CH 300 Final Examination Fall 2019 Paul Dambowic

Posted: August 25th, 2021

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CH 300 Final Examination Fall 2019 Paul Dambowic

Outline I

Under this part, there is an assessment of the concept of slavery, its growth during the Enlightenment in Europe, and when was slavery abolished, the view of Africans, and how they changed during the period. African perception of the European both in the 17^th and 18^th Centuries and the role in slavery.

Answer to Question I

 Barbarism entails a lack of culture and civilization (124). There exist a big difference between religion and civilization. At the same time, there has been a significant transformation concerning the debate on Americans in the United States, where Americans were known as devils that needed elimination. Currently, this notion has changed, and Americans are victims of the western progress of a country (Said 16). Within the Islamic world today, there is also debate concerning the Islamic culture. Just like any world culture, Islam faces critics and appears to instill fear and hostility (Said 7). According to Peirce (45), men who consider themselves civilized should not judge people as barbarians while not paying attention to their actions that seem to be barbarous. People should abandon the idea of primitiveness and civilization (47). Most Europeans, Indians, and Africans established societies that worked well within their environment. Hence, they did not consider themselves to be inferior and different from others.

During the 18^th Century, slavery had already reached the British Empire (117). It was common to find slaves everywhere in areas such as Boston and Charles. Slavery was then a standard system for providing labor. Besides, it served to impact on culture and livelihood of colonials (119). African slavery gave the whites in the colonies a racial bond and identity, which they shared among themselves (129). Before the new world exploration, slavery was a practice that was allowed by European society. According to ancient Greek, the defenders of slavers found that to enslave prisoners of war was another way of carrying out the execution. The victors had the right to claim their enemies’ life via enslavement (Huntington 147). However, slavery trading began immediately following the exploration of the African coast by Portuguese traders. African were captured and sold across the seas in the New World. Some advocates of slavery say that they had a mission of converting African non-Christians to Christianity, which was supported by slavery. The demand for cash crops such as sugar and rice increased the demand for labor by the Europeans (156).  The British found the Africans to be vital because they could survive in the tropical climates and had good knowledge concerning the crops. Thus,  increases in crop production led to more African slavery, therefore, establishing a commercial empire for the British. However, through enlightenment and under all circumstances, slavery was illegalized. Slaves started to resist being exploited and fought for their rights through rebellions like the Stono Rebellion (Peirce 67). They also used other ways such as escaping and started reducing their efforts to deliver in plantations. New colonies led to a unique need for less costly labor through the discovery of the Americas. In the 16^th century, European ships were already transporting slaves to Brazil, leading to rising in  Atlantic slavery (73). Equally, with the increase in bondage,  the African views on humanity changed and forced them to fight for their rights. Africans perceived Europeans to be evil and inhuman during the 17^th and 18^th centuries when the Europeans began to exploit them as slaves. In the European case, they used racist concepts as a justification for their evil actions, branding Africans as cursed and inferior.

Outline II

This section looks at civilization and its dominance in world politics. Comparison is made across different parts of the world, such as China, Islamic, African and Western, concerning civilization.

Answer to Question II

 According to Huntington (178), the clash of civilization dominates world politics. He argues that culture influences the great divisions among humankind and the existing source of conflict (157). Huntington further states that the dispute exists between both Western and non-Western civilizations. Besides, he identifies one side as the West while the other as Islamic civilization (189). At the time, the West was modernized and enlightened during the Islamic world lack modernization. More so, the Islamic failed to differentiate between state and Church and State and was not aware of any other civilizations. Based on this establishment, therefore, Huntington argues that Hindu, Japanese, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American, and African exist and are separate from one another and usually conflict with each other. In another case, China’s history is extraordinary, just like any other country’s history on earth. There exist no more straightforward way of understanding China than knowing its culture (Kangxi and Spence 39). The Chinese way of life, as presented in the Ming Dynasty, had some cultural and arts achievements that led to prosperity (48). Equally, while focusing on the context of intellectual, some historians develop an understanding of China. China had a secretive culture, requiring European scientific revelation. The ancient Chinese Confucianism traditions were in preservation for a longer duration compared to European systems of belief (Peirce 138). For instance, K’ang-Hsi, as an enlightened leader, ruled well by preserving the culture and understanding of the Chinese. Hence, to some extent, some researchers prove that China is more civilized than the West.

Outline III

Based on the excerpt from Jonathan Spence’s book, the section discusses the Qing Dynasty in China concerning the notions of enlightenment and modernity.

Answer to Question II

The scientific revolution in Europe led to increased achievements, such as growth in Economy with the availability of many resources to tap from for development (Huntington 219). The ability of Europeans to move across Africa and produce guns points out the differences in technological achievements. At the same time, it represents the interaction between the dominant culture and an inferior culture. The case of Africa versus European is different from China, where, despite in-depth scientific knowledge, they did little for development because there were no resources (Kangxi and Jonathan 119). Revolution in China via the idea of enlightenment and modernity resulted in many changes, including transformation to the modern culture of technology and development. Subsequently, the Manchus, who were illegal rulers, established the Qing Dynasty with a mixture of Chinese ethnicities. Chinese modernity uses the Europeans ways to from antichurch enlightenment leading to a self-defining culture.

Works Cited

Huntington, Samuel P. The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. Print.

Kangxi and Jonathan D. Spence. Emperor of china: self-portrait of Kʻang Hsi. New York: Vintage Books, 1988. Print.

Peirce, Leslie P. The imperial harem: women and sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Print.

Said, Edward W. Reflections on exile and other essays. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2000. Print.

Spence, Jonathan D. The search for modern China. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. Print.