Study Guide History Questions - Essay Example

Study Guide Questions PowerPoint 07 Why was the Songhay Empire organized? The empire was held to control trade routes and commodities such as salt and manufactured salt and manufactured goods from North Africa as well as gold, slaves, and kola nuts from South Africa. 2. How was Africa organized? (small groups, not nations) Africa was organized into small ethnic, tribal and linguistic groups. In addition, it some communities was organized based on economic practices such as livestock ranching or crop farming. 3. What was the purpose of having indentured servants and what were their characteristics? Why was being an indentured servant difficult in North America (see Richard Frethorne’s 1623 letters) Indentured servants provided cheap labor to the White farms. The most notable characteristics of this population are ill health condition characterized by diseases, poor and inadequate diet, suffering, fearful, and insecure from the masters attacks. 4. Why were African slaves preferred as a labor force in North America? What was chattel? The slave traders and masters favored African slaves because they were cheaper, not eligible to vote and inferior. A chattel was a slave who was entirely owned by a master and his or her (chattel) children automatically became slaves of the same master. In addition, chattel slaves are treated as property that can be traded as commercial goods. 5. What were characteristics of slavery, as practiced in Africa? Slaves obtained from Africa were prisoners of war, societal rejects, or criminals. They also included people with no personal or civil rights, thus punished as the owner saw fit, treated as chattel and enslaved for finite periods. 6. What was the “middle passage”? (be able to recognize aspects of the middle passage in Olaudah Equiano’s account of it) The middle passage is the slave trade that involved transporting large number of African slaves across the Atlantic into the West Indies. The transportation was cruel as men, women, and children were tightly packed into the ships with minimal water, food and sanitation and the sick or dead were thrown into the sea. 7. How did slavery in Brazil & the Caribbean compare to that in North America (the future United States)? Tropical diseases and heat that shorted the slaves’ life span to 5-6 years where they were replaced after death characterized slavery in the Caribbean. From the total slave imports, 45–50% of all slaves went to Brazil, and 33–45% went to Caribbean. Fewer diseases characterized the north and more productivity with women allowed giving birth to replace the weak or dead slaves. Specifically, this strategy was used when slave trade was declared illegal. The North took 4-5 percent of the total slave imported. 8. What is a diaspora? Diaspora is understood as the scattering of people especially in West Africa. 9. In what ways is the African influence in the Americas most apparent? Africans changed America by the emergence of a new class of slaves and the appearance of a new group of the African Americans 10. What is a syncretic religion (syncretism)? The syncretic religion is a mix of African or animism, Muslim, and Christianity. PowerPoint 08 1. On what question do Sunni and Shia (Shiite) Muslim mainly differ? The major dissimilarity between the Sunnis and the Shiites was based on the succession of the late Prophet Muhammad. According to the Sunnis, Abu Bakr was the favorite candidate since he had the right qualification. Specifically, this was based on their belief that the succession should be based on skill rather than lineage. On the other hand, the Shiites advocated Ali bin Abu Talib to take the leadership since he was a son-in-law and a cousin of the late Prophet Muhammad. 2. Why did the Mughal Empire fail in the mid-1700s? (Who took control of the area? for what purposes?) The Mughal Empire failed due to internal divisions that facilitated the British takeover. The British took over for commercial purposes, as the empire was the second largest global trade center after China. PowerPoint 09 1. Highlight the dissimilarities between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources in history Primary sources are documents and other records written in a period under study while secondary sources are a blend of primary and secondary sources, mostly history books. Finally, tertiary sources are textbooks. 2. What are three major theories for the outbreak of the Great War (World War I) The theories of the outbreak of the Great War are nationalism, social Darwinism, and alliances. The nationalism theory explains the concept of imagined communities where you cannot meet, know or here everyone but you know they are there, thus doing things to help them. Social Darwinism theory advocates the survival for the fittest thus giving the large countries the mandate to control the weaker ones. Finally, the theory of alliance focuses on the alliances formed between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. 3. How can nations be viewed as “imagined communities”? How can a nation be defined? Strong nations spread their influence by creating colonies. Where did colonies exist between the 1880s until after World War II? In imagined communities, you cannot meet, know or here everyone but you know they are there, thus doing things to help them. A nation has a government, borders, respect for other nations and a fiscal military state. Between the 1880s until after World War II, most colonies (90%) came from Africa and Southeast Asia. 4. What was social Darwinism? (see also PowerPoint 16) How did Charles Mangin’s La force noire (The Black Force) express social Darwinism? Social Darwinism theory advocates the survival for the fittest thus giving the large countries the mandate to control the weaker ones. According to Charles Mangin, the Black soldier matched the description of the perfect social Darwinism because he has the qualities required for war. Specifically, these include endurance, tenacity, instinct of combat, absence of nervousness, and strength. 