Intro 4 + Chapter 13

Intro Part 4:

This section introduces the reader to the political transformations that were going on throughout the world. While Europeans were in charge strictly due to the fact that they controlled the world sea routes, Japan and China controlled ALL of the merchants who tried to buy, sell, and trade in their countries. Asian Empires were more advance because of their history, culture and knowledge. Even though the Asian Empires eventually crashed, they still were greatly successful during this time. It is interesting to think about the saying, "all good things come to an end." Will every successful thing eventually die off? It is interesting to think of when you think about the United States today.


Chapter 13:

This chapter covers numerous topics however the primary ones are the following: The Great Dying, the Colombian Exchange, the Aztecs and Incas, and the Russian Empire. I want to focus this post on the Great Dying because that is what I found most interesting.

There were a lot of Native American societies located in Mesoamerica and Andean Zones. These two locations were mainly dominated by the Inca and Aztec Empires. No person living in these regions ever came in contact with Europeans. Therefore, since they were essentially isolated and had not built up any immunities to these diseases, when the Native people came in contact with the animals brought over from Europe and the European people, the Native people began dying. They died from simple diseases such as influenza, malaria, yellow fever, measles, and small pox. Nothing that couldn't be prevented, the Native people just weren't use to the diseases. In the end 90% of the population had deceased. WHAT!!! That is such a dramatic and alarming number.

After The Great Dying, there was a major labor shortage. This allowed open spaces for not only Europeans to come over, but also African Americans. Once the immigrants immigrated, they replaced the Native Americans. They also brought new plants, animals, germs, and people that were again foreign to the Natives. These new societies that were created from the immigration process helped develop globalization and transform the world we know today.