AP 世界历史essay(1)

BibliographyThesis: European colonizers used military power, diseases, and drugs to colonize and bring influences on economy, culture, and politics to America, Africa, and Asia although colonization also brought some drawbacks to colonizers.Primary sources:1.Qing Empire, Qing government. Treaty of Nanking. 18422.United States, Congress. Declaration of Independence.July 1776.3.Smith, Mary F. Baba of Karo: A Woman of the Muslim Hausa. Philosophical Library, 1955.4.Paine, Thomas. Common Sense.W.and T. Bradford,1791.Secondary sources:1.Ye ,Shan. “Colonization in North America/ How Europeans manage their colonies?”The Paper,26 Nov.2016,/newsDetail_forward_15288372. Canisius, Edgar. A Campaign Amongst Cannibals. R.A.Everett&Co.,1903.European colonizers used military power, diseases, and drugs to colonize and bring influences on economy, culture, and politics to America, Africa, and Asia although colonization also brought some drawbacks to colonizers.In the fifteenth century, after Columbus found the New World, many countries in Europe started to build colonies in American Continent because of abundant natural resources and labour forces. Due to the development of technology, Europeans easily defeated the indigenous people by using guns.Francisco Pizarro leaded only about 180 people to easily conquest Inka Empire in Peru. Moreover, the people in New World didn’t have immunity of diseases, which was possessed by people in Europe. This provided Europeans an advantage to conquer local tribes.During the process of building colonies, Europeans brought many influences to local people. In economies, colonizers started enslave Amerindians to mine gold and silver, which were abundant in Peru and Mexico. Moreover, colonizers built plantation in Brazil to plant sugar, which was regarded as a kind of precious good in that time. Colonizers gained huge profits by sending these metals back to their homeland and Asia to exchange other goods like porcelain. Colonizers also got profit by selling sugar to their homeland .This provided the finance for the industrial revolution later. In fact, officials who were sent to colony grab the most of benefits.Tomei Sousa, the first governor in Brazil,built the city in Bahia and started the control of the colony. As he didn’t find precious metals in Brazil, he introduced the plantation like sugar in Brazil and made it a plantation later. In culture, the colonizers from Europe brought Christianity to America. More and more churches began to appear on the lands of colonies. Although local people tried to maintain their traditions and continued their beliefs and practices, under the baptism of Christianity and the utilization of encomienda, they finally blended their culture with Christianity.In addition, the reduction of rest intervals of mita system caused Spanish speakers to combine with Amerindians. In politics, people in colonies were not under the rule of their own kings or chiefs any more, instead, colonizers sent some generals to control the colonies and supervised the mining and plantation. Colonization actually brought many benefits to those individuals who were colonizers. Ye Shan points out that “generals of a military will get the lands as rewards from the king when they defeated the local people and colonized the places successfully.”(par.1). Later, when Spanish colonizers occupied more and more lands, the generals became richer and richer. However, the colonization brought the disaster to the local people because colonizers conquered colony by slaughter and military force. They largely ruined lives of local people and widened the gap between Europe and colonies. Moreover, colonizers used Christianity to eliminate culture of local people, which made people in colonies easier to control. Colonizers also used military power to suppress revolt. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Mexican priest, led the independent war of Mexico in 1811 and wanted the release Mexico from the colonizers.But he failed and was executed by Spanish officials. Similarly, his student Jose Maria Morelos continued his war for Mexican independence but finally failed and was executed.After sugar plantation in Brazil got prosperity and sugar had more and more demand, European colonizers wanted to expand sugar plantation more due to the high profits. However, the labor force of Amerindians was not sufficient because epidemics that raged Brazil caused the shortage of labour force. The colonizers therefore wanted to gain the labor from Africa, which built up slave trade and Atlantic Circuit later. Infact, the colonization of Africa and beginning of the slave trade started in fifteenth century. It was Henry the Navigator who found the Africa and started the colonization first. But his intention was spreading Christianity instead of making profits. However, the navigation of Henry didn’t bring many profits, which caused him to be criticized by more and more people. After he saw another expedition team brought back 10 captures, he realized that this would be a good chance to quiet down the criticism. So he started an expedition to bring slaves back and sold them to make profits. This started the evil slave