History is a specific matter for discussion but it is, at the same time, easy because it does not acknowledge any subjunctive moods or suppositions. History deals with facts, names and dates only that is why it is considered to be the most precise science among all. History of the mankind is full of controversial events and figures, but if we take time to look closely at those events and to examine them in more details, we will undoubtedly find the rules and laws according to which the history develops.
Scientists have different opinions as for the issue of the main motive power of history. Some of them keep to the point of view that history is developing as a chain of incidental events that cause each other but do not have any logical explanation or connection. Others claim that these are personalities who create the history, meaning that prominent political leaders, warriors and charismatic people act according to their own will and the masses of people can do nothing but obey. One more opinion is that religions and traditions are the factors that predetermine the development of this or that nation. Finally, the fourth point of view consists in acknowledging that human society and every civilization that ever lived or will live on Earth develops due to such fundamental things as money, production, and trade that constitute the phenomena of economics. And if we take into consideration the Western Civilization we will see that the latter approach is absolutely applicable here (Hunt, 2008, pp. 3 – 45).
Western Civilization is a materialistic one, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that its development was predetermined by the economic factors. From the very beginning of the Western Civilization history the means of production were the major factor that determined the ruling class of the society. The Marxists claimed that only material production made a human out of a monkey and connected all the stages of the historical development with the levels of the development of economy. They explained their materialistic approach saying that a human being needs food and clothes before he or she starts thinking about politics, culture, etc. And if we take a look at the development of Western Civilization we can see the evidence of this idea (Lualdi, 2008, pp. 23 – 32).
In the Ancient Greece international trade was the factor that promoted the development of all other fields of human activity including art of waging wars, poetic and visual arts and the development of the Greek Civilization on the whole (Hunt, 2008, pp. 44 – 67). During the epoch of the Roman Empire it was economic development that made a powerful state out of an Italian city. Governing such a territory demanded great rates of production and international trade for the prosperity of the Empire and it was powerful until its economic relations broken up (Hunt, 2008, pp. 120 – 161).
The Barbarian tribes came to the spotlight after the decline of Roman Empire and they would have still been only tribes without the development of the economic relations with each other and with other countries. Powerful states, known nowadays as France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, etc., were formed out of those tribes, and again due to the economic processes and relations with other countries (Hunt, 2008, pp. 162 – 212). For example, Great Britain’s predominance on sea in the Middle Ages was impossible without economic growth of this country. Developed trade gave money for developing industry and demanded new markets for its carrying. This led to the Colonization of African, Asian and American territories, ruling over which also was the cause an effect of economic relations. Finally, the English Revolution of 1648 was the product of the economics because the bourgeoisie was not satisfied with the influence and money they had (Hunt, 2008, pp. 246 – 273). As we can see economic, and namely money, trade and production, were the major factors of the historic development of the Western Civilization.
Works Cited
Hunt, Lynn & Martin, Thomas. 2008. The Making of the West (Peoples and cultures): Chapter 1, pp. 3 – 45. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Hunt, Lynn & Martin, Thomas. 2008. The Making of the West (Peoples and cultures): Chapter 2, pp. 46 – 67. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Hunt, Lynn & Martin, Thomas. 2008. The Making of the West (Peoples and cultures): Chapter 4, pp. 120 – 161. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Hunt, Lynn & Martin, Thomas. 2008. The Making of the West (Peoples and cultures): Chapter 5, pp. 162 – 212. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Hunt, Lynn & Martin, Thomas. 2008. The Making of the West (Peoples and cultures): Chapter 7, pp. 246 – 273. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Lualdi, Katharine. 2008. Sources of The Making of the West, Volume I: To 1740: Peoples and Cultures. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
The Opium Wars (Anglo-Chinese wars) were a conflict between Chinese and British governments caused by opium trade control and laws introduced by China against British India. At the beginning of the 20th century, western interest in opium initially ignored the societal problems it would cause. The promise of economic gain largely defined the contours of Sino-Western relations concerning opium, especially with Great Britain (Hevia 307). A movement for reform, or opium control, began around 1900, emerging both from within and outside of China — although the domestic impetus proved to be indispensable for even modest reform.
History
The first opium war lasted from 1839-1842 and the second opium war lasted from 1856-1860. The British east India Company had a monopoly on opium trade in India. In 1773 the Governor-General of Bengal opposed this monopoly and tried to establish his own control of trade and imports. China banned and prohibited opium trade. The affinity of millions of Chinese for opium directly affected the security of foreign interests in China (Mancall 92). Opium not only defined the daily life in much of the country, but it also dramatically influenced the way in which many Chinese viewed their own society and partly defined how they reacted to the economic and missionary presence of foreigners in their land. By seeing the external world — whether at the national or international level — through a lens colored by opium smoke, some 20 percent of the Chinese people at any one time managed in a comprehensible way to exist within, if not understand, that alien world. the sources of conflict can be explained by the fact that “opium generated a high level of cash flow and thus created large pools of capital” (Trocki 207).
Two conflicts between British India and China resulted in China’s defeat and liberalization of opium trade. China’s culture was not restricted to the habit of smoking. Especially in the time of Yuan Shih-k’ai, a narcotics culture also developed in China. Access to morphine was easy; it came from Great Britain and the United States by way of Japan. By the time the British and the Americans were prepared to quit the morphine trade, Japanese, Koreans, and others were ready to fill the gap with a product produced locally. Beyond the wars themselves and the occasional piece on aspects of opium use in China, we know precious little about the role of opium in imperial politics, the broader commercial aspects of the trade, the relationship between the spread of commercial capitalism into Asia and the opium trade, and the many different efforts to eradicate or manage opium consumption” (Hevia 307). Even as the brief promise of Yuan Shih-k’ai’s presidency was fading, some Chinese and Japanese were locked in a struggle for the drug appetites of the Chinese people (Melby 72). At the end of the second opium war, China was forced to ratify the Treaty of Tientsin in 1860. According to this document, China legalized opium trade on its territory and granted privileges to British opium traders. There was no easy way to overcome the dilemmas created by a drug control strategy that has focused inordinately long on the issue of supply and deferred to dubious security concerns. In addition to giving greater attention to the problem of demand, a starting place would be to move toward cultural understanding (Melby 97).
Conclusion
As a result, opium wars and a defeat of China opened new opportunities for British companies and opium traders to sell opium to new consumers and import it. Western actions against opium in Asia in the first half of the twentieth century, disclose a pattern of misperception, willful or not, of the immensity of the task.
Works Cited
Hevia , J. L. Opium, Empire and Modern History. China Review International, 10, (2003): 307.
Mancall Mark. China at the Center. New York: The Free Press, 1984.
Melby John F. The Mandate of Heaven: Record of a Civil War: China, 1945-1949. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968.
Trocki, C. A. Opium and the Beginnings of Chinese Capitalism in Southeast Asia. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 33 (2002): 297.
Even before the European invasion and colonization in the Western Hemisphere, the Native Americans of Latin America practiced civilization that was clear competition for the inventive and scholarly accomplishments that were observed in China, India, Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean region. These accomplishments are believed to have been invaluable because they were recorded well before the introduction of Eastern technology was introduced to the Western hemisphere, something that makes them very impressive. Among the communities that lived in areas that are marked for such great civilization is the Maya community. This community occupied regions in the present country of Mexico, Belize, El Salvador Guatemala, and the Honduras region. They were famous for the massive stone pyramids that they built for their rulers; they used the wheel in times when they had not been invaded by the Europeans so that we know it was their invention, the dye that they made from the dried insects, the feathers that they traded from exotic birds and the jade ornaments that they made from stones by using stone tools. In addition to this, they made weapons from the soft obsidian and traded with other communities; in other words, they were also long distant traders.
Pre-Columbian art and architecture by the Native Americans demonstrate the expertise that they displayed in making the structures about the environment that they lived in. they always had nature in mind as they constructed the structures, showing a great taste in aesthetics. Their sense of aesthetic was embedded in the responsiveness they had to the natural dualities for instance the existence of day in contrast with night, the existence of land and water, life and death, light and dark, the sun at day time and the moon at night, and so forth.
