Columbus Leaves Spain 1492

Interview with Christopher Columbus: 1538 A.D

Why did you leave Spain in 1492?


I really just wanted to sail to the Indies, so in April 1492, King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I of Spain agreed to sponsor my sailing to the Indies.


What did you do on your first voyage?


Well, on my first voyage, I took three ships: the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Niña, we left in August.  We found this little island in the Bahamas, which I quickly named: San Salvador, and I named it for Spain.  A little later, we landed on Cuba, and the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where I left 40 men to stay, who eventually died.


How about any others?


Queen Isabella told me to sail again, and claim more land.  So, I did, and with 17 ships and 1,000 colonists, I left in September 1493.  I then landed in Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Antigua, and established the first settlement in the Americas.  My third, I discovered South America, and on my fourth venture, I got to Honduras, Panama and finally in Jamaica, where my fleet was stranded.  


Why is this important?


I found much land for Spain, and conquered a lot of land, also I established the first settlement in America.


Sources:  "Christopher Columbus." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.

Magna Carta 1215

Interview with King John of England.  Date: 1371


What is the Magna Carta?


Well it was a document I was forced to sign that said that my power as king is reduced.

What did you do to force them to make this document?


Well, I had land in France, and the French wanted it back.  When they launched a war, and winning, I got sort of mad.  In my anger, I made life harder, by making very high taxes.

Why did you sign this document?


I didn't want to, but in 1215 a group of people were fed up, armed, they captured London in May of 1215. Once they did that, they threatened Civil War, which I didn't want.  So, I told them that we should talk about it, and they made the Magna Carta, then I signed it.

Why is this important?


"Magna Carta became the symbol against oppression... a symbol of freedom under law.  Magna Carta influenced future law and constitution making, such as the Petition of Right,... the Habeas Corpus Act, ... and the Bill of Rights." ("Emerson Kent")


Sources:  "Magna Carta 1215." Emerson Kent. Emerson Kent, 14 Nov 2010. Web. 14 Nov 2010. <http://www.emersonkent.com/historic_documents/magna_carta_1215.htm>

Crusades (1095 A.D.)

Interview with Pope Urban II.   1100 A.D


Why did these Crusades start?


Christians from Western Europe set off to recapture the Holy Land, which was Jerusalem and everything surrounding it, from the Muslims, who already had it.


Why were you involved with this?


When the Muslims captured it a long time ago, they were very mean and they made life hard for Christians.  So, in return to save my fellow Christians, I sent Christian knights to help the Christians and to take Jerusalem back.  In return for doing so, I offered indulgences to whoever fights.


What happened during the first crusade?


Although I hated this idea, many peasants left to take Jerusalem over, heeding my call.  When they arrived in the Byzantine Empire, they were taken out.  Later, in April 1097, the real crusaders got to Constantinople and captured Jerusalem in 1099.


Why is this important?


Well, now Christians were okay after the first crusade. After that, the Muslims took it over and kept it. The West learned to keep everything under their control and don't turn your back on it.


Source:  "The Crusades (Overview)." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.

William the Conqueror (1027 - 1087 A.D)

Interview with William the Conqueror: 1048 A.D
Why are you the Conqueror? What makes you so famous?

I am the Conqueror because I conquered lands during my time.  The thing that made me so famous was probably the "Battle of Hastings"

What is the Battle of Hastings?

Well, it all started when King Edward the Confessor died in 1066.  Apparently, on his deathbed, Edward named Harold Godwineson to be his successor.  I decided that this was a perfect time to capture England, so I gathered my army and set off for England.  When I started to move, I was taken aback by bad weather, but this sort of helped me because Harold was ready for the attack, but when I didn't show up, he stopped paying attention to me, and went onto London.  But, there was someone waiting for him there.  King Harald III, the King of Norway, was in the North, ready to attack.  So, Harold fled to the South, where I was waiting and the battle commenced.

What happened? Who won?

Even though I had the weaker army, King Harold wasn't very prepared for this invasion, so I won. 

Why is this important?

Now the West is more united than it was before, and I made the Domesday Book, a book that showed the population and facts of England by a census and land survey.

