Letter of Lin Zexu to Queen Victoria Response

Lin Zeux conveys his distaste for opium in the descriptive terms he attaches to the drug by explaining how the 'poison' and it's repugnant odor has made the gods angry. By describing opium as poison it is clear that Zeux is seriously against opium and will take any means necessary to ensure it's destruction. He further adds in the letter that the gods are unhappy and that if Queen Victoria of great Britain extinguished the "evil" that is opium, the goods may be grateful and reward her with good health. Thus, he is also religiously expressing his distaste for opium. Then, the punishments inflicted on opium peddlers suggest Lin Zeux's perception of opium's threat to China by illustrating the extremity he is willing to go to in order to exterminate opium from China. In his letter he describes anybody who uses or had used opium would be executed and any British merchants who try selling opium would also be executed. His logic is that if a life is taken, the murder must give up his life as punishment but now, the same should apply to opium since many have fell victim to it. So he derived the conclusion that anybody that tries to sell opium would be executed. Therefore, the fact that he is willing to take these measures show how Zeux has massive distaste towards opium in China.

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.

Africa Map for Africa and the Atlantic World

Sub-Saharan Africa Map

Silk Road simulation #swindled&hustled! :)

Overall, I feel like I have learned a lot from today's silk road simulation. I noticed that the silk was more than just a route for trading and intact was is a series of dealings that happen in a common area between China, India, Malaya, Turkestan,  Greece, and the Roman Empire. I was also not very surprised when I realized how unsafe the whole process was. As a representative of Turkestan my group was the center of most trading between China and Malaya and Greece and Rome. Although this may be, it didn't safe my group from getting robbed. A member of my group was fooled into a deal and gave the money before anything could be formally arranged, and the person just took the money and walked away. From this I learned that dishonesty would have been common amongst the people trading in the silk road. Then once the language and money barrier was broken with a translator and a banker did not help anybody! The banker was constantly bribed and some of the translators were being robbed. In the end only the corrupt and clever made it to the top with the majority of the money. I believe this shows reason for a nation to conquer another because if I was China or Rome and got my money swindled I would not just sit down and forget about everything after the bell rings. NO, I would have raised an army and marched on over to whichever nation took my money, and would have taken it back! In the end though, I would not say that the silk road completely detract from the societies that participated in it and I believe it was beneficial to a certain extent. Despite all the fuss, my group was successfully able to purchase weapons by selling some horses, and this was a win for me. So basically, I learned that even a broken system for trading could carry out tasks of several nations to a certain extent (where at least somebody is happy); but the real question is, for how long did this last?

This simulation was amazing. I felt like I was learning a lot about trade through the silk road, while simultaneously having a good time with it. The pros are mostly made up of the fact that it was a fun and intuitive learning experience and I recommend we definitely do this again. The cons were consisted of the fact that it teaches you things in an indirect way. I feel like there would have been situations in this simulation that could have lead be to a different understanding of the silk road trade. For example if everybody I had traded with were extremely honest and saw my deal through, until the end; I would have been lead to believe that the silk road was a fantastic trading system. So this brings me to the conclusion that this method of learning could work for other things but not all, but today was excellent in sending the message and we should definitely do this again.