Modern Science (Ways of the World. Chapter 15)

Strayer's Modern Science

• People of science began to somewhat stray away from external authority of the bible.
• Notable scientists who influenced the revolution of the Modern Era are Copernicus, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Descartes, Charles Darwin, and many others.
• The practice of science challenged acient social hierarchies and political system. Science also justified the gender and racial inequalities that happened towards women, enslaved people, and others.
• Europe had many universities and welcomed science. Scientific dissections taught people the specifics of the human body including the circulation of blood. An example provided is how the heart was no longer a mystery; it became known as a complex muscle that consistently pumps.
• European women were excluded from universities. In Germany, there were women who contributed to astronomical work. Notably, there was Maria Winkelman, a woman who discovered an unknown comet. However, her husband was accredited for the finding and she was not allowed to continue her husband's work after his death.
• In terms of the enlightenment, new knowledge of science had applied to human reasoning, authority, and human interaction rather than just the universe. Englightenment is expressed as using one's own understanding wihtout others' guidance. Strayer mentioned that someone expressed the enlightenment as a "dare" to disagree with others since the ability to act on knowledge can require courage. (Immanuel Kant, 745)
• Scientists believed that knowledge and the enlightenment is the power that can transform society.

Commerce in People

Vern Chao
World History 2

Commerce in People (Strayer's Chapter 14)

• In Robert Strayer's chapter Commerce in People, he teaches what specifically happened within the Atlantic Slave Trade.
• Under a section in the chapter, "Slave trade in context," it was surprising for me to learn that a pope had granted permission to kings of Spain and Portugal to capture persons into slavery. More of this shock can be found in page 689.
• In the same section, I find it interesting (not supporting the fact of what was interesting) that the West African communities were actually  divided. In page 693, Strayer mentions that West Africa did not have an identity because of its multiple divisions of people.
• In addition to outside information and from the text, there is such a terrible sight yet artistic view of what is illustrated in page 691. In the page, The Art Archive (NY) has an image of the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage refers to the 3 stages that the African slaves suffered from. The first stage is when the Africans are being chased, assaulted, and captured on their homeland by Europeans and sometimes their own (chieftain) people. The second stage is when the Africans were carelessly and forcefully placed onto the ships by the European settlers. Thirdly (if all two stages were passed for the Africans), the last stage refers to the new life that the Africans are essentially trapped in by being sold into malicious slavery.
• The image in the page is really impactful because there were such staggering numbers and statistics towards populations, the treatment in the boats, and how the Africans would rather kill themselves through drowning in the sea than suffer brutal abuse for the rest of their lives.

Strayer Chapter 14 Review - Vern

Vern Chao

World History 2

22 January, 2017

Chapter 14 Reflection

• In Strayer's chapter 14, there is a focus on commerce, globalization, world trade, and there are time stamps involved in each event.
• In the first section of the chapter, Strayer discusses why Europeans traveled and invested in Asia. A major trade and value that the Europeans had with the Asian people were tropical spices such as cinnamon, mace, cloves, and pepper. In exchange for their tropical spices, the Asian people received gold or solver from the Europeans.
• In the following section, the chapter educates viewers on the Portuguese commerce and its efforts towards trade in the Indian Ocean. The chapter mentions that the Portuguese would use military force to aggressively conquer or control small states. However, the chapter also mentions that the Portuguese mainly wanted to own commerce rather than territories. In the end, the Portuguese were not successful in dominating the Indian Ocean space. Instead, the Portuguese had "carried Asian goods...selling their shipping services because they were not able to sell their goods" (673).
• After studying the Portuguese, the chapter focuses on East India companies. This section heavily discussed about the British and the Dutch. This chapter  mentions that the Dutch and British "displaced" the Portuguese and that the Dutch and British were both economically and militarily advanced than the Portuguese. 
• In the last several parts of the chapter, Strayer teaches the significance of the Asian commerce, the significance of silver, the significance of fur, and how fur (along with other trades) contributed to global commerce.

W.H. 2 Day 1 Post (Vern)

Vern Chao

World History II

Ms. Andrews

12 January, 2017

Day 1 Post

In my 2016 winter break, I returned to my home, the city of Richmond. I spent time with family and this included traveling to the city of Truckee to play in the snow and live in a cabin house, listening and being with family for Christmas Eve, prepping tables, gathering materials, positioning items, cleaning a house for a family party, and thinking about future habits for 2017. 

As for guessing where Ms.Andrews's shirt is from, I think that she visited a gardening organization or an Earth friendly store where recylcing and sustaining healthy habits are promoted.