How the world shrinks
The primitive era saw the world coming together in the 15th and 16th century whereby there were a shift and movement of kingdoms all around the world. The example of Angola stands as an important one as it saw a movement of the Europeans into Angola and the surrounding areas. There was a better system of administration, judiciary, and management in the country after the Europeans entered the country, and it led to its betterment. To name the areas as primitive only means, there was a lack of available options for improving the societal conditions, and when the country did improve, it was done by the system of slave trading and then carrying out business by using the invaded people, as slaves. However, in spite of the negatives of the movement established by these invaders, there was the aspect of interaction and improved communication between the different countries of the world and the people were coming together. The world was shrinking on the pretense of technology, even in the past, such as making ships and navigation which helped them trace different countries and lands. Europe emerged as a dominant power in the world only on the basis of its technological expertise. However, Europe was ‘de-centered, ’ and other parts of the world gained power as well. Portuguese expansion occurred, and the Chinese gained power over the seas. Zheng He was the first long-distance maritime explorer, who traveled farther than Christopher Columbus. He captained hundreds of ships as compared to Christopher’s three. The European explorers were looking for wealth in the African countries and other Asian countries. The Chinese were motivated for exploring other people and show off their Chinese heritage and wealth. They did not need to take anything from another place. Over the years the conquests made by the civilizations mixed the world’s population, bringing them closer and shrinking the world (Burlingham).
Sugar and Global Trade
Global trade took its roots from the slave trade whose pioneers are the Portuguese. They targeted North Africa and took about millions of Africans as slaves. The purpose of using them was to enhance the production of sugar in their lands. In the time period of slavery and the reign of the Portuguese upon the different plantations, the sugar industry grew hundreds of tons larger, and this showed the importance of sugar as a substance of trade. The slave trade in the early modern period was spearheaded by the Spanish and Portuguese across the Atlantic. Sugar is not a new produce since, in the 8th and 9th century, it was produced in Persia, traveling across the Arabian Sea and into Spain and then into the Portuguese islands. The Mediterranean Sea is a very importance place. One of the reasons is the contact it has between the different continents and opens into the Atlantic Ocean, and hence it facilitated the movement of products from Asia into the Atlantic. It was the mid 16th century when the decision for the mass production of sugar was taken by the Portuguese, and the reason was money and profits. It was going to enhance the notion of global trade. The trade was going to link three to four continents, would result in the extinction of some cultures, it was also going to result in the mass migration of people. It was also going to result in the exchange of plants and animals. For sugar, slaves were the perfect producers and manufacturers. Primary sources have revealed the mapping of sugar production in the world. Sugar production in the Caribbean and Mediterranean happened to be the source of global trade of sugar. The Western development was enhanced by the sugar produced by the slaves in the land. Different Caribbean and Latin American slaves worked all day long, the men, women, and child together and this happened in the daylight, going through the arduous process of planting. On the other hand, there were the skilled ones who worked in the factories and plants, caramelizing the sugar, which showed that it was very serious business (Burlingham).
Muslim Empires
Muslim Empires have a far-reaching history where the Islamic Empire took its roots in the Arabian Peninsula and then spread to Asia, in areas of modern-day India and Pakistan. The 13th century saw the decimation of two importance empires that led to the growth of the other empires. The first is the Mongol Empire which had spread into China and Europe. The second was the Byzantine Empire. Islam is the last of three monotheistic religions, which was spread by Prophet Mohammed, who was born in Mecca and settled in Medina. After the death of the Prophet, the religion took the shape of two major sects, which are the Shia and Sunni beliefs in Islam (Burlingham). The Shia and Sunni take up different interpretations from the Shariah imposed in Islam. There is the Shi’ite Islam, which has a smaller number of followers than the Sunni followers. The majority of them live in Iran and Iraq and can be found in other regions such as Pakistan, India, Yemen, Syria, Oman and Lebanon. Shia Islam took its roots after the death of the Prophet in 632 AD. The Shia wanted only a blood relative of the Prophet to be their chosen leader, which is why the rest of the caliphs are not acknowledged by them as the true followers. A central belief of the Shias is the twelve imams. They place a lot of importance on martyrdom especially that of Hussain, the Prophet’s grandson. Shia Muslims form about 150 million out of 1.4 billion Muslims globally. Theologically, the Shia and Sunni are similar as far as following the pillars of religion are concerned, but the ideology may differ in terms of some worship methods and beliefs (Sullivan).
Work Cited
Burlingham, Kate. “Muslim Lecture Part 1.” YouTube. YouTube, 16 Sept. 2015. Web. 5 Jan.
2017.
Burlingham, Kate. “Sugar.” YouTube. YouTube, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 5 Jan. 2017.
Burlingham, Kate. “World_Shrinks.” YouTube. YouTube, 21 Jan. 2015. Web. 5 Jan.
2017.
Sullivan, Paul. “Who are the Shia?” History News Network.
