The Super Summary of World History (25 page)

One great problem with the Spanish conquest was their destruction of the Aztec and Inca artifacts upon which they recorded their history, thereby leaving historians guessing about Mexico and South America’s past. The Spanish viewed these items as tools of Satan as they thought the Native Americans were worshiping the devil. Many of these records were on gold objects that the Spanish were all too happy to melt down and send back to Spain.

Spanish
and
English
Empires
in
the
Americas

After the Spanish won their American empire, they established a hierarchy over the population with the Spanish on top, then the Catholic Church, the Native Americans, and last the children of Indian and Spanish blood. Native Americans found themselves digging up gold for shipment back to Spain. Used as slaves they gained no benefit from their subjugation.

Using South America as place of exploitation, Spain took away all the gold they could find while turning the natives into vassals.
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From California to the tip of South America (except for Brazil), the Spanish ruled it all as totalitarian overseers. South American gold made Spain rich beyond all belief and the most powerful nation in Europe. The challengers, England, France, Holland, and the city states of Italy, simply could not dig up endless amounts of gold to finance their every whim. Nonetheless, Spain soon fell from the great power ranks by unwisely spending its wealth.

Meanwhile, the English laid claim to the coast of North America and parts of Canada. The French were in North America as well and claiming Louisiana, the Mississippi River Valley, and parts of Canada. In the 1600s, North America did not have tons of gold to dig up and haul off, and the natives were a mixture of friendly and very unfriendly, depending on the tribe; however, it was a good place to settle. Soon Europeans were coming and trying to make a home along the Atlantic coast of North America, on the Hudson Bay, and the coast of Canada. These were not hit-and-run adventurers. The folks arriving in North America were tough, resourceful people, looking to work hard and build a life of their own away from the old country. They came to stay and had no reason to enslave anyone; however, once they were ashore the lives of the natives in North America changed for the worst.

The newcomers shattered the lives of the Native Americans (Indians), ending their cultures and their very existence. The most deadly impact was unintended as the Europeans brought
diseases
the natives had never been exposed to, with devastating results. Germs that had little or no impact on the Europeans killed the Native Americans by the multiple thousands. Why the natives did not carry diseases that would do the same to the Europeans is a subject of study, but it is a fact that the natives died of Europeans’ diseases by the millions; but the Europeans did not die in large numbers from native diseases.
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This depopulation of the already-existing peoples simply made the conquest of North America that much easier for the newcomers. As the natives melted away, the Europeans took their place.

Because of the two different kinds of newcomers to South and North America the continents developed in very different ways. In South America, subjugation was the way of life with the Spanish ruling the natives. As such, only a few Spanish settled and stayed, usually as overseers of the natives. Those that stayed ran huge estates and lived as royalty. Here too the natives died of diseases in large numbers, but the Spanish were mostly concerned that enough of them remained to work the land or dig the gold. The Catholic Church looked after many natives and converted them to Christianity; however, it was a Christianity mixed with native ways.

In North America, independence was the way of life, with the newcomers establishing themselves on the land and pushing out the natives. The “Indian Wars” on the frontier were unremitting affairs. The fighting went on year after year as colonists moved west to gain more farmland. In the end, diseases, the crushing numbers of Europeans, and Europe’s advanced technology overwhelmed the natives. The Native Americans in the North lost their lives, their land, their culture, and their future every bit as surely as those Native Americans in South America had.

The Age of Discovery went on for decades as men sought new places to explore. For our purposes, the Age of Discovery will end with the voyage of Magellan in 1522 because it is a good date to hang our hat on, it found the extent of the South American continent, and “proved” the world was round—and very big.

Let Us Learn

From the Age of Discovery we find out that expectations are often wrong. Spending a lot of money on an adventure (project) involves unstated assumptions. Sure, the world is round and Isabella’s advisors knew it, but the Europeans assumed nothing but ocean stood between them and Asia if they sailed west. So, beware of unstated assumptions and unproven expectations. Also, learn that scouting ahead can make a big difference. We must also learn that killing and oppressing people will ruin those doing the oppressing. Spain failed to benefit from its oppression in the New World. From settlers in New England and the North American colonies we learn the value of hard work. By staying put, working hard, saving, and protecting their profit, they set the foundations for a great nation. Keeping it simple, working hard and setting aside for the future pays off. We must note the importance of technology. Falling behind in technology doomed the Native Americans. Same for disease. Disease is a big deal, and disease alone changed the course of history more than once. Keep up with changing technology, and try to stay healthy.

Books and Resources:

The
Discoverers
, Boorstin, D.J., 1985, Vintage. Outstanding book.

The
New
Penguin
History
of
the
World,
Roberts, J., 2007, Penguin Books, Starting at page 546.

 
Chapter 6

The EAST

China

The history of China is a thorny subject. The names are strange and hard to spell, plus what was going on in China did not seem to affect Europe (although we know it did).
China’s
largest
impact
on
the
West
was
the
result
of
Europe
knowing
about
China
and
expending
a
lot
of
energy
trying
to
get
there
for
trading
purposes.
The silks and spices of the Orient drew such good prices in Europe that it made sense for traders to get there however they could and bring back these most profitable items.

