hist 2 pages read study guide

Hist. 110B

Sect. 28 (TuTh at 2:30 pm)

Cal. State Fullerton

Dr. Jennifer B. Thompson

Fall 2018

GUIDE FOR FIRST EXAM

Pitfalls to avoid:

· Analysis based on counter-factual statements. A counterfactual is a conclusion based on potential, but not realized, consequences.

Example: “If Isaac Newton had not written Principia, we would not have accurate information today about the way objects move about in the universe.”

Such a statement makes for poor historical analysis. Someone else might have come along who would have done similar work. Remember, history is primarily about what DID happen. Don’t diminish your answer by speculating on what MIGHT have happened. Instead, frame your answer in such a way to focus on the ACTUAL impact.

Example: “Because Isaac Newton wrote Principia, we of the present-time can calculate accurately the movement of any object in the universe. Newton’s ideas explain orbits”

· Combining your responses into one large composition.

Please remember that you are answering two separate parts of the exam. As such, they require two separate answers. Although you might be able to write a brilliant composition that includes content from both answers, doing so violates the rules and slows down grading of your work.

· Using an historical figure’s first name only in second and subsequent mentions.

There are a relatively small number of historical figures that can legitimately be referred to solely by their first name (Galileo, Napoleon, and a handful of others). Not a few celebrities these days (Adele, Aretha, Michael, Sting, the Weekend) are also known by their first name or a nickname. You will have to memorize the exceptions. Although the practice is starting to change, it’s still a good idea to refer to an historical figure the first time by their full name, but subsequently only by their family/last name.

First time usages: Mary Wollstonecraft, Isaac Newton, Mao Zedong.

But for second and subsequent mentions, these persons should be referred to as Wollstonecraft, Newton, and Mao. (Mao is the family name, but Zedong is his given name or, in Western culture, your first name) Calling the persons Mary or Isaac are incorrect usages in history papers.

· Excessive detail on a historical figure’s childhood. You may want to mention something about a person’s childhood, but keep it very brief. Focus, instead, on details of what the person did that would eventually make them historically noteworthy. DO NOT write a straight biography, the kind you would see in an online source such as Wikipedia or elsewhere.

· Answers dominated by coverage of current events. If, for example, you cover the Scientific Revolution, your answer should NOT focus primarily on present-day applications of the Scientific Revolution. No more than half of your answer should cover the present.

· Answers that lack any dates/references to time. If writing about an event (French Revolution, for instance), tell me when that event took place. If covering a person, write the years of life of that person the first time their name appears in print. Napoleon Bonaparte (year of birth-year of death). Remember, history is about change over time.

· Beginning a short answer with a bland recitation of the year when a person was born, followed by information of the person’s childhood.

Example: “Sir Isaac Newton was born in England in (year). When he was young, Newton…”

Here, the answer does not give me an early indication of why this person is noteworthy for us today. It is also rather boring as a lead.

· Answers that lack any mention of the location of that event/historical phenomenon/person. If writing an answer lacking indications of time and place, the reader will be disoriented.

· “Burying the lead.” By this, I mean that you do not identify/define your subject until well into your answer. With very few exceptions, begin your short answer by briefly defining who or what (if an invention, a historical event, or an idea). What do I mean by define? Here are two examples:

For a person:

Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a classical composer of late Czarist Russia.

For an invention (or an idea):

The cotton gin was a device of the early nineteenth century that separated cotton fiber from the seeds and the hard exterior or the cotton plant.

After you identify/define the subject, you will then furnish the most important, relevant background details of your subject. What, for instance, were the political, economic and social conditions of France during the several years prior to the emergence of the French Revolution? How were those conditions affecting regular people and the elite? Also be sure to make note of the catalyst that would set off the historical event or would allow the historical person to do something that would eventually be historically important. The firing of Jacques Neckar, the finance minister of Louis XVI, as well as bad harvests in 1787 and 1788, all brought about the launching of the French Revolution. Your answer should then mention other relevant ways that people were affecting each other. If covering a famous woman: who supported her educationally, or financially? What did this woman do to affect persons of her time? And how did the larger society respond to the woman’s innovations?

