Download Turning Points in World History [A Review]

Turning Points in World History [A Review]
Development of agriculture
Agriculture was necessary because growing populations could not meet their needs with hunting
and gathering. Domestication of plants and animals led to food surplus which led to even faster
population growth which led to development of river valley societies.
Development of River Valley Societies
Nile, Tigris/Euphrates, Yangtze, Indus – first civilizations – make war, build monumental
structures, cities with populations of 10,000 or greater, worker specialization, social hierarchies
and complex institutions like religion, government, record keeping and education.
Development of Classical societies:
Greece – democracy, trade, Sparta v. Athens, Alexander the Great, Greek
Rationalism/philosophy, Hellenistic culture
Rome – republic, road building, concrete, Christianity, Diocletian splits, 2nd capital at Byzantium
which Constantine renames Constantinople
Persia – bureaucracy, religious tolerance
India – caste system, spread of Buddhism
Han China – civil service exam, paper, Silk Road
Medieval Europe
Feudalism, manorialism, Catholic Church, crusades, plague, 100 Years’ War, Great Schism
Islamic Caliphates
Umayyad – Arab dominated, militaristic, Spain to India
Abbasid – non-Arab dominated, House of Wisdom, missionary activities
Mongols
China – Yuan Dynasty, Marco Polo, favor non-Chinese, no civil service exam, Mongols return to
central Asia as China slowly decays.
Russia – Golden Horde, tributary relationship, destroy Kiev so Moscow emerges, Russia looks
east out of paranoia and falls behind, Ivan the Great prepares Russia to stand against the
Mongols but turmoil at home causes Mongols to abandon Russia,
Middle East – Mongols destroy Abbasid Dynasty including Baghdad and the House of Wisdom.
Mongol advance stopped by Egyptians. Mongols settle in West Asia, convert to Islam and
assimilate.
Ottoman Turks
Turks are cousins to the Mongols. They invade West Asia after the Mongols, overrun the
Byzantine Empire and set up the Ottoman Empire in modern day Turkey and Southeastern
Europe. Religiously tolerant, they have more issues with fellow Muslims than with the
Christians and Jews in their empire. Suleiman, the Magnificent codifies law to encompass the
cultures of peoples on three continents of various religions etc. under his control. He also
supports Martin Luther in hopes of weakening Europe. Ottoman weakness lies in their unstable
succession policy where princes must kill their brothers in order to secure the throne.
Renaissance
Wealthy Italian City-States like Venice emerge at the end of the Middle Ages and begin a rebirth
of culture in Europe. With a wealth of classical inspiration from Roman and Greek ruins and a
growing secular movement, artists use their new skill and mediums like perspective, oil paints,
and water color to capture the eye and money of the new wealthy elite.
Ming China
Originally open to the west, the Ming are interested in trade and even Christianity. They send
Admiral Zheng He on seven voyages to spread Chinese suzerainty. Zheng He’s map making and
cultural interactions/explorations are expansive, (giraffe from Africa to Ming court). Eventually
Ming attitudes change; they will accept only silver in trade for porcelain, silk and tea, they send
the Christian missionaries home and attempt to close their borders. This may have been
prompted by increased Mongol activity.
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange is the Mass movement of animals (including humans) and plants
between the old world and the new world. This includes: Africans to America, Europeans to
America, Mixed races forming in the Americas, Native Americans die in vast numbers,
European animals come to America and spread disease and environmental damage, American
plants, especially the potato and peanut increase food production in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Mountains of silver and gold enter the market.
European expansion
Mountains of silver and gold entering the markets of Europe encourage European expansion.
Banking, credit, insurance and stock companies encourage overseas investment and colonization
under mercantilist principles. Portugal is the first to expand, followed closely and more
successfully by Spain, with England, France and the Netherlands jumping in soon after.
Reformation
Martin Luther and others break away from the Catholic Church to start Protestant denominations.