What seems odd is
China
was
not
trying
to
get
to
Europe
. Chinese traders did not venture very far west or east. What did go west, with the armies of the Mongols and others, was disease and war. Of course, the wars imposed on the West from the East did not come from China proper; they came from the nomads living in the area west of China. The diseases that swept over Europe probably started in China, it is often hard to say, but this was not a purposeful export
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China’s impacts on Europe were actually profound. Anything that kills off about one-third of the population of an area, such as the Black Death did in Europe, is important. The area of trade involved men taking action to get to China. The great explorers sailed west to reach the east (Columbus for example), and their tales of high adventure on the seas caused a lot of attention to be cast onto them. The opening of sea routes to Asia had an enormous impact on Europe, and helped to make Europe the dominant region of the world after they had secured the sea lanes to the orient. On the way to Asia, the explorers discovered other lands and claimed them for their own. Such claimed areas often became colonies of the “mother country” and once again increased the wealth of Europe.

Thus, China, through its mere existence, had a massive impact on European history (and therefore world history) even though it is seldom mentioned in that light.

Why did China keep to herself and not venture out and try to gain knowledge and trade from the rest of the world? At one time, China did just that, reaching India and perhaps beyond; however, later emperors thought China was the center of the earth and that it had no need for exploration. Like any nation with a very long history it is not uniform from start to finish. What we have to look at is the larger trends, and China’s trend for centuries was isolation. The Chinese called themselves the middle kingdom, or the center of all the earth—or at least the part that mattered. The Chinese had everything they needed so why venture out to the barbarian world? Aggressors came from Mongolia and conquered the Chinese; however, China prevailed because the newcomers did not change China, rather, China changed the newcomers. The invaders were few compared to the Chinese, eventually adopted Chinese ways, and gradually merged into the population until China was once more China—and the former conquerors were now Chinese.

A great Chinese asset is the continuity and stability of their ancient civilization. Ancient Egypt had a solid continuity for over 2000 years, but ancient Egypt is with us no longer while China is. Chinese continuity goes back to the Shang and Chou Dynasties.
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These two dynasties gave China the structural organization that continued for centuries. After laying these foundations, China remained basically the same until the 20
th
Century. A strong centralized government, the basic land divisions, and the fundamental classes of society began during the reign of the Shang and Chou. The people of the land (peasants) and the ruling class (nobles and emperors) were set up as distinct groups, becoming nearly unchanging categories of people that formed the basis of Chinese life from these early dynasties until the modern world interposed itself. Thus, Chinese society resisted change and achieved a remarkable stability for about 3,500 years.

The Chinese always thought their greatest asset was “the Chinese mind.” As they scrutinized other cultures the Chinese noticed foreigners saw life quite differently, failing to understand the qualities of thought separating them from the Chinese. For example, the first legendary Chinese Emperor, Fu Xi, was famous for establishing a connection between the individual and nature (philosophy & keen insight), unlike western leaders such as Sargon famed for slaughter and conquest (war & killing). Unlike the West, Chinese philosophers avoided arguments about definitions (epistemology) or what was real and what was not, and stuck with practical subjects. Most Chinese philosophers were concerned with how to live now, what makes a superior person, and how one could grow to be a superior person.
Lao
Tzu
founded Taoism in 600 BC,
Confucius
taught morality in 549 BC, and
Buddhism
started to infiltrate China in 200 BC from India. These eastern philosophies avoided conflicts about the afterlife. Life here on earth was stressed, and the afterlife was something no one could know.

Taoism
concentrated on telling the adherent to flow with events as water flows down a stream, and concentrate on becoming a superior man. One key to Taoism was conformity with facts found in life. To struggle against the tides of the time was not the sign of a superior person. The Tao is “the way” or the principle governing an ordered universe.
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Confucius
was an ethics teacher stressing right living, honor, and obedience. He was especially concerned with governments, and wanted governments to be operated honestly and for the benefit of all, including the peasants. During his life his impact was not great; however, after his death his philosophies became widely accepted, and the model for government officials in China.
Buddhism
taught that one might achieve enlightenment by living right (right work, etc.) and trying to reach out to the universal “one” into which everything must someday merge. Buddhism taught the Eightfold Path to living and enlightenment. Named for
Buddha
, who was rich as a boy, but as a man he quit worldly things and began to contemplate what made people miserable. One day, while sitting under a tree, he was hit with the thought that “
wanting
things
” is what makes men miserable. If people could get rid of this desire for more, they would be happy. Buddha did not write anything down himself, but his disciples wrote down his thoughts after he died, thus starting a movement that would sweep the East with his ideas. Buddhism requires one to focus on the ability to accept what is while turning aside the cares of the world. As a person’s thoughts reach perfection, then enlightenment draws near. This enlightenment is to feel and experience oneness with the universe
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(Nirvana). Buddhism was originally simplistic and without ritual. In India, where it arose, it remained a minority religion; however, it spread to the whole of Asia and gained a massive following in China, Japan, and the rest of the world.