The Mali Empire

What this article explains is the fact that in Africa between 300-1700 C.E., many empires ruled Africa and the trade that had occurred during that time. Africa had been known at the time as the economic center of the world, due to it's vast amount of resources. During the Dark Ages, it had been beneficial to Africa both culturally and economically. One of these examples are that their religion of Islam spread from Asia's to Africa. The Mali Empire, who was led by Mansa Musa, showed the power of African leaders and additional trade. This had given them the chance to increase a leaders power during their period of rule. Mansu Musa made a difference in his community because he managed to build mosques, since the national religion had been Islam. He had a strong belief on how a government should be runned. His methods marked how leaderships would be implemented. One of the most important ways he found succes was through trade. Within his community, he managed to create worldwide trade, and increase the amount of social interactions. Although not really appreciated, Mansa Musa's changes should be taken into consideration for major importance.

Machiavelli’s “The Prince”

What I learned by reading this is that one of the beliefs explained in the text is that it's better to be loved and feared in a society as a leader. It is better this way due to the fact that people won't despise you, meaning that they won't rebel on your society. Keeping them to listen to the two traits desired will make a successful community since the leader will continue to be in power. He classifies people as being despicable people due to the fact that they would only worship you for only getting what they desire, and if they don't they will go against you. Yet, if you don't follow their command you have the opportunity to force them to follow you, which sends them in a state of fear due to the fact that it shows the amount of power you are capable of. Actions that should be made by the people should be created of virtue. What made people worry in this time was that there was a difference in ethnics and politics. He can infer that  a person might have to do things that are wrong to get power, but with power he could then do good things. During this time, he had preferred speaking of realism rather than idealism.

Finals Project Overview

For my finals project, I must show how Honduras is categorized into one of many fragile states due to the fact that it's governmeit collapsing quickly, and in turn affecs the lives of others in a net negative. This is explained by the fact that Honduras is known as the most hostile country through it's drug trafficking. Drug trafficking is monumental in Honduras making money. They manage to smuggle much cocaine from cartels, baseed in South American countries like columbia, and ship it to it's main consumer, USA. In order to increase the severity of the conflict, the govrnment is taking part in these activities. One example shown is how the police help in increasing drug trafficking conflict trhough opening many new routes to transport drugs and they are getting paid. In addition, they take no actions in auto-theft and kidnapping and are a main part of this conflict. The basis for Honduras's drug trafficking and other countries in Central America is in Mexico. Powerful mafia leaders took control, in which they increase roles people play and get them involved in drugs by working on them in a vast amount of quantities. With continuing to dothis mean an increase in the amount of crimes committed and the number of people dead. It will lead to an entire government to go corrupt and continue this fatal decision, bringing down more lives and making this country and others even more dangerous. 

Feudalism in Europe and Japan

What this article basically implies is how European Feudalism was important and still is in our time. After the fall of the Roman, empire, all of Europe divided into small kingdoms. As they began to grow in population rapidly over the years, human labor wasn't needed as much since they depended on farming and had animals to do the work. In these small kingdoms, they were ruled by counts, in which were made to protect the kingdom and the people from harm and threat from other communities surrounding them. The deal was that, they needed vassals in order to guide them and help them lead the kingdom, as well as received money from vassals. The thing was, counts unable to provide safety to the vassals broke the contract made and vassals won't assist them in sustaining the kingdom. Additionally, they will likely go against them. The similar thing they had in common was the fact that both of these groups owned peasants in which planted and farmed all of the lords crops so he can have a bountiful amount of food. This was a place where work became more productive and communication improved. The people of these distinct kingdoms had better ways of using the land to their advantage, as well as changing the way their government was runned. One of the new inventions and ideas that would revolutionize the world was trading internationally. Merchants would travel long distances to reach their destinations and becoming rich off of other goods.

Pericles' Funeral Oration

After reading this article, it is monumental to understand on how influential the speech Pericles gave to all of Athens managed to persuade them in fighting for the freedom they desire. One question that could be asked is" According to Pericles, what precisely makes Athens great?" The answer can be that during his speech, he spoke of how Athens had democracy, which was their freedom, and as Athens they were more than a country, something that was worth fighting for since it had great virtues and signified a significant amount for all of their rich history, making it a righteous nation. Additionally, it explains how he connects all Athenians as one, showing how they fight for the same, cause, and should honor the death of all the others, who were honored for the stand they took not to fall to the evil Sparta. However, Sparta was known for how powerful they were in the military, so what was expected form this was that Sparta Defeated Athens, with many more death. Athens had not expected this. Pericle could've been classified as an effective leader as well as good leader, due to the fact that he gave the people faith in their cause, which makes them stronger since their culture is virtuous and had fought the battle with their heart. They knew that if they died in battle they die a true and loyal Athenian for their bravery and survival of their heart and nation. They were stuck with the clear idea that they were not to blame, yet they had to defend themselves from the unrighteous. In this way, they would not give up the democracy and freedom they deserve to some unjust country without a fight.

Confucianism and Legalism

Based on reading this article, I learned of the different governments formed in Asia. Two of the most recognized in the time of Pericles are Confucianism and Legalism. Basically, a man named Confucius sought in a just and positive government in China. His ways and philosophies left a lasting impact on government not only in Asia, but the world. His belief was bringing social justice, such as providing food and security to the people. Additionally, that in theses actions there would be things done with virtue. What people wonder is " What do you think Confucius idea for a good government was?" He meant that a leader  should teach his followers how to behave, as well as fulfilling his duties benefiting his nation, and never being a corrupt government. Basically, it was a peaceful leader with a good moral. In this case Confucianism was not a popular type of government today since those methods aren't as effective in a real life situation. He values the fact that his government would manage on improving the lives of others in their community, setting equity in it. However, the other type of government, Legalism was started by Han Fei-Tzu, who, opposed to Confucius, believed in setting decisions only from the government, giving no consent or participation to the other civilians, since he believed they weren't smart enough to make decisions. In a democratic society where everyone is able to speak for themselves, Han Fei-Tzu dissented this belief, saying that his word is the only one to be followed or righteous. These two types of government are seen in China today, for how it impacted the lives of everyone.