Helped by the printing press and growing power of local rulers who oppose sending money to
Rome, these groups succeed in creating hundreds of Christian sects. Calvin establishes a model
city/Theocracy in Zurich, Switzerland. Henry VIII of England combines political with religious
reasons to initiate the Act of Supremacy creating the Anglican Church.
Scientific Revolution/Enlightenment
A weakened Catholic Church will also lead to the Scientific Revolution. Scientists, once afraid
to think, write and publish, are now more free to experiment without the threat of punishment by
the Church. Copernicus is one of the first, Galileo follows but is punished by the Church.
Scientists in protestant areas fare better. Diderot, interested in spreading knowledge of scientific
progress created the encyclopedia. French Salons promote Enlightenment thinking as members
of the middle class gather to discuss the ideas generated by the Philosophes. Concepts such as
social contract, natural laws, prison reform, are generated by Voltaire, Rousseau, Locke, et al.
Absolute monarchs trend towards Enlightened Absolutism.
Industrial Revolution
The enclosure movement in Britain forces farmers off their lands and into the cities. They
become the cheap labor source. Bankers are willing to lend money to entrepreneurs; that money
came from trade with the colonies. Land, labor and capital are the factors of production that will
start the industrial revolution in Britain, first in textiles and later in all sort of manufactured
goods.
American Revolution
Upset that their rights as Englishmen were being violated, the colonists rebelled and set up a
democratic republican form of government based on life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness,
individual rights and popular sovereignty.
French Revolution/Napoleon
Inspired by Enlightened ideas, the American Revolution and poor rule at home by Louis XVI the
French revolt. Robespierre, Reign of Terror, execution of Louis XVI, Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity, Napoleon, Nationalism, Empire, Waterloo, Return of Bourbon family.
Imperialism
Caused by industrialization and the need for cheap raw materials and markets to sell goods, the
“western” powers take colonies around the globe. Subject people often treated poorly, western
institutions like law systems, languages and education systems imparted to colonial areas. Most
colonies gain independence at the end of WW II. Legacies of colonialism include corruption and
poverty.
Latin American Revolutions
Mexico, Spanish South America (Bolivar) and Brazil: Led by elites born in America against
elite class born in Spain. Results in governments dominated by elites with strict social hierarchy
based on ethnic make-up. Governments turn dictatorial. Junta.
World War I
M.A.I.N. causes = Militarism, Alliance Systems, Imperialism, Nationalism.
Vocabulary = “World” war, total war, trench warfare, war of attrition.
Results = empires collapse, treaty of Versailles (a failed peace), colonial people begin to demand
independence, rise of Fascist ideology.
Russian Revolution
Causes = World War I, worker resentment, food shortages
Vocabulary = Bolsheviks, October Revolution, February Revolution, communism, White army,
Red army
Results = Lenin forms communist state, Russia becomes USSR, USSR pulls out of World War I,
Western powers invade USSR in support of White army causing long lasting paranoia among
Russians.
World War II
Causes = Great Depression, Treaty of Versailles, failure of League of Nations, Japanese
aggression, Italian aggression, German invasion of Poland
Vocabulary = blitzkrieg, holocaust, island hopping
Results = divided world leads to Cold War, atomic age, United Nations
Cold War
Causes = ideological split between “communist” and “capitalist” world
Vocabulary = MAD (mutually assured destruction), NATO, Warsaw Pact, Marshall Plan,
glasnost, perestroika
Results = collapse of communism in most regions, dissolution of the USSR, unsecured nuclear
weapons, growing number of small threats to peace
Independence Movements
African and Asian nations become independent of colonial masters; Eastern Europe becomes
free of Soviet domination, South Africa end Apartheid, Latin America strives to be less
influenced by the United States.
Globalization
Sometimes called “Westernization,” it is seen as a domination of local culture by American
cultural items like movies, music, clothing and fast food. Globalization also refers to the
interconnectivity of societies through the internet and social media.