How to cover a topic that is not a person, an event, a phenomenon or an invention or idea? A few of the short answers are of topics, the titles of which cannot be found easily in the class textbook or in other sources. These include, but are not limited to “ways to become enslaved.” Such items refer to one, two or three slides in one of my PowerPoint presentations. To answer such an item in an effective way, think of the item as a miniature essay topic. Begin the answer with a sentence that gives the reader a sense of the times, then launch into the main topic:

Example: “During the sixteenth century, Portugal and Ming Dynasty China began to have regular contact with one another. The two societies swapped a wide variety of cultural aspects.”

The above sentence gives the reader a sense of the era, identifies the key historical actors (Ming China and Portugal) and previews the type of history (cultural and scientific) you will cover in your answer.

How to finish a short answer that’s a mini essay? In other words, what could be said about the historical significance/impact? There are two ways of looking at the long-term impact. Some aspects of society will be about historical continuity: ways that we do things similarly to the ways people did things in the past. The other form of impact has to do with historical change: ways we do things now that are fundamentally different from the methods or mentalities of people of the past.

Historical change (historical discontinuity): slavery (not excepting human trafficking) is a thing of the past.

Historical continuity: “We of the present time wash our hands in order to reduce the spread of communicable diseases and clean dirty surfaces, all because of the pioneering work of Louis Pasteur and other contributors to the germ theory of disease during the nineteenth century.”

Note : Examples below contain key aspects of each topic. You are advised to include at least some of these aspects in your answers. The examples below DO NOT contain all the information you may need in order to write the best work.

Prince Henry the Navigator:

· Founding figure of Portuguese exploration (before the Early Modern era)

· Established school of cartographers.

· Furnished funding for Portuguese explorers.

· Took place in era of caravel invention and borrowing of stern-rudder, magnetic compass and astrolabe from China and Arab world.

Cape Colony: origins:

· Cape Colony’s a settlement of (largely) Dutch descendants.

· Originated by the Dutch East India Company (merchants).

· Founded Cape Town (1652) as refueling station.

· Conflict with Khoi people meant European expansion into southern Africa.

· Key: pattern of domination was set up for 20th century apartheid South Africa.

Columbian Exchange:

· Movement (1492- at least 1800) of plants, animals and diseases between Old and New Worlds.

· Old World diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza, etc.) killed millions of Native Americans.

· New World crops/animals (potatoes, tomatoes, cacao, turkeys) spread all over Old World.

· Old World animals (horses, sheep, rabbits, dandelions) as transportation, fabric, invasive species.

[Note: Some historians also include people and cultural exchanges as part of the Columbian Exchange. Your answer would be fine, however, with just animals, plants and diseases.]

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz:

· Prolific nun-as-writer in 17th century colonial Mexico.

· Wrote on a wide variety of subjects.

· Most famous were poems condemning misogyny and calling for equal rights.

· Admired by modern-day feminists as early pioneer in women’s rights.

King Afonso I of Kongo kingdom:

· Monarch of West central African realm with substantial Portuguese contact.

· Encouraged Portuguese to send priests, stone masons, miners, tailors.

· But Portugal armed King Afonso I and Kongolese nobility, for slave-generating war.

· Early example of Portugal’s long-standing control of central Africa.

Queen Nzinga of Ndongo:

· Decades-long ruler of 17th century Ndongo (Angola).

· Formed military alliance with other African states to oppose Portuguese aggression.

· But Portuguese control took place after Nzinga’s death, lasting until 1975.

· One of many women with political power in African history.

Impact of transatlantic slave trade on Africa:

· Warfare became FIRST way to resolve conflict (especially over middleman status).

· Some states (Asante) grew at expense of weaker ones.

· Severe weakening of non-slave (farming, commerce, manufacturing) economy.

· Demographic: removed child-bearing, highly productive adults from Africa.

· Demographic: depopulation of some areas.

· Social: strong distrust from raids and warfare).

· Key: weakened Africa until abolition era in full swing (1820s).

Maria Merian:

· Biologist of 1600s and 1700s.

· Went with daughter to South America for two years.

· Made detailed paintings of New World plants and insects.

· Helped to expand Western knowledge of biodiversity.

Martin Luther:

· Sixteenth century German priest, who sought reforms in Catholic faith.

· Called for an end to indulgences (were corrupting priests).

· Pro-translation of Bible to local languages, end priest celibacy, salvation by faith alone.

· Pope’s excommunication meant Luther founded Protestantism in 1520s.

Canton system:

· Foreign trading system set up by Qing dynasty.

