After the Civil War

After the Civil War, industrialization changed American culture, as railways connected developing urban communities and manufacturing plants pulled in floods of foreign laborers. By the late nineteenth century, numerous reformers looked to enhance the conditions in which numerous Americans worked and lived. Imperialism is the strategy of broadening a country’s power over different nations by financial, political or military means.

The objective of the Americans for imperialism was for new markets would expand exchange which provided money, military power enhanced control, so it could contend with different nations, and social dominance so it could spread America’s way of life like religion, and language.

The United States’ industrialization was developing so quickly that it was creating a bigger number of products than individuals could consume, and so American Imperialism was justified because of the overabundance of modern merchandise that drove the United States to search for entrance and venture into worldwide markets which were essential in making it a World Power.

A U.S. representative’ speech had motivations in how the US gained with trades and starting to become wealthy, they still didn’t have a strong army nor navy. But it still fought for against the Spanish and fight for the rights of Cubans that suffered under the Spanish empire, even does many Americans didn’t support this because many weren’t ready for war.

However, Albert Beveridge who was running for US Senator in 1898 had motivations to assure that US imperialism was necessary, that it was an ethical commitment to spreading their insight and prevalence of American’s religion and government overall less lucky individuals. For McKinley’s decision in the early 1900s after the Spanish War ended, with motivations that he pretentiously repudiated the U.S. army accomplishment of the Philippines under their control.

The Hawaiian Memorial during 1897, the reason behind this was to remove the US government because they believed their nationality was being extinguished, but the US call to vote for annexation for the need of naval bases to protect the world trade. A letter brought questioning to many Americans if a severe fight between the Philippines and United States was worth the expansion because of the idea of imperialism. Each source shows different points of views on how larger nations gave to the smaller colonies.
Social and cultural changes led many in the U.S. to conclude at the time had come for the country to assert its power beyond the borders.

American Imperialism was justified because of the overabundance of modern merchandise that drove the United States to search for entrance and venture into worldwide markets which were essential in making it a World Power. As the United States’ empire started to be advanced, leaders and officials led the nation in a burst of overseas expansion in which it acquired Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico etc.

The way to sustain prosperity was to find foreign markets for U.S. goods. Beveridge compared the Philippines colonization to U.S. westward expansion across North America and argued that Filipinos were a child-like and savage race incapable of self-governance. The American imperialism was important for the urge to fulfill United States’ destiny–as a world power by colonizing, looking for fresh land to conquer in which opening new markets, was a favorable balance of trade, and make exports exceed imports, sought to expand foreign markets.

Development was the principal center of American Imperialism justification, which ought to enable the United States to pick up much benefit as could reasonably be expected. This brought about the advancement of new items and administrations, as well as in different nations–this had powered financial development.

As innovations expanded, the American homesteads and manufacturing plants creations were significantly more than American natives could expand. The government saw the remote exchange as the solution for American over creation. In any case, this thought of exchange likewise brought problems as the main path for trade products among the US and different countries.

The larger part through overcoming those countries that were self-administered or even under control by different countries (the Philippines and Spain). However, the Filipinos felt sold out when the U.S. took control of their country and wound up irate. Indeed, regardless of what the Filipinos felt the Americans would not like to abandon them to self-administer, on the grounds that they since a long time after a short time have strife and botch over there more unfortunate than Spain’s wars.

Concerning numerous Americans, this thought of development brought riches however for a couple brought demise, as wars caused the passing of numerous soldiers in every country. To the extent the entire needs were concerned, they requested that the wrongdoing (mercilessness battling the Philippines) ought to be ceased and that America could wipe out the disgraceful nation. To be a world power, United States needed to have land beyond its borders (expansion) that the Americans could control.

On the time whilst in all the different countries the public economic system become subjected to deep changes in the outcome of the warfare, showing itself mainly in the decline of money, excessive cost of residing—America had not the simplest now not suffered from the struggle, but at the opposite the country had gained by way of it and became during that time World Power. Having increase sources, and a few strategic positioning of colonies better exchange and raise the American financial system.

Which kind of along the lines takes place the Manifest Destiny, colonizing overseas lands brought about the United States spreading its wealth, have an effect on and lifestyle overseas. Imperialism turned into a key aspect in creating an extra civil overseas human. Even in changes in the recent past events the imperialistic developments likewise had a worldwide effect that emerged between countries like wars that made an endeavor at holding their opportunity.

In the long run, these wars were a factor in the foundations for WWI. But this event to the counter colonialist contention that America shouldn’t administer individuals without their assent, by expressing that freedom gets its power from the assent of the administered, just by those equipped for self-government. It contrasted with Indians enable Americans to administer without an assent and parents likewise oversee over their youngsters without their assent.

America should spare them from countries as opposed to giving them self-run of catastrophe. Much like a youngster who needs direction (government). With conflicts, outside and within the borders of US, imperialism remains justified more than a century later as it could become the World Power in the past and present.

