Impact of the Industrial Revolution on society

List of changes that may have come to peoples lives from the Industrial Revolution

• access to cheaper goods that are imported from other parts of the world
• better availability of products due to mass production
• better transportation for people and food
• food would no longer have to be produced locally
• gives more time for people to focus on other things
• new innovations can occur due to this
• land would no longer determine wealth 
• new jobs would emerge when machines replace handmade productions 
• people would define wealth by material possessions 
• the value of religious practices may depreciate 
• value of human labor deprecates 
• urbanization
• gender roles that existed before the revolution change

Based on the Luddite response to the industrial revolution that was splendidly described by Horrible Histories, there were people who were extreme reactionaries who opposed the change. They did not like the way machines were replacing their labor and devaluing human labor.

Response to Niall Ferguson's "The 6 killer apps of prosperity"

I feel that Niall Ferguson makes a very interesting argument on the end of the "great divergence", an event that started after the 1800s where western civilization presided grow more successful and prosperous than the rest of the world. It is a neat concept, which Ferguson uses, when he sums up the cause for the great divergence into six prim factors. The factors are essential in establishing a prosperous society. Ferguson called them the "six killer apps", and they are competition, the scientific revolution, property rights, modern medicine, the consumer society, and work ethic. He explains how throughout history Europeans have come up on top in comparison to the rest of the world because they had these six killer apps. According to Ferguson, the sequence, or rather programming of these apps are not really important, and likewise geography does not play a factor in western dominance. Due to intellectual levels being constantly being challenged and explored, European society has achieved it's sate of dominance, whereas in other parts of the world there has been either governmental, religious, or social restrictions that bound people from advancing via the six killer apps. For example, the ottomans destroyed a observatory because it was considered blasphemy to question gods domain, and China's confucian tests that determined a persons overall intellectual potential via the memorization of Confucian teachings, and many more. Although this may be, today, the tables have turned. Today, other parts of the world are able to do the same thing what Europeans did in the past and what western society is currently doing, at a much faster pace with better quality. Thus he derives the claim that the great divergence is over. In the end I want to say that I agree with what Niall Ferguson claims.

Fabian Fucan Rejects Christianity

In Fabian Fucan's attack on Christianity, he adresses various cultural, social, political, religious, and historical aspects. As far as historical aspects go, Fucan mentions how Japan is the land of the gods, and that the "Divin Regalia" became the protector of the Japanese empires. Fucan explains, on the premises of a political aspect, that the Japanese rulers were given their right to rule by the Gods. He also highlights how the adherents of Desus reject the authority of the Japanese. As for social aspects, he mentions how Europeans, or rather "barbarians", have spread their barbarism to various new lands such as Mexico and the Philippines. Altogether describing their ways of life to be animalistic. In addition, Fucan, enforces the fact that they believe their religion to be superior to all others and are constantly attempting to spread their flawed faith.

Olaudah Equiano on the Middle Passage

Based on what Olaudah Equiano mentioned in this passage, the crew of slave ships spared all expences to make the maximum profits from their business of transporting human cargoes. Examples of this, is shown in Equiano's description when he explains how the slaves were kept under the deck in such poor conditions that there was a unforgettable, repulsive stench present, there. In addition to this, they had constantly beat and oppressed any African prisoner who had thought of escaping or dying. In the last paragraph of the passage, Equiano also mentions how when a few of the African prisoners managed to jump into the ocean, the crew went through extreme measures to recapture the lost slaves. So it can be seen, just how conservative, and careful the crews of slave ships were, in order to make the most profit out of transporting human cargo.

Practice DBQ Reflection

The practice DBQ was not as bad as I thought it would be. The idea of writing a DBQ does not seem to difficult, but of course, it did take quite some time to organize my thoughts before writing the essay, and because of this I ended up not finish the essay within 55 minutes. Although this may be, I believe it will not be that difficult to improve my skill in writing the DBQ essays. The lack of a requirement for having outside knowledge definitely helped a lot since it was much easier to just make reference to the documents, right in front of me. Then, like I mentioned earlier, grouping the documents and organizing my thoughts on how to explain my thesis was definitely challenging.

Africa Map for Africa and the Atlantic World

Promotional Video Project Assessment

I would assess the promotional videos for a grade by looking at whether or not the students had included accurate/relevant details that were mentioned in the textbook. I may look to see if enough effort was put into the video, and I would see if the videos is actually a "promotional" video and not just a video stating facts from the book. What I think matters the most, when it comes to grading these videos, is having the correct information and being able to see that the proper amount of effort was put into making the video. In my topic area, I believe Mike and Anu did the best job in presenting their video with a good amount of information that would serve nicely in a promotional video for why the Spaniards should move to Central/South America. Hammad and Xavier had also done a good job with their video, by building good character and maintaining an appropriate feed of information.

James Loewen's Argument

I believe that James Loewen's argument is completely valid. He has reiterated the fact that students have been given the wrong information on Columbus from several textbooks. I myself am one of these students because I remember being taught of Columbus as the famous explorer who had discovered America. I believe Loewen makes a good case when he states how several history books makes out Columbus to have been this incredible explorer who had set sail with just his impenetrable ambition and desire for exploration. Although, in truth, the man had been aided by knowledge and technology that had been gathered or invented in other nations. In fact, sailors from Africa and Asia may have also made it to America but they end up receiving no recognition. Loewen, indeed makes a good argument for the biased information we are being given by history textbooks. In contrast, I believe Bentley and Ziegler do none of what Loewen accuses of several textbooks of doing. B and Z only mention Columbus briefly based on where he had voyaged and what the significance of his voyage was but they do not add excessive propaganda like what Loewen had argued, other textbooks have done.