· Multiple rules (living in Canton, supervision by Chinese merchants, etc.) for foreign merchants.

· Taxes to emperor often kept by Chinese merchants, who bought out poor peasants.

· Silver-only payment system for Qing goods was resented by the British, eventual war in early 19th century.

Tokugawa Ieyasu:

· Founder, Tokugawa Shogunate (right after 1601).

· Societal structure meant a shogun (military leader) was head of state, with emperor reduced to ceremonial service.

· Ieyasu alarmed by European practices.

· West harmed Buddhist temples, spread “dangerous” Christian message of equality.

· Japanese elite worried over possible conquest by foreigners.

· Ieyasu and others purged Japanese Christians, forced out foreigners, did deliberate isolation from West for decades.

· Banned foreign travel, importation of foreign books.

· Result: Japan’s isolation from others until 1853.

Suleiman the Magnificent:

· Sixteenth-century sultan of Ottoman Empire.

· Excellent military skills that greatly expanded Ottoman territory.

· Had major influence in improving Ottoman law.

· Insured integrity of officials in dealing with the public.

Scientific Revolution:

· Era of major intellectual changes in Europe (1600-most of the 1700s).

· To shape physical and life sciences.

· Pioneers in astronomy include Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo.

· Isaac Newton wrote Principia, explaining the motion of all celestial objects.

· Scientific Revolution set up empiricism as methods, explanations for scientific inquiry.

· Impact: empiricism used today in natural, social sciences.

· Impact: rational (not faith-based) understanding of natural phenomena.

Enlightenment:

· Era (1700s) when Western world used scientific methods to improve human society.

· Emphasis on reason and spread of knowledge.

· Idea: Reason and practical learning to improve the world (progress).

· Emphasis on rights of the individual.

· Emphasis on consent of the governed.

· Emphasis: diversity (accepting human differences).

· Voltaire: champion of individual rights and anti-ignorance.

· Impact: rise of economics, criminology.

Jesuits:

· Roman Catholic order founded by Ignatius Loyola. (1500s)

· Founding’s part of Catholic rejection of Protestant Reformation.

· Jesuits to pledge total obedience to Pope.

· Strongly spread Catholicism around the world.

· Major emphasis on education.

· Impact: setting up of Jesuits universities, strong spread of their religion worldwide.

Francis Xavier:

· Jesuit priest based in Japan.

· He thoroughly lived a Japanese lifestyle (to encourage locals to embrace Catholicism).

· Helped spread some Western cultural traditions to Japan.

· Impact: Xavier is a strong example of (generally) positive relations with Japan during the Early Modern era.

Janissaries:

· Elite guard for the Ottoman empire’s sultan (head of state).

· Formed by devshirme system of slave recruits.

· Trained in battle tactics and use of weaponry (especially cannon).

· Military band in field strengthened troop morale.

· Helped in Islamic conquest of S.E. Europe.

· Grew strong to install and depose sultans until late 18th century.

Kangxi:

· Early Modern ruler (ruled 1661-1722) of Qing dynasty.

· Expanded Chinese territory to the north, east and west.

· Took over Tibet.

· After a war with Russia, agreed to a trade deal (Treaty of Nerchinsk).

· Favored international commerce through Guangzshou (Canton), but only if merchants agreed to strict Chinese supervision.

Cesare Beccaria:

· Italian prison reform champion.

· In 18th century Italy, prisoners had no rights, suffered great abuse by jailers.

· Beccaria: “prison is where inmates will be penitent (sorry for) their crimes.”

· Beccaria: saw prison as place to reform inmates.

· Rejected death penalty.

· Impact: inspires criminal justice reformers today.

Conquest of Aztecs (Mexica):

· For thousands of years the Aztecs (Mexica people) lived in isolation from the rest of the world.

· By the late 1510s, Hernan Cortes and his conquistadores contacted the Aztecs.

· Many local peoples resented abuse they suffered by Moctezuma and his Aztec military.

· Cortes realized local traditions mistook him for the return of a light-skinned deity.

· Cortes used local religious ideas and hatred of Aztecs to Spanish advantage.

· Spain defeated Aztecs because of Spanish military alliance with oppressed Indians, diseases from the Old World, and superior military might.

· Spanish defeat of Aztecs led to takeover of all of the Americas and start of colonial Spain in the New World.

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