Sources:"Battle of Hastings." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.

"William the Conqueror." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2010.

Great Schism (1054 A.D)

Interview with: (Antonymous; lived through Schism) 1093 A.D
How did this Schism begin?

"The Schism of 1054 ... occurred when a representative of the Roman pope [cut ties with] the patriarch of Constantinople, and the patriarch [cut ties with] the Roman pope in return". (Schism of 1054). So, basically everyone stopped talking to each other.

What happened then?

The Christian church was then split up into two groups: one with the Pope, and one with the patriarch. But, in 1053, Pope Leo IX and the emperor,  Constantine IX, made an alliance because Normans were threatening Churches and Byzantine territories in Southern Italy, "as long as the pope would have ecclesiastical, [ which were things relating to the Church,] [power] over southern Italy and the emperor would have political [power] there."

Why was this important to the West?

Because this split really effected the West, and effected their religious beliefs by wondering who they should side with.


Source: "Schism of 1054." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

Charlemagne (742 - 814 A.D)

Interview with Charlemagne 794 A.D
How did you gain power?

Well, my father, Pippin died and he decided to split his power between me and my brother, Carloman.  Some people said that my brother was a better leader and I was. But, the main reason I gained power was because I got land.  Also, my brother died in 771, giving me power to the throne. 

What did you do with your power?

Well, I took land, I stopped the revolts against me, I also started the Christian Leadership for kings and emperors.  In addition, I united Europe for my reign.

Why is all this important to the West?

Because I was one of the most influential kings to Europe, also my leadership ideas were spread to the West.


Source: "Charlemagne." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

Battle of Tours (732 A.D)

Interview with Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi: 743 A.D

What was the point of this battle?

Well, what we wanted to do was get France and turn it into a Islamic religion place, because we wanted Islam to be spread.  We heard that if we got this land to be Muslim, that Islam will be spread around the World.

How did you lose?


Well, we thought that with our amount of troops, that we could win the battle, no problem.  I didn't know this at the time, but the French army was very trained.  We got beaten by the brains and tactics of the French army.

Why is this so significant? 


If we, as in Islam, were to win this Battle of Tours, the main religion would have been Islam.  But, because the French won, they became Christians, and followed Christianity, Christian practice will most likely be one of the biggest religions ever.

Sources: Hickman, Kennedy. "Muslim Invasions." Battle of Tours. The New York Times Company, 14 Nov 2010. Web. 14 Nov 2010.

Rome Sacked/Falls to Barbarians (410 A.D.)

Interview with Aleric: 414 A.D


Why in the world did you want to take Rome? Why Rome?

That's a very easy answer: food. We needed it, badly; we were so close to starving we would do anything to get it.  In fact, we took it over, and then we just left because we needed food.

Is there any reason why this sacking of Rome was easy?


Oh yes, of course.  I heard that people didn't like Rome's rule at all.  The Emperors wouldn't even give the Rome people guns.  Plus, when we took it over it literally didn't have any food; we starved Rome out.  Rome was beaten down already, it was very easy to take it over.

Why was your sacking of Rome important?


I think it was important because Rome was an important power, and we took it over within a few years.

Source: Notes and Dark Ages notes

Constantine the Great (A.D. 306 - 337)

Interview with Constantine the Great; date: 310 A.D


Why are you so important? 


Well, in my power, I started to let people have religious diversity.  This is very important because now Christianity was the religion for Europe. This may not seem like much, but during the Dark Ages, Christianity was the only thing that Europe could look to for guidance because they basically gave up on everything else.

What else did you do?


I created the new capital:  Constantinople.

So, why is this so important?

Because now Christianity is a huge religion in the world, and I said that everyone could believe in any religion.

Source  Gill, N.S. "Constantine the Great." Constantine Basics. The New York Times Company, 14 Nov 2010. Web. 14 Nov 2010.




  (Constantine the great statue in New York)

Julius Caesar and the Fall of the Roman Republic (49 B.C.)

Interview with Julius Caesar; 48 B.C.

So how did the Roman Republic fall?