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Genghis Khan

Later on in his life, Genesis Khan decided that, whilst assembling his army, he realized that separating everyone by their rank made no sense, so he separated them thou acknowledgement of their lineage, thus abolishing the distinction between black bone and white bone (37-38 & 52-53); Genesis Khan learned how to travel long distances over long periods of time with little food or water.

This benefited them tremendously by letting them cross vast terrain that the enemy wouldn’t expect them to cross, creating a surprise attack (86-87); Genesis Khan, after several raids, realizes that the rush to loot the germs of the defeated served as an impediment to more complete victory. Rather than chasing down the warriors of the raided camps, attackers nearly allowed them to flee and focused instead on immediately looting their camps. He distributed the goods along the same lines by which the hunting men of the forest traditionally distributed a kill at the end of a group hunt.

This policy not only ensured him the support of the poorest people in the tribe, but it also inspired loyalty among his soldiers, who knew that even if they died, he would take care of their surviving families (50) 6. Mongolia and the surrounding area provided pathways and uncrossed terrain that allowed Genesis Khan to sneak up on his enemies and strike effectively. Also, he loud spare a few people so they can run to other empires and spread fear and panic across the steppes. (3-5) 7. One of the reasons that Timeline killed his older half-brother, Better, is because of how he treated Timeline.

He would always steal any fish Timeline caught or killed, and would never share his earnings with anyone. Because of this, Timeline killed him in order to proclaim his dominance, to keep his dignity, and (possibly) to keep the family from starving. (24-25) 8. Timeline had to fight Jan-Kuaka, who was his and and his blood brother. Although Timeline had far less soldiers than Kumar, he used many different effective tactics against him, such as the Tumbleweed Formation, where Mongol warriors advanced toward the enemy in divided groups silently.

This caused Genesis Khan’s units to strike fast from a single direction, and flee quickly, leaving the enemy wounded but unable to retaliate before the attackers disappeared. Also, Timeline send a guard on a horse so skinny with a saddle so primitive that the captors sent the horse and saddle from camp to camp in mockery to how pathetic the Mongols had become. In another trick, since he had far fewer soldiers than the Kumar, Timeline ordered each man o set 5 campfires every night on the hills where his army camped, in order to make them seem like a much larger army.

The Mongols were gaining the advantage, but Timeline did not race to victory. The night before the decisive battle, he told his men to sleep soundly. This is due to the fear inside the Anima, who began to flee in the night. However, Genesis knew that their only escape route was down the steep backside of a mountain, and, unable to see, the fleeing men and their horses fell into the gorge. The next morning, Genesis Khan easily defeated the remaining threats, causing Kumar to disappear into the forest. Timeline executed Kumar;s betrayers on the principle that betrayal merits the harshest punishment.

The Secret History states that Timeline offered renewal of their brotherhood, but Kumar insisted that just as there was room for only one sun in the sky, there was room only for one Mongol lord. He asked to be executed by dying a noble death without the spilling of blood. His request was granted by having his back broken by Tennis’s soldiers. It is said that Timeline buried Kumar in the golden belt that he had given to Kumar when they formed their bond of brotherhood. (61-64) 9. The Mongols were effective in expanding their empire, and used any techniques to do so.

These techniques were acquired by Genesis Khan’s observations of his enemies’ attempts to use one or more techniques to attack the Mongols. After he conquered empire after empire, he would spare one or more people that helped create/develop the machinery/ maneuvers/techniques and would use them against other empires, keeping one or more of the engineers with him during invasions for quick assembling for a swift encounter. Genesis also snuck up on other enemies that, out of pure fear and loyalty, they agreed to side with Genesis and bring more goods to the people of Mongolia, thus benefiting the ranking of Mongols.

This instilled fear into Genesis Khan’s enemies, and spread word of his terror across the steppes. This increased his dominance and his reign, and whenever people fled to other places to warn them of the unstoppable army of Genesis Khan, it only fueled his hunger for victory with the fear of every empire that would soon be conquered, stolen, and destroyed by the tenacious hands of Genesis Khan. (81-84) 10. Mongol conquests resulted in some of the most destructive wars in human history.

In Iran, the Mongol invasion resulted in extermination, disease, and destruction of irrigation yester resulting in mass emigration, famine, and drastic population decline. The Mongols differed drastically from their opponents in the sense of warfare. The Mongols used a variety of attacks, techniques and maneuvers to successfully attack their enemies. The Mongols were viewed as ruthless, brutal and bloodthirsty. In a way, they are ruthless, but their tactics for fighting were far more successful than their “civilized” opponents, which gave them an enormous advantage, and thus making domination imminent.

The spread of word about the Mongols helped others know about the coming of he Mongol army, and would even make many people flee towards them in submission. (144-147) 1 . The Mongols’ encounters with religion had a large effect on their lives. Religious tolerance was evident in their society, so there were many people of different religions. Christianity was viewed as a praised, popular religion by some, but also as a group of hatred by others, due to the killing of Jews by Christians. The Mongols had a system of religious freedom; they required that the needs of the empire be served before there own, however.

