Opium Wars- Imperialism in China

From 1839 to 1842 China fought Britain that was called the "Opium Wars". It all started when Great Britain loved tea from China and wanted to trade with them. China wasn't very fond of the idea but accepted only with the exception that they used the port in Canton. However, Britain decided they should expand their trade by selling and trading with China. So they decided to sell Opium to China, which is a drug grown in India. Opium is used to make morphine and heroin. Then China banned the import of Opium because of the effects of the drug and the silver leaving China to pay for it. Then in 1838 China said that anyone using, selling or buying Opium would be put to death. However Britain's technology and army was too strong for China. Therefore Britain won the war. Also China was made to legalize the imports of Opium.

Film lesson: "Mountain of the moon"

Some of the hardships the Europeans faced in Africa are when they didn't have enough food or water. There was also a lot of diseases and sicknesses around. Every time they went to a different location, they had to deal with different tribes and leaders. There was also a lot of bugs and the grounds were difficult to walk on. It's weird that the lake was named after the British Queen because the lake was in Africa and not in the UK. The advantage of technology the British had over the Africans were the guns and other weapons. Which allowed them to later on to conquer Africa so easily.

Imperialism project

In the imperialism project we had a map and a paper with pictures of resources on them. We had to cut out the resources and then put it on places of the map. We also had a paper that determined where the resources went and what countries to color in with the color pencil. The places we colored in determined which country had taken them over. I learned that Africa had a lot of resources like coal, gold and silver. I also learned that the British took over alot of places in Africa.

Karl Marx and Communism

Karl Marx's idea of Communism is that the government owns everything. No one owns their own house or buisness. Everyone gets paid the same amount, no matter what occupation you have. Marx believed that soon everything would be so perfect that there would be no need for a government, soon it would slowly disappear. Marx wanted communism to take over the world so that everyone could live in peace. Marx thought that the bad guys was Capitolism. The rich people who owned buisnesses and let the poor be poor.

Karl Marx and The Industrial Revolution

Karl Marx didn't like the Industrial Revolution because he thought that it was very unfair. The way some people were richer than others, or how workers had become so stuck to working, it had become their life. Marx thought that the Industrial Revolution caused pollution, hurt the animals and took over people's lives. The Industrial Revolution inspired Marx to come up with Communism. Communism is the opposite of Capitolism. Communism is when everyone's payment is equal, therefore men are equal. The government owned every business and mortgage. Soon, Marx figured that government would slowly disappear and there would be no use for it. However, this method was better said than done.

Nationalism and the Creation of Italy

Nationalism is when a country has its own border, speak the same common language, have the same currency and share the same history. They also share the same common religion, symbols and common culture. Nationalism also is when people love their country and show their affection for it. Nationalism also defines serving your country and fighting, possibly dying, for your country. I am a nationlist because I support American sports like baseball, football, the Olympic games. Also I take part in the culture, and it is the way I grew up.
Nationalism created Italy by when Italy decided that it was not fair that Austria was ruling them. They figured that why would they be honoring a king so far away? So they made thier own country and became nationlists.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

Simon Bolivar is called the "George Washington of South America". This is because he won victories over the Spainards. Bolivar was so famous and had a country named after him because he helped countries defeat Spain from conquereing them.

John Locke and "The Enlightenment"

The rights that Jefferson is talking about in the U.S Constitution is the right of the people to alter and abolish and institute new Government. Also the right that the Government are instituted among Men. Also the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Government gets its powers from citizens. According to the U.S Constitution, Government is suppose to protect and provide happiness to the citizens. Also Government should not be changed due to light and transit causes.

Copernicus and the Trial of Galileo

The heliocentrism theory was a solar theory. It stated that the sun was stationary and in the center of the universe. This was believed by the new scientists during the Scientific Revolution. Geocentrism was a theory believed that the Earth was in the center of the universe. This was believed by the Catholic Church during and before the Scientific Revolution. The geocentrism theory came before the Scientific Revolution. The correct theory that was proved using the Scientific Method is heliocentrism.


Galileo was put to trial by the Catholic Church in 1633. This was because Galileo stated that the Earth was not the center of the universe. As the Catholic Church believed otherwise. The Catholic Church labeled Galileo guilty and he was tortured in jail.

Scientific Revolution: The Scientific Method

The Scientific Revolution was a period of time during the 1500's when scientists tested theories made by the Bible and other scientists before them. Before the 1500's people believed scientists like Aristotle or Greek scientists. They also believed the Bible for questions they could not answer. During the 1500's, scientists like Galileo started proving other scientists like Aristotle wrong in some theories. These new scientists then staring experimenting and proving others wrong. They went on to go by the Scientific Method. This included such steps as: 1. Observe 2. Hypothesis 3. Predict 4. Results 5. Conclusion.

Some examples of the Scientific Revolution include when Galileo went on to prove Aristotle's theory wrong. Aristotle theory was that heavier objects fell faster than lighter objects. For more than a thousand years people believed him. Then came Galileo and tested that theory by going on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, dropped to stones of different weights and confirmed that objects of different weights fall at the same speed. Another scientist who used the Scientific Method was Isaac Newton. Newton went on to prove Aristotle wrong by explaining the laws of gravity. Aristotle said that there was one set of physical laws governing Earth and another set governing the rest of the universe. Newton proved him wrong by proving that there was one set of physical laws for the whole universe and heaven.