I had much power a long time ago.  The Senate of Rome didn't like this, and they asked me to "resign [my] command and disband [my] army or risk being declared an 'Enemy of the State'" (   ). I now had a very big decision: do what the Senate wanted, or make the Roman Republic go into a war.


So, what did you do?

I started an army to be a rebellion, so that I could gain power.  In 49 B.C, I crossed the Rubicon as a sign of rebellion, then proceeded to lead the army on an invasion of Italy and Rome into a great civil war. Once I got victory, I was named "Dictator For Life", and I ended the Roman Republic.  


Why is this so important?


After my death, in 44 B.C, Constantine the Great came into power, because the Republic was down, and had Christianity be legalized. Basically, the fall of the Roman Republic changed the course and religion of Rome forever.   


Sources:  
"Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon, 49 BC," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2002).

McPhee, Isacc. "A Defining Moment in Western Civilization." Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon. Suite 101, 26 Feb 2008. Web. 14 Nov 2010.

Axis Age/ Golden Age in Greece (500 to 300 BC)

Interview: Pericles Date: 478 B.C.
How did the Golden Age in Greece start?

Don't you mean the "Periclean Age"? Well, it started by the victory of Athens over Persia in the "Persian Wars" (546 to 479 B.C.). Now, with them out of the picture, we didn't have anything to really be worried about, and we achieved great success in government, art, philosophy, drama and poetry.   

Why is this important?

Because now, Greeks can express themselves in more ways, and they can help their culture expand.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greeceancientgreece/a/ClassicalGreece.htm

Alexander the Great (356 B.C. - 323 B.C.)

Interview with Alexander the Great.  Date: 345 B.C


Who are you, Alexander the Great? what did you do? 

I am son of Phillip II, and when Phillip was assassinated, at the age of 20, I took his place.  In 334 B.C, I decided to start a war against Persia, which is something my father wanted to do during his rule.

So, you started wars. Anything else?

Yes, I wanted land.  So I went into Egypt to conquer Tyre and Gaza, and I was treated as a liberator (someone that freed another person).  In fact, when I founded the city Alexandria, Egyptians honored me as a sun-god.  

Why are you so important to Greece; what was the effect?

Well, because I started the war that would begin Greece's Golden Age, and I conquered land, which is always important.  


Sources: "The Crusades (Overview)." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010.

Mongols take China

In 1200 Mongols came out of Asia trying to conquer anything that they could.  At that time, Mongols normally would fight with eachother, but a man united these people and decided to take over China.  These men that were picked were a highly skilled army, some of the best horsemen in the world at that time.  They were tought how to use cannons so that they could take down any type of Empire.  When the Mongols took over China, they, for some reason, would respect scholars, artists and artisans, they would listen to China’s religion, and they would try to establish peace.  They took control of the silk roads and made trade once again be very powerful.  People, once they were ruled by the Mongols, could really do most things as if they were, in a way, free. 

Some cultural exchanges were increased; like food, tools, inventions and ideas that were spread among the trade routes.  Mongols would give people gun powder, porcelain, playing cards and paper in exchange for other products.  Only Northern China was clamed until another 70 years when Kublai Kahn finally conquered south China, which in turn took over the Song Empire in 1279, and changed its capital Beijing.  This is important because the Chinese found a sense of freedom in their lives and they got to keep their changes.

Source: "The Mongol and Ming Empires." World History A. (2010): Print. 

Zheng He

 1441 A.D.
 My friend Zheng He was powerful during his time.  He told me of his tails before he died, and I wish to share some history with you.

Zheng He was pretty powerful in the government.  He told me he did this by helping Zhu Yuanzhang defeat the Yuan Dynasty.  In return, he would boast, he would get rewarded with an official post in the government.  He helped Zhu Di gain the throne and he was given command of the Chinese navy.  In 1405, early Ming rulers would send Chinese fleets into waters far away to show its glory of the government and for trade with other Countries, says he.  Zheng He was sent and he had a goal: to promote trade and collect things from people weaker than China.  When Zheng He died in 1435, the Ming decided to ban the building of ships, and ships with 2 masts were for some reason outlawed which was costly and didn’t produce profit because they spent so much money making this.  Confucian scholars didn’t like oversea adventure; they wanted to stay inside China. It was a bad idea because China weakened, and I heard it will probably be taken over sometime later.
This was important because Zheng He was such an important person in the Chinese world, and he helped the Chinese trade.