The Maya people were agriculturalists. In the pre-classic period, the Maya people cultivated crops for their domestic use mostly. They are known for the cultivation of corn as their staple food which they used to brew and also to make cakes with. The women did the grinding of this corn on special stones for domestic use. As the population in the region became extensive they increased their agricultural activities so that they even cultivated more for exchanging with others for other basic needs. Agriculture was the stronghold of the economy in the Maya community. It was especially extensive among the people in the lowland regions. The people in the southern lowland region were famous for the control they had over trade among the Maya Community. Since the soft obsidian rock that was used in the making of the weapons was found in the Southern region and as a result, the people in the South were in a better position to control the movement of the stone in the region and in all the regions that they traded with.
As the classic period checked in around the year 250 C.E and 900 C.E, there was an increase in the population and the agricultural activities increased in turn. This led to the increase in the production of the surplus produce that was traded. There was an increase in the number of trade items ranging from the jade ornaments that were made from stones, the feathers of the green parrot and other birds, a dye that was made from dried insects, and weapons that were made from the obsidian; all from the southern region. Their counterparts in the lowland regions traded agricultural goods like corn and cacao seeds. Initially, they exchanged goods with other goods but later the system improved, and sometimes they would do barter trade or use cacao seeds as a medium of exchange (currency). This was an improvement in their economic status, something that boosted development hence giving the economy the forward push that it needed. Agriculture and trade improvement led to the improvement in their political system where the leaders who initially had less power now started assuming the powerful position. With this improvement, there was an improvement in the government system where the leaders assumed more responsibility to protect their territories. This led to the increase in warfare as a result of the leaders trying to ensure that they protected their people from adversaries.
With this increase in the trading goods, the trading activities increased and started to extend beyond the Mayan boundaries. The Mayan merchants started engaging in long-distance trade with their neighbors. This activity led to the extensive networking of the trade routes in the region. This was adapted from their trading partners the Teotihuacán and the Zapotec, and other groups that were from the center of Mexico and the gulf coast of México. With these increased trading activities, there was a remarkable development in the political and economic scenes in the then Maya Community. As it is common with the current economies, there were power struggles, an occurrence that led to the increase in rivalry and hence warfare in the region. This resulted in the Kings’ capturing their rivals and sacrificing them to the deities that they worshipped, for example, the god of corn. The more they fought, the greater the trading in weapons, an aspect that boosted trade in the region. Apart from boosting the trade, there was also an increase in conflicts in the region as various Kings sought to rule over the others. There was capturing of war prisoners who were enslaved by their captors. The greed for power was stronger, and this made the region vulnerable to the outsiders in case there was an attack, they would not support each other because of the enmity they had already built.
During the classic period, there was the introduction of classes in which there were the upper classes and the lower classes. The upper classes are the ones who benefitted the most from the development of the economy and trade. Those who worked so hard to see this happen, the lower class, benefitted the least. They gave three-thirds of their agricultural produce to the upper class and they also gave most of their services to the upper class. Some slaves were war captives most of the time. This group was owned by individuals or families and they had to do menial tasks for their owners. They would also be sacrificed when their owner died so that they would continue with their service to them after death. The aspect of class in the Mayan community led to the weakening of those in the lower class, and even though they worked to ensure that the upper class lived luxuriously, there was the element of separation, something that makes the people divided. As we know, division in ruling creates a lack of trust, something that can make a great nation fall.
It was during the classic period that the climax of large-scale construction and urbanization was recorded with a very momentous scholarly and inventive development especially in the southern lowland regions. There was the development of the concentrated empires that were city-centered with various city-states like Palenque, Tikal, and Copan, among others. Among the most outstanding palaces, they built is the one in Cancuen, one of the largest palaces in the Maya area. They also invented a system of writing referred to as hieroglyphic which they used in the description of their lineages, warring activities, and their success in war and other accomplishments that they had in general. With the construction of these buildings, there was an element of power. The structures symbolized the security that the people had and the strength of their rulers. This aspect of building the strong buildings showed that they were established in terms of expertise and they were set to go a long way as a community. They symbolized the aspect of permanence.
The economy of the Mayan Community was the backbone of its development. It was boosted by the agricultural practices and the trading activities in the region. There was also the aspect of the architecture and the artistic nature of the Mayans which improved their development. All these culminated into a very strong community that was civilized and urbanized very early. The economy of Mayans was no doubt stable, an assurance that they would not fall. As it assured them of basic supplies that are important for the survival of the community, there was also how it divided the community. This was through the scramble of power by the leaders of the various regions in the community. There was so much concentration, as the region developed, on the control of the region even though the people in the various regions cooperated in various activities like trade. The Southern lowland region is known for having recorded the highest development in the whole region as compared to the region in the northern lowlands.
There are very many similarities between our current global society and the Mayan community. Our global society is divided into sections; the developed world, the developing world, and the underdeveloped world. These sections demand that there be different efforts made to improve them. Currently, the most preferred government system is a democracy where people are allowed to choose their leaders. Unfortunately, just like in the Mayan times, there is greed for power, and leaders fight to be the ones that rule. Even though the class systems are different, they are still witnessed. We still have people in the upper classes, the middle class, and the low class. This is determined, however, by the struggle that an individual puts in to ensure that they align themselves to a particular class. However, some communities are known for their systems that bind people to a particular class regardless of whether they are wealthy or not, for example, the Indians. In the present situation where the world is believed to be headed to being a global village, we expect such situations to be changed.
Apart from the fight for power, there is the improvement of trade, an aspect of the ancient Maya community, in the development of any particular country. National, regional and international trade are being encouraged to ensure that a country trades what it produces in excess and return gets what it cannot produce, all in the name of development. Trade is the one thing that is believed to connect very many countries and also the basis of the economy of almost all countries. Countries that control some of the highly sought trade commodities are believed to be powerful. Most inter-nation wars in the world today are caused by the struggle to control the particular resources in question.
In our present time, with the great globalization, there is the aspect of losing our culture in preference to other cultures that we see as being superior or most preferred. The Mayan culture was brilliant because they were civilized without the interference of the Eastern hemisphere technologies. Their life challenges taught them how to ensure that they do not succumb to situations that face them. They improved their living style in response to their environment and not by introducing a borrowed technique that might work well in one region and not in another. This is a good leaf to borrow from this community. The world is dynamic and there is a need for improvements in our lives to catch up with the changes like global warming, the pollution in our environment, and many others. There is a need for us to come up with solutions that will suit the environment that we live in. this way, we will be able to survive even the harshest of conditions.
Although the Maya civilization blossomed in the tropics of Central America for a period of more than one thousand years with a production of deluxe structural design and art in the world, it disappeared strangely and left a landscape of wrecks repressed by the forests. This is one of the greatest mysteries in history only comparable to the fall of the Roman Empire, a riddle that has been beyond unraveling by scholars for many generations. Mostly observed is the fact that the Maya of the southern lowlands suffered a decline that was caused by calamities towards the end of the eighteenth century AD. Whole populations were migrating, the royal buildings were neglected and the headstones were no longer made. Different theories tell different reasons for the collapse. In modern global situations, we should take lessons.
It is widely believed nowadays that Africa is the cradle of humankind. Many thousand years ago Homo sapiens developed there and started to migrate to other lands and continents. However, when it comes to the matter of human civilization, the popular idea is that Europe was the place where it originated. For many centuries, the White population dominated science and culture, which helped to strengthen this viewpoint while perceiving Africa as the land of barbaric tribes.
Nevertheless, modern anthropology offers another theory, which claims that black people used to have a developed civilization for centuries before the appearance of other races. This paper focuses on the work by Cheikh Anta Diop, who uses paleontological findings to support the Afrocentric idea that the Negroid race culturally dominated during the ancient times, which puts into great question some historical facts offered in books.