Christianity was spread effectively around multiple areas, but the Mongols, for the most art, kept their religion and beliefs alive, not letting anything else alter that. (219 and pages from Chi. 9-10) 2. In the book, the Christian Crusaders, when they took cities such as Antioch in 1 098 and Jerusalem in 1 099, slaughtered the Jews and Muslims without regard for age or gender, but merely because of their religion. (116) 3. Genesis Khan used brute force to conquer his enemies. He would destroy empires and steal riches afterwards. Chablis Khan, however, was no Genesis Khan.

Chablis, even without the military skills of his grandfather, had clearly outsmarted everyone in his family. He possessed a keen strategic talent and he ability to have, and implement, good ideas; he applied these skills to the management of his territory, and its expansion toward the south. In the end, he proved able to achieve though public politics what his grandfather had not been able to achieve through brute force: the conquest and unification of all Chine, the most populous country on earth. (195) 4. Traditionally, merchants were accorded a relatively low social status in China.

The Mongols, however, had a more favorable attitude toward merchants and commerce -? their nomadic way of life, which is much reliant on trade with sedentary peoples, ad caused them to recognize the importance of trade from the very earliest times. Thus, the Mongols worked to improve the social status of merchants and traders throughout their domains. The Mongols always favored trade. Their nomadic way of life caused them to recognize the importance of trade from the very earliest times and, unlike the Chinese, they had a positive attitude toward merchants and commerce.

Support for trade characterized not only Mongol policy in China but their policy throughout their domains. The Mongols even tried to introduce paper money -? though this would come merely a failed experiment. Nonetheless, the attempt indicates the desire of the Mongols to provide additional assistance to traders. (250) 5. In the Mongolia Empire, there were common principles/innovations that they created during their rule. Some of these included paper money, international law, diplomatic immunity, primacy of the state over the church, and freedom of religion.

These innovations have all led to our advantages in today’s contemporary lifestyle: Paper money is used all around the world, making it one of the most common forms of currency used worldwide; international away is used to keep order and peace for everyone; diplomatic immunity is used where there are rulers/leaders, making them ‘immune’ to lawsuit/ prosecution under that host country’s laws; freedom of religion, which is greatly used today, helps prevent religious prosecution in our society, and lets people freely practice and be proud of their beliefs. (236) 6.

As the people infected with the bubonic plague died, they infected those around them by violent coughing, sneezing and gasping. When the plague broke out in Mongolia and China, the Mongols brought the disease north with them. The disease was carried by fleas, but, even though they don’t normally come in contact with humans, they traveled in the food crates of the Mongols. Also, China functioned as the manufacturing center of the Mongol World System, and as the goods poured out of China, the disease followed, seemingly spreading in all directions at once.

By 1338 the plague crossed from China over the Titan Shaman Mountains. The same Mongol roads and caravans that knitted together the Eurasian world of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries moved more than mere silk and spices. The roads set up by the Mongols for merchants also served as the accidental transfer point for the fleas and, thereby, for the disease itself. With all the luxurious fabrics and more, the caravans brought the fleas that spread the plague from one camp to another, one village to another, one city to another, and one continent to another.

In the sixty years from 1340 until 1400, the population of Asia declined from 238 million to 201 million inhabitants, and Europe from 75 million to 52 million. (242-245) 7. Gender the widespread influences from the paper and printing, gunpowder and firearms, and the spread of the navigational compass and other maritime equipment, Europeans experienced a Renaissance, literally a rebirth, but it was not the ancient world of Greece and Rome being reborn: It was the Mongol Empire, picked up, transferred, and adapted by the Europeans to their own needs and culture.

The paintings shared a common source in the work of Ghetto did Bonded and his disciples. Although the frescoes of the church depicted events from the life of Christ, more than a thousand years before the Mongol Empire, only shortly before Mongol contact, the artists depicted many of their subjects as Mongols or used Mongol dress and cloth for them. The artists placed Mongols in a variety of Christian paintings with their distinctive clothing, headgear, and bows.

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The Empire and Colonialism in Asia

Modern European empires came about because of the desire for the wealth to be had from overseas trading and markets. European countries that acquired empires did not plan these conquests. Europe was trading with Asia and other parts of the world long before modern empires arose. The success of early trading and the need to expand their markets led the powers of Europe to find the means to secure overseas lands for their exclusive use. Also the fierce competition between European countries for trade and world markets led to the securing of overseas interests which led to empires.

Economic expansion played a key part in the building of European empires. “An empire is a system of interaction between two political entities. One is dominant and exerts political control over internal and external policy, the other is weak. ” Imperialism is the desire to control colonies or dependencies and imperialism is how empires are formed. European countries had to have the power to dominate other societies. Attributes that European countries had to encourage imperialism and empire were a centralised government, differentiated economies and a shared political loyalty.