"Zheng He." China Culture. China Culture, 01 Jan 2003. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_22644.htm>.
Source: "The Mongol and Ming Empires." World History A. (2010): Print.

Sung Dynasty

1000 A.D, I am here to talk about the Song Dynasty, as it was called.  So here I go!
    In 960 A.D, Zhao Kuangyin reunited China and founded the Song Dynasty.  This Dynasty did many things for China such as making a better way of life.  The Song Dynasty made, somehow, fast growing rice, so there would be two crops of rice per year.  That’s a good thing because now there was a surplus of food, so people could get money and help China.  Even though that the Grand Canal was built long ago, the Song Dynasty helped it reach its peak by encouraging internal trade and transportation.  The extra food that was grown could be shipped to the capital in the north.
    They helped China in more ways like helping the economy by making trade better, and having Merchants arrive from India, Persia, and Arabia.  They also helped the economy by making the use of paper money so people could use paper for money instead of coins and other currencies. The effect on China was that it was once again ruled by people, and all the things that the Sung/Song Dynasty did for China, effected them.

Source: "Two Golden Ages of China Power Point Notes." World History A. (2010): Print.

Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty: 618-907 A.D.  the Tang Dynasty kept all the land that the Han Dynasty made, such as Vietnam, Tibet and Korea which are now tributary states.  During this time Buddahism spreads, and learning and arts become part of culture.  Some outside invaders actually decided to keep Chinese traditions.  The Tang's decided to keep the Han's way of living, based on Confucius, but they weakened power land owners and actually added on taxes to the Chinese.  Sadly, in 907 A.D, declines.  What happens is that Arab invaders take over China, there's corruption, high taxes make people mad, there's drought, famine and rebellions; all of this makes the Tang Dynasty end. This was important because the Tang Dynasty helped China expand

"Two Golden Ages of China Power Point Notes." World History A. (2010): Print. 

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty, a 400 year Dynasty, from 206 B.C to 220 A.D.  I will tell you all about them.
The Han Dynasty wanted a Legalist and a Confucius way of living.  In a Legalist form of living, you would get rewards for doing something right, and punishment for doing something wrong, such as a hit by a paddle.  The Han wants to expand China, the expectations for this expanding is that they want to take over Vietnam, Korea, and Asia.  The Han will hopefully do much with this expansion, I've heard that they wanted to trade with Asia and build something that they call the "Silk Road", something about a road traveling from Asia to China to make trade easier.
The Han Dynasty made something called an encyclopedia; many were made.  One of these encyclopedias is named, "Book of the Mountains and Seas" which gave us Chinese great detail of geography, animals and plants, and popular myths.  Another of these encyclopedias was named, "Records of the Historian" (Shiji) by Sima Qian.   In the future, we hope that historians will look at these books and learn about our past and our history.  Sadly, there is plan of a rebellion by us, and some of us hope to end this Dynasty. This is important because China was ruled for 400 years and all of the amazing things that came out of this.

Source: "Han Dynasty." Minnesota State University Mankato. Minnesota State University , 21 May 2002. Web. 20 Oct 2010.

Buddhism comes to China

213 B.C
       The Han Dynasty is in power, and they introduced a new concept of religion: Buddhism.  It was founded when people would travel the silk road, they traveled to Central Asia and India; who's main religion was Buddhism.  I heard that a man who went by the name of Chang Ch'ien, heard of a place, India, and all the teachings of the Buddah, and he spread the word of the Buddah to the people of China.  Also, another way that I've heard Buddah traveled to China, a very famous story.  What happened was that the Han emperor, Mingdi, had a dream. I don't know the exact dream, but he said he saw a "Golden Figure", who just happened to be the Buddah.  "Cai Yin returned after 3 years in India and brought back with him not only the images of Buddha and Buddhist scriptures but also two Buddhist monks named She-mo-teng and Chu-fa-lan to preach in China. This was the first time that China had Buddhist monks and their ways of worship." (Silk-Road).  This is important because Buddhism finally came to China. 
 

