Economy during the Zhou

Economy during the Zhou

The Economy during the Zhou was mostly a commodity one. Chinese agriculture had originally developed from the cultivation of millet in the north and rice in the south. Wheat, oats, barley, and lentils were also cultivated, but were less important. In the Eastern Zhou period, farming techniques were gradually improved. Irrigation, the use of organic fertilizers, and carefully planned field management increased productivity. Arable land was reclaimed from swamps, lakes, foothills, and woodlands to increase agricultural production. These developments were crucial for survival in many states that were expanding and facing difficult interstate struggles.

Contact between the states, both in war and in peace, increased. Networks of roads were built to facilitate the movement of troops, as well as for interstate commerce. Archaeological findings indicate that metal coins were circulated far beyond the regions in which they were minted, which was a testament to the well-developed transportation network of the period. Administrative and military centers gradually grew into cities with tens of thousands of residents. In the late Warring States period, several major cities, such as Chang’an and Luoyang, had hundreds of thousands of people.

The metallurgical industry progressed in the development of bronze-casting techniques. In particular, the lost-wax method reached a high level of sophistication. The practice of casting weapons and farm implements out of iron had begun during the Spring and Autumn period, at the same time that the development of irrigation works had also become widespread. Together, these advances allowed the Zhou people to vastly increase their agricultural production, which in turn stimulated economic growth. In the Eastern Zhou period, copper and iron mining became important industries. Specialization of various trades and production techniques reached such a level that active commercialization was possible, which helped create a strong urban economy. The Economy during the Zhou dynasty grew strongly as certain areas of production was integrated in to the economy.

Education in Afghanistan

Education in Afghanistan

Two separate systems of education exist in Afghanistan. The older system is a religious one, taught by the mullahs, who conduct classes in the madrassas (mosque schools). They teach the religious precepts of the Qur’an, reading, writing, and arithmetic. The other system was introduced in Afghanistan’s 1964 constitution, which provided for free and compulsory education at all levels, although this was rarely achieved. This system was based on Western models. Special emphasis was placed on primary education. Secondary schools existed in Kabul and the larger towns. Five years of primary school and five years of secondary school were expected, although many Afghans could not attend because they lived in areas where there were no schools.

Decades of war effectively eliminated most education, and an entire generation grew up without any formal schooling. The civil war resulted in the closing or dismantling of most lower, middle, and higher educational facilities in the country. Many teachers quit their posts and left Afghanistan. The subsequent Taliban regime suppressed all schooling except in the madrassas, and forbade it for girls and women. Only rote memorization of the Qur’an in Arabic was officially allowed. Opposition groups in a few places in the country tried to maintain some education, but under very difficult circumstances.

With the removal of the Taliban from power in late 2001, people in Afghanistan began to rebuild a national education system. Schools such as Kabul University reopened, and student enrollments soared. However, the country was sorely lacking the educational facilities and resources it needed to meet the burgeoning demand. A mobile school system was set up to bring education to rural areas, and foreign universities and nongovernmental organizations donated books and teaching materials. By the 2003-04 academic year 4.2 million boys and girls attended about 7,000 schools around the country. The male-female ratio had returned to pre-Taliban levels, although boys still outnumbered girls. A major project to improve literacy rates throughout Afghanistan was launched in January 2003 with the help of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The average literacy rate was estimated to be 36 percent for all Afghans aged 15 and older in 2000, with 51 percent literacy among males and 21 percent among females.

According to the 2004 constitution, Afghans are free to choose the language in which they receive their education. Primary and secondary educations are available in both Dari and Pashto, as well as in Afghanistan’s other languages, such as Uzbek. University courses are mostly taught in Dari. Kabul University, founded in 1932, is the country’s largest and most prestigious academic institution. Nine other colleges were established within it from 1938 through 1967. The University of Nangarhār in Jalālābād was established in 1962 to teach medicine and other disciplines. Important but small universities are also located in Kandahar, Herāt, Balkh, and Bāmiān. Before 1961 only men could receive a higher education; that year the government opened all public institutions of higher learning to women.