Environmental Unit Reflection

Based on the past unit, it is vital to know the important role the environment played on the survival of many different communities. We should recognize the fact that having a bad relationship with nature would bring the environment to destroy your society, or take away the resources you have, which would affect the people living there. There have been times where the form of the negative environment had been an illness. Several examples given are the Black Plague, in which came in the form of illness spreading and killing millions of people. Additionally, it shows how it came in the form of Hurricane Katrina, in which having the levees not sealed make even more damage. Additionally, another example is the Heat Wave of Chicago. Negative outcomes had been the fact that numerous people are left dead, without resources, or a home. It'll be a struggle for them to continue surviving. However, society has also had positive relationships with the environment, such as finding better resources and finding bountiful land to fulfill their needs which may be due to population. Positive outcomes mean the survival of organisms and no need for change in the world, since we are capable of sustaining ourselves.

Allegory of Cave and Origins of Leadership

After reading this, I'm aware of how leadership had originated from Greece, in which the aspects of leadership had been keeping everyone alive. They began spending time in forming a leader after they had managed to conquer much land and have bountiful resources. The factor that was playing a major part had been philosophy, in which two significant philosophers had been Socrates and Plato. The main things they had thought of had been the "Allegory of the Cave", which shows that there are a number of important leadership qualities exemplified by the author. Both philosophers were part of the 1st world democracy in Greece. During this time, they had the right to vote for the leader that they thought so fit along with other people. It was unlike a dictatorship, in which a person takes power by force and implies fear in order to follow the laws. It's more like the USA, instead of an East Germany. Plato explains for the Cave, that there are two groups of people stuck in the cave, and behind (and slightly above) them rests a fire, which is lit eternally.  The average citizens of a society are represented by the individuals in chains, staring at the wall. The shadows projected by the people walking in front of the fire are the reality for the average citizens. Because they've never seen anything else in their lives other than those shadows, their entire concept of what exists is based on that. So, for them, the shadows are "real."  If you asked them what a person looked like, they would describe the shadow.  A step above them is a group of people who parade back and forth with shadow puppets.  These people know that the shadows aren't real, so they have a little more knowledge than the average citizens.  However, if you were to ask the people with the shadow puppets what the sun looked like, they would describe the fire, because to them, that is their sun.  They're only slightly more advanced than the prisoners because, although they know that the shadows aren't real, they don't know much more than that. The two abilities a leader is to have is the ability to escape false reality of the cave and enter enlightenment. Also, the ability to return to the cave and convince people to join him into the knowledge. Due to this, Socrates only believed in leaders that are philosophers. It shows how Athens was an oligarchy, which is rule by few powerful leaders who have total power. But after several years, it became a democracy. To be a citizen and participate in the government and laws with a country, you must have gone through military training or either by vote. The Athens community had been monumental by the first democracy they managed to have and how we  follow that up to tis day in other countries.   

The Lives of Others

Based on this film we watched about the Stasi and the role they had played in East Germany, it portrays the importance a government in society. What I mean by this is the fact that they are able to determine how the life of others, including themselves, and the society will either strive or deteriorate by the type of leadership they show. When people say "What is it mean to lead?" This would mean whether the leader would conquer the society in a negative way, in which would mean making life for the civilians a living hell, only where the leader would benefit from the power he has obtained and the pain and suffering he could inflict upon other people. However, If the Leader were to show good leadership, the type of government would help the people benefit and make it a government worth living in by no corruption and freedom to live by their own beliefs, not being forced to support anyone or anything. In this movie, It depicts how the government shows negative leadership by controlling over everyone, and leaving no privacy, or opinions and beliefs to be spoken. The sword and shield, which keeps this country living is the Stasi, since in order to prevent a rebellion through the civilians, they monitor everyone, to ensure no one is against them, since the only motto they follow is "you either with us, or against us." For those that were found trying to form a conspiracy, which had been either writers, actors, or directors, they had lost there jobs or even worse, killed. An example used in the film is how Jerska had lost his job since the government felt that he wasn't as patriotic or supportive of his country, due to his last play. And to show the kind of power the Stasi had, it demonstrates how they completely bug Dreyman's house, in order to find out if he was against East Germany and Stasi. It shows how the government has no trust in it's people just as the people don't trust the government by how corrupt it is. This society is proof of many other countries that depict these same governments towards their people and the only way to do it is by fear. This would relate to how Haiti was governed by dictators. the only way they managed to get their laws to be followed was by force and the murder of all people who dissent with them, in order to set an example to the citizens of what'll happen if you try to go over us and rebel. This society lacked the opportunity of being ruled by the governed, which is having freedom and democracy. People ask the question "Do a people make their leaders, or do leaders emerge largely on their own merits?" If we were to answer, the formation of a leader would depend on both statements. Leaders of specific countries would arise taking control on their own, implying the beliefs they have in the society, which would bring change onto the people either in positive ways or negative ways. Or, the civilians may inspire an individual to lead in order to get the rights or laws they deserve and desire. Much desire had been met in the movie, when the Berlin Wall came down and Germany had been 1 country once again. A moral leader that arose from the movie had been Wiesler, since even though working for the Stasi for several years, had realized how corrupt their government had been and all the Citizen's careers he ended, so he did Dreyman a favor by saving his life. This shows how even in a bad community, there are still citizen's that will support you for your beliefs and the causes you stand up for.

Industrial Revolution Outline

Was the industrial revolution a net positive or net negative for the world?