Paleontological Evidence
One of the ways to study ancient communities is to analyze the remains of their culture. In the first chapter of his book, Dr. Diop begins the discussion by claiming that the migration of black people can be confirmed by the traces of African Upper Paleolithic art across various countries (11). Thus, similar cave carvings were found in Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other territories. All of them belong to the Upper Paleolithic period, which makes them the oldest type of art.
Another important point made in the chapter is that the first European was a Black human who had migrated from Africa. Dr. Diop mentions the Grimaldi man found during one of the archaeological works in Italy (13). It was not until 40000 years ago that racial differentiation began among people. Until then, Europe was inhabited by black people, who carried the African culture. Moreover, the same ethnic group moved to other parts of the world, including Asia as far as Siberia. This theory is proved by the numerous findings of human remains found on those territories. More specifically, the skulls found across Europe and Asia were identified as belonging to Negroid people of the discussed period.
As the climate changed and the boundaries of habitable land moved, there occurred a mutation in genes of some human groups, beginning the process of racial differentiation. Dr. Diop mentions that “the first White appeared only around 20000 years ago” (15), known today as the Cro-Magnon. It most likely happened due to the cold conditions that people had to survive in Europe. The Yellow race, according to Dr. Diop, appeared five thousand years later, with the Chancelade Man being its prototype (16). The question of the racial identity of cultural groups is rather important for various fields of science, whether it is history, anthropology, medicine, or other studies.
As the glacial zone changed, communities traveled further to the North. This event gave the start to the formation of the Scandinavian and German branches. The former migrated to Eastern Europe, creating the group of Slavs. Dr. Diop mentions other branches including the Celts, the Iberians, the Greeks, the Latins, and others (18). The African culture could have been dominant even in the times of the currently known civilizations like ancient Greece.
Ancient Civilization
If the Black race originating from Africa dominated in prehistory, there must be material evidence for this theory. Dr. Diop mentions that the findings in England, which belong to the Megalithic period, support the idea of a strong Negroid influence (19). For instance, Egyptians used to mine tin on the territory of England during the Bronze age. The author goes even further and claims that the ancient Saxon language developed from the African vocabulary (19). This unexpected theory sheds new light on the understanding of contemporary European culture.
The developed civilization based on the African culture existed around the Mediterranean and even further. Dr. Diop refers to the findings of M. Gimbutas, who claimed that societies in ancient Europe were “characterized by sedentary life, agriculture, a cult of the mother goddess” (19). This culture ceased to exist with the invasions of the Kurgans from the East, who enforced their nomad, patriarchal way of life. However, Dr. Diop argues with Gimbutas about the question of the Kurgan culture and the matriarchy. He notes that Crete, for instance, acquired writing from the Egyptian colonization and not from the invaders (Diop 21).
The issue of whether the ancient societies were matriarchal remains open as well. However, there is a proven existence of “Hellenic Black virgins and goddesses” (Diop 21). What seems evident is that the Kurgan invasions destroyed the peaceful agricultural community of Europe and started a new civilization.
Personal Response
The work of Cheikh Anta Diop gave me an unexpected viewpoint on the origins of European culture. What used to be attested as the findings of White people may have deep African roots. Of course, the theories of Dr. Diop rely on limited facts such as the few paleontological findings on the European territory. However, it may be valuable to understand, for example, that ancient Egyptians perceived themselves as black people. This explains how the famous and praised European civilization grew from the culture cultivated by African people for thousands of years even before the first White appeared.
Conclusion
Dr. Diop offers a theory of Black culture dominance during prehistoric times. He uses paleontological evidence to build his viewpoint and presents such facts as shapes of human skulls, cave art, and other material traces of Negroid representatives across Europe. The invasion of people that developed later in other parts of the world destroyed the peaceful African culture and set the base for what is nowadays known as the European civilization.
Work Cited
Diop, Cheikh Anta. Civilization or Barbarism: An Authentic Anthropology. Lawrence Hill Books, 1991.
To begin with, everyone knows a brilliant saying that everything new is forgotten old truths. The Greek civilization impresses by its originality and incontestability in the manners of people and in a number of philosophers who made a great impact on the further flow of scientific thought. Architects, painters, and people of art left many features of their execution while creating works. The scheme of political implementation is also a result of Greek culture and people due to whom it was done.
Western civilization should be thankful to ancient Greeks for their innovative approaches and views which made a splash of political, cultural, and humane development afterward. This paper is aimed to evaluate the most significant standpoints in today’s Western World due to the Greeks. The first point concerns the conception of politics and its development since ancient times. Greeks saw the significance in making masses of people controlled and felt a responsibility to keep a strict eye on the social issues so that to find solutions. Bruce Thornton in his book evaluates this statement in the following way: “The Greeks recognized that their conception of human flourishing—the achievement of virtue and the good life, which in turn create happiness—was dependent on living “politically.” (Thornton, p. 123) In fact, many contemporary terms originate from the Greek language, i.e. democracy, aristocrat, tyranny, etc. One of the most eminent philosophers of mankind, Aristotle, compared the extent of politics with a state of well-being for people and saw direct dependence of the word (polis – city) with “community of families and aggregations of families in well-being, for the sake of a perfect and self-sufficing life.” (Cited in Thornton, p.124).
The creation of Greek rationalism invoked many points on the emotional and perceptional peculiarities of a man’s soul in connection with rational thinking. Euripides in the fifth century began designating the limitations of reason and the strong impact of passion trying to enslave a man with the inner calling for vicious behaviors (Thornton, p. 159). The Greeks tried to look at the things maintained in the surrounding world in their diversity and wholeness as well. They contributed to the West by means of designation of all strong and weak points of a man in prospects of world’s context and conceptualization or, as once Thucydides called “the human thing” (Thornton, p. 190). Greeks also widely discussed the idea of freedoms in society and the most significant one which was loaned in the West concerned the gender conflict with regards to “insights of feminism or gender studies” observed in many artistic works of ancient Greeks (Haynes, p. 45).
The contribution to the cultural heritage of the world was also huge due to ancient Greeks, whose civilization created its own concept full of mystical features, i.e. mythology. A picturesque description of heroes in myths and divine support of them made great contributions to world literature and that of the Western World. W. Barksdale Maynard saw in the American architecture style many things borrowed from ancient Greeks and also believed that Greek Revival style has many things in common as of the political sympathy of American culture to provide a policy with that of Greek (Manca, p. 418+).
Thus, the vast majority of approaches towards politics, rationalism, freedoms, and arts were borrowed by Western civilization from Greek ones. This is not surprising due to the original interpretation and survey of Greeks on the global issues implemented in society.
Works cited
Haynes, Katharine. Fashioning the Feminine in the Greek Novel. London: Routledge, (2002): 45.
Manca, Joseph. “Architecture in the United States, 1800-1850.” Journal of Southern History 70.2 (2004): 418+.
Thornton, Bruce. Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization. San Francisco: Encounter Books, (2000): 123, 124, 159, 190.
Cultures and civilizations are somewhat similar terms in aspects of a people’s distinctive characteristics. The core concept of both notions is the difference from the others, which can be explored. As such, in the essay, several civilizations are compared: the Ashanti civilization of West Africa in 1600 AD, the Latin American civilization in 1800 AD, and the Cherokee civilization of North America in 1700 AD. The common characteristic for these civilizations is the flourishment before European colonization.
The first category of comparison between civilizations is social and cultural. In Ashanti, people knew smithery, gathered fruits for food from fertile soils, hunted with dogs, and cultivated yams, batatas, cassada, and maize. The Ashanti society was matrilineal and consisted of family classes with a selected male chief under a king (Reindorf, 2020). Next, in Latin America of the 1800s, the culture and social order resembled contemporary Europe since native peoples of the region were mostly assimilated. Namely, people relied on agriculture and trade, practiced Catholicism, absorbed ideas of Enlightenment, and were primarily patriarchal and dependent on the Spanish king until Revolution (Restall & Lane, 2018). In turn, the Cherokee people also were agrarian; moreover, they had a matrilineal clan system and classes like warriors and priests. In 1700, they acquired European technologies and engaged in war with other clans and the French (Sapp, 2018). Thus, the three civilizations are similar in their reliance on agriculture and authority ruling over them.
