Jan 05 2009
A Brief History
The English Civil Wars to the Glorious Revolution
Henretta, “Worlds Collide”.
In the beginning of this section, the Native American societies are discussed. The lifestyles of the first Americans were simple. Some were hunter and gatherers, while some lived in agricultural communities. Most, however, lived in societies where the rules were warrior kings and priests. The first Americans came from Asia, over the Bering Strait. This caused a great number of immigrants to begin discovering the Western Hemisphere. The groups of immigrants were spread out in ways of time and also destination. Some came 19,000 years ago, while others came only 5,000 years ago. They spread out all over the nations, building cultures and societies in many different forms.
The Mayans built large “urban centers”. This shows an aptitude for architecture and cooperation. They created calendars that were based on universal subjects (the moon, sun, stars), and even wrote in Hieroglyphics. The culture declined around 800, due to epic droughts, and in 900, it was abandoned. The Aztecs were another advanced group of people. They created a complex irrigation system and a written language. The Aztecs used non-Aztec people as slaves and serfs, which is one of the first mentions of slavery in the Americas. They forged trading routes, which shows a desire to advance, survive, and expand. Priests and warrior nobles who claimed to be descendants from the gods ruled the Aztecs and the Mayans.
The Indians of the north were less advanced. They lived in self-governing tribes, which used a kinship form of government and they did not practice ownership, but instead shared all items of necessity. Theses characteristics of their society made them weaker and led to decline.
In 1450, Europe was very weak. Their government, cities, and lifestyles were very inadequate compared to what was soon to come their way.
Religion was one of the most powerful characteristics of Europe. The Roman Catholic Church was the “unifying institution” of Western Europe. Originally, Pagans were the stereotype of Europe, but Christianity soon replaced that. In fact, many of the Pagan holidays were converted into Christian Holy Days. Christianity became extremely popular, and the Crusades began, which worked to stop Islam’s advance, and to take control of the Holy Lands. These Crusades helped to broaden the economy and intellect on the Western Europeans.
The Renaissance started in 1300 and was caused by the Arab society inspiring Italy and Northern Europe to have a “rebirth of cultural life and economic energy”. There was a higher level of trade and also an outbreak of art, from figures such as Michelangelo and Leonardo de Vinci.
In 1415, Prince Henry, led a maritime expansion, as a part of the Crusading Order of Christ. There he learned of slaves, and trading of gold. In 1420, he founded a center for the navigation of the ocean and observation of space. He began searching for new trade routes to Asia.
West Africans lived in small villages with large families and had societies similar to the Mayas and Aztecs. In early years, the Africans trade with Europe was positive, but it soon became a large slave trade.
Europeans began to explore America, when Christopher Columbus discovered the present day Bahamas. He was sent to discover a Western route to Asia and to spread Christianity, but instead, he discovered the New World. Columbus believed there to be gold in the West Indies, which cause the colonization to begin.
The Spaniards began to attack the wealthy Indian societies. This caused the decline of the Aztecs, and also a spread of disease, which killed millions of people. By 1550, the Mexican and Peru civilizations were ruined and Spanish America was created.
The Protestant Reformation was a battle between Protestants and Catholics. Martin Luther, the “godfather” of Protestantism, protested against corruption in the church and demanded reform. Many followers who broke away from the church joined him. The higher classes were especially prone to Protestantism, because it enriched them by giving them the power that the Pope has in the Catholic belief. King Henry VIII became the head of the church and passed the Act of Supremacy. This reformation caused the “Wars of Religion”.
Meanwhile, the population of English in America rapidly grew. This doubled the money supply of Europe and caused the Price Revolution. Inflation became prominent, and the Parliament lost its influence. Soon, the House of Commons was created (an inevitable occurrence) and the people wanted a say in things. This caused an advance of representative institutions and eventually led to the Revolution.