Title   Positive Impacts of the Industrial Revolution

1.     Introduction

a.     The Industrial Revolution has revolutionized the way people live and work.

b.     Although there are some negative impacts of the Industrial Revolution, taking everything into consideration, it is net positive because of improved lifestyle, the technological advancements made, and population growth.

2.     Body

a.     The Industrial Revolution has drastically improved the way people lived and live.    (all evidence provided by readings x and y)

                                           i.sanitation

                                          ii.medicine

                                         iii.clothing

                                        iv.housing

b.     The technological advancements made during the Industrial Revolution allowed for city life to be much more popular and convenient.

                                           i.machinery replacing manual labor

                                          ii.fuel (coal, steam, fossil, etc.)

                                         iii.transportation

c.     The drastic growth of population led to an increase of factories, jobs, also led to the use of natural resources.

                                           i.Growth in the number of factories

                                          ii.Increase in the number of jobs

                                         iii.Crowded cities meant the increase in usage and reliability of natural resources, but the number of jobs is a bigger plus

3.     Conclusion

  The improvement in our lifestyle has allowed us to become better as a species by increasing our life style. In conclusion the Industrial Revolution was a net positive, because it has improved our lifestyle, technology and increased population.

The Incan Empire

One of the most prestigious tribes and nations in all of America had been the Incas. Located in South America, they are known for one of the largest empires established. They prospered to a high level, which makes the indigenous tribes recognized for the advanced achievements making them be able to survive in their environment. They mainly lived in the area of Ecuador and Peru. What aided in their prosperous community had been the warm temperature, where the areas in the mountains were used for vast farming, and as they spread to other parts in South America, They created terraces in order to grow maize and potatoes, in addition to canals to have a better irrigation system. The environment came to their benefit due to the fact that as the climate remained constant, the glacial ice melted, which gave them a higher source of water in order to feed the population through the use of crops and agriculture. Moreover from this positive relationship with the environment, they were capable of inventions in order to help them with the task of survival. Many of the ones they have are weapons, which aid in hunting, and in war, and the development of of medicine and cures for the illness they would face. Other than these monumental facts, what really benefitted them was their intelligence, gaining them more knowledge. The main examples are shown through the architecture of their civilization as well as the pyramids they had built with natural resources from the nature. These factors make the Incas a revolutionizing culture in indigenous history by the achievements and knowledge they had in accomplishing what they had done.

World War 1 and the Environment

What this article explains is basically the relationship between the environment and humans. In this case, it's a negative relationship. In this case it originated in Europe, beginning in 1914 to 1918, in which left 16 million people dead, while 21 million others had been wounded by the causes of combat and disease. The allies that had been established before the war, so the spark that managed to create chaos between al of the world had been in Bosnia, where the archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand was murdered while he was in his car alongside his wife parading through Bosnia. This was caused by a group of Serbian Terrorists, not knowing what the consequence would be. Soon, each country sent their armies in order to defend their allies in each agreement they had established. 3 of the main alliances made were Germany, Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary. The other Main Alliances were France, Great Britain, and Russia. The participation of the United States wasn't until later into the war. This wasn't until Germany used U-boats in order to sink Ships containing civilians from the US, importing supplies to Britain, even though it had stayed neutral. But what got president Wilson to declare war was the Zimmerman telegram, which was Germany proposing Mexico to join them, giving them back the territory in the USA which was rightfully theirs. However, in 1917, Russia had to withdraw from this war to focus on their own conflicts. The Bolsheviks Revolution occurred, in which peasants rebelled, with their leader Vladimir Lenin By all means, one word that would describe this war, was brutal. The fighting conditions they had to fight were harsh and disastrous. This was due to the fact that they all were under trenches, a new tactic known as tench warfare. This was where they had to live in, eat, and their source of safety, meaning that was where they had to use the bathroom. In other words, they lived and breathed this environment 24/7. All of these factors played a place in making life unsanitary and deadly. This can be compared to the Black Death since many diseases had spread from the cause of rats, the waste of other soldiers, and the dead bodies, which had grown in amount each time. Additionally, there was the spread of Trench Fever, which was a lice infestation. But what made matters worse was the rainfall. This made a river of all the waste in the trenches, and the soldiers had to stay in it, in which it entered their feet, and gave them the disease known as Trench foot, which brought even more death. After the war, in 1918, when soldiers began to return to their countries world wide, they also spread diseases they had obtained from the war. The main one had been Influenza. This had been an epidemic in which many people died. What can be concluded from this was the relationship between the environment and humans, in this case had been disastrous since it brought the continuous of millions.

Humans and the Environment

Based on this article, it explains how humans managed to change the environment around them both for the best and the worst. After the Agricultural Revolution, came the Industrial Revolution, which revolutionized the way people began living. It changed the way through public health, sanitation,energy usage, and natural resources. People began to depend on fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline and managed to produce more through machinery, making less use of human production. Many of the ways this helped Civilization for the best was the production of medicine, better housing, and clothing. It meant water systems and sewage systems to prevent any plagues, such as the Black Plague. All of these factors contributed in the economies to grew fast. Additionally, as the years pass, industrialization continues to grow and the usage of it increases. All of this meant crowded cities, and a bigger population in communities. Instead of farming, most people people were in search of jobs in factories. One of the many inventions in creating waterways and canals for better health. However, as much as the Industrialization Revolution was a benefit, it also was a negative action by humans against the society. One of these ways had been over usage of fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas. It led to more pollution, which in turn would kill many animals and organisms in the ecosystem. Additionally, many of the jobs in factories can lead to risks for whoever works there. This would how as much as people want to benefit the environment, there's no doubt that they can also cause damage to it.