Next, it is useful to turn to the political and economic aspects of the civilizations. Firstly, the Ashanti was a kingdom in the 16th that consisted of villages with their chiefs. The king had a Golden Stool symbolizing his dominance over the territorial divisions of Ashante. The kingdom engaged in trade with neighboring states (Reindorf, 2020). In the 19th century’s Latin America, an age of independent countries began after being a colonial territory; republics were established instead of monarchies. The Latins traded with each other and European countries on free trade (Restall & Lane, 2018). Finally, Cherokee was united in a tribal government in the 1700th and traded with the Americans and Europeans by providing primarily deerskins and beeswax (Sapp, 2018). Thus, the three civilizations had different political systems, yet they all participated in the trade as far as they could.
Lastly, one should consider the civilizations’ diplomatic and military situations in the mentioned periods. Namely, Ashante leaders dring the 17th century managed to unite the separated tribes into one kingdom, also subjugating the Denkyira people and neighboring regions. They were the greatest military power of WestAfrica at this time (Reindorf, 2020). In turn, Latin Americans fought for their independence from Spain and often had diplomatic relations with other European nations (Restall & Lane, 2018). Furthermore, the Cherokee entered an age of battles in the 18th century, engaging with British and later US forces against French and hostile Native American tribes. They also maintained contact with the US government to discuss the state of their lands. Unfortunately, they were forced to leave their places of inhabitance (Sapp, 2018). Therefore, the three civilizations were in different political situations because the periods chosen for analysis are too diverse in the events that determine them.
Thus, the essay analyzed and compared the three civilizations by different criteria. It was established that matrilinear succession is inherent in Ashante and Cherokee and tribal order. However, all the civilizations recognized a supreme authority of their own. They participated in trade and practiced agriculture in their everyday lives, although the technologies differed. All the civilizations had contact with Europeans (Ashante experienced it later), which influenced their political forces and destiny.
References
Reindorf, C. C. (2020). History of the Gold Coast and Asante, based on traditions and historical facts: Comprising a period of more than three centuries from about 1500 to 1860. Alpha Edition.
Restall, M., & Lane, K. (2018). Latin America in Colonial Times (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Sapp, R. (2018). Native Americans state by state (Illustrated ed.). Chartwell Books.
The ancient world inspires every observer with the originality of different features which were arranged and developed. In this respect, the development of vital trends in the development of mankind at that time allows state advantages and disadvantages of the epoch. It means that social, economical, political, and religious/philosophical concepts are of great importance in the paper. Such parameters concern the comparison and contrast of two social phenomena, such as Hellenic society and Hellenistic civilization. A relevant similarity according to both periods considers the time shift which these types of Greek society represent. In this case, the paper searches for the arguments which designate each from both civilizations under the analysis. The polis-based Hellenic society of ethnic Greeks could not resist the flow of other nations after the death of Alexander the Great, so the Hellenistic civilization succeeded it.
The comparison of both epochs in the history of ancient Greece is a way to demonstrate the growth of the social, political, and religious relations in the society. The thing is that both epochs are similar in their Greek “origin”. In other words, both contemplate the relation to ancient Greece. The Hellenic civilization according to the assertions of historians started its existence in 1100 BC, when Mycenae collapsed (Swain 1998). Thus, the cultural and social development of this early civilization was colored with the formation and further development of mythology, social relations, and political growth. The emergence of polis-cities dates back to the Hellenistic period. This fact makes Greece at the time one of the most developed countries in social, political, philosophical, and religious contexts. The era of Hellenic society reached its zenith in the 5th century BC when the Persian invasion was defeated (Swain 1998). Moreover, the period is characterized by the growth of Greek cultural achievements in arts and philosophical ground. This tendency was increasing throughout the historical frame of the civilization.
In the Hellenic period emerged commerce and banking which gave the way for governmental bureaucracy (Swain 1998). The main peculiarity of this period is the appearance of the polis. These administrative and territorial units were governed by the oligarchy and from the very beginning, the preferred form of governance was a dictatorship. However, in the 7th and 6th centuries democracies appeared in Greece and its city-states with the best-known Athenian democracy (Meyers 2008). In this period Greeks exclusively appreciate their origin. Importing most of the cultural achievements from ancient Egypt and the Near East, Greeks highly valued their language and their culture (Swain 1998). Thus, the moral and cultural identification of Hellenic Greeks is the fact that distinguishes it from the Hellenistic civilization.
The Hellenistic period begins at the time when Hellenic civilization declined. Such shift is considered with the death of Alexander the Great and his invasive wars on the territories of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The main difference of this period is in its cosmopolitan coloring. Ethnic Greeks were pressed by different nations which came to Greece from three continents. The only thing which united the population was the language, Greek. All Greek-speaking people could fit in the Hellenistic society. This was a point of personal identification. It was an attribute of belonging to Greece and Athens, in particular. In this period the most eminent people continue to follow the society in terms of social, economical, and political trends. Religious and philosophical aspects were tightly related to the sphere of art. This served as a rational approach toward various conflicts or probable disturbances in the society of ancient Greece. The political dominance of city-states was changed into the emergence of larger monarchies in Greece (Myers 2008). This fact is the result of the geographically scattered possessions of Greece after the conquests of Alexander the Great.
It is necessary to admit that with a flow of time civilizations can grow, reach their apogee and decline, as a result. In terms of two epochs, one can see that the decline of one epoch simultaneously was implemented into another. The Hellenistic period in ancient Greece was contoured with Greek and non-Greek elements of the society. The Hellenic period is the time when ethnic Greeks formed their genuine culture and religion for the growth of society in other parameters. The cosmopolitan character of Hellenism is logical due to the easiness of traveling throughout the Greek cities and their colonies (Chamoux 2003). Sea trade was highly developed due to the previous achievements of Greeks in the Hellenic period. Society was provided with more communication among individuals due to the development of trade, culture, and philosophical thought.
In this respect among Greek and non-Greek elements, there were different categories of the population. These were the political exiles, traders, travelers, mercenaries seeking employment, architects, sculptors, dramatists looking for orders, athletes trying to have an opportunity in city competitions, and others (Chamoux 2003). In the Hellenic era, Greece was known to be essentially Greek. This statement is the fact that Greeks tried to prevent their populations in cities from non-Greeks or barbarous (Swain 1998).
The philosophical thought in ancient Greece was its “credit card”. In this case, Greece gave mankind such illustrious philosophers as Herodotus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and others. Greek philosophical thought greatly influenced the further development of the world. It gave the growth for today’s Western thought interns of speculations on pragmatics and rationality. Three periods of Greek philosophy can be pointed out: pre-Socratic, Classical Greek philosophy, and Hellenistic.
Heraclitus and Parmenides are outstanding philosophers of the pre-Socratic period. Their ideas provided an outlook on the nature of change and perish (Armstrong 1981). Thus, the reasoning of Parmenides about existence and the way from which it starts, and how it ends, and for what reasons were at the sight of pre-Socratic philosophers. Classical Greek philosophy is considered with an eminent philosopher who made great efforts for an explanation of physical, social, political, and other aspects of life. These were Plato and Aristotle. The moral philosophy of both Plato and Aristotle was intended to solve the social conflicts in Greece and to restore and further develop the ideas and approaches of previous philosophers. These two philosophers posed their reasoning about Heraclitus’s claims: “Plato and Aristotle agree that Heraclitus taught that ‘nothing ever is, everything is becoming’ (Plato), and that ‘nothing steadfastly is’ (Aristotle)” (Russel 2004, 52). Thereupon, the philosophers living in the period of Hellenistic civilization in Greece tried to get the best among achievements of those from the Hellenic and even archaic periods. The Hellenistic philosophy of Greece is concerned with many non-Greek philosophers from all over the ancient world. Some among them were Diogenes of Sinope Epicurus, Lucretius, and others.
