Chapter 17: Atlantic Revolutions and their Echoes

Had the multiple echoes of feminists movements NOT occurred, where would I be? Certainly not at NDNU or any other university for that matter. I'd probably be illiterate, and spend all day back at home, doing chores with my mother. I wouldn't be able to read the history text book, type out this blog, or even operate, let alone turn on my macbook. Now wouldn't that be a devastating life? :D

Though there were/many feminists, the one mentioned in the text, Olympe de Gouges (France) wrote the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman". I wonder what triggered these feminists in the Modern Era to 'demand' equality between men and women. In the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman", de Gouges wrote: "Woman, wake up; the warning bell of reason is being heard throughout the whole universe; discover your rights." Whoever the first feminist was, what evoked her to begin such a movement that eventually travelled across the Atlantic?

However it started, I'm glad it did. Despite the fact we still deal with a degree of gender inequalities, it has improved. (It's the same with slavery. It still exists in many parts of the world, but it was a lot worse.) Today, women can attend universities, manage businesses, be employed, and even vote. I wasn't of age at the time of the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections, but it is difficult to imagine a time when women were prohibited to vote. How would America's presidential offices differ had they still only allowed men to vote?

Criticisms against the Feminist movement were numerous. "...feminists were viewed as selfish, willing to sacrifice the family or even the nation while pursuing their individual goals (522)." Wow. They weren't selfish, they were sick and tired, sick and tired of being considered the weaker race and looked down upon. They only longed for change, equality.

Chapter 16: Religion & Science

If the Nobel Peace Prize existed at this time Nicolas Copernicus and the many other discoverers/scientists would have probably been the firsts awardees.

Nicolas Copernicus was one of the very first to contribute to the Revolution of Science. The medieval idea of astronomy was that the Earth was at the center of the universe, while the sun and other planets revolved around us. Copernicus argued against this and proposed instead that the sun was at the center of the universe, while Earth and other planets revolved around it. This act of straying away from the old belief was seen as going against the church, and god. Therefore, religious authorities were not in favor of Copernicus’s ideas. Little did they know that he was absolutely right.

It’s kind of funny how medievalists came up with the theory that the Earth was in the middle of the universe. Apparently, it was a spiritual influence and was parallel to the purpose of the Catholic church in that the Earth was the center of attention.

Medieval everything revolved around theology and spirituality. Everything was explained in the light of God. If asked, “why does the sun rise and set?” A typical medieval answer would be because God likes to nurture the crops and bring his peoples warmth. As opposed to medieval answers, modern answers would look at science to identify the reasoning. A modern answer would include the Earth’s rotations around the sun.

Because many people contributed to the Science of Revolution, the Church felt under attack. They were the ones that people sought to when they wanted answers and now that new knowledge was surfacing, people also began to question the church’s authority. It’s like having a lifelong friend who turned out to be some liar. You thought you knew them, until someone comes along and tells you the truth, leading you to question your “friend”. (Not to call any church and their officials liars, just an example.)

In a way, this new knowledge of science became globally traded commodities: “…the achievements of the Scientific Revolution spread globally, becoming the most widely sought-after product of European culture and far more desired than Christianity, democracy, socialism, or even Western literature (485).” No trading was probably involved, but knowledge that was discovered in Europe was soon spread to other parts of the world like Japan and China.

Chapter 15: Global Commerce

So my Spanish-sounding last name goes back to when the Portuguese entered India?!

The Portuguese devised a plan to travel East into Asia to become somewhat leaders of global commerce: to discover and obtain the most goods and riches before any other European. The Portuguese attempt was done with the use of violence. The text states that a fair trade was not possible because of the lack of valuables they had: “…European trade goods were crude and unattractive in Asian markets.” Without their strong military, the Portuguese would have gotten nowhere.

They bombarded a few cities in Southeast Asia that were accessible. Soon, they claimed leaders of commerce in Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India. However, this didn’t last long and it came to the point where the Portuguese were not able to sell their goods.

I think it was a little karma. At some point, they were somewhat leaders of Asian commerce. However, they got there with violence. “…by burning and sacking the city, killing some 1,500 people, and seizing large quantities of cotton and silk textiles, and carpets. Because they did some wrong, they paid for it by not being able to get far in their trading post empire.