The Chicago Heat Wave of 1995

Based on the article it states that history was made in Chicago during the summer due to the fact that there was a heat wave, which reached temperatures from 106 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This made people all over the city run all air conditioners, fans, and electrical devices to survive, but the negative outcome is that there was a massive power outage, killing many civilians and making the rest suffer. Since morgues were overfilled they rented refrigerated trucks to store dead bodies. All of this suffering had been the unbalance between humanity and the environment. Humans had caused this themselves due to their reactions to nature's punishment. Questions the community could've wondered is "Who are the people who suffered the most?" The answer is that the poorer class people and elderly. Despite the fact that was a power outage, the impoverished didn't even have access to a source of air conditioning, having to face heat every single thing, and the elderly couldn't have a strong resistance against the heat. Additionally, people wondered on how they could help the community, but even though their strategy was to move people to cooler places, it had no lasting affect since they couldn't and probably had no effort in helping, only in getting themselves saved. Despite the fact that it was an environmental conflict, it ended up being a social conflict  die to the fact that the taxes were high on water and electricity. Most of all, due to the impoverished, they swarmed beaches or opened fire hydrants in order to be able to sustain themselves in this temperature, which resulted in a drop in water pressure in all of the neighborhoods.  It shows how government had cared for mostly wealthier people, since wealthier people barely experienced these experiences despite the act they too suffered. This would explain the unbalance and negative side between humans and the environment since it killed many, and left it in devastation.

Black Plague: P.A.P.E.R. Wk

Purpose
Argument
Presuppositions
Epistemology
Relate

P: The purpose of Giovanni Boccaccio in writing this informational reading from the Black Plague is because he wanted to write about the experience Florence had during this Plague and catastrophe. But more importantly, as a whole, to explain what the cost of this Plague made by God, or miscommunication of Man vs. Environment can bring to humanity, which can be the extinction of mankind.

A: Giovanni supports this idea by stating in the text how even though the distance from where the disease started was very far, it managed to spread far west because of the scared civilians, like a wild fire and every time leaving a society with an infinite number of people dead. Additionally, he states how this is God's punishment for the humans wicked deeds. The symptoms were far from normal, and just by the contact of clothes, will bring death, in example he gave was pigs touching a dead mans rags, in which instantaneously killed them. Nothing, either the cleanest way or dirtiest way of life can save them from the inevitable.

P: Presuppositions that are made is the fact that our belief may differ from the authors due to the fact we may consider the fact that there is a plague natural, rather than a punishment from god for our negative actions. Additionally, It explains how our beliefs differ by the way we live our life. Due to the fact that we live a clean, more hygiene caring life, we assume how most communities may follow the same idea. On the other hand, during the time of the Black Plague, most of society had been on of the most dirtiest and foulest places to live on. In addition, because of too much garbage piles, it accumulated the population of bacteria, caused by fleas, and in which brought large rats. This explained the bad relationship between the environment and humans.

E:  The Truthfulness this article has and reliability supports the facts given in the secondary source we read from the Black Plague in the textbook. It states how almost the entire population of Europe had diminished, and as each society moved to another, in order to avoid it, they just spread to that society, killing everyone. The side affects of having that disease is also alike, such as big bumps and marks. Additionally, the author reveals to us, not being affected by it, in order to show how severe the epidemic was is how after the 2 pigs made contact with the dead man's rags, they just died instantaneously. It shows how just by having contact of clothing means you're doomed.

R: The major differences I find in both of the articles regarding the Black Plague had been that the primary source gives actual examples of how severe makes this Plague memorable for killing most of humanity at the time. Although the secondary source gives the same information it's reader needs, it lacks the effort of being concise, as well as the examples it demonstrates and explicitly giving opinions based by the other civilians. I would find the article written by Giovanni Boccaccio more reliable and credible.

Haiti Earthquake Analysis

The question surrounding the basis of the Haiti Earthquake paper is "What were the political affects on the country of Haiti before and after the earthquake?" My response to the question can be that before and after, the Haiti political situation had already been at a horrible position. One of the ways this supports the idea is the fact that over the past 25 years, drug trafficking was occurring daily throughout Haiti, meaning it's the main way it profits. What they try to do is to influence more societies in doing the same. One of the actions society should take in order to aid this country in rebuilding is to get rid of the drugs, since no matter how much support you give, having drug trafficking will only increase the tense situation. Additionally, the fact that Haiti was doing bad at the start was from their leaders. Their former leader, Jean-Claude-Duvalier, was a dictator who only brought order through fear and terror against other civilians. This same method was used by his father, whom was also a former leader. Due to all the negative and dangerous political structure, many of the civilians are losing hope in ever receiving a better life. The Earthquake only worsened the situation, since they had a major debt, not to mention the fact that everyone was impoverished and with no food or drink. In addition, no person was able to create a temporary government since there had been much sexual violence. The political and governmental structure is to be described as horrible, and even before earthquake, no precautions were taken in making it a safer place, in fact the total opposite, so now that the earthquake is hit, they are letting thousands of people die and starve. If it wasn't for the other countries that aided, Haiti would have no chance to survive.

How Environment Connects the World

One of the most memorable events to happen in history is the era of exploration and globalization. It would lead to many undiscovered countries and the connection that was made between Europe. Exploration had begun in 1400, which was mainly lead by China, who brought much of the technology and knowledge we needed to know in order to travel safely. The variety of tools included float compasses, giving people knowledge of the ocean they travel on. Zheng He, was able to create a trading fleet, which went many miles. Due to this, China itself was the main trading center for Europe and the many success it faced was from many explorers who invented advanced technology to help them adapt to the environment at sea. However, as much as the Chinese had contributed to exploration worldwide, it stopped, since it began to focus on domestic issues. This means Europeans took the advantage to explore for their own. Many of their explorations were influenced by the technology made by the Chinese. Much of their success mainly came from the wind, which determined where they would go. In order to gain accuracy and experience of where they would go, it took much training in order to not get lost and sail the other direction. This lead to the knowledge of wind, the environment, and geography, which played a major role in discoveries. This lead to the Portuguese in discovering and travelling to parts of Africa. Christopher Columbus had the advantage of being born in Genoa, which gave him the chance to become a sailor at a young age. Going on a voyage to India, he followed trade winds, but not knowingly, lead him to the Americas, in which he reached in 1492. Through that, they managed to discover the Americas, which would later lead to more discoveries and interactions. However, many of the problems that would affect the indigenous people negatively would be how Europeans brought diseases with them, and since the indigenous had low immune systems, would kill most of them. As time would proceed, the amount of positive and negative consequences were faced as exploration expanded.