 

Eastern Tribes Return to Their Lands: Joshua 22:1-9 (New King James Version)

Eastern Tribes Return to Their Lands: Joshua 22:1-9 (New King James Version)

22:1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

7 Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8 and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”

9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

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Education in Africa

Education in Africa

Africans value education and all governments see improving educational access and quality as essential to national economic and political development. Despite scarce financial resources, many countries have made noteworthy achievements in raising literacy rates in recent decades. Adult literacy rates of 70 percent or more are characteristic of East, Central, and southern Africa, except, notably, in Somalia, Angola, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. Gains have been less impressive in West Africa: Many countries still have literacy rates below 60 percent, and the rates in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone are among the world’s lowest. Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria are notable exceptions, with particularly high literacy rates. Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria in North Africa have rates of 90 percent or higher. Females have significantly lower literacy rates than males across most of Africa.

Compulsory school attendance, starting at either 6 or 7 years of age and lasting until the ages of 11 to 16, is now universal in Africa. In many instances, education is free. A major obstacle to universal education is the problem of providing enough teachers, schools, and classroom materials to meet children’s needs, especially in remote rural areas. Huge national debts, the economic austerity measures designed to eliminate them, and military expenditures have all limited the funds that most countries have available to devote to education. Another obstacle to ensuring that all children receive education is the fact that they are still an important part of the workforce across Africa. They provide childcare, work farms and herds, and perform a range of other menial jobs, such as drawing water and collecting firewood. Parents may also lack the financial means to send their children to school, or may be forced to choose which ones can go and which ones cannot. Boys are usually given preference over girls in access to education and they typically stay in school much longer. The rationale for this is based on future income-earning potential: As matters currently stand, males have access to more and better paying jobs than females. Deteriorating economic conditions have actually led the income-earning and literacy gaps between males and females to widen even more.

Universities have space for only a tiny fraction of secondary school graduates and competition to secure admittance is intense. Those who are admitted are not guaranteed a good education, however. University libraries are often poorly stocked and, most critically, lack up-to-date scientific journals. Computers are few and Internet access rare. Most campuses were built in the 1950s and 1960s and have deteriorated, the more so because of limited funds for maintenance. The quality of higher education is also affected by frequent student protests over issues ranging from poor living conditions to politics. On many occasions governments have responded with force and closed campuses for considerable periods of time. While faculties are usually of high quality, with many members having been trained in Europe and North America, the conditions severely constrain what they can do. As a result, many look outside Africa for employment, which contributes significantly to Africa’s brain drain.

 

Eastern Africa

Eastern Africa

Eastern Africa stretches from Sudan in the north to Mozambique in the south, taking in Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the island nation of Madagascar. This vast region encompasses a diverse range of peoples, environments, and historical experiences. They include seminomadic herders, ancient kingdoms, coastal trading ports, and even a few isolated communities of hunter-gatherers. An extremely wide range of art and architecture in the region reflects this diversity. Trade with Arabs and other groups along Africa’s east coast also introduced a strong foreign influence.

Early Land Rights Acts in Australia

Early Land Rights Acts in Australia

In 1973 the federal government created a commission to report on how land rights might be granted to Aboriginal people. Following the commission’s report, the government passed the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act in 1976. The act transferred several large tracts of land to some Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and allowed other Aboriginal communities to claim lands in the territory if they could prove that they had a continuing spiritual connection with the land since before European settlement. The act also created four Aboriginal land councils to oversee the transferred lands and several Aboriginal land commissioners to judge the legitimacy of native land claims. As a result of the 1976 act, more than 40 percent of the Northern Territory was transferred to native communities; the period for making claims ended in June 1997. This includes the widely visited Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, home to the monolith Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock) and the grouping of rock domes known as Kata Tjuta (Olga Rocks). Aboriginal people now lease this area to the Australian Parks and Wildlife Service. Nonetheless, the act is limited in scope. Aboriginal communities have no claim to land that is occupied by the towns, farms, or homes of non-Aboriginal people, even if such land was traditionally inhabited by Aboriginal people. Although mining is sometimes possible, much of the land that has been transferred to Aboriginal people is inhospitable desert, often useless for agriculture and far from any services. Consequently, many of these traditional communities rely on government-provided economic support.