Military strength was vital too, both on land and on the sea. qualities, but they also had to have the drive to acquire an empire. Control of a vast empire fed into national pride. Colonialism was the policy used to expand a country’s influence and power. When a foreign power rules another group of people (usually separated from them by an ocean) a colony is formed. The ruling power usually sent its own people to govern. This was allowed to happen by virtue of the ruling country’s advanced state of technology and more complex society. Europe was lured into the outside orld through the prospect of trade.

Colonies provided many economic benefits such as sources of raw materials, markets for surplus goods, new goods that could be traded to other countries (such as diamonds, gold and spices) and investment opportunities. There were other reasons for expansion such as security considerations and spreading religion, but it was the huge economic benefits that fueled the fire of imperialism. The Portuguese and the Spanish began their quest for empire in the fifteenth century and they were closely followed by the British and the Dutch in the seventeenth century.

This desire for expansion was known as capitalism, the drive to search for overseas profits, raw materials and markets. Once trade was established, the struggle for power and control of trade between European countries led to the expansion and protection of overseas interests. This protection and expansion led to the creation of empires. The Iberian empires of Spain and Portugal both set out to trade with Asia for exotic goods such as silks and spices. Notions of empires and conquests did not come until after trade was established and successful.

Portugal began trading along the west African coast hile in search for a trade route to the rich markets of Asia. In 1498, Vasco da Gama found that route rounding the Cape of Good Hope and sailing to India. The Portuguese had successfully established a monopoly of trade in Asia. Pedro Alvares Cabral sailed in 1498. He was supposed to follow da Gama, but got lost and ended up in Brazil in 1500. Soldiers and settlers were sent to these lands to help solidify Portugal’s hold on the valuable territories.

Portugal had colonies in Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome, Principe, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia and China By the middle of the 1500’s. They were threatened by the Spanish arriving close by in the Philippines in 1565. () Bases and administrative centres were set up in Ambonia and Tidore and Portugal had a strong hold on India in Bengal. Portugal gained enormous wealth from these lands. They obtained gold and participated in the slave trade from Africa. They also got gold and diamonds from Brazil. The spice trade from Asia was very lucrative.

Portuguese planters in these lands contributed also to the overall wealth of the country. Portugal overextended itself, however, and was invaded successfully by Spain in 1580. England, the Netherlands and France were able to steal away parts of the empire during this time. After regaining its independence, Portugal never really rose to its former glory. It was constantly under attack by Spain for many years. It did hold onto many of its colonies until the mid 1970’s, but the people of those colonies did not allow Portugal to take all of their wealth as it had done before.

Spain had also set out to trade in Asia, but they were sidetracked by Columbus’ discovery in 1492. Columbus was trying to bypass the monopoly Portugal had over trade in the East. Instead he enabled Spain to build an empire which included Mexico, Central America, most of the West Indies, the Southwestern portion of what is now the United States and the western part of South America. The Spanish exploited the Caribbean and the Americas for economic advantage. The Spanish Empire also included Portugal, present day Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and the Philippines.

Spanish colonies were set up to keep control of trade and resources after threats from the Dutch and the English. Also colonies were set up to support the home economy. Many wars and poor management led to the decline of Spain’s control of this vast empire. Much land and military resources were lost when Spain came out on the losing side of several wars. Many of the people in the colonies revolted against harsh Spanish rule. Cuba, the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico were the last of Spain’s valuable holdings to go after their defeat in the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Economic interests for Spain were at the head of expansion. Gold, silver and precious stones were seen as the “treasure” of the Spanish Empire. Both Portugal and Spain initially set out to trade and profit from Asia nd only advanced towards empire when their economic After 1600, northern European countries began trading overseas regularly and started to develop economic interests that led to empires. The English and the Dutch saw how lucrative Spanish and Portuguese colonies were and they developed aspirations of their own.

The Dutch East India Company and the English East India Company emerged in the early seventeenth century as major powers to take trade away from Portugal and Spain. The English and the Dutch used their dominant naval forces to remove Spain and The English gained power in India over the Portuguese. They acquired Madras and Bengal. The English were only interested in trading with the East, not in colonising the area. They made agreements with the rulers of India for favorable trading conditions. When the Mongul rulers of India began to lose power, then the English East India Company stepped in and took over to protect its economic interests.

England did settle extensively its colonies in North America and parts of Africa. England, weakened also by many wars, lost or gave independence to most of its empire. The Dutch by virtue of their superior navy were able to create a tremendously extensive empire in the East. The Dutch captured the fort on Ambonia from the Portuguese and the Portuguese ended up losing their stronghold, Malacca. The Dutch East India Company set up headquarters in Batavia (which is now called Jakarta) in Indonesia. They had exclusive trading rights with Japan and also controlled Ceylon and the southern tip of Africa.

They colonized New Netherland which is New York today. The Dutch fought many wars and were finally defeated by the English in 1784. Ten years later they were invaded by the French. Most of their possessions were confiscated during this time. rivals in trade so they had to establish footholds in rder to preserve their trading. The Dutch had settlements in Batavia and control of trade in the far east. The English acquired Madras and Bengal. England ended up ruling over India to protect profitable trade, not for glory or sovereignty.

