Ancient Persian Empire

The Ancient Persian Empire was the first superpower empire centered on the land of Iran. The first Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 BC and became one of the greatest empires in history. The Kingdom of Cyrus stretches from the European Balkan Peninsula in the West to the Indus Valley of India in the East.

This dynasty, sometimes referred to as the Achaemenid Empire, was the center of world cultural, religious, scientific, artistic and technological civilization for more than 200 years before it fell to Alexander the Great.

Cyrus the Great: Founder of the Persian Empire

Cyrus II was one of the greatest kings of ancient centuries. Although he is the grandson of the famous King Mendes, Astyages, the king actually wanted to kill his grandson.

The plot of the murder was planned when Cyrus was born. But he survived after the shepherd who was assigned to kill him actually saved him.

He grew up in a shepherd family, before finally at the age of 10 he returned to his original parents, the daughter of Mandane and King of Persia Cambyses I.

Growing up in a family that was always oppressed by the kingdom of Mendes, Cyrus also made him hate his grandfather. After replacing his father in 559 BC, Cyrus then led the war against his grandfather in 553 BC.

The war that lasted for three years finally ended with Cyrus’ victory. The victory marked the founding of the Persian Empire in 550 BC.

Government system of the Persian Empire
The first Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great soon became the world’s first superpower empire. The empire succeeded in establishing a unitary government that controlled the three most important sites of early human civilization: Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley of Egypt and the Indus Valley of India.

At its peak, the Persian Empire stretched from the Balkan Peninsula in Europe – in parts of what is today Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine – to the Indus River Valley in northwestern India and south to Egypt.

There is a characteristic of the Persian conquest, rather than destroying the local economy for their own selfish advantage, the Persians chose to work to increase trade throughout their empire. They standardize the scales, develop official coins, and apply universal laws.

Persian leaders are obliged to be cooperative and impose a 20 percent tax on all agriculture and manufacturing. They also impose a tax on religious institutions, which despite their previous wealth are not taxed.

Meanwhile, the Persians themselves were not taxed.

Persian kings – especially Cyrus and, later, Darius I (522-486 BC) – developed a model for the administration of a large kingdom which was followed by other kingdoms in the future. The law is applied fairly and equally among all different subjects.

Based in the capital city of Persepolis, Darius I divided their kingdom into 20 provinces run by satrap (governor). Local residents then provide land to feudal landlords in return for loyalty and security guarantees from the Persian army. Most of the people in the empire on average work as farmers or craftsmen.

The Persian capital, Persepolis, located in southern Iran is among the largest archeological sites in the world. Persepolis was included in the UNESCO world heritage site in 1979.

The Achaemenia Persepolis Palace was built on a very large terrace. They are adorned with ornamental facades that include sculptures of the famous ancient Persian long stone reliefs.

So that large areas are well managed, of course, requires good communication. For this reason, Cyrus built the foundations of a courier system, or mail. Darius I then built a communication network that connected most of the empire.

A 1,600-mile highway was built from Sardis to Susa, one of the administrative capitals. Along this road, there are many places for lodging, where royal couriers can get horses and fresh supplies.

Culture of the Ancient Persians
Ancient Persia created art in various forms, including metal, stone carvings, weaving and architecture. When the Persian Empire expanded to include the artistic center of other early civilizations, various new cultures were formed from the influence of Persian culture.

Early Persian art included large stone reliefs carved into the cliffs, such as those found at Naqsh-e Rustam, an ancient tomb filled with the tombs of the Achaemenid kings. In that place, there are intricate stone murals depicting scenes of riding and battle victories.

The ancient Persians were also known for their metals. In the 1870s, smugglers found gold and silver artifacts among the ruins near the Oxus River in Tajikistan today.

Artifacts include small gold trains, coins, and bracelets adorned with griffon motifs. (Griffon is a mystical creature with eagle wings and head and a lion’s body, and a symbol of Persian persepolis.)

British diplomats and military personnel serving in Pakistan brought around 180 of this gold and silver – known as the Oxus Treasure – to London where they are now kept in the British Museum.

The history of woven carpets in Persia comes from nomadic tribes. The ancient Greeks loved this hand-woven carpet art. The carpets are famous for their intricate designs and bright colors.

Ancient Persian Religion
Many people consider Persia to be a synonym with Islam, although Islam only became the dominant religion in the Persian Empire after the conquest of Arabia in the seventh century. The first Persian Empire was formed by a different religion: Zoroastrianism.

The name of the religion comes from the Persian prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra). Zoroastrianism is arguably the first monotheistic religion in the world. Until now the religion is still practiced as a minority religion in parts of Iran and India.

Zoroaster, who probably lived between 1,500 and 500 BC, taught his followers to worship one god, not many, as previously Indo-Iranian groups worshiped.

The Achaemenian kings were devout Zoroastrians. According to most accounts, Cyrus the Great was a tolerant ruler who allowed his people to speak their own language and practice their own religion. Although he himself adhered to the Zoroastrian Asha (truth and truth) law, he did not impose Zoroastrianism on people from the territories conquered by Persia.

The Hebrew scriptures praise Cyrus for freeing the Jews in Babylon and allowing them to return to Jerusalem.

Subsequent rulers in the Achaemenid Empire followed Cyrus’s model of approach to social and religious affairs, thus enabling the diverse Persians to continue practicing their own way of life. This time period is sometimes called Pax Persica or Persian Peace.

The collapse of the Persian Empire
The Persian Empire entered a period of decline after the failure of Xerxes I’s invasion of Greece in 480 BC. The management of expensive Persian lands also consumed the imperial treasury. This condition causes the imposition of high taxes for the Persians.

The Achaemenid Dynasty finally fell to Alexander the Great in 330 BC. The next ruler tried to restore the glory of the Persian Empire, but the empire never reached the level of glory that had been achieved by Cyrus the Great and Darius I.

History of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of ancient walls and fortresses located in northern China. This wall has a length of 21,196.18 kilometers.

The Great Wall of China is China’s best-known symbol and has a long history. Initially the wall was built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century BC. as a means to prevent attacks from the Xiongnu and other nomadic tribes.

For more than 2,000 years the construction of the wall was continued by the Chinese authorities. The most famous and preserved part of the Great Wall was built in the 14th to 17th centuries, during the Ming dynasty. Although the Great Wall has never effectively prevented the invaders from entering China, it serves as a tangible symbol of Chinese civilization that has existed for a long time.

Qin Shi Huang and the Beginning of the Construction of the Great Wall of China

The construction of the Great Wall of China can be traced to the 3rd century BC, but many fortifications including the inside of the wall have been built hundreds of years before. The fortresses were built when China was divided into several warring kingdoms.

Around 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unite China under the Qin Dynasty, ordered the removal of defense posts between countries and united a number of walls along the northern border into one defense system. The wall was then extended by more than one 10,000 li (li is about one third of a mile). The aim of this project is to protect China from the attack of nomadic tribes in the north.

The construction of the Great Wall of China became one of the most ambitious development projects ever undertaken by any civilization. The famous Chinese general Meng Tian was in charge of the project.

According to some accounts it is said that the construction of the Great Wall of China used troops, prisoners, and commoners as workers.

