10 Things You Need to Know About World History

in Order to Understand American History

 

(Actually, there are 17 things you need to know.  I thought “10 Things You Need to Know …” sounded better.)

 

  1. The First Humans lived in Africa 5million years ago.
    1. More than 5 million years ago, the first humans lived in what is now eastern Africa

       (in the present-day nations of Kenya and Tanzania).

    1. The first modern humans (called Homo sapiens; a Latin phrase meaning “wise”

       or “knowing” humans) lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

    1.  Humans left Africa and began to spread into Asia and Europe 70,000 to 150,000  years ago.

 

  1. The Ice Age ended about 10,000 years ago.
    1. The Ice Age began about 100,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago.
    2. There have been several “ice ages” over the past 2 million years.
    3. During the Ice Age the polar  ice caps were larger and big glaciers cover a lot of

       the Earth’s surface.

    1. Glaciers even covered most of New Jersey during the Ice Age.

 

  1. The “Ice Bridge Theory” may explain how the first people came to the Western

       Hemisphere.

    1. The first humans arrived in the Western Hemisphere (North and South America)

       by crossing a land or ice bridge between Asia and North America about 15,000

                             years ago. 

    1. Some of these people became the “American Indians”.

      

  1. Mesopotamia is the world’s first civilization.
    1. Mesopotamia is also known as “The Fertile Crescent” and “The Cradle of

       Civilization”.

    1. The Mesopotamian civilization started about 8,000 years ago when farming was invented.
    2. Mesopotamia had cities, armies, government, religion and the first written

       language in history (cuneiform).

    1. The “Code of Hammurabi” is considered to be the world’s first written code

       of law in history (c. 4000 B.C.).

    1. Abraham, a prophet in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is thought to have

       lived in Mesopotamia

    1. Mesopotamia is in the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley in southern Iraq.

 

  1.  Athens (a city-state in ancient Greece) had the world’s first democratic government.
    1. Beginning about 700 B.C., Athens created the first democratic government.
    2. Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens developed into one of the greatest civilizations

       in world history.

    1. Many historians consider Greek art and literature to be the greatest in history.

 

  1. The Roman Republic started about 500 B.C.
    1. Beginning around 500 B.C., Romans used Greek ideas to create a democratic

Government (they copied Greek art and literature too!).

    1. Rome had a republic; a democracy with elected officials making all the

       decisions.

    1. Rome had a Senate (congress) made up of patricians (wealthy) and tribunes

       (poor).

    1. The patricians and tribunes worked together in the Senate to create laws and

       for the Roman Republic.

    1. The Roman Republic ended under the rule of Julius Caesar (49-44 B.C.).

 

  1. The “Dark Ages” began with the collapse of the Roman Empire around 500 A.D.
    1. When Rome collapsed, no central government replaced it.
    2. Europe became a lawless and dangerous place to live.
    3. The “Great Plague” (also know as “The Black Death”) occurred at this time as

       well; 40 percent of Europe’s population died (about 25 million people) from an

                             illness carried by rats.

 

 

  1. The Vikings, led by Leif Ericsson, explored North America about 1000 A.D.
    1. The Vikings became the first Europeans to visit the Western Hemisphere around

       A.D. 1000

    1. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean near Greenland and created a settlement in

       present-day Newfoundland, Canada.  

    1. The Vikings didn’t stay very long because they couldn’t defend themselves from

        the Indians (Eskimos).

 

  1. The Crusades, religious wars in the Middle East between Christians and Muslims,

        started in 1095 A.D.

    1. The Crusades were a series of wars between Christians and Muslims for control

       of “The Holy Land” (present-day Israel).

    1. Christian armies from Europe traveled to the Middle East (present-day Israel) to

       fight the Muslims who controlled the area. 

    1. The Crusades lasted for nearly 200 years and ended in 1272.

 

  1. The Renaissance (a Latin word meaning “rebirth”) started in Europe about 1350 A.D.
    1. Many Greek and Roman ideas were forgotten, or “lost”, during the Dark Ages.
    2. Beginning around 1350, the Europeans started to rediscover the art, literature and science from ancient Greece and Rome.
    3. Many Greek and Roman ideas were used to create modern ideas in art, literature and science.
    4. The ideas rediscovered in the Renaissance led to “The Enlightenment” and “The Philosophy of Natural Law” (discussed later in the notes).