There was no movement of population into India and only after a century and a half did anything besides trade play a part in relations with India. These footholds resulted in empires, but they were conceived in order to maintain economic advantage in the east. European empires hold their roots in early trade and the search for overseas markets. John Cuningham, an conomist, suggests that evolution of empire is due to ” gradual extension of commerce [and] advent to trading companies coupled with the desire to enrich power and prestige of the mother country.

I agree with this statement because of the origin of trade that European empires had. European countries began expansion in search of riches like gold and diamonds, trade like spices and silk, and land to grow valuable crops like coffee. They only resorted to control when their economic enterprises were in danger. Empires developed as a means of economic expansion to enable European countries to maintain their profits, raw materials and markets.

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How One Young Entrepreneur Built a Credit Card Processing Empire at 16

Jared Isaacman knew in his teens that he wanted to launch a business. In fact, he was in such a hurry to get started that he took the General Educational Development, or GED, exam and left school at 16. Six months later, after a stint at a credit-card processing company, he launched his own business in the same industry, United Bank Card Inc.

At 30, Isaacman continues to lead the company he started from his parents’ basement in New Jersey. Except today, it’s a bit bigger. United Bank Card, which is based in Allentown, Pa., now goes by the name Harbortouch and processes nearly $12 billion in payments annually for more than 100,000 U.S. merchants.

Isaacman also started a second company called Draken International out of Lakeland, Fla. That aviation company consists of what he calls the world’s largest air force, with more than 50 jet fighters, and offers simulated threats for training exercises for one of its clients, the U.S. Department of Defense. Isaacman developed an affinity for aircraft early on and trained to be a jet pilot, an acrobatic flyer and certified flight instructor.

Jared Isaacman left school at 16 to go on to launch a thriving credit-card processing company.

He also broke a speed record for flying around the world in a light jet while raising funds for the in 2009.

While few people know as clearly what they want to do with their lives as Isaacman, but his experience — from an ambitious teen to high-flying CEO — may provide insight and inspiration for other young entrepreneurs.

“It all starts with opportunity,” he says. “You can have the smartest person that works tirelessly day and night on a business venture but if there’s no opportunity behind it, it’s going to be a pretty big, uphill battle.”

You may wonder how a teenager even got to the point of finding his opportunity in such a close-knit industry as business-to-business credit card processing? Here’s how it went for Isaacman.

After leaving school at 16 with that GED, Isaacman went to work for a credit card processing company called MSI Merchant Services Inc.

“They were and remain a great company. I learned quite a bit from their management team and principally Mario Parisi. He is one of the partners at the company and has been a great friend and mentor. In fact, Mario Parisi and my father are probably the two most inspirational figures when it comes to my growth as a company leader,” Isaacman says.

Despite his admiration for Parisi, he paid attention. After all, Isaacman was looking for his chance to start up. After a short stint at the company, it hit him: Credit card processing companies were missing out on a key revenue driver, as he saw it.

Credit card processing consists of two sides: card issuing, a massive business that the major banks dominate, and card acquiring, which involves enabling businesses to accept customers’ credit cards, Isaacman says. When he started United Bank Card/Harbortouch in 1999, the card acquiring business was considered a backwater of the business. “It was a necessary but undesirable component of credit card processing,” he says.

Banks were mostly interested in further developing their card issuing business, so the card-acquiring end of the business was receiving little to no attention in the form of technological or operational improvements, Isaacman adds.

“The companies that handled card-acquiring services were outsourcing like crazy, there was no personal service for the business owners and the paperwork process to begin the service was tantamount to signing up for a mortgage. It was a neglected market with all the focus on issuing more credit cards,” Isaacman says.

So, when Isaacman left MSI to start United Bank Card out of his parents’ basement, that’s what he would focus on disrupting. Seeing the potential, Isaacman’s father and Brendan Lauber, who is now the company’s chief technology officer, joined the business within a few months.

“We brought the entire process in-house, literally,” says Isaacman. He handled the sales, account underwriting, risk management, deployment and all of the customer service and technical support. “The result was a small basement startup that was faster, more efficient and provided better service than the larger players that were ignoring the potential of the credit card processing industry,” he explains.

And not wanting to lay fallow for long, just about two years ago, Harbortouch introduced yet another new feature that Isaacman believes has transformed the company. He launched a free, integrated, touch-screen point-of-sale system. Other companies may charge $10,000 for a POS system, according to Isaacman, who compares the free-equipment deal to mobile phone contracts that offer free or low-cost phones when customers sign up for service.

“It has been a very successful strategy,” he says. “In our 14 years in business we have never launched a program that changed the face and direction of the company more significantly than our free POS initiative.”

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Ottoman vs. Mughals

Ottoman Empire Vs. Mughal Empire The Ottoman and Mughal empires were two of the most successful empires to ever come together. However, in their dominance there was many similarities as well as differences. Both went through their share of struggle. Whether through political, religious, or cultural struggle the two empires had to rely on their emperors for guidance and rule. The Ottomans were amid the Turkic-speaking nomadic people who had spread westward from Central Asia through out the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries. The first to appear were the Seljuk Turks.

