It depicted the French expedition as they traveled a crossed the continent of Africa and placed great emphasis on the Commander of the French expedition Jean-Baptiste Marchland, and his eighteen month long march with his troops. In the picture Marchland is leading the way through a dry desert type scene, with his troops guns pulled ready to fire, and with him stand dramatically over the dead body of a soldier. I believe that this portrayal of Marchland made the French feel as if they were reaching higher goals than the other Europeans and emphasized this on the cover of their magazine.
              These to visual sources are just little insights to how the Europeans thought of their take over of Africa. Much of the artistic work was done by the European's and showed how they each got a piece of the African nation.