Most of the Great Wall of China is made of earth and stone. The wall stretches from the port of the Shanhaiguan Chinese Sea more than 3,000 miles west to Gansu province. In some strategic areas, parts of the wall are overlapped for maximum security.

The wall has a foundation as high as 15 to 50 feet, then a height of about 15-30 feet and topped with a fort as high as 12 feet or higher. The building also features a guard tower that is placed along the wall interval.

When Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Great Wall around 221 BC, the workforce that built the wall consisted mainly of soldiers and prisoners. It is said that as many as 400,000 people died during the construction of the wall. Many of these workers were buried in the walls themselves.

The Great Wall of China in Cross History
With the death of Qin Shi Huang and the fall of the Qin Dynasty, many parts of the Great Wall were damaged. After the next dynasty, the Han Dynasty also collapsed, a series of border tribes controlling northern China.

Among the most powerful of the tribes was the Northern Wei Dynasty. When in power this dynasty repaired and expanded the existing wall to defend against attacks from other tribes.

Bei Qi Kingdom (550-577) built or repaired walls of more than 900 miles. Repair and expansion were then continued by the short-lived Sui Dynasty (581–618).

With the fall of Sui and the rise of the Tang Dynasty, the Great Wall lost its function as a fortress, because China had defeated the Tujue tribe in the north and expanded its territory beyond the original border protected by the wall.

During the Song Dynasty, the Chinese were forced to retreat under threat from the Liao and Jin people in the north who took over many areas on both sides of the Great Wall. The powerful Yuan (Mongol) dynasty (1206-1368), founded by Genghis Khan, eventually controlled all of China, parts of Asia and parts of Europe.

Although the Great Wall was not so important to the Mongols in particular as a military stronghold, the soldiers were still assigned to the wall to protect merchants and caravans traveling along the Silk Road trade routes.

Construction of the Ming Dynasty Wall
Despite its long history, the Great Wall of China as it is today is mostly built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Like the Mongols, the early Ming rulers were less interested in building border fortifications, and building limited walls until the end of the 15th century.

In 1421, emperor Ming Yongle proclaimed China’s new capital, Beijing, at the site of the former Mongol city of Dadu. Under the cold rulers of the Ming rulers, Chinese culture flourished, and the period saw a large amount of construction alongside the Great Wall, including bridges, temples and pagodas.

The construction of the Great Wall as it is known today began around 1474. After the initial phase of regional expansion, the Ming rulers largely took a defensive stance and the expansion of the Great Wall was the key to this strategy.

The Great Wall of China in Modern Times
In the mid-17th century, Manchus from central and southern Manchuria broke through the Great Wall and entered Beijing. In the end they forced the Ming Dynasty to abdicate, while also marking the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.

Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the Great Wall emerged as China’s most common symbol for the Western world, and both physical symbols – as manifestations of Chinese power – and psychological representations of barriers maintained by the Chinese state to repel foreign influence and exert control over its citizens.

Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural achievements in human history. There was an effort to maintain the structure of the wall, but a more concrete step was only realized in 1980, when China made the wall a tourist attraction and source of income.

In 1987, UNESCO established the Great Wall as a World Heritage Site, and popular claims that emerged in the 20th century stated that this wall was the only man-made structure seen from space.

The Chinese Revolution

The Chinese Revolution of 1911 was a revolution that succeeded in overthrowing the last imperial dynasty of China (Qing Dynasty) and establishing the Republic of China (ROC). This revolution also started a series of revolutions that occurred in China during the 20th century.

Background of the Chinese Revolution
The modern period of China opened with the first defeat of the West in the First Opium War in 1842. Since then the Qing palace ruled by ethnic Manchus has struggled to withstand foreign interference to China.

However, efforts to adjust and reform traditional methods of governance are limited by a very conservative court culture that does not want to give too much authority to reform.

After the defeat of the Second Opium War in 1860, Qing tried to modernize by adopting certain Western technologies through the Self-Strengthening Movement from 1861. In the war against Taiping (1851-64), Nian (1851-68), Yunnan Muslims (1856-68) ) and the West Sea (1862-1777), traditional imperial forces proved to be incompetent and showed a weak imperial government.

In 1895, China suffered another defeat during the period of the First Sino-Japanese War. This defeat shows that traditional Chinese feudal society also needs to be modernized if it wants to achieve technological and commercial progress.

The combination of increasing imperialist demands (from Japan and the West), frustration with the Qing court and a desire to see a unified China led to the emergence of nationalist movements that carried revolutionary ideas.

These revolutionary ideas were echoed by the Chinese living abroad, especially in Southeast Asia and America. Those who were mostly Western-educated academics began to press for either direct reform or revolution.

Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao emerged as their leaders who proposed the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.

While Sun Yat-sen led a mixed group which together formed the Revolutionary Alliance or Tongmenghui. The Revolutionary Alliance has a mission to replace the Qing government with a republican government, Sun himself is a nationalist with some socialist tendencies.

Both revolutionary leaders and overseas Chinese who are financing their efforts are rooted in southern China. The Revolutionary Alliance had carried out a number of rebellion attempts against the Qing in the years leading up to the revolution, but all were successfully stopped by the Qing army.

The outbreak of the revolution
On October 10, 1911, the rebellion in Wuchang became the starting point for a national scale uprising. When his losses increased, the Qing court responded positively to a series of demands intended to turn the imperial authoritarian rule into a constitutional monarchy. They appointed Yuan Shikai as the new prime minister of China, but before he was able to reclaim the captured territories from the revolutionaries, the provinces began to declare their allegiance to the Revolutionary Alliance led by Sun Yat Sen.

Dr. Sun himself was in the United States on a fundraising tour at the time the uprising began. He rushed first to London and Paris to ensure that the two countries would not provide financial or military support to the Qing government in its struggle.

By the time he returned to China, the revolutionaries had taken over Nanjing, the former capital under the Ming Dynasty, and representatives from the provinces had begun to arrive for the first national meeting. Together, they chose Dr. Sun is the temporary president of the newly established Republic of China.

Premature Revolution
Sun Yat-Sen’s dream of forming the Republic of China has been achieved, but the process of consolidating the new government is far more difficult than predicted by revolutionaries.

The overthrow of the Qing Dynasty did not bring an era of peace and prosperity, but a period of chaos, social unrest, disappointment, and prolonged war. In collective memory, the Republican era is not related to the rebirth of China, but to warlords, corruption, economic weakness, civil strife and foreign aggression.

Sun Yat-sen’s position as Provisional President himself did not have much influence on the stability of the new nation.

Although the Republic was proclaimed in January 1912, the Qing Dynasty did not simply renounce its title and did not recognize the republic’s government as a legitimate government. Because there was no official resignation, de facto China had two governments, the Republic and the Empire. Sun Yat-sen’s duty was to lead the Republic of China until the QIng Dynasty resigned and the condition of the country was stable.

During the revolution Yuan Shikai emerged as the most powerful politician in the imperial court. His personal ambitions led him to adopt a pragmatic attitude towards the Qing and revolutionaries, so he chose to play the role of mediator between the Republic and the Qing Dynasty.

However, Yuan Shikai realized that his political career would not last long if he sacrificed himself for the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, he then changed his strategy. He tried to solve the crisis by ensuring a smooth transition from the Empire to the Republic. Yuan presented himself as a peacemaker and loyal servant of the new country.

