Journal 6

Kyle Anderson

Journal 6

        This week I read chapters 17, 18 and 19 from our text book. Chapter 17 begins by talking about the Atlantic revolutions which is a phrase that know nothing about. However, as I read the chapter I could clear see why the author would call it that, it made sense. the The author first discusses how the french revolution is the start of this   series of revolutions. The french revolt began expanding into other countries as france invaded and conquers places like, egypt, poland, and russia causing them to become a big empire. The author talks about how the upheaval in france during the end of the 17th century gave birth to a different revolution in the United States. The author then talks a little about some of the important history of the united states that caused it to become a new and separate country free from colonial rule. Surprising to me was how the author talked about Haiti and how they took had a revolution that contributed to the the Atlantic revolutions. I had not heard about Haitian history much and it was interesting to learn that there revolt against France was one of the worst military defeats that France had ever had. On page 509 of our text the author states that there was “a massive slave revolt beginning in 1791, triggered by rumors that the french king had already declared an end to slavery, [the Haitian people] burned 1,000 plantations and killed hundreds of whites as well as mixed-race people”.  The last revolution that the author talked about was the Spanish American that was from 1810-1825. This revolution was a violent uprising that effected most of the settlers in the spanish colonies mainly in what is now Latin America. These Atlantic revolutions left came to have a global significance. One of those remarkable transformations that was rooted in the American revolution was the abolition of slavery. Abolition gained popularity form the revolution as well as the rise of a social and religious enlightenment. 

       Chapter 18 was an interesting chapter about the industrial Revolution. The author starts off by say that the industrial revolution began in Europe which different form what  I remember. I remember only learning about the industrial revolution that happened in the United States. It was good that I got a different perspective of this time. This revolution which still affects us today catapulted much of Europe specifically Great Britain into powerful empire that dominated the world. The Industrial Revolution Helped put Europe on the map because of the open communication with other countries. This open communication helped the ideas and technology of the Scientific Revolution, which happened at a similar time, spread thought Europe making it a key factor in the development of the society of that era. However, because of these innovations the development of social class started to evolve. Some off the prominent developments that the author talked about were the ideas of Marxism, socialists and communism.   

      Chapter 20 which was called the internal troubles, external threats talked about how the new European superpowers started to create empires through imperialism over Asian and African  countries. Territories were created to exploit the resource of other countries to fuel the various revolutions occurring during this time. However this colonization from rising superpowers such as Germany, Italy, Belgium, The US and Japan were some of the most brutal expansion of these countries history. This chapter discussed how the european countries including the US, partitioned the entire continent of Africa in 25 years. As a result of this colonization racism started to become a guiding ideology an political structure that would influence their society greatly. This chapter ended by talking about the rise of Japan as a new Asian superpower. Japan joined on the band wagon of imperialism by colonizing and eventually taking control of taiwan and Korea.    

Reference

Strayer W. Robert. (2009). Ways of the world: A brief global history. Boston, MA: Bedford/St.