 

  1. The “Columbian Exchange” started in 1492 when Christopher Columbus sailed west

        across the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to reach India, China and Japan.

    1. Beginning with the voyages of Columbus, Europeans begin to explore and colonize

       the Western Hemisphere.

    1. The “Columbian Exchange” is the movement of people, animals, plants, goods

ideas and diseases between the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere

started by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

    1. European nations started to compete with each other in order to find

trade goods and natural resources all over the world.

 

  1. “The Reformation started” in Europe in 1517.
    1. Martin Luther, a German monk, started the “Protestant Reformation” (sometimes just

                     called “The Reformation”) in Europe in 1517.

    1. Martin Luther believed that the Catholic Church was not following the teachings

of Jesus Christ as told in the Bible.

                     b.    Luther made a list of his complaints against the Catholic Church and

                             nailed them to the door of his church; his list is called “The 95 Theses”

c.    Many people agreed with Luther and started to leave the Catholic Church.

d.   The Reformation caused the break up of the Catholic Church and the formation

       of the “Protestant Church”.  

 

       13.  King Henry VIII of England separated England from the Catholic Church in 1533.

                     a.    Henry VIII left the Catholic Church because the Pope refused to grant him a divorce

                            from his wife.

                     b.    Henry VIII forced the English people to leave the Catholic Church.

    1. Henry VIII created the Church of England.
    2. Henry VIII required all English people to attend the Church of England and to pay

                             taxes to support the Church.

 

      14.  England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.

                     a.    Under the leadership of Elizabeth I and Sir Francis Drake, the English Navy

                            defeated the Spanish Armada (“armada” is a very big navy) in 1588. 

b.   After the defeat of the Armada, England replaced Spain as the most powerful

      nation in the world.

c.   With Spain defeated, England started to explore North America

b.        The first successful English colony in America, Jamestown, was started right

        after the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

 

     

     15.   Jamestown, the first successful English colony in America, was started in 1607.

                    a.   After defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588, the England stated to create colonies in

                          America.

                    b.   Jamestown business owned by a company called “The Virginia Company”.

                    c.   Jamestown is in the present-day state of Virginia.

              

      16.   “The Enlightenment” started in Europe around 1650.

                    a.   During the Enlightenment, Europeans start to believe that many problems could

                          be solved using  science and reason (thinking). 

                    b.   “The Philosophy of Natural Law” was created during the Enlightenment.

                          1)  The Philosophy of Natural Law states that all people are born with

                                “natural rights” that should not be taken away.

                          2)  According to The Philosophy of Natural Law a person’s natural rights are

                                life, liberty, and property (“property” as used here means “the things you

                                need to live”).

                          3)  The Philosophy of Natural Law states that “in a state of nature” (“in a perfect world”)

                               government is not needed, but the world is not perfect so we make government to protect us

                               from the people who will try to take away our natural rights.

 

      17.   William and Mary became the King and Queen of England during “The Glorious

              Revolution” in 1688.

                      a.   King James II (who was Catholic; everyone else in England was Protestant) was

                            forced to resign as the King in 1687. 

b.        James II was replaced by King William (of Holland) and his wife Queen Mary

                            (the daughter of James II). 

c.        William and Mary were both Protestant and they agreed to do the following:

1)       Rule based on the Magna Carta, England’s constitution which was written in 1215.

2)       Accept the Act of Toleration (1689) which allowed freedom of religion in  

England (as long as you were Protestant; Catholics were still in trouble).

3)       Accept the English Bill of Rights (1689) which listed the rights all English

       people had that the government could not take away.

 

 

        Famous People from The Reformation:

 

1.       Martin Luther (1483-1546) - German monk who started The Reformation by

        protesting against some of the policies being used by the Roman Catholic Church.

        Luther wrote “The 95 Theses” which listed his disagreements with the Catholic

        Church.

 

2.       Henry VIII, King of England (1509-1547) – Separated England from the Catholic

       Church.  He created the Church of England (Anglican Church).  All English people

       were required by law to attend the Church of England.

 

Famous People from The Enlightenment:

 

1.    John Locke (1632-1704) – English philosopher who wrote a book called “Two

       Treaties on Government”.  He said that people create governments to protect their

       natural rights and that any government that does not protect natural rights should be

       overthrown.

