A Journey into Human History Miranda Casturo

Over the course of the eighteenth century, a series of famines and economic crises deepened wealth inequality and narrowed access to political power on both sides of the Atlantic. As the growing influence of the public sphere and Enlightenment ideas of equality and liberty shaped opposition to colonial and monarchical privilege, the century concluded with a series of revolutionary movements and the adoption of novel democratic systems.

The American Revolution, which initiated the revolutionary era, launched the foundation of the newly formed United States of America but established a paradoxical model of political liberty that coexisted with the institution of slavery. Inspired by the colonists’ victory over the British monarchy, those who led the French Revolution established a political model based on principles of democratic rights and equality, but they faced significant challenges due to political factionalism and ongoing economic crises. The Haitian Revolution resulted in the most radical break from the past by toppling the French colonial government, successfully challenging the institution of slavery, and creating the new nation of Haiti. However, Haiti faced long-term economic challenges after France imposed an independence debt on the fledgling nation in 1825.

Although these revolutions reflected a variety of political aims and consequences, each radically reshaped the political landscape of the Atlantic world by challenging traditional models of monarchical privilege and calling into question long-standing disparities in wealth and access to political power.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/7-3-revolutions-america-france-and-haiti

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.

Over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the public sphere became an increasingly important component in the spread and development of Enlightenment ideas. As networks of informal socialization and intellectual exchange, coffeehouses provided a setting in which people from all social backgrounds who had the luxury of leisure could share ideas and opinions without fear of punishment from the state or church. Salons likewise served as important centers of philosophical discussion. They also enabled the small number of women from the upper and middle classes who hosted them to play leadership roles in the Enlightenment, though guests from less privileged backgrounds were generally excluded. Along with the emergence of academies, print shops and a flourishing long-distance community of writers, salons and coffeehouses ensured the development of a public sphere that stimulated the free and open exchange of Enlightenment ideas.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/7-2-the-exchange-of-ideas-in-the-public-sphere

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.

The eighteenth century marked the beginning of a new spirit of intellectual exchange in Europe known as the Enlightenment. Inspired by the Scientific Revolution’s spirit of critical thinking, the ideas of the Italian Renaissance, and the legacy of Muslim, Greek, and Indian scientific foundations, the Enlightenment centered on the role of reason and generated a newfound optimism in philosophical principles such as liberty, rights, and the rejection of tyranny. Such ideals inspired many members of the upper and middle classes in western Europe to question the legitimacy of traditional laws, political systems, and religious teachings.

Although the Enlightenment established important foundations for the defense of human rights, its reach was limited to a relatively small elite. Despite its emphasis on ideals of freedom and liberty, it coexisted with the oppressive institutions of slavery and colonialism.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/7-1-the-enlightenment

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.

Mechanization and industrialization, motivated and enabled by capitalism, created tremendous wealth for eighteenth- and nineteenth-century business owners and middle-class professionals, but their profits often came at a high cost to workers. The production of goods shifted from the handiwork of highly skilled middle-class artisans to mechanized production done by low-paid unskilled laborers. Workers did enjoy access to new consumer goods made cheaper by industrialization, but to afford those goods they had to work long hours, in difficult and often dangerous conditions. Perhaps most importantly, workers lost control over their working conditions.

Karl Marx and his followers responded to the worst excesses of capitalism by proposing a new theory that became known as Marxism. Marx argued that the bourgeoisie, members of a social class that owned the means of production, were primarily motivated by the desire to exploit labor and keep the excess value wage earners produced in order to buy political influence. Eventually the capitalist system would collapse and workers reclaim control of society. Marx argued that the struggle between classes was the root of all historical conflicts. He predicted that society would eventually replace current economic systems with socialism, a system in which the public, not private companies or individuals, owns the means of production.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/6-3-capitalism-and-the-first-industrial-revolution

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.

The Seven Years’ War (1754–1763) established a new balance of power in Europe in which Britain emerged as the dominant empire. The French surrendered their imperial possessions in North America and India to Britain, while the Spanish surrendered Florida and the French gave control of the Louisiana Territory to Spain. The Peace of Hubertusburg guaranteed Prussian control of Silesia and confirmed Prussia’s status as a major force in Europe.

The British East India Company provided the British with a strong basis of military and economic power in south Asia; it and Britain both benefited economically from their colonial control of India. In China, the Qing dynasty’s leaders completed new trade treaties with foreign nations, including the Treaty of Kyakhta (1727) with Russia, and improved trading relationships with Japan, the nations of Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. Under the Canton system, China increased its trade with Europe and improved its economy, while rejecting most European trade goods and insisting on payment in silver, acquiring a very favorable balance of trade.

European colonialism did not go unopposed. In Africa, the Ndongo battled the Portuguese, the Khoisan and Xhosa fought the Dutch, and the Asante opposed British expansion. In both India and China, people took up arms against Britain. Ironically, some of the strongest opposition to the role of Great Britain came from its own colonies in North America, where economic dissatisfaction led to a declaration of independence.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/6-2-the-rise-of-a-global-economy

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.

European settlers in North America were a diverse group with a wide array of motives. Many Spaniards came as part of a broader search for “God, Gold, and Glory.” French settlers also hoped to find wealth, although they were more likely than other Europeans to cooperate with rather than exploit Indigenous peoples, whom they saw as economic allies. The Virginia Company of England founded Jamestown in an effort to gain wealth, while English Puritans founded communities they hoped would earn profits while also promoting their religious ideology. Native peoples responded to European colonization in a variety of ways. In Mexico, the Aztecs fought the Spanish and were destroyed, while the Tlaxcalans, who collaborated with the Spanish against the Aztecs, enjoyed greater status and economic opportunities in the Spanish Empire as a result.

All images referenced in this podcast can be found at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/6-1-european-colonization-in-the-americas

Welcome to A Journey into Human History.

This podcast will attempt to tell the whole human story.

The content contained in this podcast was produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-2/pages/1-introduction

Podcast produced by Miranda Casturo as a Creative Common Sense production.