The Imperial Family was divided between those who preferred resignation and those who wanted to suppress the revolution. Yuan Shikai explained to the imperial family that if they wanted to fight the revolutionaries, they had to prepare 12 million taels to finance the war. But the imperial treasury was empty and no Manchu prince was prepared to sacrifice his personal wealth to pay for the army

On January 26, 1912, the imperial cabinet met at Yuan Shikai’s residence. Forty high-ranking Yuan officers sent telegrams urging the Manchu to abdicate. That night, Liangpi, the army chief of staff, was killed by a fanatical revolutionary on his way home. After this murder, fear of security swept through the imperial family.

On January 27, Empress Longyu Empress Longyu, the wife of the late Emperor Guangxu and the adopted mother of the last Emperor of China, Puyi, frantically begged Yuan Shikai’s deputy to convey to the general the message that the emperor and his own life were in his hands, so he had to save them

Three days later, Longyu made the decision to end the 2,000-year-old Empire. He agreed to end the reign of the Qing Dynasty. The revolutionaries, who wanted to avoid further conflict, gave the emperor’s special privilege: the emperor would defend his title and be treated by the Republican government with respect. Among other things he will receive an annuity, be allowed to live in the imperial court, and perform traditional religious rituals

On February 12, 1912 (the 25th day of the 12th month of the 3rd year of Emperor Xuantong’s reign), the Queen issued a Abdication Decree containing the transfer of power to the Republican Government. Based on the decree, Yuan Shikai obtained the authority to reorganize China.

Immediately after the news of the resignation, Sun Yat-sen expressed his willingness to immediately resign, thus fulfilling his oath as Provisional President. This selfless action earned Sun great respect among the Chinese, but in the long run it proved to be unwise.

Sun urged Yuan Shikai to release the power given to him by the Manchu, because the Emperor had no right to give such power; only the people have this right. However, Sun was too naive to accept Yuan Shikai’s promise that he would serve and defend the Republic. So Sun Yat-sen suggested the National Assembly in Nanjing to elect Yuan Shikai as President.

In the elections held in January 1913 – the first democratic elections in Chinese history – the newly founded Sun Yat-sen party, Guomindang, won. Despite the fact that voters only consist of men above 21 taxpayers and have received primary school education, which means that only around 40 million people, or 2% of the population, have the right to vote

Elections are a milestone in Chinese history and Guomindang has emerged as the most progressive political force in the country. The party won 269 seats out of 596 in the House of Representatives, and 123 seats out of 274 in the Senate, so Guomindang was in the best position to govern the government. Meanwhile, Yuan Shikai is expected to resign so that a democratically elected parliament can appoint a new president.

But Sun Yat-sen and the revolutionaries who had placed their trust in Yuan Shikai had made a mistake. Instead of relinquishing the presidency as he had promised, Yuan ordered the killing of Song Jiaoren, one of the most prominent leaders in Guomindang.

Furthermore, Yuan banned 438 Guomindang members in parliament and then dissolved the parliament itself. In 1916 he abolished the Republic and declared himself Emperor.

But public anger is too great to ignore. Fearing civil unrest, he restored the Republic, but remained in dictatorial rule until his death in June 1916. After the end of Yuan’s rule, the Republic of China collapsed. Warlords seized power, creating a private kingdom in which they ruled like kings, apart from a central government that was left with only a name.

Mongol Invasion of Japan

The 13th century became a golden period for the Mongols. The nation which previously was not taken into account quickly transformed into an expansive empire that was able to conquer the surrounding territories. Not only the Middle East and Central Asia were targeted, but other Asian regions did not escape the Mongol invasion. After successfully conquering China and Korea, Japan became the target of an invasion of the Mongols. Twice attempts were made, but due to the misfortune and will of nature, Kublai Khan failed to conquer Japan.

Background of the Mongol Invasion into Japan
After Genghis Khan’s rule ended, the Mongols continued to expand their influence. In 1230, the Mongols succeeded in conquering northern China. A year ago they had crossed the Yalu River to expand their territory to the Korean Peninsula. The King of Korea (Koryo) is forced to be loyal to the Mongols, in return he can still rule as a vassal.

In 1259 Khubilai Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson, ascended the Mongol throne and became Emperor of Yuan China. Khubilai Khan ruled until 1294. Following the tradition of the Chinese emperor, he tried to force neighboring countries to submit. In line with this tradition, which is rationalized by the irrational argument of “heavenly mission,”

Kublai sent envoys to Japan accompanied by Korean officers as guides. They brought a message to establish trade relations and appealed to the “King of Japan” to surrender or the whole country would be invaded (Sasaki, 2008: 25). The ambassadors planned their departure from the Korean port in 1267, but weather conditions at sea forced them to return to the peninsula.

After the failure of the first departure, Khubilai was still trying to send his ambassadors to Japan until 1274. However, all his efforts were in vain, because all his envoys were never permitted by Japan to enter Kyoto, the imperial capital, or Kamakura, the center of Bakufu (military government) .

In fact, in 1268 the envoys were detained in Dazaifu, the residence of the Western Defense Commissioner on the island of Kyushu. The Khan’s envoys were then moved to Kyoto, the residence of the Emperor and the court judge (Sansom, 1958: 400).

Fearing that the threat became real, the emperor tried to compromise by drawing up a draft to invite Khubilai to make peace. However, at that time the Emperor was only the symbolic ruler of the country, because the power was in the hands of Bakufu who was led by a military leader, Hojo Tokimune. Bakufu chose to disregard the imperial Draft and expel the Mongol envoys (Ibid .: 441).

In 1274, the Mongol emissary returned, but the military leader immediately ordered the deportation of the envoys as a form of humiliation against the Mongols. Such action means igniting the fires of war between the two parties. To anticipate the Mongol invasion, Bakufu then made various defense preparations.

War begins: First Mongol invasion 1274
To launch an invasion of Japan, Khubilai Khan needed ships and sailors (and soldiers). The Mongols are famous as land fighters who live in the savannah, arguably similar to Dothraki in the film Game of Thrones. They are not shipbuilders, they also do not have the knowledge and experience of shipping. Therefore, Khan ordered the King of Korea to build 900 fleets of warships and train his troops to be able to operate ships. (Sasaki, 2015: 25) Not only that, to supply the food supplies of his troops at sea, he also ordered large areas of the peninsula to be planted with rice.

In November 1274, a fleet of 40,000 people consisting of 20,000 Mongols and Chinese, 8,000 Korean soldiers, and around 7,000 Korean and Chinese seamen, departed from ports in Korea. The fleet used 300 large vessels and around 400-500 small vessels (Neuman: 1168).

The Kubilai fleet first invaded several small islands off the Kyushu coast destroying Japanese garrisons and then on November 19 landed at Hakata and Imazu in Kyushu. Armed with a large bow, Kublai Khan’s troops were able to dominate the battle against the samurai.

Even according to some contemporary records, the Mongols brought with them poisonous weapons and paper and iron bombs thrown through throwers (Turnbull, 2010: 45). This is the first time that Japan has faced such weapons, so it is not surprising that Japanese forces are pressured.

