Priscila's WHS Blog

Francoise's story surprised me the most. She came from a wealthy, aristocratic background yet chose to give it all up, join the covenant, and become a nun. It just shows that money isn't everything; she had everything, yet she still felt like something was missing. Francoise was able to find her purpose in the congregation. She wasn't interested in settling down and marrying a man like she was "supposed to" and I find it admirable how she broke that mold. Also her going to prison was pretty badass. Julie's story is very different opposed to Francoise's. She was brought up in a very poor family in a small village. She was able to persevere even with handicaps such as her multiple scoliosis and poor background. I thought it was sweet how whenever she would learn something at school she would teach it to the other kids in her village who weren't able to go. It's also inspiring how she worked even though she had a disability. When I read how Franco...

The globalization of religion and science played important roles in the shaping of the early modern era. Christianity was strongly established in the Americas. Europeans were predominantly Christianity and they wanted to extend their religion to other regions as well. They sent out missionaries to help spread Christianity. Though it wasn't always accepted, some aspects of Christianity were integrated into other cultures. Some forceful, immoral tactics were used to try and convert others into Christianity, such as the Spanish destroying the religious shrines and objects of the Aztec and Inca. The Scientific Revolution took place in Europe during the mid 1600 and early 1800s. This was the emergence of modern science and the speculation of philosophy. It laid the foundation for the Enlightenment. People began questioning everything. This gave them a new outlook and they were no longer using religion as an answer to why things were the way they were. This transformed peoples ideas ab...

Between 1500-1866, Europeans were in desperate need of workers for their sugar plantations. They set out for Africa and this is when the tragedy known as the Atlantic Slave Trade took place. Millions of Africans were taken from their homes, shipped across the Atlantic, and transported to the Americas, where they were traded off as slaves.  These people were dehumanized, degraded, and forced into labor. The Europeans profited greatly off of the slave trade, getting labor for cheap and making money off of the sugar. Africa, however was left with a negative impact with the loss of millions, the corruption of societies, and economic stagnation. African women were effected tremendously, since more men were taken the sex population was disrupted. This meant that men could marry multiple women. Also the use of African women as sex slaves grew popular. It's crazy that something as simple as sugar could have such a dark history behind it.

Economic transformations were taking place between the 1450-1750 time period. As the Europeans were eager to break into Asian commerce; their main goal being to acquire exotic spices (such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and most importantly pepper). This rich market of commerce stretched between East Africa and China. Successfully breaking into this market meant that the Europeans would get some relief with recovery from the tragedy known as the Black Death. Because of their limited resources, the Europeans had to trade in gold and silver in exchange for spices and textiles from Asia. Joining this line of commerce also meant the developing of new relationships between Europe and Asia. Though many Europeans joined the market, the Asians were the ones that dominated it.

 Throughout the Early Modern Era (1450-1750 time period), political transformations were taking place. It's said that this is "the first time in world history" for Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans to have come in contact with each other. Europeans such as the Spanish, Portuguese, British, and French were vigorously working on building up their empires in the Americas.     Armed with advanced technology and diseases they were able to take over what is now known as North America. This European imperialism led to the Great Dying, in which up to 90 percent of the Native American population died. Once the natives were exposed to these foreign people and creatures, diseases, and new environments it became very difficult for them to adapt and survive.  The Colombian Exchange took place in the Americas and was the interchange of plants, animals, religion, culture, technology, and people. It was "an interacting Atlantic world connecting four continents." T...