Chapter 15- Global Commerce

So…. instead of boring you all with facts about chapter 15, I’m just simply going to give you my opinion and thoughts about one of the keys subjects in this chapter which is the Atlantic Slave Trade. Shocking to say, just the name “The Atlantic Slave Trade” says a lot about our society not only then but now as well. Unfortunately we live in a world where everyone works for their benefit. People betray other people for their benefit. Countries bomb other countries for their own benefit. It is a process of life where even the most inhumane practices are held so that people/countries may benefit for their own satisfaction. The Atlantic Slave Trade is the epitome of this world’s cruelty. For about 300 years, over 11 million people were taken from Africa and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas where they lived as slaves. Countless millions of people also died in the process of capturing and getting them to the Americas. How can people be so heartless to the point where they are taking other people out of their homes, their homeland, and their country, to be slaves for another country because of the color of their skin? How can such a HUGE thing like this happen without any objection from the rest of the world? The answer to that is money. Europeans and Americans made money off this horrible action.  They saw the suffering and brutality in which slaves had to go through daily, all because of money, because money is so much more important that a person’s life. Personally, I think it’s a damn shame that events like this can happen in our history. It’s a shame that people would use slaves as free labor because they were too lazy to do things on their own. It’s a shame that a little bit of extra cash can kill millions.

On the other hand, without the slave trade, the United States especially would not be as diverse as it is today. Not to say that in any way I support the Atlantic Slave Trade, but America is one of the most diverse countries in the world. We have all different cultures and ethnicities and that brings our country out the most. Unfortunately, traumatic events like this happen but there is always a little good that may come out if it. That’s a little on my view of the slave trade. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions!

Chapter 14- Empires and Encounters

Chapter 14 is filled with a lot of material that is rather interesting and worth reading about. North and South America has a lot of Spanish territories within it along with the French, Portuguese, and English territories. Europeans had a huge advantage when it came to trade because they had a great position for more involvement in the Americas. Although this was a huge breakthrough, it brought a lot of trouble for the Native Americans because of all the diseases in which were brought with the Europeans. Populations dropped almost instantly, and it shows how far the world can come just for some new territories and wealth. On the other hand, the Asian Empires had almost the same situation happening. Their empires were regional, and not global like conflicts between the Americas and the European powers. China eventually became into a Central Asian Empire. China was different in some ways because they did not move around the world. They stayed in their own territories and conquered neighboring countries unlike the Europeans. They did not mix bloods and believed in preserving their own culture rather than mixing and diversifying their country.
Overall it was very intriguing to see what strategies different countries has in expanding their empires and conquering territories. The Europeans, Russians, Chinese, Ottoman and Mughal all had different views and tactics to their plans. Some were very successful and some unfortunately killed many innocent people which was ultimately huge losses. Eurocentrism, till this day, continues to be a conflict among world historians.

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