In the midst of the precarious situation, the Kyushu Army desperately defended its territory, hoping that reinforcements from the central and eastern provinces would soon arrive.

When the Mongol army had the upper hand, Korean weather navigators suddenly asked the Mongol Generals to raise their troops back on board. They had predicted the arrival of a storm that could isolate them on the island if it did not sail immediately. Hearing the warning, finally the Mongol Generals ordered their troops to board the ship and sail again. But the decision seems to be late, because the storm has raged and submerged some Mongol ships trying to return to mainland Korea (Delgado, 2008: 96).

On the other hand, a storm saved Japanese troops from being destroyed in Kyushu. In the afternoon they saw people from the enemy fleet coming out of the bay because their ship sank in the open sea during a storm. They were later arrested and taken to Mizuki to be executed.

According to some records, two hundred people were missing. While according to Korean records, about 13,000 people from the occupation forces lost their lives during this expedition, most of them probably drowned (Sansom, 1958: 444). The Mongol invasion had failed and the remnants of the Kublai army returned to Korea empty-handed.

For the sake of Ambition: Second Invasion 1281
Khubilai believes the cause of the failure of his first invasion of Japan was a storm. Therefore, he again sent an envoy to Japan in 1275. The messenger brought a message from Khublai that Japan surrender and submit to his empire. Instead of getting a positive response, they were detained for four months before being beheaded in Kamakura (Delgado, 2008: 100).

Kublai still did not give up, in 1279 he again sent more messengers. They were not fared better and were executed on the beach in Hakata. A series of executions of his envoys brought Kublai to the conclusion, that Japan did not intend to submit to the Mongol empire. After conquering South China, Kublai immediately ordered residents of the Yangtze area to build 600 warships and King Koryo (Korea) to build 900 ships for the second invasion.

In the autumn of 1280 Kublai Khan held a high-level conference in one of his palaces to discuss further strategies against Japan. Departing from a bad experience in 1274, he planned a more mature strategy to deal with the fierce resistance of Japanese troops, in Tsushima, Iki, and Hakata. The military and naval resources of the Southern Song dynasty are now fully under Mongol control, so that Khubilai Khan can build attacks from Korea and southern China with large troops (Turnbull, p. 55).

Six hundred warships were ordered from southern China, in addition to 900 from Korea. Plus an estimated 40,000 troops on the eastern route from Korea and 100,000 South China. At least the Mongol forces in the second invasion were three times more than the 1274 troops. Arguably, the second invasion of Mongolia to Japan was like the sequel to the blockbuster film; bigger in scale, more players, bigger budget, and the same director (Kublai Khan).

The official order to attack Japan came out in the first month of 1281. The Eastern Route attack from Korea was carried out in a manner similar to the invasion of 1274. While the Yangzi troops would sail directly from southern China across 768 km (480 miles) of ocean to meet with the Eastern Route Army around Iki before joining for a massive landing on the Japanese mainland (Sasaki, 2015: 25).

Troops from Korea departed on May 22, 1281 according to plan, but it took longer to reach Tsushima than its predecessors in 1274. Tsushima was attacked on June 9 and Iki on June 14. Japanese troops led by Shoni Suketoki and Ryuzoji Suetoki were unable to withstand the onslaught of weapons of the Mongol army and they were killed in the raid.

The attack killed 300 residents. Some residents ran to escape to the mountains, but the Mongol soldiers who heard the children’s cries looking for them and eventually killed the residents hiding in the mountains. As previously planned, the Eastern Route Army is expected to wait for the Southern Route Army which is expected to arrive on July 2 in Iki.

On the other hand, armed with experience from the attacks of 1274, Japanese troops have built Genkō Bōrui’s defensive wall along the ship landing zone at Hakata. The wall was built for five years and has a length of about 20 kilometers.

In spring, the Eastern Route Forces had arrived at the meeting point, but the Southern troops were late to arrive at the specified date. However, troops from Korea seemed impatient to wait for the arrival of South Chinese troops, so a week before the planned meeting of the Southern and Eastern Mongol forces, the Commander of the Eastern Ruten Force instead decided to attack first (Sansom, 1958: 449). The attack did not make it easy for them to land, but instead broke the concentration of the troops.

The Japanese responded by sending a small boat full of samurai to attack and board the larger enemy ship. This strategy proved effective in preventing the Mongols from landing (Yamada, 1916: 185).

For weeks the Mongols had difficulty landing. This condition caused them frustration and eventually retreated to Iki island.

In mid-July, the Southern fleet arrived. The two fleets then joined forces to attack Hirado in early August and continued the attack on Takashima located on the northwest coast of Kyushu on August 12 (Turnbull, 2010: 70).

Fierce fighting raged for several weeks. The length of the siege caused the Mongol army to run low on food reserves. On the other hand, the war coincided with the hurricane season which could come at any time.

On August 14, a typhoon known to the Japanese population as Kamikaze (wind of the gods) struck the Mongol fleet on the coastline. It is not known exactly what happened to the Mongol fleet, but according to the Chronicles Yuan about 20,000-30,000 Mongol and Korean troops who survived the storm were captured and beheaded. While the Southern Song fleet which was once a Japanese business partner is still forgiven and only jailed.

More recent archaeological evidence shows that the fleet was largely destroyed not because of the strength of the wind alone, but also because of poor ship construction (Ibid: 78). This makes sense considering the Mongol warships were made in a hurry and in a short time.

The news of the withdrawal of the Mongols until finally arrived at the Japanese government on September 23, 1281. This victory was celebrated in the Iwashimizu temple as a form of gratitude to the gods. Japan’s success in surviving surpassed everyone’s expectations, so the story of kamikaze has been passed down until now.

On the other hand, Kublai Khan actually still wanted to make a third attempt, but his soldiers had experienced fatigue due to the failure of the two invasions. Finally he chose to focus on taking care of domestic problems which at that time were in chaos (Sansom, 1958: 450).

History of India

Ancient Indian Civilization is a civilization located along the Indus River. Where is centered in the City of Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Ancient Indian civilization is estimated to have existed around 2500 BC. At that time the City of Mohenjodaro and Harappa were neatly arranged. The inhabitants of this civilization are the Dravidians. The Dravidian possessed the characteristics of a short body, pug nose, black curly hair and black skin. Where the Dravidian people have built sewers equipped with sanitation channels. Reported by Encyclopaedia Britannica (2015), Indian civilization is also called the Indus valley civilization or Harappan civilization. The civilization is estimated to have existed around 2500-1700 BC. The Indus civilization is known to consist of two major cities, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, and more than 100 villages. The two cities were originally each about 1 mile or 1.6 square kilometers.

City planning In the book of Ancient India (2008) by Maryani, at that time the City of Mohenjodaro developed into a city like Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and Greece. Mohanjodaro means dead mounds. Mohanjodaro is located in Sindh Province, precisely above the Pleistocene area and in the middle of the Indus River plain. At that time the Indus River Plain was a prominent and prominent area of ​​the Indus River valley civilization. In the past Mohenjodaro was one of the administrative centers of the Indus River Valley civilization. It is also one of the fastest growing cities in South Asia. Planning and technical skills show the interests of the city for the population. There has a stunning construction of buildings and consider works of art. The building has a layout based on the lane in a perfect pattern. Public facility buildings also represent high-level social organizations. The city of Mohenjodaro was built with regular city planning. Also read: Up to a Century of Human Civilizations Where to meet health and beauty requirements.