To conclude, the historical observation of the Hellenic and Hellenistic civilizations is compared in their belonging to Greek possessions. The contrast is seen in the emergence of multiple numbers of non-Greek elements in the society who pressed the ethnical coloring of Hellenic Greece. Notwithstanding, these periods gave mankind a lot of philosophers whose ideas impacted public opinion of the ancient world and Western civilization as well.
Bibliography
Armstrong, Arthur Hilary. An introduction to ancient philosophy. Ed. 3. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1981.
Meyers. Peter A. “Hellenic Studies Announcements: Cosmopolitanism and Commercial Civility in Perspective: Reclaiming European Enlightenment.” Princeton University, 2008. Web.
Russell, Bertrand. History of Western Philosophy. Ed. 2. London: Routledge, 2004.
Swain, Simon. Hellenism and empire: language, classicism, and power in the Greek world, AD 50-250. Ed. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Art serves as a powerful tool for conserving and influencing culture. Like language, some artistic works are specific to particular regions and persons, thus providing a crucial way of learning about different cultures. Anthropologists utilize artifacts to comprehend previous and present civilizations’ ways of living. It is not rare finding a piece of art or artistic movement shared by people among different communities. Knitting is an example of an artifact with deep meaning across the world. The art has a specific origin, utilization, movements, and promoters. As a predominantly feminine thing, knitting offers an excellent opportunity to link particular female figures with definite civilizations. Consequently, the present work covers the subject of women, art, and western culture based on the knitting relic. The work utilizes Molly Rinker and Phyllis Latour as critical female characters and influencers in knitting history. The two women’s creative use of knitting skills and products in areas where no one imagined before their time and today’s knitting for activism facet significantly depicts connection between women, art, and western evolution.
Knitting and Activism: Important Female Figures
Knitting is a feminine hobby mostly taught to young women by their parents and grandparents to pass the time. The artifact’s perspective has been changing since its conception in the Middle East (Zimmer, 2013). For example, Molly Rinker and Phyllis Latour applied knitting in the eighteen and twentieth centuries for different purposes, instead of spending leisure (Melton & Wallace, 2021). These two women did not live during the same period but dominate a crucial place in the knitting history and its application in the western philosophy.
Molly Rinker
Molly Rinker lived during the eighteenth century and served as a barmaid and innkeeper in Philadelphia, one of the thirteen colonies in America. Information about the lady’s birthplace and age are never available, possibly due to society’s little recognition of women’s role in social issues during her time. Nonetheless, Molly was an England migrant living in the U.S. during the American Revolution. She was married and operated the family business (bar) together with her husband before the emergence of the British army.
The foreign soldiers fighting General Washington’s group in Philadelphia chose Molly’s inn for accommodation and forced the husband away. However, the army commander demanded that Molly remains to serve the soldiers, an opportunity she utilized to spy for the American side. Melton and Wallace (2021) argue that Molly Rinker’s meek and non-aggressive personality depicted her innocence, luring the British soldiers to trust her physical innocence. The soldiers carelessly discussed their plans and attack missions, allowing Molly to hear them (Melton & Wallace, 2021). As an English descendant, Molly exhibited knitting skills, which she utilized for the espionage mission. The lady spent sleepless nights listening to the drunk British militia, writing notes concerning their plans on pieces of paper. She then rolled the notes around small pieces of stones and utilized her knitting abilities to form large balls of yarn on a rock next to a cliff.
Molly secretly rolled the knitted balls down the cliff to reach Washington’s troops. A member of the American forces passed via the route often to collect the message, which helped them counter attacks by the British armies, especially in Philadelphia. Melton and Wallace (2021) describe the first American soldiers’ accounts concerning the central role played by Molly through her knitting talents. The authors cheer the spy’s creativity and boldness to use a hobby’s skills to serve her nation when women’s position mainly remained domestic. Arguably, Molly’s actions come from her wish to participate in the nation’s struggle for freedom.
Molly also knitted socks for the American troops for warmth during winter, revealing women’s place in nation-building and war times. Hopkins-Benton (2020) reports that showing connections with the American fighters during Molly’s time amounted to treason, punishable through hanging. Nonetheless, Mrs. Rinker applied her above suspicion knitting skills to make pairs of socks for the American militia while using the opportunity to spy and help deliver America from the British despotism. Consequently, Molly Rinker’s employment of knitting talents for risky public missions forms the first application of the artifact for activism, a common culture in the western world today.
Phyllis Latour Doyle
Phyllis Doyle is a renowned WWII spy who applied knitting gears and ingenuity to conceal clandestine encryptions leading to America’s triumph over German soldiers in Normandy. Doyle was born a South African in April 1921 (Napoleoni, 2020). Her father was a French physician, and the mother a British citizen. Phyllis lost her father months after birth through tribal clashes in South Africa, after which the mother remarried years later. However, Phyllis’ mom died in a racing car accident, forcing the lad to live with the foster father’s cousin’s family. Latour moved to Europe in 1939 to further her studies, allowing her to specialize in flight mechanics. The training background indorsed Phyllis to join the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in 1941, aged twenty years (Napoleoni, 2020). The SOE (British Special Operations Executive) identified Phyllis’ potential and acquired her in the union.
The SOE’s uncertainties towards Phyllis’ ability made the officials somehow hesitant, giving the young lady three days to decide whether to join the force or not. Nonetheless, Phyllis’s drive and determination immediately led her to accept the role. Napoleoni (2020) purports that the young lady’s quick decision came from her desire to revenge her godmother’s dad’s murder by the German soldiers. As an orphan, Phyllis depended significantly on the patroness, who committed suicide after being arrested and imprisoned by the Nazi group. Consequently, the brilliant lady viewed SOE’s opportunity as the best way to make Germany pay for the loss and pain caused by their atrocities. Knitting was a feminine hobby in England during the 1920s, with several schools teaching the knowledge (Napoleoni, 2020). Phyllis studied the skills after migrating to Britain to further studies, an ability she would later apply to cause a global impact. As a novice under the SOE, Phyllis cultured combat know-how, including building scaling, using Sten guns, and repairing wireless sets.
Nevertheless, none of the skills acquired as the SOE officer helped Doyle in the same way as the knitting knowledge during the risky task in Normandy. Phyllis participated in her mission of life in May 1944, aged 23 years (Napoleoni, 2020). She dropped into Germany-controlled Normandy for an undercover mission that previously led to the deaths of multiple American and British soldiers. Latour invented a teenage French girl’s personality and started supplying soap to the German combatants, thus tracking their position and movements (Napoleoni, 2020). Employing silk fiber, the lad knitted materials bearing secret Morse codes and used radio sets to transfer the message to London (Napoleoni, 2020). Doyle notes that she wrapped the silk piece with the utilized cryptograph around a knitting spike, put it in a shoelace, and then used it to tie her hair to secure and transport confidential information (Napoleoni, 2020). Accordingly, not even a female German soldier managed to decode Phyllis’s tactics despite subjecting her to searches severally.
Phyllis used knitting as a noble act for a poor innocent French girl to prove her soap business’s innocence, while the needles and the knitted material concealed the ciphers. The spy’s brilliance in using knitting skills allowed sending 135 codes to the British and American soldiers, leading to a successful takeover during the D-Day attack (Napoleoni, 2020). The lady’s actions show knitting’s role and centrality in delivering Normandy and granting success and a sense of accomplishment to the western world. Therefore, Phyllis’ mission and application of the skills significantly merge women, knitting, and western civilization, just like Molly’s case. Doyle now resides in New Zealand, and she is a proud owner of the “Chevalier of the Legion of Honor”, French’s premier honor, bestowed to her in 2014 (Napoleoni, 2020). Doyle is also a principal figure in knitting history and significantly informs the present-day western culture of steganography and social activism through knitting.
