Article 2 ; As many of you may have noticed, Western Europe has been going good, it didn’t start that way.

In the past, Europeans weren’t strong, organized, or as advanced as the Islamic and empires. For one, they originated from in advanced barbaric tribes. Also, they mostly consisted of regional monarchies, which often warred with each other, making it nearly impossible for Western Europeans countries to organize, and develop themselves accordingly. But then… things changed. Many of the previous, & more powerful countries started to isolate themselves from the rest of the world, Giving Europe a great advantage. The crusades opened up a whole new world of technology ideas. As Europe started to trade, it experienced new lands and jobs as merchants.

The scientific Revolution contributed greatly to the Advancement, and expansion of European Influence. The decline of other major powerful empires gave an advantage to Europe, as far as exploration is concerned. In the late 15^th century, Europe began to sail  the four oceans. Europeans had a great influence on the development of modern North and South American countries. In  fact, It was fairly easy for them to conquer and establish colonies in south America because in the beginning, the Aztecs thought the European conquistadors as gods, offering them gifts and sacrifices, so when the Aztecs realized that they were a threat, it was too late for them to do anything about it.

Article 4: Isolation Policies in China and Japan

            From becoming one of the most dominant places in Asia to becoming isolated, China’s development began to slow down. China once had the most advance technology in Asia. Their Junks (Chinese ships) were huge allowing for a lot of goods to be carried. Each ship had an army. They also had gunpowder, which allowed them to fight in wars by creating explosions. China had Civil Service Exams that made it easier for people to work by letting them see what jobs were suited for them. The Ming emperor changed China drastically. When Zheng He explored the Indian Ocean, he set up trade there. When he finally returned to China, Zheng He brought cultural diffusion to China from all the different trades. This caused the Ming emperor to stop Zhen He’s voyages and other voyages to other places because he believed in keeping Chinese traditional culture. Chinese traditional culture focused on family, literature, and religion. Cultural diffusion was changing that by bringing different ideas into Chinese tradition. After that China kept its traditional values and didn’t focus on anything else. When the Qing emperor came in, he decided to restrict trade with the Europeans because the Europeans were trying to gain power in coastal cities. China and Europe could now only trade in Canton, leaving China in isolation.

            Unlike China, Japan was able to stay strong after isolation. While they were isolated, Japanese art grew. They started to develop their own unique arts such as Kabuki Theatre. Kabuki Theatre was plays where everyone painted their face white. Other arts such as Haiku (a poem), landscape paintings and Geisha (when women known as concubines entertained the rich) developed. Japan’s isolation lasted nearly 200 years thanks to Emperor Tokagawa Shogunate. Tokagawa Shogunate was a shogun who became emperor around 1600. After seeing how the Europeans took over the Philippines and tried to overpower itself over China, Tokagawa decided to create the National Seclusion Policy in 1635. The isolation policy led to the execution of foreign merchants and Christian missionaries who tried to trade with Japan. The isolation policy also prohibited people from leaving Japan. Merchants and traders became the lowest class in Japan’s feudal system because of this.

Article 3: Decline of Islamic Gunpowder Empire

            When the Mongol Empire began to decline the Islamic Empire was reestablished and conquered by Timor I Lang. But when he died, the Islamic Empire was broke into three empires called Islamic Gunpowder Empires. The empires were called this for their quick mastery of using guns. By using guns they were able to expand their empires and maintain a strong rule.

            One of the empires, called the Ottoman Empire was governed by Sunni Muslims. Osman Bay was the king or Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and conquered all of Asia Minor. The Ottoman Empire began to expand and conquered Greece, Middle East, and North Africa. But eventually the Ottoman Empire began to decline because of trying to expand by attacking Eastern Europe. However they were never available to get past the Holy Roman Empire. All of these attacks made it difficult to advance while Western Europe got stronger.

            Another Islamic Gunpowder Empire was called the Mughal Empire. The Mughal Empire was ruled by Muslims like Babur who was the Sultan. A constant issue was between the Muslims and Hindus. Akbar (Babur’s grandson) accepted Hindus in his bureaucracy to solve the issue, but once he died the persecution of Hindus grew. There was also a problem with the Mughal Empire’s trade. The Mughal Empire’s trade was mostly cotton which made them wealthy and powerful in the beginning. But after the European traders came, they slowly took their power. At first the Mughal rulers saw them as no threat until it was too late. The Europeans had taken over the Indian Port cities and moved in land.

            The final empire was called the Safavid Empire that is ruled by Shiias. The Safavid Empires decline occurred because they believed they were the rightful caliphs and should rule over all the Muslims. This made both sides of the Islamic Gunpowder Empires fight constantly because the Mughal and Ottoman were both Sunni. The warfare eventually led them in dividing Islam into two sects that increased their hate for one another.

Article 1: Changes in Europe

            Europe was way behind. When the black plague hit, it hit hard. Europe relied mostly on God to help them through tough times. Their sanitation was horrible and medical attention wasn’t good either. The more they tried the more deaths there were. People thought it was God punishing them for their evil ways. They prayed and prayed but nothing changed. It seemed like the end for Europe…this was a re-birth for Europe, this was the Renaissance! When Europeans read Greco-Roman literature they learned the concept of humanism, where everyone can control their own destiny. This sprung up a beautiful time in art and literature. People like Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and a Leonardo De Vinci made great contributions to this field. Humanism cost the church many followers but it was about to lose even more. Martin Luther a German monk was fed up with the Catholic Church and nailed the “95 thesis” to the door of a catholic church stating the main problems with Catholicism. Due to the printing press his “95 thesis” was distributed throughout Europe within a month. This was known as the Protestant Reformation. People broke away from the Catholic Church and became known as Protestants. At first they were persecuted in many horrible ways but then they started to gain power. Since they were losing a lot of people, the Catholic Church banned indulgences and required people to attend mass once a week. The council of Trent was in charge of the Catholic doctrine. Soon after religion conflict was dying down, the Scientific Revolution came which caused a whole new stir to religion. People wanted to make new discoveries. At a time people thought the earth was the center of the universe an idea created by Ptolemy in the 1500 CE which was approved by the church. The Scientific Revolution started when Nicholas Copernicus suggested that it wasn’t the center. In 1563 Galileo proved this true, this went against the church. They were upset and forced him to disagree but he refused so they confined him to his house for the rest of his life. Other scientists like Francis Bacon, Johannes Keppler and Sir Isaac Newton made important contributes to the Scientific Revolution. Many people became Deists, which were people who believed in God but he did nothing for humanity, because of the Revolution. Others became Atheists who believed in no God. The Commercial Revolution was when Europe and the colonies began to trade. This started the triangular trade. Then after this it led to the Colombian exchange. Europe saw goods it had never seen before. People started to work in trade so technology started increasing. Capitalism is when people were allowed to own and operate the mechanics of the economy without direction from the government. As people started getting into trade many people invested in merchants so they could get more money. This created the Joint Stock Company. One example of a Joint Stock Company is the British East India Company which controlled most of the Indian Ocean. When trading merchants would use Mercantilism, they got more money from exports than imports.