The division of the city is carried out into square or rectangular blocks. There houses were built on the edge of the highway and the door to the house faced the street. Roads are built in an orderly and straight way. The road is 10 meters wide and made like a sidewalk. There is a water channel that flows under the road and goes straight to the river. The rooms of the resident’s house have wide windows so that the air circulation is smooth. Sewage from the bathroom and latrine is connected directly to the public sewer network. Agricultural and economic systems Civilizations live by agriculture, coupled with considerable trade. Field wheat and peas, sesame seeds, and some dates stones have also been found, as well as some of the earliest known cotton traces.

Indus civilization seems to have evolved from neighboring villages using the Mesopotamian irrigation agriculture model. With sufficient community skills to reap the benefits of the vast and fertile Indus River valley. The function of the river is as a means of transportation, trade and irrigation. Also read: Inheritance of a Masterpiece of Thought of Civilization in the Middle of Corona Pagebluk Trade activity is not only in the Indus river valley but extends outside the region in connection with trade and shipping in the West Asian region. It was based on the discovery of clay stamps that used the writing of the picture turned out to be the same as similar objects found in Mesopotamia. They are also able to control the floods that occur every year. After gaining a secure foothold in the plains and mastering the more pressing problems of a new civilization, with a population that is well nourished and growing. Community life Quoted by the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) site, it is actually rather difficult to parse regarding the life of the Indus River valley community.

However, based on the relics of the ruins of the buildings of the City of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, it reflects a modern urban layout and has an orderly, developed and prosperous government. There were also found fortress walls which contained warehouse buildings, meeting halls and public baths. Most likely the place is the center of government. In the warehouse building serves as storage of crops. Public baths are used for bathing officials. While the meeting ward functions clearly for meetings of the authorities and government officials to plan and regulate the course of the government. Also read: 25 Years of Search, Mayan Civilization Found in Southern Mexico The Beliefs of the Indus River Valley The beliefs of the people in the Indus River valley worship the gods (polyhteism).

History Google Search And Yahoo

For all internet surfers, who doesn’t know Google? if there is possible just focus on opening a particular website and not trying to find information from various web. Google is the most famous search engine on the internet besides other search engines like altavista.com, yahoo, etc.

The word Google appears due to typos in the domain registration that was originally the word Googol coined by Milton Sirotta, a US Mathematics expert in mentioning the number 1 with 100 digits 0 (zero) behind it or it could be with the term 10 rank 100 which is intended to show that in Google has a lot of information that is almost “innumerable”.

Google was also born from a unique story of an accidental meeting between two people who were interested in the IT world. the two people are Larry Page Alumnus Univ. Michigan is 24 years old and Sergey Brain is 23 years old. they were still Masters students at Stanford University. The two met on a trip to enjoy a weekend vacation, at which time Sergey Brain accompanied Larry on a tour. On the way, the two of them discussed with each other the issue of how to recover data from massive data sets.

In January 1996, Larry and Sergey began collaborating in the creation of a search engine called the BackRub Project because it has a system that checks backlinks to estimate the significance of a site. At that time a small Search Engine named Rankdex was also conducting a similar investigation.

However, due to a setback, they both intended to sell the backrub project, but were refused. Because it cannot be sold, they want a new name for their machine. Initially they wanted the name Googol for its new search engine. A year later their unique approach to network analysis raised the reputation of BackRub / Googol. When they will buy a domain, it turns out there was an error in typing and turned into Google. Finally their search engine was used by Stanford University on google.stanford.edu.

Larry and Sergey continued to perfect Google technology throughout early 1998. Both also began to look for investors to develop Google’s technological sophistication. Tit for tat. They got an injection of funds from campus friend Andy Bechtolsheim, who is the founder of Sun Microsystems. Their meeting took place early in the morning on the porch of the Stanford faculty student dormitory, in Palo Alto. Larry and Sergey gave a short demo because Andy did not have enough time.

Through the demo, Andy agreed to provide financial assistance in the form of a check worth 100 thousand US dollars. Unfortunately, the check was written in the name of the Google company. Yet at that time a company called Google had not yet been founded by Sergey and Larry. Andy’s investment is a dilemma. Larry and Sergey would not be able to present checks as long as there is no legal institution called the Google company. Therefore, the two founders of Google are back to work hard in finding investments.

They looked for donors from family, friends, and colleagues until finally collected funds of about 1 million dollars (On September 4, 1998, Google which at that time was still based in the garage owned by a friend Larry Page and Sergey Grin had reached an investment of up to $ 1.1 million). And finally, the Google company was founded on Sept. 7, 1998 and was officially opened in Menlo Park, California.

Google’s mission is, “to gather world information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Google’s philosophy includes slogans such as “Don`t be evil”, and “Work should be challenging and challenges should be fun”, illustrating the relaxed corporate culture.

Google only moved offices in March 1999 to Palo Alto. Since that time Google has continued to grow and continue to get a lot of visits to its search engine because of its simple design and good search results.

In 2000 Google finally began to open channels of advertising based on keywords, namely Google Adwords. On September 4, 2001 Google also patented a system of ranking search results that is currently popularly called PageRank. Google’s success continues to skyrocket with more and more innovations and services that benefit internet users. It had made many other internet giants like Yahoo, even Microsoft became worried.

Even today Google continues to innovate by launching various new products such as Google Flip and is always updating and developing old products such as Picasa and Google Chrome. Even Google is also diligent in perfecting and completing various features of its products such as Google Translate, whose widgets can now be installed on all pages of the site.

Google is currently the number one company ranked in the top 100 most popular companies in America, with a number of employees around 10 thousand people.

Yahoo! is a popular web portal operated by a company called Yahoo! Inc …
Yahoo! initially just a kind of bookmark, the idea began in April 1994, when two Stanford University alumni were on vacation when their professor went out of town because of a large leave.

Engineering students David Filo and Jerry Yang have little work to do besides surfing the internet. They don’t take long to compile a large list of bookmarks, grouped by subject.

Then they think, why not put it on the web? They then work to create a database program to handle it, which can provide results online.

In March 1995, Yahoo entered into a business partnership with the owners of the Silicon Valley Venture capital. Then, they formed a partnership with Sequa Capital, a company that has a reputation in the field of investment including Apple Computers, Atari, Oracle, and Cisco Systems.

They agreed to fund Yahoo with an initial investment of close to $ 2 million. Because the realization of their new company had rapid potential growth, Jerry Yang and David began building a management team. They recruited a Motorola veteran and Stanford Engineering alumni named Tim Koogle as chief executive officer and Jeffry Mallet, Founder of Novell’s Consumer Division of Consumer as chief operating officer.

They managed to save the second round of funding in 1995 from Reuters Ltd. investors. and Softbank.

Yahoo! very successfully launched publicly in April 1996 with a total of 49 employees.

Currently, Yahoo! Inc. has become a leader in global communication via the internet, commercial, and media companies that have become a network service brand of more than 232 million individuals every month in cyberspace. As the first online navigation that guides the web, http://www.yahoo.com is the leader in the context of traffic, advertising, household needs, and business user reach.