The connection between Laws of Manu and Bubonic Plague

To start off, the Manu society, located in Ancient India, carried the belief that they had to sustain their environment through government and religious leaders. Thus, they created the Laws of Manu, in order to set up a relationship between the humans and the environment. How this law code was related to our present laws was that it pertained to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. A question we can ask is " What laws of modern society are comparable to Laws of Manu? What are actions that we take to conflict these laws?" Made in 200 CE, some of the rules that they had created had been non-violence. In other words, this law would extend to humans and every other living thing, such as animal and plants. So they tried to carry on the motive of a Quaker, or a Pacifist, causing no injury. Additionally, they had a strict policy of not eating meat due to their beliefs. They identified this as bringing disease and murder to the planet, so their punishment was to plant trees. Next, they also tried to prevent pollution. This included air pollution, water pollution, and cleaning of food. They were extremely careful with the environment, leaving it as if it were untouched by humans. However, many of the things present society does that doesn't follow Manu perspective is that we don't follow these laws that were set upon us, for example, we only resolve most of our problems and way of life through violence and the death of numerous people in this world. Not to mention the fact that littering happens daily, making our society and environment dirty and foul. Switching from this society, something that had a great impact on Europe had been disease. It could kill people and destroy an entire society. It's basically a bad relationship between the environment and humans. Beginning in China and the Mediterranean region, plagues began to spread throughout most trading routes and as the carriers traveled to different nations, it became a pattern where they gave off the disease to other merchants, in turn would take it back to their community, spreading it to the rest of the people, and then to others. This spreading brought much death to Europe. This plague was known as the Bubonic Plague. This was from bacteria in fleas, which was found in rats. Since society wasn't clean, rats managed to reproduce and spread more disease by eating garbage and soon moving aboard trading ships. Many died and grabbed the disease airborne, or just by sneezing and coughing. This would only give them a week to live. But what made matters worse was that to try to escape this, civilians traveled to different towns, not knowing that they carried the disease, and in turn spreaded it until societies died off. A question that can be asked by this is " To what extent might the Laws of Manu might have prevented the spread of plagues?" The answer can be as determined as their society was, they would have decided to continue their good relationship with the environment, to have clean food/ cooking it the right method,  engaging a cleaner hygiene, and having a source where there is clean water. Lastly, a question that would connect to us is " How did people respond to Bubonic Plague which made things much worse? To what extent have we improved human response?" The way people in Europe made the conflict worse was by spreading the sickness as they moved, which brought more death, and additionally, they had an unsafe water source which was wells. Humans have improved since they have a purification system and a cleaner hygiene. Also, while traveling, we have rules and regulations, in order to prevent disease to spread. Lastly, due to technology, we have many medications that would treat illness.

Haiti 5 Annotated Bibliographies Part 2

1. Fountain, Ben . "Addicted to Haiti: [Op-Ed]." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/434305802/132C5FBC47F9B56C41/30?accountid=3360 (accessed November 1, 2011). 

• What this article basically describes is how for over the past 25 years, the dominant force in politics is drug trafficking. It grows just as the earthquake destroys many people. Many state on how big this should be recognized in Haiti since it's a large enterprise of making profit daily. These drug trade experts are trying to influence and spread this use throughout many different parts of society. Other than that what  affects this is other countries large consumption such as the USA in cocaine. In order to be able to rebuild this country, the main focus is to rid it of drugs.

       2. Reuter, Helmet. "NEWS FEATURE: Haiti's former dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier is back." Log in - ProQuest -  ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/840558552/fulltext/132C5FBC47F9B56C41/34?accountid=3360 (accessed November 1, 2011).

• This explains how after all the suffering Haiti had to go through since the earthquake, their former leader and dictator Jean-Claude-Duvalier returned. He had used fear and terror, which brought much death while he was in power, as well as his father. No one knows what he intends to do but there are hundreds of supporters.

       3. Keilburger, Marc. "Education is a lingering casualty of the earthquake in Haiti." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/816607634/fulltext/132C5FBC47F9B56C41/39?accountid=3360 (accessed November 1, 2011).

• This article explains how even though the people of Haiti received rations of food and a place to live, one of the most important things that they've lacked in their poverty is education. This is because knowledge won't be gained by a society without education and a way to adapt and succeed in their environment.

        4. James, Erica . "Haiti, Insecurity, and the Politics of Asylum." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/900087749/132C5FBC47F9B56C41/24?accountid=3360 (accessed November 1, 2011).

• This article explains how many of the problems Haiti has right now and how they aren't able to go up after the earthquake is how they are insecure in fixing their government, and the cost there has been in leaving the power to someone that'll bring harm to this community.

         5. Author, Anonymous. "The Americas: The long, hard haul; Rebuilding Haiti." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/857840450/132C5FBC47F9B56C41/5?accountid=3360 (accessed November 1, 2011).

• What this demonstrates is how after the large magnitude of the earthquake, then people are losing hope in being able to rebuild, since the one factor that everyone knows will stop it is the politics that run in Haiti.

