Chapter 7

Chapter 7 symbolizes the beginning of globalization. why one might ask? The producing of goods for people thousands of miles away began. The silk road was the catalyst into modern day globalization. picture a person living in Europe that asks someone in the middle east, hey where you get these plates? China was the place where the nice plates were made, and that is why we call it china. Many more things in this era still shape the way that society is formed today. For example, The reason why the Spanish decided to "discovered" the new world is because Columbus wanted to find a route to china that would undercut all the people along the silk road that would drive the prices of goods up.

Now that one mentions the new world, the "discovering" of this section of the world was not quite a discovery. people already lived here, called it turtle island but didn't communicate with people from other continents. Just because the Europeans arrived does not mean that the societies were not advanced.  I would have like to hear about the cultures in the Teotihuacan area after the Mayans, and further info on the Pochteca trade routes. Sadly written history was destroyed by the Spanish upon colonization.

At the same time, the trade routes from Africa into the rest of the world are undermined. The Ghana, Mali and the Swahili had trade routes to the Sahara, which had access to the Mediterranean sea. I enjoyed reading this part the most because it was first time in my life that I learned that African trade was important in the Middle ages. This is something that needs to be put into more history books. African societies were more than self centered and dancers. I enjoyed this chapter.