In the late thirteenth century, a new group of Turks began to emerge in the northwestern corner of Anatolian peninsula, under the leadership of the tribal leader Osman. These Turks were peaceful and engaged in pastoral pursuits. However, with the decline of the Seljuk Empire in the early fourteenth century, the Osman Turks began to expand and founded the Osmanli dynasty. The Osmanlis later became known as the Ottomans. Later expanding westward the Ottoman Empire set up their first European base at Gallipoli. They expanded gradually into the Balkans and allied with Serbia and Bulgar forces against the Byzantines.

Okhar gradually established permanent settlements in the area. Throughout the area Turkish provincial governors, called beys, collected taxes from the local Slavic peasants after driving out the previous landlords. This later became known as the Bey system. Which would be the foundation of the Ottoman administration for centuries. In this system the Ottoman leader began to claim the title of Sultan or supreme power over his domain. “The Ottoman political system was the result of the evolution of tribal institutions into a sedentary empire” (Duiker, Spielvogel. 455).

At the apex of this system was the Sultan, who was the authority in both a political and military sense. Though, both administrative and military power was centralized under the bey. Okhar’s son Murad succeeded him in 1389. Murad began to build of a strong military administration based on the recruitment of Christians into an elite guard. These warriors were called Janissaries. Some of these Janissaries were even able to become senior members of the bureaucracy. They were then assigned land in fief by the sultan and were responsible for collecting taxes and supplying armies to the empire.

The land was farmed out to the local cavalry elite called the Sipahis. Who were equivalent to the beys, this system later became known as the Devshirme system. Janissaries were also a big advantage because they were directly subordinated to the sultanate; because of this they owed loyalty to the person of the sultan. Both Okhar’s and Murad’s system were vital aspects of the Ottoman’s expansion. The most prevalent was in 1451 when Mehmet II ordered the construction of a major fortress on the Bosporus. This move put the Turks in a position to strangle the Byzantine Empire. With the Byzantines hand-cuffed, Mehmet II made his move.

He attacked Constantinople in 1453 where he defeated the empire and ignited the expansion of what would be known as one of the most dominant empires of all time. Constantinople later was renamed to Istanbul, as it became the center of the art, education, and religion for the Ottoman Empire. Mehmet II did not only tear down the Byzantine Empire, but he also built the Topkapi Palace, which was the heart of administration and religion. The Ottoman Empire continued their expansion with Mehmet’s successor Selim I in 1512. Selim I defeated the Mamlucks of Egypt after they failed to support the Ottomans in there battle against the Safavids.

Which gave him control of several holy cities of Islam, including Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina, Selim declared himself the new Caliph, or the successor of Muhammad in the Muslim religion. The Caliph is the highest religious authority and the defender of the religion. Also, the Caliph interprets laws of the Shari’a. However, in practice the Head Priest does the interpreting. These Ottomans elites were Sunni Muslims, although, Islamic law and customs were applied to all Muslims in the empire. Some communities were attracted to Sufism or other heterodox doctrines.

The government accepted such activities as long as the communities remained loyal to the empire. Non-Muslims formed a significant minority within the empire. The minority was treated with relative tolerance, but they were compelled to pay a head tax and were permitted to practice their religion or convert to Islam. Each of these religious groups within the empire was organized as an administrative unit known as millet. Each group, including Muslims had its own patriarch priest, who dealt as an intermediary with the government and administered the community according to its own laws. Nomadic people were placed in separate millets.

Where they were subject to their own laws, and were governed by their hereditary chiefs, the beys. The Mughals came about in quite a different way. In the late fourteenth century, the Indian subcontinent known as Calicut was divided into a number of Hindu and Muslim kingdoms. However, it was on the verge of a new era of unity that was brought upon by a foreign dynasty known as the Mughals. The Founder of the Mughal Empire known as Babur had a prominent family history, not only was his father a descendent from the great Asian conqueror Tamerlane, but his mother was also a descendent from the Mongol Conqueror Genghis Khan.

Unlike the Ottomans who earned their first land as a reward from the Seljuk Turks for their role in the drive out of the Mongols in the late thirteenth century. Babur inherited a portion of Tamerlane’s empire in an upland valley of the Syr Darya River. Though, the Uzbeks and then the Safavid dynasty in Persia drove him south. Babur and his warriors later seized Kabul in 1504 and thirteen years later crossed Khyber Pass into India. Moreover, the conqueror of the Mughal Empire that made the greatest impact was Babur’s grandson Akbar.

Although he was illiterate, and only assumed the throne at the age of fourteen. He was also remembered as one of the most intelligent conquerors of the empire. So intelligent, instead of taking the title of the Caliph as the Ottoman’s did. He proclaimed himself as the spiritual and temporal head of state. Akbar did this to insure that everyone would follow his policies, not because he was Devine, but because of his wisdom. Akbar took toleration to an entirely different level. Making the Ottoman’s look intolerable, as emperor Akbar displayed a keen interest in other religions.