The Romans

The Romans are recognized to be one of the most powerful civilizations known. It is located in the point of the Tiber River, which is easy to cross from North to South. One of the ways they managed to become successful was through trade, since they are close to the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, they had protection from invasion from living next to the Appennine Mountains. This gave them time to grow. Ways they had grow was developing a unique 
governmental structure and a strong military. They additionally managed to protect their society by creating a 
sewage system that would prevent wast in entering.  They had slaves work in the lead mines and later on they
had the government provide free grain to feed the people. But in order to do this they had to chop down 
thousands of trees and establish farms. But by ripping the trees it did bad to the community since trees prevent
erosion from the river, but now it started entering their society and with the rainfall, there was much more 
chances in having floods. Due to this, they needed trees and expanded to Northern Africa. This was 
where the most deforestation had occurred. Later this meant that meant there would be a lack of crops.
Then things had become worse for the Romans due to the fact that the deforestation brought Malaria. Due
to this it had led to the 10 percent loss of the population. Due to this it led to the decline of the Roman
Empire until it died out. The Roman Empire should be memorable for all the achievements they had until 
their killing of nature their demise.

Bantu Language and Migration

In this article it explains how languages managed to spread throughout the world, and specifically the Bantu had a major affect on how far they spreaded their culture. The Bantu language is known as to be related as the Germanic languages. Although people didn't have a clear understanding, they have knowledge that language would spread by large numbers of the people migrating, in which will impose it upon minority societies. The migration had begun in Nigeria, first coming to Cameroon, and later heading eastward, near the lower Congo. The certain date that the Bantu had spread was the 8th century, where in Zanzibar and the opposite coast, a Bantu language was spoken. The words had immediately been recorded by Arab travelers of the century. Example words that were derived from Bantu was "canoe, fishhook, goat, leader, and witch." It is interpreted that they were fishermen, cultivating African yams and palm trees. We can assume that this society and culture had been very advanced for the many discoveries and achievements they had. They had a governmental structure, like Mesopotamia but it derived from kinship and the leaders had been elders, showing everyone in the evil of witches and believing in spirits. They managed to get knowledge of the forest they lived around and were overcoming their enemies. Historians had interpreted that the way they managed to imply their language was through the same way Europeans managed to do to the Indians in the Americas. Due to the diseases they brought, it brought decline to the Indian population and they managed to settle and create  their culture. With the Bantu, something similar had occurred. Since Bantu had compact villages with non- Bantu speakers, they had intermarriage and it would also spread the language. This was the importance and how Bantu would spread through most of Africa.

Ancient Mesopotamia and Mohenjo-Daro

The beginning civilizations that started out our world, had a main influence on how we would end up on being and the customs they had created. One of the prestigious civilizations that had lasted the longest had been Mesopotamia. Located in modern day Iraq, they were one of the first civilizations in setting up a successful governmental structure, known as the Hammurabi Code, setting laws in their society. Basically, they were built up under smaller societies and worked together in order to conquer and posses most of the land. They were intelligent and as they lived between two rivers, in which they built a great irrigation system and no longer relied on hunting, but farming. Most of the things that make this civilization memorable is how they invented a way of writing. The Sumerians of Mesopotamia  wrote using clay tablets, mostly recognized as pictures or pictogram's. It was also possible for some of the very first books to be created. Additionally, it explains how for inventions, it was said that they were the first to invent it, and how to measure time, and the perfect way to make crops. This helped much of the civilization survive. Next, they were soon solving and learning math, and not only that, but they were sophisticated in their art and the structure the made the temples and homes. Without a doubt, this shows how few civilizations were able to reach the capacity of the Mesopotamians, but by far it was one of the advanced in the beginning of society. However, Mesopotamia wasn't the only society that had begun, we become aware of the Mohenjo-Daro, or otherwise known as Indus Valley. Unlike Mesopotamia, it was not as advanced and lasted for only a shorter amount of time. Additionally, it was only made for 1 society, with only one culture, where as Mesopotamia had a variety. The Indus Valley was located in modern day Pakistan and also lived between 2 rivers, although they had no irrigation system. There are not enough records to explain what Indus valley meant, since their civilization died fast. But what many people wonder, is that why would Mesopotamia last longer than Indus Valley? My answer is that Mesopotamia having various cultures and much more land and accomplishments was what led it to be known for also having a stronger economy. Additionally, the environment or nature of where they had been located was how they managed to adapt, explaining How Mesopotamia managed to accomplish and last longer.

Haiti Earthquake 5 Annotated Bibliographies

1. Kanya, D'Almeida. "POLITICS: CRACKING THE DONOR DISCOURSE ON HAITI." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/847386926/fulltext/132B08FDEE430BFF072/9?accountid=3360 (accessed October 28, 2011).  

• "The significance of this article is explaining how devastating the politics had been in Haiti. After the disastrous earthquake, they were trying to prevent the civilians in forming their own governmental structure, since during those days there had been much sexual violence, food shortages and instability. Because of this, it gave reason for other countries reason in not helping them rebuild their community."

1. Mcclatchy, Charles, and Jacqueline Mcclatchy. "Politics of international aid in sharper focus following Haiti earthquake." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/456410514/132B08FDEE430BFF072/10?accountid=3360 (accessed October 28, 2011).

• This article explains how as much as Haiti's earthquake is damaged, Many countries decided to help and as much as 2 billion dollars and slowly they began to rebuild their broken community.

1. McClatchy. "BRIEF: Haiti: The politics of rebuilding." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/458679889/132B08FDEE430BFF072/15?accountid=3360 (accessed October 28, 2011).

• The focus of this article is that due to the losses of lives, and the political structure was damaged, many tent cities were temporarily made in order to survive the worst of this earthquake. Additionally, it explains how thousands of camps were formed for all of the unfortunate in order to share all the food they found and were given. With this, it helped in keeping the haitians surviving.

1. Sachs, Jeffrey. "Haiti Needs Far More Than Emergency Relief." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/378718215/132B08FDEE430BFF072/18?accountid=3360 (accessed October 28, 2011).

• The importance of this article is how it explains and is persistent in saying how Haiti needs much more aid than it's receiving. Even before the earthquake, it explains that it was already in crisis and was needed to be resolved since the political structure was bad as it is. Now with the earthquake, things are much worse and it actions and precautions aren't taken the survival and safety of this country will die.

