>>The same year Isabella of Spain took Alhambra, some guy from Genova by the name of C. Colombo was getting ready to sail out of a small port west of Cadiz.<<
The motivation for the expedition had its genesis in the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks, which was the beginning of the end of the Venetian empire. The Ottomans completely closed off European trade to the East, forcing the Europeans to search for new ways to get there. Columbus and the Spaniards went west, and discovered a new world, but the Indians did not tolerate slavery, prefering to die. The Portuguese went south, around Africa, and the Portuguese discovered that the dark people who inhabited sub-Saharan Africa already had a long history of slavery, to the Arabs, who were not allowed to enslave other Muslims, but had no problem with selling people who practiced animism, and so Europe had all the elements needed to get rich in the New World.
One thing led to another. All of Europe got rich from colonialism, and set up universities for their sons, that they might become gentlemen, and we had the Enlightenment, and the rights of man were discovered, first for the sons of traders, who really were not gentlemen, but didn't think that should stop them, and eventually even for black slaves, who [after the Industrial Revolution made them unnecessary for the pursuit of wealth] were over the course of a very long time freed everywhere except in Africa, where slavery continues to this day. As I understand it, it's still Muslims enslaving non-Muslims. Finally in the West, the rights of women were discovered, which is one of the things the Muslims hate the worst about us, apparently.
Interestingly, the Silk Road was kept open under the Mongols - the Pax Mongolica, believe it or not. The Mongols were finally thrown out of China by the Ming, who were ethnic Han, and descended from farmers, and Buddhist. Fearing the Uighurs, the Ming Dynasty closed off the Silk Road at about the same time. It would be interesting to study cause and effect - did the Byzantine empire crumble because of reduced land trade with the East?
Another thing I am not clear on is why the Chinese kept being conquered from the north - the Mongols, the Manchurians, the Japanese. 93% of Chinese are Han. There must be a reason, maybe Jay can explain. Is it the farmer thing? The Buddhist thing? Enquiring minds want to know. |
