Recap

3 Things I learnes

1. that Ethiopia was at one time the jewel of Africa
2. that there were German colonies in Africa
3. that the Suez canal is so important to trade

2 Things I found Interesting

1. Spain had nearly no colonies in Africa
2. India was such a valuable nation

1 Question I Have

1. Why weren't there more outbreaks against the Europeans by the Africans, who are known for fiercely defending their cultures today

Gandhi: the Great Peacemaker

"It is the duty of every cultured man or woman to read sympathetically the scriptures of the world. If we are to respect others' religions as we would have them respect our own, a friendly study of the world's religions is a sacred duty."

This quote clearly means that Gandhi thinks it is every persons duty to sttudy and understand other religions so that they can properly understand and respect them as they would want their religion respected.
I agree with Gandhi completely. Before we judge someone elses religion against ours, we must first understand their religion, rather than make assumptions we wouldn't want made about our religion. In addition, it makes one a well rounded, cultured person who can participate in philospohical debates with people of any faith.

The Suez Canal

Today, the Suez Canal is owned by Egypt and operated by the Suez Canal Authority. The canal itself is 101 miles long and 984 feet wide. It begins at the Mediterranean Sea at Point Said flows through Ismailia in Egypt, and ends at Suez on the Gulf of Suez. It also has a railroad running its entire length parallel to its west bank. It can accommodate ships with a vertical height of 62 feet.  Most of the Suez Canal is not wide enough for two ships to pass side by side. To accommodate this, there is one shipping lane and several passing bays where ships can wait for others to pass.The Suez Canal has no locks because Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez have approximately the same water level. It takes around 11 to 16 hours to pass through the canal and ships must travel at a low speed to prevent erosion of the canal's banks. The canal supports approximately 8% of the world’s shipping traffic with almost fifty vessels traveling through the canal daily. It is heavily used due to it being the quickest route from the red sea to the mediterranean sea.

The Sepoy Rebellion

The Sepoy, soldiers hired by the East Indian Trading Company, rebelled against their British employers after a new type of bullet cartridge was developed. This bullet had a covering made of animal fats which were sacred to the Muslim and Hindu Sepoy. The rebellion was so great that it took nearly a year for the British to reestablish their control.

Economic Imperialism

Economic Imperialism involves control not by another country, but by a major corporation or company. The company would use its power to monopolize the industry of which they belonged to. A prime example of this form of imperialism is Hawaii, whose pineapple trade, was controlled by the Dole Fruit Company.

How Imperialism Changed the World

Positive Changes

1. imperialism was responsible for spreading the positive elements (i.e., health, education, welfare, etc.) of more advanced countires to the less developed ones in the 18th and 19th centuries.
2. increased power and wealth of nations doing the colonizing
3. increased world trade, and in relation, the trade of the country being colonized

Negative Changes

1. Whole cultures wiped out by assimilation
2. Changed the technology of war, making it easier and mroe convenient
3. It eventually led up to WW1

The theory of evolution

In his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin wrote that creatures experience genetic mutations prior to birth. Some of these random mutations are beneficial, and some are harmful. He wrote that in the world, the creatures who are the "most fit" are most likely to survive and then later pass on their genes. This process, known as natural selection, results in the strongest creatures thriving and the weak dying off.
One of the biggest results of Darwin's theory of evolution was that it was another major challenge to the Catholic Church. This, combined with the previous Reformation, Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and other related movements, caused the Church to lose even more influence in society. Also, Darwin's theory led to the rise of the concept of social Darwinism, or "survival of the fittest." This theory is still used today in the science community and in the classroom.

Thomas Edison's Motion Pictures

Thomas Edion's motion picture camera was not completed in one step. In 1891, the Edison company successfully demonstrated the Kinetoscope, which allowed one person at a time to view moving pictures. Then in 1896, Edison showed his improved Vitascope projector and it became the first commercially, successful, projector in the U.S. His invention affected everyone, as people loved the new form of entertainment.

Bellis, Mary. "The history of the Motion Picture Camera." About.com Inventors. New York Times, Apr. 

     2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2011.http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmotionpictures.htm 

Introduction

This chapter is on the age of Imperialism. Duirng this time period, many countries took control of the less powerful, and the entire continent of Africa was taken over, except for Ethiopia. Throughout this chapter, my goal is to learn which countries were controlled by which other countries, and to understand the motives for colonization.