Knitting History and Creative Process
Many people do not appreciate knitting as art due to the past cultures’ disregard towards the skills. However, the artifact has a significantly remarkable history that makes life meaningful, especially considering human’s application of the same over the years. According to Zimmer (2013), knitting constitutes many people’s preferred pastime activity due to its harmony and ability to create lovely attire for the family using one’s hands. Despite its attractiveness, the art’s origin is not very clear. However, investigations link the craft’s roots to the ancient Egyptian cultures, which spread the skills and products to the Middle East (Harkison, 2019). Arabs then modified the knitting designs and distributed them to various parts of the world through trade routes.
The link between knitting origin and communities living around the Mediterranean Sea comes from the latter’s potential to invent the art while creating fishing nets. Egypt provides the oldest acknowledged knitted material in the form of socks from the eleventh-century CE (Harkison, 2019). The classy knitting from the pharaoh’s tombs exhibits complex designs with the purl stitch and comprehensive colorwork. Ou et al. (2019) confirm Egypt as the origin of knitting and provides the period between 500 and 1200 AD as the appropriate time for the invention. The argument relies on the scientific dating system that utilizes the same tombs’ socks and other knitted fragments.
Knitting in Europe
Knitting activities in Europe started later than in the Middle East and Africa. Ou et al. (2019) provide the thirteenth-century AD as the earliest time for the continent to experience hand knitting. The early products belonged to the Spanish royal Christian families and exhibited Islam designs. Such material includes high-quality gloves and cushion covers, retrieved from the Spanish Monastery tombs, such as that of Prince Fernando (Harkison, 2019). Spanish archives containing Catholic fabrics also feature many knitted objects belonging to the thirteenth century, all bearing Muslim designs from the Middle East. Ancient trade routes extending from the Arab kingdom to Spain reached the U.K. in the fourteenth century, based on scientific investigations on the U.K.’s Madonna knitting on the Virgin Mary sculpts.
Knitting became a popular thing in the U.K. during the fourteenth century. Close (2018) describes archeological findings showing trade on knitted goods on tax lists across Europe to prove the products’ dominance in the continent during the century. However, the knitting design from Egypt significantly changed on reaching the U.K. and other parts of Europe. As well, the art also acquired its name “knitting” in Europe in the sixteenth century from the term “knot” (Harkison, 2019). Zimmer (2013) associates Queen Elizabeth I’s reign to the significant growth in demand for smooth knitted silk stockings. The monarch particularly cherished the material’s softness, attractiveness, and durability. Under her rulership, the U.K. established several knitting schools, with the artifact becoming a significant source of income for the impoverished families.
The queen’s move also made knitting skills necessary among British women, especially those from lower socioeconomic classes. Knitting then moved from Britain to the U.S. in the seventeenth century, where prolific personalities, such as George Washington’s wife, embraced and significantly supported the craft industry (Close, 2018). Europe took the knitting culture a notch higher between the sixteenth and eighteen centuries by forming knitting guilds for men. Individuals interested in joining such professional crafting groups underwent six years of training, the first three years involving real learning, while the last three involved traveling around the world to research new styles (Harkison, 2019). Apprentices coming from research work tackled a thirteen weeks assessment to measure their mastery of skills and innovativeness (Harkison, 2019). Knitting a carpet constituted the bulk of such final test, with those excelling joining the associations.
Knitting and the Industrial Revolution
Knitting experienced significant transformation through the industrial revolution in Europe. According to Ou et al. (2019), the U.K. established the first crafting machine in the 1580s and upgraded it over time. Nottingham became the center for the machine knitted objects during the industrialization age, with the city reaping highly from the portable crafting machines’ invention. Similarly, knitting also grew in the U.S. during the civil war as citizens participated in keeping their soldiers warm. Nonetheless, no nation invented the factory machine for bulk knitting until the mid-nineteenth century when the American engineers adopted the large steam-powered device for large volume production (Ou et al., 2019). The transition into machine-based knitting made hand knitting less attractive, leading to a slow death of the hand-crafting sector and converting knitting into a popular hobby. Accordingly, knitting activities became a sporting and leisure endeavor in the U.S. in the 1920s (Ou et al., 2019). The demand for hand-crafted sweaters for children, women, and men also rose during the period, leading to the famous thriving twenties fashion aspect.
High fashion entities’ support for the knitted material and the emergence of WWI also contributed significantly to the crafting activities’ boom. The American and British soldiers wanted socks and other uniform material, leading the government to encourage women to learn the skills and support the troops by knitting the necessities. WWII also increased the materials’ demand, forcing companies to increase their needles and wool productivity. For example, Britain’s “knits for victory” campaign required individuals with knitting skills to make socks, gloves, sweaters, balaclavas, and scarves for the soldiers to protect them against coldness (Close, 2018). The war also forced specific characters to use their crafting knowledge for espionage activities, such as Phyllis Latour Doyle, further reintegrating knitting into western societies. Russia’s losing troops during the World Wars bolted to China, where they shared the knitting skills with the Chinese convoys.
Inventions such as the zip and synthetic yarn further transformed knitting art. Other crucial events affecting the artifact’s growth worldwide include the Great Depression, where knitting formed the only way of getting a new cloth (Napoleoni, 2020). Women entered the sector through women’s magazines’ support that published new designs to the populace. Handcrafting became a profitable part-time job during the depression as companies closed due to unfavorable economic times. The 1950 and 1960s’ haute couture movement in Britain gave knitting activities a significant boost before the industry’s downturn between the 1980s and 1990s (Ou et al., 2019). However, the art exhibits a comeback with new styles and applications emerging during the twenty-first century. Emerging cultures and generations also embrace the crafted stuff they use for various purposes (Close, 2018). A major point of interest among the current American generation concerns the use of knitting for activism, with the “Yarn Mission” and “hurt for peace” movements following Molly and Phyllis routes.
Western Civilization
Western civilization refers to the social, economic, political, and cultural enlightenment experienced in modern societies due to the ideas evolving from the eastern Mediterranean region afore the Common Era. The Greeks’ philosophies play a chief role in the emancipatory process and western advancement. Looking at the relationship between women and art implies the tangible link between the past females and cultural transformation. For example, Molly and Phyllis’ utilization of knitting skills during the eighteenth and twentieth centuries meaningfully influence the previous and present European and American cultures. The two characters’ role in the contemporary knitting objects’ utilization in activism is undeniable.
Molly crafted yarn balls with a specific pattern to pass the message to Washington’s troops. The American soldiers collecting the knitted material understood their meaning, which was to hide a confidential note inside informing American fighters about the British army’s plans. Accordingly, Molly’s knitting implied no sense to the British soldiers who observed her craft the yarn innocently seated on a rock. Arguably, Molly’s 1770s actions make her part of the inventors of the steganography movement, which uses noble artistic styles to hide meaning in standard features. Belgian knitters also utilized this style during the World Wars to report German’s train movement, where two close lines indicated the passage of a train with ammunition to the interpreters. The Belgians crafted the material on the windows while watching the railway lines and encoding the message (Close, 2018). Such shows Molly’s influence on culture and artistic movement regarding knitting practices and their ability to conceal confidential messages to groups with a similar understanding.
Molly’s use of knitting skills for espionage purposes also paved the way for contemporary societies to use civilians and women in war. Harkison (2019) insists that many ancient cultures viewed domestic settings as the only place for women. Such is the same mentality among the British soldiers chasing Molly’s husband while forcing her to remain behind to serve them. Perhaps, it is also possible that Washington and his army expected nothing from Molly because she was a woman. However, the character’s intelligence and courage surprise the then-American fighters, who must rely on a woman for spy missions. Subsequently, Phyllis’ boldness and successful participation in French liberation from Nazi fighters and America’s victory during WWII reiterates this aspect. Napoleoni (2020) reports that all the male soldiers sent to the Normandy mission before Phyllis died in the hands of the Nazi people. However, the female soldier’s utilization of knitting knowledge to conceal her codes and appear poor and innocent paved the way for Britain and its allies to win the battle.