5. Which countries were in 1) the Triple Alliance? 2) The Triple Entente? The Triple Alliance included countries such as Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy while the Triple Entente was made up of Britain, France, and Russia. PowerPoint 10 1. What did Futurists believe about war? The futurists believe that war is beneficial for the society because it flushes out laziness, corruption and also destroys old institutions and replaces them with new. 2. What is total war? In the Great War, which countries were in the Central Powers? Total war is a conflict characterized by military targeting civilian resources and infrastructure, food blockades, as well as a military draft for men and production of materials. During the Great War, the central powers comprised of Austria-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. 3. What were the primary offensive and defensive techniques used in the Great War? During the Great War, the defensive techniques included the use of barbed wire and trenches while the offensive power were machine guns, flamethrowers, mustard gas, submarines, tanks, and aircraft (zeppelins, planes). 4. What were the primary demands and messages conveyed by nations’ propaganda posters in the Great War? Nations propaganda posters included messages and demands such as Women of Britain say GO! The empire needs men! Canada’s new army needs men like you I want you for U.S. Army Who is absent? Is it you? PowerPoint 11 1. What sorts of pro-war messages could be found in George M. Cohan’s song “Over There”? The song is calling upon the young and energetic members of the society (male) to take up arms and fight the enemy. It also emphasizes the cultural perception of masculinity as the protector of the community. 2. How was the Russian Revolution of 1917 related to the Great War? After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918), Russia lost 1 million square miles of its western territory to Germany. The land had majority of coal, oil, iron fields and industries. Therefore, the economic position of Russia was affected promoting its involvement in a war to reclaim the land. 3. The significance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918) The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918) lead to the Russias withdrawal from 4. the war 5. The importance of the sinking of Lusitania in 1915 6. The sinking of Lusitania violated the international law resulting in the Germany’s resumption of unlimited submarine warfare in 1917. Consequently, the USA entered into war with German in April 1917. 7. What was the significance of the Zimmerman Telegram (1917)? Germany tried to invoke a crisis between Mexico and the U.S. forcing the United States of America to enter into war with Germany. 8. What sort of government control existed in warring nations during the Great War? The government control mechanism during the Great War included buy war bonds (propaganda posters) military draft government control of private industries munitions factory workers needed rationing anti-sedition legislation 9. How was total war waged during the Great War? The total was waged using the following strategies food blockades & starvation civilians in combat zones air raids on civilians pillaging, theft, rape (esp. Germany in Belgium) civilian reports/spying on troop activities 10. Outline the major elements of Woodrow Wilsons Fourteen Points i. freedom of the seas ii. no secret treaties iii. disarmament iv. self-determination of colonies (most of Africa & Asia) v. League of Nations (to resolve disputes / avoid war) 11. What did the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 force Germany to do? The Treaty of Versailles gave the following mandates to the Germany government Give up: 1/6th of its territory in Europe colonies in Africa pay reparations (damage done to other countries) restrict military take responsibility for starting the war 12. What are reparations? Reparation is the compensation of damage done to another country in terms of property, money, or labor. 13. Which countries/ empires: 1) ceased to exist. 2) Gave up territory due to the Great Wars Russia & Germany gave up territory Austria-Hungary broke up into various countries such as Romania, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary 14. What were mandates? Where were they formed after the Great War? Why were they controversial? A mandate is a system of governance formed by the League of Nations to ensure the administration of the German territories and the maintenance of public orders and morals. The mandates were controversial because German colonies were given to its rivals. PowerPoint 12 1. How did agricultural items from the Columbian Exchange come to China? The agricultural crops from Colombia reached China through the Portuguese port of Macao into the Chinese port Canton in Guangzhou. 2. What is a high-level equilibrium trap? Specifically, this is an explanation to why China never experienced the industrial revolution like the western countries regardless of its stability, wealth and scientific achievements. 3. What sorts of goods were in such high demand by China’s trading partners that elevated China to have the strongest economy of the early modern era (1450–1800)? The trade commodity obtained from China included tea, silk, paper, cotton cloth, and porcelain. 4. How did Chinese porcelain show its connection to 1) Persia? 2) European colonies in the Americas? The porcelain contained a dark blue (cobalt) paint imported from Persia and a 33-50 percent of silver from the Americas. 5. During the Qing dynasty, what was a factory? A factory was the modern day seaport where ships loaded or offloaded goods in Canton Guangzhou 6. How did Jesuits in Qing China use religious syncretism prior to 1724? Religious syncretism was used to advocate a unique communion that used rice and tea instead of the western style of bread and wine. Additionally, it allowed Confucian ancestral shrines that stressed on an intense family loyalty, ancestor worship and respect for elders. Read More