1. weiss, Jim . "Recovery in Haiti slowed by politics, geography, debris." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/822873696/132B08FDEE430BFF072/23?accountid=3360 (accessed October 28, 2011).

• The information given here is that the factors that aren't bringing any solutions are politics and geography. After the earthquake, Haiti left a mess and with all the thousands of dead bodies. Additionally, with no governmental structure theres no way to establish order in order to take steps needed in working together and rebuilding a broken country

The Maya

When we speak of the Hierarchy of needs, we focus on distinct civilizations in the world. One of the most prestigious cultures which can be remembered until today, is the Maya. Located in Mexico, this society was known to be one of the most intelligent based on their methods and achievements which enabled more advancement in society later on. They managed to establish their way of writing, which is known as hieroglyphics. Additionally, they managed to create a sustainable agricultural system and located with an easy access to water. However, as the trees began to die, nutrients would leave and would soon affect the quality of the food. Within this more problems occurred since many of the people would fight over the land.  Even though these problems arose, this life changing society defined the Hierarchy of need by creating a governmental structure. Their religious system was also known for how they built pyramids and would worship their gods. However, later on in time the europeans came and this would soon affect all the civilizations in all of the Americas. The affect would be bad due to the fact that all these thieves sought was power and gold, and would kill all of these tribes for it. They would trick them and in the end were better than the natives since they possessed even more technology such as cannons. After this they would show inequity by taking some captives and using them as slaves, which was what most of the explorers also did when they traveled to Africa. In the end because of these murderers it would kill most of the societies, killing their rich culture and change they made to the world. Soon, most people living there forget and often become foolish when they state who they are. I believe who they are would represent these prestigious societies that existed, representing the people that thrived and were actually better people than what there is now.

Neolithic Revolution

This section would represent the most important resource we need in our lives. It's called the Hierarchy of needs. This had been developed by a psychologist and emphasizes what we need in order to survive. A question which had been asked in class is "What is the connection between the civilization project and this pyramid known as Hierarchy of needs?" The answer to this question is that both are able to represent the need of amount of resources both mentally and psychically in order to survive. Most of these resources ensure balance between the lives of humans and the capability they have in achieving what they have achieved. Both would mostly be provided with shelter, food, water, and sleep, which gives opportunities for additional development of a single human being. The pyramid itself consists of 5 parts, where it begins with..

• Physiological
• Safety
• Love/belonging
• Esteem
• Self-actualization

This explains how many beginning civilizations had prospered since they had lived between 2 rivers and used the advantage of agriculture and technology like irrigation in order to advance little by little. Through this hierarchy of needs it'll show the balance of humans over time. This can be explained as if environment is good, humans prosper but if it's bad, then the civilization declines. Mostly, they would additionally depend on animals for food, and they would also decline when the animal would carry a disease and it'll spread to humans.  So for these societies, it would depend on the environment and the psychology of the pyramid which enables us to be who we are.

What is a civilization?

In this article, it informs of how many historians and people would classify what a civilization would be. Currently, it wouldn't be considered as a civil civilization due to all the negative affects human beings had been capable of over time as they had advanced from civilizations such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. Many of these affects had been slavery, oppression, subordination of women, and much more inequity. Many of the questions civilians can ask is "what makes society to feel racism, to feel on top of people, with a belief that their race is superior?" Many people will have the belief that everyone should be considered equal no matter what. Many people would prefer to live in the times of the Egyptian or Mesopotamian civilizations where almost none of these barbaric ways had been created. Civilizations with this is uncivilized and implies how evil the world can be if open your eyes. It takes away the good the human race has done in order to move forward in society like with technology, way of life, and how they've taken nature to their advantage. Additionally, it shows how a civilization can also be classified by the diverse identities. Since some civilizations aren't with diverse races, a foolish act on some societies, but they are classified by the class. So much of the upper class considered themselves an inclusive civilization. However, it wasn't considered any society within the borders of the beginning civilizations.  Dividing these societies by class would often create a problem for lower class people. Civilization would represent  a society civilized and able to function together. Not with violence, racism, and inequity which only makes our world not worth to exist.

Haiti Earthquake Annotated Bibliography

Kanya, D'Almeida. "POLITICS: CRACKING THE DONOR DISCOURSE ON HAITI." Log in - ProQuest - ProQuest. http://search.proquest.com/docview/847386926/1328C95459A33468F4E/9?accountid=3360 (accessed October 21, 2011).


The important fact about this article is that it explains how devastating the politics had been in Haiti after the earthquake. There had been people saying how it lead to sexual violence, food shortages, and instability. It also explained how many of the countries dissented in supporting them after what they had brought. They were doing efforts in rebuilding and having a better governmental structure. 

Discrimination

What I ask for this topic is "What cause people to show negative behavior and hate in this world?" This has been going on for so much time and until today, nothing is being done to change this unjust act of inequity. People can be discriminated for several reasons, whether it's color, race, or religion. The people I feel that i should represent and let the people know what they suffer is the indigenous people in South America. To begin with, not only are they shown discrimination, but they live in poverty and in often times they aren't given the equal opportunities in getting to work or education. This is often shown by the higher class people, who don't care of anyone but themselves, knowing that many of the indigenous people are described as better people than them. Most of the indigenous get beaten in addition to their mistreatment, with poor shelter. Most tribes are away from cities and often live in the mountains. It's most disappointing that no one is able to take a stand and fight for these. A more notable person who fought for their cause and to end most of the evil and greediness the world faces is Ernesto "Che" Guevara. He was actually murdered by the people disagreeing with him or refereed as the people from the USA. There are often people who disagreed with his death, since it was that world needed people like him who fought for a noble cause, just like Martin Luther King Jr., which also sought to find peace and end the discrimination many African Americans. Citizens around the world should take note in what is right and known what these people stand for, they are just as equal as we are, maybe even better on the inside since it's not money, greed, or power they search. Much of the indigenous people represent a rich culture that people don't take not, and in reality, they are a part of it, since it's their origin.