Yahoo! is the first global internet brand to reach the biggest audience in cyberspace. The company also builds an online business with a service company that designs productivity and the web for its clients.

Designing services are included in the collaboration. Yahoo !, a customization solution for the company; audio and video streaming; shop hosting and management; and website services and equipment.

A network of global web companies is included in 25 world properties.
With headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, Yahoo! also has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Canada and the United States.

History George Floyd

A black man looked in pain when his body was crushed by the police. The man named George Floyd tried to catch his breath but the more he resisted, the greater the pressure felt.

Shortly after being rescued, George just breathed his last. The BBC reports his life was helpless even though he was rushed to hospital. Public outrage culminated in this incident.

Minneapolis is again witnessing how racism continues to undermine America.

Demonstrations over the death of George Floyd could not be dammed, the crowd huddled in front of the White House and began locking up government offices, where President Trump led his country. They demand justice for Floyd’s death.

This case is not as simple as another murder case. Insulated Floyd’s breath is a vivid portrait of how the black race stood in the shadow of fear.

Keisha N. Blain, an associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh wrote in the Washington Post that the violence against Floyd was only two months after the death of a black woman named Breonna Taylor.

Keisha revealed that the threat of black people in Minneapolis was not a pandemic virus, but police violence.

Based on history, violence like this has happened for centuries in America. For a long time, black people were only considered slaves and their rights were limited by white people who felt confident, their position was higher than black people.

Long before George Floyd was born, around the 20th century, capital punishment did not appear as a new tactic for controlling the lives of black people.

Anti-lynching fighter, Ida B. Wells-Barnett revealed in ‘The Red Record’ that the lynching of American blacks was not only planned beforehand but was also fully supported by the local police.

During the summer of 1919, massive racial violence erupted in America. In Chicago, Eugene Williams, a black teenager was killed on July 27, 1919 for swimming in a special section of ‘white’ Lake Michigan.

Just like anger after Floyd’s death, the crowd was also furious when William was killed.

The demonstration continued for about a month and ended in August 1919 with the deaths of 15 white people, 23 black people and at least 500 people injured. This number does not include thousands of black families who lost their homes.

Continuing Keisha’s writing, the police assault on black activists during the 1963 Birmingham campaign and the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march were the racist roots of the American police. The violence targets black men, women and children.

Sprinting away in 2009, for the first time America had a black president. He is Barrack Hussein Obama, who was installed on January 20. Of course this is a breath of fresh air for black citizens.

Unfortunately, even though Obama has many achievements in the field of government, he is still called the root of the increasing racial problems that have occurred throughout his administration.

Back to the murder of George Floyd, if Marthin Luther King Jr. was still alive, maybe he would stare blankly at the phenomenal speech paper ‘I Have Dream’. Will justice for black people forever be a dream?

History Gif

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a format that is often used in the web world and in the world of digital imagery. This GIF allows users to create simple animations that will make repeated movements so that it looks unique.

GIF which is now widely spread on various websites and applications shows short animations that make repetitive movements. But initially, GIF is a way to display photos.

The history of GIF began when Steve Wilhite started working on GIF in early 1986. At that time, he was a programmer for Compuserve – an online service that allows users to access chat rooms, forums and information such as stock prices.

Sandy Trevor, Wilhite’s supervisor at Compuserve, told WIRED that he wanted to solve two problems. First Compuserve requires a graphic format that works on all computers.

At that time the PC market was divided into several companies including Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM and Tandy, each of which had its own way of displaying graphics.

Compuserve had used other graphic formats in that era, such as NAPLPS, but Trevor considered it too complicated to apply. As a result he commissioned Wilhite to create a simple format that could work on any machine.

The second wish, Trevor wants Wilhite to create technology that can quickly display sharp images even on slow connections.

“In the 80s, 1200 baud was high-speed. Many people only have 300 baud modems, “Trevor said.

The average broadband connection in the United States is 40,000 times faster than a fast 1200 baud connection, so Compuserve requires very small files.

Another major web image format, JPEG, was being developed at the time. However, the format is more suitable for photos and other images that contain high amounts of detail and will not experience slight distortion.

Meanwhile, Compuserve requires a format to display stock prices, weather maps and other charts. As a result Wilhite decided to base GIF on a lossless compression protocol called Lempel-Ziv-Welch, or LZW.

Wilhite completed the first version of GIF in May 1987, and Compuserve began using the format the following month. This was recorded two years before Sir Tim Berners Lee announced his World Wide Web project and six years before the Mosiac browser made the web accessible to users, to make GIF as it is today.

GIF is fairly perfect for displaying logos, line art, and website diagrams like Wilhite’s first developed format. Because GIF images are transparent, it allows website designers to make more complex layouts.

Wilhite himself has the foresight to make his GIF expandable so that other developers are able to add other types of information to the GIF. This allowed the team at the Netscape browser to create an animated GIF standard in 1995.

“I’m not asking Steve to add as much as possible to his abilities, but I’m happy to do it,” Trevor said.

Shortly after, GIF adorned almost all websites. “Dancing Baby” became one of the first viral videos on the web. The 7-Up mascot who danced “Cool Spot” also made the first viral GIF.

Unfortunately the GIF firm reaps controversial patent controversy. In 1994, IT giant Unisys claimed to have the LZW protocol that Wilhite used in the GIF specification. The company threatened to sue anyone who makes software that can make or read GIFs without paying a license until finally Unisys’s LZW patent expires in 2006.

Even so, the GIF format still survives on web forums and sites like 4chan, Reddit, and Tumblr. Over time, many people use animation in conversations over the web until GIF becomes a new form of expression.

The rise of smartphones also makes this form of visual communication more attractive to users.

“With GIF you can express a variety of emotions,” said David McIntosh, CEO of Tenor.

Unfortunately, various technologies do not escape abuse. GIF, for example, is used to display negative content that is deemed inappropriate by some groups

Japanese Geisha History

Who does not know or at least has heard of beautiful Japanese ladies wrapped in this kimono. The existence of Japanese Geisha is identical with ‘entertainers’ and some even assume that they are some kind of commercial sex workers.

Japanese geisha in their own country is something taboo to talk about, even though everyone in the world knows about GEISHA’s existence.

Why taboo? Because understanding Geisha likes to be misunderstood by some people. That, yes it was, Japanese Geisha is always with a negative connotation.

But clearly, Geisha is interesting to discuss. Behind the graceful movements, indeed stored side of the mystery that invites a desire to be explored, both the side of the story of its existence and matters relating to the charm of sensuality.

History of Japanese Geisha
The history of geisha starts from the beginning of the Tokugawa government, where Japan entered a period of peace and was not so preoccupied with the problems of war. Indeed, Geisha was identical as a comfort woman at that time. However, they are required to have special expertise.

A prospective Japanese geisha must undergo rigorous arts training at an early age. Practicing Shamizen’s stringed instrument that made the prospective geisha have to soak her finger in ice water. Practicing other musical instruments is also like a small harbor to Taiko.

Not only that, Gisha also has to practice dance which is the key to the success of a geisha, because the top geisha are generally dancers. The Noh Mask Dance which is often played by geisha is presented to the upper classes of society. The segment is different from the Kabuki shows which are preferred by commoners.