Tolerating Hindu practices in his own domains but also welcoming the expression of Christian views by his Jesuit advisers. With these beliefs, Akbar decided to formulate his own religion he called Din-I-Ilahi. This religion was based off toleration, taking away many regulations that the Muslim court had in place. For example, he allowed worship in public; he allowed construction of Christian churches and Hindu Temple. As well as establishing a translation department, translating Hindu religious books into Persian. Yet in 1519, maybe the most important regulation was eliminated, when Akbar abolished the Jizya.

This was the head tax put in place by the ottomans to all of the Non-Muslims had to pay in order to stay out of the military. Doing this created a brotherhood of man within the Muslim culture, unlike the Ottomans who looked down on the minorities in the area. Akbar also extends his changes to the imperial administration. The empire was divided into provinces, a lot like the Ottoman’s, and the administration of each province was modeled after the central government, with separate departments for military, financial, commercial, and legal affairs. Senior officials were then appointed for each department.

These officials were known as Zamindars. The officials were first paid salaries, but later they were ordinarily assigned sections of agricultural land. Where peasants walked the land, tilled the land, but were forced to pay a tax to the Zamindar. Which was partly kept by the Zamindar, and the rest was forwarded to the central government. The Zamindar also recruited a number of military and civilian retainers and accumulated considerable power in their areas. A great deal of the Mughals success was the harmony that Akbar imposed on their society.

Unfortunately, when Akbar passed, so did most of his ideas. Akbar’s successors tried to turn the Mughal Empire back into a Sunni Muslim state, and the toleration of Non-Muslims was gone. This discrimination as well as economic crisis led to decline of the Mughal Empire. Despite the fact that both the Ottoman’s and the Mughals had outstanding leadership and motivation, this was not the lone factor that allowed them to be so successful. Some scholars have labeled them “Gun Powder Empire” because of their superior military techniques of modern warfare, especially the use of firearms.

Firearms played a central role in expansion for both the empires. In conclusion, these two Sunni Muslim empires could seem quite diverse on one hand, but in the big picture they have a considerable amount in common. Both were trying to achieve their goal of expansion, and both had to innovate their own regulations within a Sunni Muslim state. Nevertheless, the two went about these two goals in a diverse way. Bibliography – William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History Seventh Edition, The Pennsylvania State University, Vol. II, Since 1500.

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Causes of the Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The fall of the Roman Empire was inevitable by A. D. 476. Christianity had weakened the bonds that had held it together, the people became corrupt, and it got too big. It was also because of the barbarian attacks. All empires eventually fall and Rome’s time had come to an end. When discussing the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire one has to see that this occurred over many years and had many different facets. Each issue has to be addressed independently with the understanding that they simultaneously combined to the dissension within the Empire and the falling of the borders that had been established during its height.

By the end of the second century AD, the empire encompassed most of the Mediterranean, including Spain, France, most of Britain, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Egypt, and Northern Africa. The collapse of the Roman Empire was a calamity; it leads to the Dark (Middle) Ages. Seeing all the bad that came of it, the destruction of art, the collapse of great cities, the deterioration of the system of roads, the ruin of the Mediterranean trade, and the loss of European unity–it’s difficult to imagine any good came of it. But some good did result. The break up of the empire led to the abolition of slavery in Europe.

Of course, this, in turn, led to more poverty and the increase of because the poor people lost their land to the aristocrats. But the slaves were better off as peasants than as slaves. Christianity was a major cause of the fall of Rome. Although Rome had religious tolerance, Romans, especially Jews, didn’t accept Christianity. A lot of people converted to Christianity because they lost faith in the Romans. At first most Christians were Jews but less strict. Many values were different but they still followed Jewish dietary laws and shared many beliefs with the Jews.

The early Christians also got circumcised. Even Jesus got circumcised because he was born a Jew. Then he thought he was God’s messenger but many other people during that time also thought that so most people started off not believing him. The Christians started adopting the values that they have today during the time that Saul/Paul was alive. At first he started off as a Jew who hated Jesus and hated the Christians but then he converted and traveled around spreading the thoughts of Christians but he said that Christians didn’t need to follow the Jewish dietary laws and they didn’t need to get circumcised.

The Romans and the Jews didn’t like the message that Jesus was spreading so they crucified him. One impact that Jesus had was that more people didn’t want to join the military and they didn’t want to participate in the community. Since the people stopped participating in government and they didn’t join the army, the Roman army composed of the Barbarians from Germany. These Barbarians lead disorganized attacks and even attacked other Roman Barbarian groups. Because of these sloppy attacks, Rome’s army fell and it was no longer the military superpower it was before.