 

2.   Montesquieu (1689-1755) – French philosopher who created the idea of “separation

      of powers”.  He said all governments should have three separate branches (executive,

      legislative, judicial) in order to prevent despotism (tyranny; rule by leaders who are

      unfair).  If government power is spread out over three different branches, no one

      person can take control of the government and use it to hurt other people. (By the way,

      his full name is Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brčde et de Montesquieu.)

 

3.   Voltaire (1694-1778) - French philosopher who spoke out against government

       censorship and encouraged governments to allow freedom of religion. The French government jailed

       Voltaire. (His real name was François-Marie Arouet.  “Voltaire” was his “pen-name”; similar to

       “Mark Twain” and Samuel Clemens. Voltaire wrote 2,000 books in his lifetime!).

 

 

 

Review                                                                                                                   NAME:                  

“10 Things You Need to Know About World History”

(That is actually a list of 17 things … sorry about that.)

 

Vocabulary:  Use the glossary in the textbook to provide a complete definition for each of the following

 terms.  Write the terms and the definitions in the vocabulary section of your notebook.

 

Ice Age                                  technology                            Columbian Exchange          

Migration                              Renaissance                          mercantilism

Nomad                                   mission                                  encomienda

culture                                    conquistador                        Northwest Passage

civilization                             pilgrimage                              tribute   

artifact                                    circumnavigate                     classical                

hieroglyphics                        line of demarcation              mosques

presidio                                  caravel                                   theocracy                             

Pueblos                                  astrolabe

 

Instructions:  Answer each of the following questions using a complete sentence.  Use class notes and your textbook for reference to help you answer these questions.

 

  1. How long ago did the first humans live?  On which continent did the first humans live?
  2. At one time, Sussex County was covered by glaciers.  What name is given to this time period in history?  
  3. During the Ice Age, the polar ice caps were much bigger than they are today.  Historians believe that the first people came to the western hemisphere (North and South America) during the Ice Age.   Which two continents may have been connected during the Ice Age allowing the first people to “walk” to America?
  4. Give the name of the world’s first civilization.  Which current nation was the world’s first civilization located?
  5. Why is the “Code of Hammurabi” important in world history?
  6. Which ancient civilization had the world’s first democratic government? Name this ancient civilizations most famous leader.
  7. What is a republic? 
  8. Describe how the Roman Republic worked.  Which Roman leader ended the Roman Republic?
  9. What event in world history is considered to be the beginning of the “Dark Ages” in Europe?  When did “Dark Ages” begin?  When did the “Dark Ages” end?  (tough question … but it is in the notes!)
  10. According to historians, the Renaissance (or rebirth) of Europe began around A.D. 1350.  What happened during the Renaissance that caused Europe to be “reborn”?
  11. Christopher Columbus was not the first European to visit America.  Who was the first European to explore America?  When did he come here?  Which present-day nation did he visit?
  12. Beginning in 1096, Christians from Europe traveled to the Middle East and fought a series of wars with the people living in the Middle East.  Who did they fight?  What were they fighting for? What are these wars called?
  13. Christopher Columbus arrived in what is today the Bahamas in October 1492 (“Columbus Day!!”).  Columbus had no interest in the Bahamas.  Where was he going? 
  14. When Columbus came to the Western Hemisphere he changed it forever.  Many other Europeans and Africans followed Columbus to America.  The changes made by these people in America are called “The Columbian Exchange”.  Can you give an example of a change that occurred in America because of The Columbian Exchange? (use your book for reference if needed)
  15. Martin Luther is one of the most important people in World History?  What did Luther do?
  16. How did King Henry VIII change England?
  17. In 1588 the England defeated the Spanish Armada.  What is was the “Spanish Armada”? Who was the leader of England when the Spanish Armada was defeated?  How did the defeat of the Spanish Armada change England?
  18. Why is the Jamestown colony important in American history? 
  19. What is The Enlightenment?
  20. The following people were famous philosophers from The Enlightenment.  In a sentence, or two, describe their beliefs:

John Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire

  1. What is the Philosophy of Natural Law? 
  2. Do you think the ideas from The Enlightenment and The Philosophy of Natural Law are correct? Explain your answer.
  3. What happened in the “Glorious Revolution” in 1688? 
  4. What did William and Mary agree to do as the new King and Queen of England in 1688?
  5. If you were living in England in 1688, would you have liked, or disliked, William and Mary?  Explain your answer.