Phyllis once removed a loaded shoelace from her hair and shook her head to satisfy a female German soldier that she was innocent. According to Napoleoni (2020), the Nazi officer viewed the lace as a meaningless object while it contained Doyle’s encoded silk. The facet makes Molly and Doyle pioneers of steganography, which forms the basis of the hippie movements’ communication in contemporary societies (Hopkins-Benton, 2020). Molly’s achievements significantly influence modern societies’ call for civilians to offer specialized services to national militants during wars. On the other hand, Doyle’s success paves the way for women’s equal considerations for the army job in modern-day cultures.
Doyle’s knitting knowledge and accomplishment as a young lady eliminate the misconception about females’ choice on a military career. Many ancient societies viewed military jobs as masculine professionals, thus encouraging women to avoid them. Such traditionalists least expected a woman’s innate talent would allow her to realize a rare honor and survive a situation in which men fail. However, Doyle’s triumph breaks the odds, motivating more young females into the armies. Consequently, counties such as the U.S. have female militants serving in critical positions during missions. The ladies employ intelligence and instincts to overcome typical challenges that overwhelm male peers. Wibben (2018) reports that the number of female soldiers and spies in the U.S. almost parallels males. Arguably, the case would be different, but for the success of pioneers such as Phyllis Doyle, whose courage and creativity offered her the highest French honor.
Lastly, Molly and Phyllis’ usage of knitting skills to communicate, deliver essential services, and protect people they care about significantly informs the twenty-first “handmade revolution.” War times usually feature constrained economies such as those faced during the present pandemic. Undertaking some activities during such times takes one considerable sacrifice. Parents, especially mothers, further intend to keep their family members safe and warm during such times. Molly and Phyllis’s knitting of socks and other warm clothes, at times using wool from unpicked old knitted objects, meaningfully motivates the current rise in handmade attire. Due to price-driven inflation, the global economy is underperforming, forcing many people to go the past legends’ way. Matthews (2020) says that learning other people’s proven ways of handling situations motivates followers to act. Accordingly, Molly’s knitting promoted meditation and possibly allowed her to manage stress concerning the British troops’ forceful inhabitation of her house and sending away of her husband. Therefore, a significant population joins the artifact world to handle pressure, especially from family issues, making knitting normal for the many single mothers rearing children alone with fixed budgets.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the above work links women, art, and cultural and artistic transformation among modern-day societies. Molly Rinker and Phyllis Latour are the two female characters discussed in this work. The two exhibit a significant connection with the knitting history due to their utilization of the aspect for espionage purposes. Molly Rinker and Phyllis Latour are pioneers of the steganography style of art, common in the knitting world. The facet forms contemporary espionage tactics, with Phyllis’ ability to employ Morse codes making her endeavors more impacting. Other modern-day influences from the two characters include the present-day governments’ invitation of civilians to participate in wars by providing necessary resources and females’ desire to take up military roles, unlike before. Moreover, the world’s hippie movements apply Molly and Phyllis’ steganography to relate, while the two individuals’ survival tactics during war significantly influence the COVID-19 era handmade revolution.
References
Close, S. (2018). Knitting activism, knitting gender, knitting race. International Journal of Communication, 12(2018), 867–889. Web.
Harkison, T. (2019). The hospitableness of knitting. In CAUTHE 2019: Sustainability of tourism, hospitality & events in a disruptive digital age: Proceedings of the 29th annual conference. Central Queensland University, Australia.
Hopkins-Benton, A. (2020). Crafting dissent: Handicraft as protest from the American revolution to the Pussyhats edited by Hinda Mandell. New York History, 101(2), 387-389. Web.
Matthews, R. (2020). The mindfulness in knitting: Meditations on craft and calm. Leaping Hare Press.
Melton, H. K., & Wallace, R. (2021). Spy sites of Philadelphia: A guide to the region’s secret history. Georgetown University Press.
Napoleoni, L. (2020). The power of knitting: Stitching together a fractured world. TarcherPerigee.
Ou, J., Oran, D., Haddad, D. D., Paradiso, J., & Ishii, H. (2019). SensorKnit: Architecting textile sensors with machine knitting. 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, 6(1), 1-11. Web.
Wibben, A. T. (2018). Why we need to study (US) militarism: A critical feminist lens. Security Dialogue, 49(1-2), 136-148. Web.
Zimmer, T. (2013). The history of knitting in art: A collection of paintings, drawings, and prints from western art in the 19th century. Crystal Moon Publishing.
Civilization refers to the complex human systems in an area that contributes to the formation of a unique society. Its definition revolves around various issues involving cultural, social, and technological advances that point to a higher state of life among its occupants. Civilizations have developed from ancient times with archeologists finding evidence of previous communities that had advanced systems. Africa produced a significant number of archeological findings but has received little recognition in terms of its ancient progress structures. As a result, communities that lived in tropical areas do not receive the credit despite their role in advancing the understanding of human origins. As a result, despite the role of African civilizations in social development, its perception by researchers has limited its value in history.
Meaning of Civilization
Initially, the term ‘civilization’ was only perceived to include evidence of writing when describing ancient communities. This led to the exclusion of African examples since they lacked such evidence. From the implication of early archeologists, such as Childe and Wheeler, their definitions were valid only if cities were present (Connah 1987). However, their descriptions developed under the assumption that all parts of the world used the same systems. The comparison of Asian developments with African ones, thus, limited their value since it did not put weight to the circumstances of their individual struggles to advancement.
Apart from that, the majority of prescriptive definitions were abandoned due to their eccentric views. The difficulty to appropriately categorize the historical processes that led to the different sophistications, thus, required further discussions. However, in expanding the idea of civilizations, such historians as Renfrew brought about generalized definitions (Connah 1987). In this case, it brought confusion due to its vague nature that required further qualifications from other descriptions. Consequently, the focus on the processes leading to such changes took center stage, thus reducing the need to rely on definitions.
In recent times, the use of the word civilization has reduced, with many opting not to use it due to its connotations. Therefore, the subjective nature of its definitions can mislead others by implying the importance of some communities as compared to others in the present world. Therefore, the study of complex societies has risen in popularity to investigate the formation of states separately from the concept of urbanization (Connah 1987). This new trend, thus, concentrates on understanding how different societies emerged to have levels that defined their overall lifestyles.
Evidence of Early African Civilizations
The evidence of trading among different groups of people in various locations shows the presence of civilization. Port cities and market towns along the Indian Ocean coasts traded such items as swords, grains, and ivory. With traders coming from the Arabian Peninsula, these areas rich in resources developed to accommodate the increased demand for products. Evidence from the Bible further shows the Queen of Sheba, emanating from the Ethiopian region, took such goods as spices to King Solomon (Collins 2001). Economic empowerment, thus, also enabled the growth of their capabilities to expand and interact with other people. Trade, therefore, played an essential role in increasing interactions among the people in Africa.
Apart from that, the increasing populations in different regions led to a shortage of food, requiring the development of agriculture to sustain them. Communities living along the Nile developed food production techniques by farming produce, such as sorghum, millet, and various other plants (Connah 1987). With such advancements in agriculture, human populations thrived, leading to an evolution in their culture and social organization. Plant domestication, thus, formed part of an essential African achievement. So, agriculture proved to not only provide a source of food but also to be a source of economic empowerment through the exchange for other products.
Iron metallurgy also showed the development of the African continent concerning the increased specialization in making tools. Archeologists perceive the so-called ‘iron age’ as a crucial stage in African history due to its impact on the growth of settlements (Connah 1987). The evolving continent, thus, used iron to create not only useful tools but also weapons that may have contributed to their downfall. These tools opened the way for better methods of farming and also opened opportunities for trade with other groups around their areas. Therefore, this stage marked a new beginning for their civilization that opened up channels of more recent discoveries in and around their regions.