Humanity and the Environment

Regarding time and the environment, a question asked by the entire society is "In what ways have humans used the environment to promote human flourishing?" In this case humans have taken advantage of the environment and have created much technology. For example, after the hunter gatherer societies, much of humanity turned to agriculture as their main source of food. Additionally, they used their water source to create irrigation systems. With some of the societies, such as the maya and egyptians, they were advanced in their architecture that they managed to build many pyramids. Also, they improved the ways they would capture animals, most likely in the forests. It helped them survive since they managed to capture and preserve food and had close to unlimited amount of resources like food and water. They managed to find a habitat they were able to adapt to and make sustainable. However, this doesn't mean that they were able to cooperate with the environment all the times. One question in response to this can be" How has humanity suffered consequences for abusing the environment?" The outcome had been in many known ways. One of the ways is that often many habitats can be flooded and take out many lives and resources included. One example of this can be known as hurricane Katrina. Additionally, the situation may also end up like the Haiti earthquake. Much of what the consequences Nature offers is often because the area isn't in balance so the environment is here to restore it, although all the times it may be affecting the earth. The environment may also capture diseases that may spread through humans or through animals and brings up later on a lack of resources and bad habitats to survive. Lastly, what humans depended on the most from the environment was communication over seas. Around this time, people had begun trading around the world and started to interact internationally, which lead to much more discoveries. But what merchants needed was a safe cooperation of the water or else with an unsafe condition no trade or interactions would've been safe enough to make and advancements might've been more trouble in establishing them.

Creating a successful society

Many people now ask the question, "Where or what  is significant for the best kind of civilization for a group of people?" In this case we focus on civilizations based on the group of people living with bountiful resources. There are many answers to that question, but for the civilization I would decide beneficial in success, then the habitat would be located in South America. For a fact any human being would desire food and water, so the location of the this community would live close to a lake or river for an easy access to a water supply and a chance to fish animals. What these people would take advantage of would be building an irrigation system. Additionally, since they would be living on area where the Amazon forest is located, then they would be more protected from the immense amount of rain fall to come and flood their habitat by having all of their homes upward towards the trees designed like huts and to be connected together by bridges. Since they would be living through the amazon, they would have another supply in being able to hunt their animals. Next it would help if these group of human beings would have a vast field filled with the crops and farming the people take initiative to do. In order to ensure no invasions, it would be beneficial if the farming was next to a hill. Additionally, so no erosion took place, to place stones along the borders of the body of water which prevents it from entering and affecting our agriculture. What would help them in a chance for survival would be the temperature they would have to adapt to. It's suggested that its 90 degrees, even though there is hot weather, there is also much rainfall, inwhich both along with sunlight are able to provide fast growth for the resources in the field. In order for a civilization to be successful, it requires the cooperation of human beings and the environment in order to preserve existence and resources that ensure advancement throughout society. There may be often times where the environment may affect against you, but you must learn to adapt since we wouldn't survive without the environment.

Hurricane Katrina Themes

Based on the video of Huricane Katrina, there are many underlying themes between the cause and affect. Firstly, I want to start off by saying how many of the parts played off through the theme "Crisis Management." In other words, how humans reacted to this, which showed how most of the situation was going to turn out. It showed that many of the people had lost hope for the damage, and in the government for not helping during the crisis. This is leading to the theme "Trust in Leaders." What I mean by this is that many civilians don't trust their leaders and in the end don't get the help they deserve. Additionally, it shows how "Trust in Religion" had changed throughout all the people. What I mean by this is that people stopped trusting in their religions and losing hope. What this brought was turning these people into something they regret. A theme that can be known as the basis is "Technology vs. Nature," inwhich responsibilty can be placed upon the government. In other words, it shows that the lack of technolgy the government used in fixing the levees reflected in nature breaking the levees and having the water enter. Lastly, a theme which can be proven throughout time is "social class." In this case it shows how during thehelicopters, they had left all the poor class stranded and trapped, while they never hesitated in helping higher class people. This demonstrates the inequity and how people suffer through this. It can be inferred how it should change before it gets worse and it will never come to a solution.

Port Au Prince, Haiti Earthquake

We are shown how in 2010, Haiti faced one of it's most deadliest disasters, which was an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 Mw. The aftermath had so much affects on the country and the people living there. There was many deaths and most of the city was destroyed, leaving people in poverty. One of the questions we can hesitate to ask is " Given that farms, transportation's, and communication was destroyed, what kind of aid did Haiti receive for many damaged people?" This question can be answered by saying that many countries arrived for humanitarian aid, pledging funds, and sending rescue and medical teams, and engineers. Despite the fact the amount of damage Haiti had faced, countries didn't give up on it and wouldn't leave it alone without help, showing a concept of teamwork and unity together. Additionally, not only were they worried of aid, but of the reaction people took from the delay. So "Given the delays in supplies, and the beginning of infuriated people. how did the Haitians respond to the city and government?" This question can be answered by saying that again, lack of communication, and then lack of some effort from some countries delayed aid. so the Haitians responded by anger appeals from workers and survivors, and violence spreaded. So this led to even more damage since each civilian was turning against each other, or every man for himself. Lastly, it shows how there was more dead bodies than counted, so a question we can raise from this is that "Given that people were buried in mass graves, how was the morale of the Haitians affected?" My response to this question is that due to the thousands they found and buried, they quote how this experience to them makes them realize the situation of the holocaust since many of the bodies soon began to rot and decay, and there had been knowledge that some of the bodies were family members for the survivors, so for most of them they had lost faith and their morale due to the damage and no hope in being able to come back from this catastrophe. In addition to these conflicts, there was no specific role called in government, meaning no one took charge and Haiti and it's citizens were left behind without any command.