What Is Japanese Geisha
Geisha (Japanese: 芸 seniman “artist”) are traditional Japanese entertainers. The word Geiko is used in Kyoto to refer to that individual.

Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and they still exist today, although they are not large in number.

In Kansai, the terms “geiko” (芸 妓) and budding geisha “maiko” (舞 妓) have been used since the Meiji Restoration. The term “maiko” is only used in the Kyoto district. The pronunciation ˈgi ʃa (“gei-” – “key”) or “geisha girl” commonly used during the US occupation in Japan, contains the connotation of prostitution.

In the People’s Republic of China, the word used is “yi ji,” whose pronunciation is similar to “ji” in Mandarin which means prostitution. Geisha learn many art forms in their lives, not only to entertain customers but also for their lives.

Geisha houses (“Okiya”) bring girls who are mostly from poor families and then train them. During childhood, geisha often worked as helpers, then as beginner geisha (maiko) during the training period.

The point is that Geisha are not comfort women, CSWs, or Escort ladies who can be taken to sleep by the adam, but that they were originally there because of career demands and the times that women can also be entertainers.

After 100 years since the Geisha existed, the uncertainty regarding the existence of the Geisha itself began to shift little by little. In Japan there were many adam at that time (husbands) who were dissatisfied with their household, because of the greatness of Geisha who could entertain, dance, make jokes and sing it was no wonder many husbands / men who wanted to find a Geisha as their life partner. And this is one example of the shift of Geisha, which had been a true entertainer hunted by the adam, which is only an escape from his reality.

Japanese Geisha Apparel / Clothing
In 1930, a Geisha appeared like a supermodel, beautiful, elegant, having a sexy body and still respecting ancient Japanese customs. And unique, Geisha woman is very close to the genitals that can invite the lust of the adam. This can be seen from the clothes of the geisha (kimono). And what opens is only the back of the neck in the form of V. The longer the V shape downward means that the Geisha is more provocative.

Did you know? Wearing Kimono is not as easy as we imagine. It turns out that the kimono shirt has 12 layers. And it must suit each suit !! At least, it takes more than 1 hour to wear Kimono perfectly.

And after the kimono is used the woman must adjust her movements. To determine the Young Geisha and Senior Geisha, just look at the color of the collar. If the collar is Red, it means Young Geisha, and if the white collar means Senior Geisha.

Problem Hair, Geisha sometimes wear wigs or hair in the form of waxing to make it more fluffy. and what needs to be avoided is too often washing hair or combing his hair which can result in hair loss or curls cannot expand. And in this case, they wash only twice a month.

A skill that must be possessed by a Japanese Geisha
Traditional dancing ability
Singing Ability
Communication skills
Joking ability
The secrecy that a Japanese Geisha should not do when he is entertaining and they must be good at keeping that a secret:

You can’t look sad, let alone cry
May not accept and give love
You can’t choose love
It must not be seen emotional let alone violent
Why? Because what is forbidden is a sacred thing given by God to humans, namely LOVE.

So, Geisha is not a prostitute. They are true art workers, preserving their culture, entertaining and making others happy. But if you see what is sacrificed for a Geisha to be able to entertain it is really ironic and unbalanced.

In the long history of Geisha, there are a number of facts about them. Perhaps, some have watched the film ‘MEMOIRS OF GEISHA’ a story about the life journey of an orphaned woman who was separated from her siblings, and finally educated to become a famous Geisha. Here are the facts:

Honko / Geisha
First we must know, in fact the geisha profession is not always acted by Japanese women. And it is true that even Japanese men choose to become geisha as their profession. Men who become geisha are called Honko, they also do as geisha do, dance, discuss, sing and accompany their guests in restaurants, bars and tea houses. And based on the record that the first geisha, was a man.

Japanese Geisha Artists
The true meaning of the geisha itself is an artist, artist or artist. But many people of the world who consider the geisha profession is no different from prostitution (PSK). If we search for it in the Google search engine, we will find an understanding that states that geisha are Japanese women who are trained to entertain men by talking, dancing and singing.

Even long ago, geisha were forced to perform a ceremony called mizuage. A ceremony welcomes the arrival of adulthood for a woman. During the ceremony the maikos (geisha who are still in education) are sold to the highest bidder to release their girlhood. However the ceremony is considered sacred and the maiko are still respected.

Japanese Geisha Without Identity (Anonimus)
We may know about the features and stories about Geisha. But they were deliberately created as a mysterious woman. To be a geisha is to be an unknown person, and this is conveyed in his education session. The geisha are required to hide everything that refers to their identity, such as names, home addresses and so on. Even though the guest was truly an honorable man.

Japanese Gisha Aurat
A geisha who is serving guests by making tea drinks will attract her kimono, so that the beauty of the skin on her arms can be seen by the man who is her guest. The behavior is a symbol of sensuality or temptation that will be enjoyed by his guests, and it is indeed required.

The Japanese Geisha Stigma
Like everything about geisha is a negative thing, even though there are many things that cannot be imagined from a geisha, especially in the cultural perspective. Their existence and attitude are very exclusive, so it’s no wonder people will say anything beyond the truth. Even with the modern version of geisha, the concept is far from the actual teachings of geisha, changing all the noble values ​​of geisha as performers of art.

Specially Designed Japanese Geisha Kimono
Because geisha is a person who has various skills, even for kimono they make it themselves. Even though many kimonos are sold in clothing stores, of course they are machine-made, but they always sew it themselves with fabrics made of silk. They won’t replace the kimono, as long as they are geisha. In addition to makeup, they spend two hours to make their faces and appearance beautiful and attractive.

Okiya Japanese Geisha
The geisha work in a place called Okiya, and are scouted by an okasan (hostess). But even though they work hard to accompany guests and even look after and take care of their clients’ homes, their wages go into the pocket of an okasan pocket. The money will be saved and used to care for the houses of the geisha (okiya) and maintain the continuity of the business.

Maiko and Hangyoku (young geisha)
Maiko is a term for a young geisha or girl who is undergoing education to become a Japanese geisha in Kyoto City. But in Tokyo this young woman is known as Hangyoku. To distinguish both of them, the Hangyoku wears a longer kimono with varied motifs so it looks more fashionable. While the Maiko are the opposite, they wear the same kimono with each other, even without the motives in their fabric though.

Japanese Geisha May Not Build A Bond Of Love
To say their name and place of origin, geisha are not allowed, let alone have an affair with a man. They are only allowed to have an affair and get married when they no longer work as geisha, or retire.

Toxins in Japanese Geisha’s Makeup
Tragically, they apply makeup to make it look white with lead powder. The dangerous cosmetics element was only discovered when a study was conducted in the Meiji era.

Those are 10 Facts about Geisha. Behind its mysteriousness, behind its graceful movements, behind its tightly closed makeup and kimono clothes, there is also its appeal. Geisha are indeed able to give charm even to the world.

History of Slavery in America

Slavery in America began when African slaves were first brought to the North American colony in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to assist in the production of profitable plants such as tobacco. Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and African-American slaves helped to build the economic foundations of the new nation. The discovery of gin (cotton seed separator) cotton in 1793 established the importance of the center of slavery for the Southern economy.