trade of Europe.The colonization was catastrophic to people in Africa. In the book A Campaign Amongst Cannibals, Ilanga recounts her Capture by Agents of the Congo Free State:When the soldiers took my sister’s baby and threw it in the grass, leaving it to die, and made her carry some cooking pots which they found in the deserted village. On the sixth day we became very weak from lack of food and from constant marching and sleeping in the damp grass, and my husband, who marched behind us with the goat, could not stand up more. The soldiers beat him, but still he refused to move. Then one of them struck him on the head with the end of his gun.The colonizers beat people in colony ruthlessly, like hitting a livestock. The colonizers were also inhuman because they even killed the baby. When they took these slaves away from their home, the distress just began. The slaves had to stay in Slave Ship for six to ten weeks. During the process of transportation, many slaves will die because of diseases. Even though they lived, the mistreatment would also causedpsychological depression.Not only on the bodies, the colonization left the permanent fear to the peopl e in colony. Baba of Karo points out that “ Everyone at Karo ran away-‘There is a European, there is a European’!” In contrast, the colonizers gained profits through slave trade and colonization and based their luxuriant lives on the pain of slaves. According to A Campaign Amongst Cannibals, Leopold II pretended to inspect and exploit. He actually colonized Congo and established Congo Free State. In his state, he oppressed the local people, exploited the labor force and made them work only for him. He ruled Congo cruelly and based his beautiful life on the torture of Congolese.European colonizers didn’t confine the colonization only in the Atlantic Circuit,instead, they expand the influence of colonization toward Asia. British opened the gate of China by opium, which brought great disaster to China later and paved the road of colonization of China. After British East India Company lost the trading with China, foreign traders started to sell opium to China. Opium actually ruined China because in that time, opium only prevail in royal family and aristocrats.No matter prince or generals smoked opium. Under the leading of prince Fu Xi, opium also began to circulate in some riches. The spread of smoking made Chinese finance deficit and the government corruption, which sows the seed for the failure of Opium War of China later.Due to the disability and corruption of Qing government, China easily lost the Opium War, which made China loss in both finance and territory. Qing government satisfied the requirement of British colonizers by signing the Treaty of Nanking.Itclaims that 1. China has to cede Hong Kong. 2.China has to make compensation for 21million.3. China has to open ports in Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, and Shanghai.4.Britain can make their own tariff.(China, Qing government. Treaty of Nanking, August 1842.) This treaty largely damage the unite of Chinese territory and economy, making parts of China the colony of England and accelerate decline of Qing Empire. Meanwhile, Sir Henry Pottinger, the representative of England, received a warm welcome when he got back to his country. He even got promotion, which was the first governor of Hong Kong. So it is easy to see that the colonization was regard as a kind of honor instead of shame because the colonizers only started from their own benefits regardless of harm they brought to people in colony.However, the colonization didn’t only bring despair to people in colony. It also provided them a way to learn methods of managing a government and gave them motivation of future revolt.In America, Under the cruel rule of England and heavy tax, Thomas Paine published the book Common Sense. According to the Common Sense, the power which hath endeavored to subdue us, is of all others, the most improper to defend us(Paine). This book revealed the evil of British colonization and inspired people to join the independence of America. Even though he is a British, he still believed the colonization of America was unjust. Thanks to his work, the Congress of America later approved the Declaration of Independence. According to this document, American Congress claims:We hold these truths to be self evident: That all men are created equal;that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; thatamong these are life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights,governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed(United States, Congress. Declaration of Independence,July 1776)After this declaration, people firmed their own rights. They joined the combat with England and finally got the independence and liberty.To sum up, the European colonizers uses military, diseases, and drugs to bring unforgettable harm to economy, culture, and politics of colony.But they also brought the opportunities of development to those people that were colonized. Those people can learn the technology and the way of governing from Europe. When they accumulate the power, the oppression of colonizers will be the blasting fuse of revolt.。