Chapters 14 ~ 16

I have to admit chapter 14 didn't do much for me. Other than the Russian Empire I felt the chapter offered little by way of insight.

Chapter 15 provided insight into the beginning of global trade. The reading told of the products that were traded as well as the beginning of the slave trade into the Americas. I didn't realize that the majority of Africans that were captured into slavery were brought to the Caribbean. The desire to have slaves from Africa was primarily due to cheap labor as well as the Africans having some immunity to diseases that the Europeans were not.

Chapter 16 dealt with religion and science. Two subjects that people can never agree on. The nineteenth century would produce popular thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. All of which were probably wacky in their own right.