In order to compete with Portugal, Spain traveled to the Philippine Islands where they soon established colonial rule, introduced Christianity, taxes, and tribute. The establishment of Spain in the Philippines was a success and soon, the Philippines became a bowl of diversity attracting Chinese and Japanese traders, artisans, and sailors. Spain invading the Philippine Islands contributes to the reasoning behind why so many Filipinos have such Spanish-sounding surnames and claim to be some fraction of Spanish descent. It was to compete with Portugal who was at the time advancing in global trade.

Side note: The text says that the “Philippine Islands” was derived from the Spanish King Phillip II. What the original name was for the archipelago before Spain invaded?

Since Portugal basically failed, the Dutch and English tried to replace the Portuguese in Asia. After reading this section, I kind of felt sorry for Portugal. They worked hard to come up with the plan to travel to India and ended up struggling to stay at the top of global commerce. However, it was an opportunity for the Dutch and English. It’s like shopping. You have a hard time deciding whether to buy this certain item of clothing…and there’s only one of these items left. For a split second, you change your mind, put it back on the rack. Then BOOM someone else seizes the opportunity and snatches it so they can purchase the item.

Global Commerce I think was just that. It was all about seizing opportunity and timing: being at the right place at the right time.

Sugar

It is quite difficult to imagine a world without sugar. We would not be able to sweeten our coffee; or, enjoy most confectionaries like cupcakes. Our ice cream would taste bland and & most importantly, teriyaki sauce could not be invented:)

I never noticed how such tiny crystals could have a huge impact on the world. In “Discovering the Global Past” by Merry Wiesener, Chapter 4 traces sugar in its journey of becoming of global importance. Sugar is a hardcore world traveler: it originated in South Asia and made its way to the Caribbean. As for the Europeans, they had yet to encounter this “secret”. I found it kind of funny when the book says, “Sugar was one of the luxury goods…(88)”. When people think of “luxury”, I highly doubt sugar comes to mind. Instead most people dream about owning extravagant mansions, fancy cars, and a massive wardrobe. Or, for some, simplicity is their idea of luxury. Either way, sugar isn’t usually mentioned. In contrast, when the New World was first introduced to sugar, in fact, it was barely available for the rich and royal.

Although sugar has served some goodness in the world, it does not justify the slavery that came with it. Because sugar required extensive labor and mass produced, many countries, including Spain, used African slaves to cultivate and process sugar. They used slaves in order to save their money. They wanted to have great results (great quantities of sugar) and at the same time, use the least amount of money. Slaves are barely, if ever, paid for the intense labor they endure.

John Boudreau Article: "In Vietnam, Teenage Daughters Sold Into Sex Slavery"

It is amazing how the naïve poor are tricked and bribed into sex trafficking. They explore through dumps in the hopeful search for anything that they could use, or possibly eat. Of course, they don’t have much of a choice: most are uneducated and inexperienced. So when people offer jobs poor daughters to “work in a café in a different city”, it is no surprise that the families quickly comply, thinking that they will soon live better lives. Instead, the teenage girls are brought to their doom.

I cannot say that I wouldn’t do the same thing. If I were poor, illiterate, and unaware of the issues of slavery and human trafficking, I would’ve agreed to the “café job”. Truong and her family (and any other victimized families of sex trafficking) are not at fault. Just as Diep Vuong stated, “If you don’t know how to read the public announcements or have enough money for newspapers and you barely have enough to eat, how can you understand there are risks?”

What is really troublesome is the fact that some families are not even tricked. They willingly accept money for their daughters to be a victim of sex trafficking. The people that offer the families thousands of dollars in a trade for their daughter’s body are low; but I think the families that agree to the trade are even lower. No human being should be bought, sold, traded, or anything of the sort, especially family members.

There were about 6,700 victims of sex trafficking in Vietnam last year. What’s even worse is that the actual statistics maybe even higher. Though the Vietnam government have no resources to put a stop to sex trafficking, it is good to hear that some Vietnamese authorities, like the police, as the article states, are providing some help. It may not be much, but it is definitely a start.

The girls were lucky to have escaped, unlike the reported 6,700+ victims last year. However, Truong’s comments at the end of the article confused me. It kind of seemed like Truong doesn’t know how lucky she is: “If it had happened, it would have been because it was my destiny. That’s the life.” It is no one’s fate to be sold and trafficked into sex slavery.