In the mid-19th century, America’s westward expansion, together with the abolition of the growing right in the North, sparked a huge debate over slavery that would trigger the American Civil War (1861-1865). Although the Union’s victory liberated 4 million nations from slavery, the legacy of slavery continued to influence American history, from the tumultuous years of Reconstruction (1865-1877) with the civil rights movement that emerged in 1960, a century after emancipation.

Background to Slavery in America

In the early 17th century, European settlers in North America turned to African slaves because it was cheaper as labor and more than poor European employees. After 1619, when a Dutch ship carrying 20 Africans in the British colony from Jamestown, Virginia, spread slavery throughout the American colonies.

Although it is not possible to give accurate figures, some historians have estimated that six to seven million slaves were imported into the New World in the 18th century.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, black slaves worked mainly on tobacco, rice and indigo plantations on the south coast. After the American Revolution (1775-1783), many Colonists (especially in the North, where slavery was relatively unimportant to the economy) began to link the black slave’s oppression to the British oppression of them, and called for the abolition of slavery.

After the war with England ended. The new US Constitution quietly recognizes the institution, counting each slave to three-fifths of the people for taxation and representation purposes in Congress. It can be seen that the US wants to form the basis for slavery by giving every right and service.

The Importance of Cotton Separator

At the end of the 18th century, with land used to grow tobacco almost exhausted, the southern Colonies faced an economic crisis, and the growth of slavery in America became increasingly dubious. Around the same time, the mechanization of the textile industry in England caused a huge demand for cotton to America, the yields of southern colonies whose production was unfortunately limited by the difficulty of separating seeds from raw cotton fiber by hand.

In 1793, a Yankee (a resident of the northeastern United States) who was a young teacher named Eli Whitney invented cotton gin, a simple mechanical device that efficiently separated seeds from cotton. the device was widely used, and in a few years, southern America could produce tobacco and cotton on a large scale. This has caused the need for slave labor to increase.

Slavery itself was never widespread in the North, although many entrepreneurs in the region grew rich with slave trade and investment in southern plantations.

Between 1774 and 1804, all northern states abolished slavery, but the so-called “special institutions” remained truly important for the South. Although the US Congress banned African slave trade in 1808, domestic trade was growing, and the slave population in the US nearly tripled in the next 50 years. In 1860 black slaves in America reached nearly 4 million, with more than half living in the cotton-producing countries of the South.

Slaves and Slave Owners

Slaves in America, which is South, are about one third of the southern population. Most slaves lived on large farms or small plantations. Slave owners tried to make their slaves entirely dependent on them, and the system that limited their lives. They are prohibited from learning to read and write, and their behavior and movements are restricted.

Many slaves were used as sexual vents. Those who behave well will get good treatment, while rebel slaves will be brutally punished. A strict hierarchy between slaves, from slaves in a mansion to slaves who became laborers in the rough.

The formation of the hierarchy also triggers them and tends to organize against their masters. Marriage between slaves has no legal basis, but their slaves are allowed to marry and raise their families.

Rebellion by slaves occurred during the enslavement system in America. One of them was carried out by Gabriel Prosser in Richmond (1800) and Danish Vesey in Charleston (1822). The most frightening rebellion occurred in August 1831, led by Nat Turner in Southampton, Virginia. At that time Turnur’s group of about 75 blacks killed around 60 white people.

These rebellions led the camps of slavery supporters to consider that the slaves were barbaric and of low ethics so that they needed slavery to discipline them.

The rebellion that occurred made the southern states of the US strengthen slavery rules by restricting education, freedom of assembly. Unlike in the northern part of the US, the suppression of slavery in the south is fueling an equal movement and abolition of slavery.

The Rise of the Abolition of Slavery

From 1830 to 1860, the abolition of slavery moved in the north of the United States. This movement was led by free black people like Fredrick Douglass and white people like William William Lloyd Garrison, founder of the radical liberation newspaper, and Harriet Beecher Stowe who published the popular novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (1852).

Meanwhile, many activists who oppose slavery believe that the sale of slaves is a sin, and those who are inclined to non-religionists claim that the sale of slaves is regressive, inefficient, and has little economic value.

The freedom of black people in the north of the US encouraged slaves from the south to flee to the north through a hiding network since the early 1780s. This network known as the Underground Railroad managed to escape the flight of about 40,000 to 100,000 slaves headed north to enjoy freedom.

Slavery Debate in America

The growth and explosion of American expansion westward in the 19th century had an impact on the development of conflict over slavery in America. In 1820 there was a bitter debate about the right of the federal government to limit slavery.

In 1850 it was negotiated on the rules regarding slavery. While all states each have their own legislation regarding slaves, there are many similar concepts that all slave states have. According to slave legislation, teaching a slave to read or write is illegal, although this often happens because children often teach each other.

Although slave legislation has many common characteristics, each state has laws or variations that are compatible with the laws of the place. For example, in Alabama, slaves were not allowed to leave their employers’ grounds without written permission, slaves were also not allowed to trade goods among themselves. In Virginia, slaves were not allowed to indulge in public places within a mile (1.6 kilometers) of their employer’s place or during meetings in public places.

In Ohio an emancipated slave was prohibited from returning to the state where he had been enslaved. In any slave state, slaves were not permitted to carry firearms.

Legislation for the District of Columbia defines a slave as “a human being, whose liberty has been taken for a lifetime, and which belongs to another.”

Civil War and Emancipation
The south reached its peak the following year, when Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Within three months, seven southern states had separated to form the United Confederation; four will follow after the Civil War (1861-1865) began. Despite Lincoln’s established anti-slavery outlook, the purpose of the war was not initially to abolish slavery, but to preserve the United States as a nation.

The abolition of slavery then became a goal in civil war, military needs and growing anti-slavery sentiments in the North, as well as the emancipation of African-Americans. Many black people then joined the American Union forces to fight with the southern region. Five days after the victory of the United States Government in September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and on 1 January 1863 established the abolition of slavery in all US states.

With the enactment of anti-slavery provisions in the US. About 3 million black slaves in the areas of rebellion against the government were freed. About 186,000 black soldiers who initially helped overcome the rebellion then officially joined the US army.

The civil war that ended in 1865 resulted in 38,000 black people being killed. The total death toll is around 620,000 from the US population at that time around 35 million. This is noted as the bloodiest conflict in American history.

Post-Abandoned Periods of Slavery

In the 13th amendment to the US constitution at the end of 1865, it explicitly abolished slavery, although it was still uncertain to fully liberate post-war slavery in the south and the challenges of the Reconstruction Period (1865-1877). At the amendment to the 14th constitution, slaves will be freed and will receive citizenship rights and “equal protection” as US citizens.

Although the constitution guarantees equality of blacks in various fields of life, including American political life. Disappointment persists among black people. Supermasi whites still occur in several US states, such as the development of racist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan which once triumphed in the south in 1877.

A century later, resistance to racism and discrimination in the United States led to civil rights equality movements in the 1960s achieving political and social benefits.

One figure in equality of rights, Martin Luther King Jr. is a very influential figure in the struggle for equal rights in the United States. He fought for racial equality which was very difficult to obtain at the time. In addition to fighting for racial equality, he is also known as the most influential black figure in the struggle for racial equality in the history of the United States.