In 1981 and 1984 the government of South Australia passed land rights acts returning traditional lands to the Pitjantjatjara and Maralinga Tjarutja communities. The lands lie in the desolate northwest section of the state, hundreds of kilometers from any large towns. Part of the Maralinga Tjarutja lands remain contaminated from nuclear weapons testing performed by the United Kingdom in the 1950s and early 1960s. Still, until the passage of the 1993 Native Title Act, South Australia and the Northern Territory were the only two states or territories in Australia in which Aboriginal communities had reclaimed a significant amount of land.

 

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Early Influences on Abolitionism: The Quakers

Early Influences on Abolitionism: The Quakers

The first whites to denounce slavery in Europe and the European colonies were members of the Society of Friends—commonly known as Quakers. Unlike the prevailing idea of the time that blacks were inferior to whites, Quakers believed that all people, regardless of race, had a divine spark inside them and were equal in the eyes of God. These beliefs led them in the mid-18th century to take steps against slavery in Great Britain and the British colonies in North America. The first goal of the Quaker abolitionists was to end slave trading among fellow Quakers because the barbarity of the buying and selling of slaves was more obvious than that of the institution of slavery as a whole. It was also generally assumed that if the slave trade was abolished slavery itself would soon cease to exist. After slave trading among Friends had been stopped, during the 1760s Quaker congregations began expelling slaveholders. Under the influence of Quakers in the American colonies, British Quakers established Britain’s first antislavery society, the London Committee to Abolish the Slave Trade, in 1783.

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Early Southern Africa

Early Southern Africa

By 650 small Bantu-speaking communities of ironworkers and farmers had settled all over southern Africa, excluding only the drier regions of central and western Botswana, Namibia, and the Cape of Good Hope region of South Africa. In these drier areas, Khoisan hunter-gatherers and herders were dominant.

 

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Early North Africa

Early North Africa

Early North Africa remained a place of conquest by various armies. The Greek conquest of Egypt in 332 BC tied Egypt more closely to the fortunes of the Mediterranean world. The new ruling class adapted many aspects of Egyptian culture, but Greek became the language of administration and trade. A new capital city was built at Alexandria, which, within a few centuries, became the greatest trading center of the ancient world. During this early North Africa, the Greeks founded the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs, which persisted until the Roman Empire conquered Egypt in 31 BC.

 

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Early Theories of Acids and Bases

Early Theories of Acids and Bases

Modern understanding of acids and bases began with the discovery in 1834 by the English physicist Michael Faraday that acids, bases, and salts are electrolytes. That is, when they are dissolved in water, they produce a solution that contains charged particles, or ions, and can conduct an electric current Ionization. In 1884 the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius (and later Wilhelm Ostwald, a German chemist) proposed that an acid be defined as a hydrogen-containing compound that, when dissolved in water, produces a concentration of hydrogen ions, or protons, greater than that of pure water. Similarly, Arrhenius proposed that a base be defined as a substance that, when dissolved in water, produces an excess of hydroxyl ions, OH-. The neutralization reaction then becomes: H+ + OH-⇄H2O

A number of criticisms of the Arrhenius-Ostwald theory have been made. First, acids are restricted to hydrogen-containing species and bases to hydroxyl-containing species. Second, the theory applies to aqueous solutions exclusively, whereas many acid-base reactions are known to take place in the absence of water.