"Buddhism and Its spread along the silk road." Silk-Road. Silk Road, 01 Mar 2009. Web. 19 Oct 2010.

Great Wall

220 B.C
      The Great Wall, not just one wall, but many walls that is said to extend to about 5,500 miles long.  I have to build it, the Qin Dynasty, well actually Shi Huangdi, wants to build this wall to keep people like invaders, or people who would love to take China, out.  That's not the only reason, the next reason is that he wants to keep China in it.

206 B.C
      A few years after the awful building of the "Long Graveyard" or the Great Wall, a man by the name of Liu Bang, who is part of the Han Dynasty, wants to extend this wall.  Currently, the population of China is 50,000,000 (50 million) people, so obviously, Liu wants China to be safe and not to wonder into another territory. The effect on China was that they built this amazing and advanced way of defense.

Sources:

Weller, Peter, Perf. Engineering an Empire. Perf. Weller, Peter. Discovery: 2007, Film.

Confucius

Confucius: A very powerful person.  Who is he? Well as a very close friend of his, I shall tell you. Born in 551 in Northwest China, he was part of the Chou Dynasty.  When he was only 3 years old, Confucius was left to live in poverty with his mother.  When the Chou Dynasty was ending, there was fighting, executions, wars and he saw people, soldiers or civilians being used. He disliked this very much, so he had an idea: Goodness. He wanted it to hold society together.  He purposed: when society is in harmony, everyone is doing their duty, and if the rulers of China are good, people will follow them and be good.  He built Confucianism: His ideas and China ideas, making one big sort of religion. He also made 5 traditions: Jen (relationship between people), Chuntzu (Superior person humanity at its best), Li (way things should be done), Te (power by which men are ruled) and Wen (arts of peace)  Everyone liked this idea, he's making people stuff they can do; not stuff they can't.  All of this is important because when Confucius died, the Han Dynasty used Confucianism as main religion. 

Source:
Foltz, Richard. Religions of the Silk Road. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.
"Confucius Powerpoint Notes." World History A. (2010): Print.

Unification of China

221 B.C, Qin Dynasty unifies China.
       How did this come to be? Hello, I'm Kng-Song, follower for the Qin Dynasty. What I do is follow what the Qin Dynasty does for their Dynasty.  Some 7 years ago, the Qin Dynasty came into China during The Warring States time.  I saw them come with horses and foot soldiers, which easily broke through every other Dynasty that wanted to get into power.  A boy by the name of Ying Zheng (Qin Shi Huangdi), a personal friend of mine, came into power along with his most trusted advisor, Li Ssu, who told Ying Zheng to conquer and unify all Northern Kingdoms.  In 221 B.C, it was done. As I could see, all of China was unified together for the first time. 

  
  

Source:
Hooker, Richard. "The Unified Empire: The Ch'in." Ancient China: The Great Unification. Washington State University, 06 06 1999. Web. 18 Oct 2010. <http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHEMPIRE/CHIN.HTM>.

Lao Zi and Taoism

Good Day Friend,
My name is Pau Ting, We, China, are in the "Era of Warring States".  Currently, there's about 5 kingdoms, all trying to take China under its control. I'm going to teach you about Taoism. Made around 4th Centery B.C,  I've heard that's it's called Taoism (Tao-chia), literally meaning: "The Way".  A state religion, it was founded by Lao-tzu, it seems to be a very powerful religion.  I cannot teach you much about Taoism because it's undefiniable; you must experence it.  The main point of Taoism is its opposites and the harmony in which they share.  For example, there can't be any love without hate, there can't be light without dark, there really can't be one thing without its opposite. In literal terms, it's Ying and Yang.  The effect of this on China is that it became a huge religion in China, and parts of North America.

Source:

Robinson, B.A. "Taoism." Taoism. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 30 Jun 2010. Web. 18 Oct 2010.