Also, many of the lands that Rome had conquered wanted independence and broke free of the Roman Empire. Herbert J. Muller argues in his book Uses of the Past that Rome got rich by conquering new lands and because of trade with new markets and when the Barbarian attacks went unsuccessful they got no more land therefore losing their source of wealth. Edward Gibbon argues the opposite in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He says that the Roman Empire fell because it was too widespread. He says that there was too much land for the government to govern and because of that the government lost money.

By the end of the Roman Empire it was widespread and had many land. By conquering these lands they got many slaves from war and from these new lands. The abundance of slaves lead to the growth of latifundia, large estates owned by the rich. These slaves were willing to work hard for little pay so the rich got richer and the poor grew poorer. The poor coloni [farmers] lost their lands and the aristocrats bought them out. Then the poor farmers went to the city and became dependent on handouts from the government such as free grain.

There were many causes for the fall of the Roman Empire. Some causes were the rise of Christianity, the fall of the army, the abundance of slaves and the size of the empire. Because of all these reasons and many more Rome couldn’t survive which lead to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman empire survived and became the Byzantine Empire. Rome’s fall lead to the Dark Ages but Rome has an impact in our everyday culture because they influenced the Greeks of whose culture we have copied in order to build our own culture.

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Prince Henry the Navigator and Zheng He

Prince Henry and Zheng He Comparison Throughout history, many people strived for glory by exploring new lands. They hoped to leave an impact while gaining money and success. Zheng He of China and Prince Henry of Portugal, both set out on maritime expeditions. Prince Henry is widely known and remembered while Zheng He is recognized for being a eunuch. Both used maritime travel to gain economic influence, power and success for their rulers, and to successfully gain economic dominance over the new, conquered lands. However, the two voyagers differed greatly in their reasons for exploration.

Henry wanted to spread his religion and focused on gaining allies while Zheng He strived to gain knowledge, trade, and force people to acknowledge Chinese power. In addition, Zheng He actually led these voyages while Henry just funded them. Finally, Portugal largely supported Prince Henry’s expeditions while Zheng He was granted little to no support in China. The structures and values of Portugal and Spain differed greatly. This contributed to how each explorer is remembered. The Portuguese, relied heavily on foreign supplies. Portugal’s capitalist economy allowed many people to conduct and go on explorations.

This made Henry’s voyages heavily supported and made expansion possible. Unlike Portugal, China did not have a high demand for foreign supplies. It was a largely self-reliant empire and many citizens believed it was higher than all others. Therefore they did not believe that exploration was necessary. In addition, Confucian scholars believed it was “demeaning” to rely on any other nations. Consequently, Zheng He’s voyages were barely supported, and he was considered to be a “servant” of the emperor with little to no independence. Moreover, China relied heavily on their land army while Portugal relied on their navy.

Soon, China burnt Zheng He’s works and banned the creation of ships. Throughout Portugal, Prince Henry was highly renowned while in China Zheng He was unacknowledged. Some parts of Prince Henry and Zheng He’s voyages and accomplishments differed greatly. Economically, Zheng He was focused on trading while Henry used the newfound nations to obtain more wealth and allies for Portugal. Zheng He stressed China’s rule and strived to obtain knowledge. However, Prince Henry was more focused on gaining allies. Henry’s several attempts to gain allies can be linked with his desire to gain strength to fight the Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula.

When Henry came into contact with other cultures, it was his Christian duty to spread his faith. Zheng He had no desire to spread his religion during his voyages, but he was quite tolerant of other religions. Prince Henry simply guided and controlled the voyages and expansion while Zheng He traveled and led the Chinese on explorations around the world. Though both men traded with the new lands, Zheng He traded rare goods while Prince Henry acquired humans. Zheng He and Prince Henry clearly differed in their reasons for exploration.

Prince Henry and Zheng He’s ways of expanding shared several similarities. Both men set out to expand power for their rulers. China and Portugal were extremely advanced in maritime knowledge, which was uncommon, but it allowed for expansion. In addition, both wanted to help their rulers achieve the goal of global dominance, proving that the people of each society highly regarded their rulers. To achieve this goal, both developed boats and relied on their navy. Henry and Zheng He were polite and respectful to the locals, though the Chinese were less forceful than the Portuguese.

They also both wanted to impose economic dominance by their homelands over each new land but neither used force. Overall, both Zheng He and Henry successfully expanded their nation’s influence while also accomplishing their exploration goals. Though the voyages of Prince Henry differed with those of Zheng He, the two still maintained many similarities. With such similar achievements, it is surprising that Prince Henry is celebrated and well known while Zheng He is forgotten and disregarded. However, their homelands differed greatly in the way they viewed travel and foreign connections.

Portugal’s relied heavily on outside goods allowing for Prince Henry to be regarded as one of the first people to participate in maritime voyages during the age of exploration. However, China was strongly against interacting with the outside world so proof of Zheng He’s achievements were burned and disregarded. Over time, many historians have begun to recognize Zheng He’s expeditions and refer to him as an important voyager during the age of exploration. Without Prince Henry, Zheng He, and other explorers, people believe that the world would not have turned into what it is today.

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