Significance of the Evidence
The evidence of African civilization enables anthropologists and archeologists to better understand the history and progress of the region. Evidence in archeology shows the presence of human beings on the continent as early as 2 million years ago (Connah 1987). However, the deterioration of proof, such as buildings and tools used by communities, makes it difficult to document their history. As a result, the existing evidence helps tell the African story showing the diversification to adapt to the different environmental conditions. The process of evolution, starting from their life as scavengers, hunters, and pastoralists to their life as city dwellers, show the impact of their environment on their present stature. With the vast land, understanding their evolution, thus, can explain their rise and decline over the years.
Additionally, the mystery surrounding a variety of aspects of the culture, such as architecture and engineering, requires a better understanding of the history of the continent. With a majority of maps and knowledge only representing the steps that researchers have made in investigating these concepts, most information lies in theoretical depictions of historians (Connah 1987). Therefore, understanding the evidence can help others to make conclusions based on facts, thus putting more focus on tangible data. It also provides the opportunity to increase the research into African history through new and advanced methods that were previously unavailable.
Conclusion
The definitions of civilization have ranged throughout history with anthropologists and archeologists measuring the complexity of society majorly through their social structure. Therefore, while it played an essential role in developing the region, the perception in historical fields downplayed their historical value. Early historians, such as Childe and Wheeler, mainly defined society as regions with cities. Furthermore, other definitions generalized the term making it impossible to differentiate it from other terms that described social organization. Evidence of African civilization has ranged from the presence of trade across the continent, the development of agricultural capabilities, and the adoption of iron metallurgy. Such evidence further outlines its role since it tells the story of the evolution over millions of years. Furthermore, the missing data of a considerable amount of the history of Africans also requires renewed efforts in developing a knowledge base. Therefore, when describing the term, Africa must feature adequately since the continent is akin to an incredible story of human advancement.
References
Collins, Robert. 2001. Documents from The African Past. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers.
Connah, Graham. 1987. African Civilizations – Precolonial Cities and States in Tropical Africa: An Archaeological Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
A disease is an abnormal condition of an organ in the body brought about by an infection caused by a virus, bacteria, protozoa, or physical injuries that impair the correct body functions and that can be detected by specific symptoms and signs shown by the body. In a broader sense with regards to human beings, the disease is any condition that can cause excessive pain, distress, dysfunction, and even social problems. Diseases can be categorized depending on their causes. Such a classification can include diseases transmitted through air, water-borne diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, and vector-borne diseases. The latter groups consist of diseases transmitted from a vector as a result of a pest or insect bite that may contain the virus or the bacteria that cause the infection. Such diseases transmitted through a vector include malaria, filariasis, yellow fever, and West Nile.
Malaria
Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan parasites called plasmodium. Plasmodium is transmitted from the host, an infected female anopheles mosquito, through a bite to the victim. The parasites, once inside a human body bloodstream multiply in the liver and then infect the red blood cells. This hampers with blood supply to important organs and as a result, symptoms start showing up that includes: anemia, fever, chills, nausea, shortness of breath, and in severe cases coma and eventually death. Malaria is an epidemic disease worldwide but an endemic disease in Africa (WHO, 2007). Nearly 40% of the whole world’s population is exposed to the risk of contracting malaria. The threat is a reality in sub-Saharan African where statistics indicate that 60 % of all hospital admissions are malaria-related cases and worse still the disease kills one child out of twenty before they reach the age of five. Worldwide wide a child dies every 30 seconds as a result of malaria (WHO, 2007). Malaria is not merely a disease associated with poverty but it is also a cause of the same. This becomes a hindrance to economic development due to the large number of funds used to treat malaria that could have been used in other developing activities in poor countries. In some sub-Saharan African countries, the disease can account for up to 40% of public health expenditure. Apart from the cost of health care, other economic effects include man-hours lost due to sickness, time lost in education, and also lower productivity arising from brain damage caused by cerebral malaria. Time and money were lost in burials and loss of manpower in case of death. People at high risk of contracting the disease are pregnant mothers, small children, refugees, and travelers to sub-Saharan Africa. The geographic distribution of malaria is largely dependent on the climate of a specific region. Malaria is more common in rural areas than in cities, on the other hand, it is more prevalent in regions with hot, warm, and wet climates than regions with cool dry climates. Mosquito thrives well in warm wet conditions as they provide suitable breeding conditions. In drier areas, malaria outbreaks can be forecasted reasonably by mapping rainfall durations.
Filariasis
Filariasis also called Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic and infectious disease caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori thread-like parasitic filaria worms called nematode worms. The parasites are transmitted from the vector to the humans through an infected mosquito bite. Once inside the bloodstream, the bacteria–containing worms find their way inside the lymphatic vessels where they mature and lodge into the lymphatic system and block the flow of the lymph. As a result of the obstruction the organ infected is distended, usually a limb, head, areas of the trunk, or even the sexual organs a condition known as elephantiasis or lymphodema. This enlargement is mainly the principal symptom of filariasis usually at later stages. Other symptoms may include a general feeling of ill health, a thickened skin pebbly in appearance, and ulceration. Over 120 million people have already been affected by it of which 40 million have been disfigured worldwide. A third of the infected people live in India, one-third in Africa, and the other third in south Asia the Pacific, and the Americas (BBC health news, 2008). The disease is, therefore, more severe in Asia than elsewhere. Individuals with the problem have to contend with social as well as physical problems. The main problem associated with this disease is stigmatization. People who have been disfigured by the disease are shunned by their communities and taken as outcasts. It has become hard for women with symptoms of filariasis to find a spouse and if married their spouses and families reject them. As for men genital damage is a severe handicap. Another social-economic effect is their inability to work well due to that disability and hence low productivity. Fight against filariasis like malaria, will be fighting against poverty.
Yellow fever
Yellow fever earlier called the American plague is an acute viral disease found in the tropical regions of Africa as well as the Americas and can be traced back almost 400years ago. It is transmitted via a bite of an Aedes or Haemogogus mosquito. The disease has two phases, the acute phase, and the toxic phase. The symptoms include fevers muscle pains headache, vomiting loss of appeti6te, and nausea afterward the patient develops jaundice where the skin becomes yellow, abdominal pains bleeding from the nose, mouth, and eyes and kidney fails. At this point, the patient may die within 10-14 days. The number of reported cases of yellow fever has been on the rise globally and now yellow fever is slowly becoming a public health problem. This has been traced down to the lapse of the yellow fever immunization programs in many countries, increased penetration of people into forested areas, and urbanization (WHO, 2007).
West Nile
According to the BBC health news (2008), West Nile Virus (WNV) is a virus found in both the tropical and temperate regions that mainly affects birds but is also known to affect humans, horses, cats, squirrels, and domestic rabbits. The virus is transmitted by culex mosquito vectors that bite and infect birds which act as amplifying hosts. The disease has no symptoms but sometimes the patient complains of mild flu-like illness, headaches, and muscle aches. The disease has been observed in Africa, Europe, Middle East, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. As opposed to the WNV geographical widespread, the disease is not a serious condition in the world. Infections only occur in form of temporary outbreaks which then disappear.
Conclusion
Evidently, malaria is the most important of these diseases when we consider the socio-economic impacts and the geographical distribution. Malaria is ought to be a global concern and scientists should not tire their quest for either a cure of the above diseases or better still a way of wiping away the mosquitoes. Second in importance is filariasis due to stigmatization that is related to it. Others are important to a lesser extent since they are not very common in society today. An important observation in regards to the above diseases is their common mode of transmission, their lack of cure, and their areas of occurrence. If therefore the mosquitoes are eliminated then we shall have eliminated four diseases with them but as long as this remains a mirage man has to embrace the prevention methods.
References
World Health Organization. (2007): global surveillance of epidemic prone infectious diseases New York. Vol. pp 11-24.
British Broadcasting Corporations. (2008): Health news. BBC press. London.
Desowitz, R.S (2006):The malaria capers. More tales of parasites and people, research and reality. W.W. Norton & company publishers. Washington D.C.