Mr. Stein's Global History Virtual Notebook

Simon Bolivar and the other “Libradores” freed Latin America from Spanish rule in the early 1800′s but true democracy did not come to Latin America until only recently.  Since liberation from Spain the nations of Latin America have suffered from military dictatorship after military dictatorship.  Why do you think democracy failed to take root in these states after their revolutions?

Since its days as a Spanish colony Latin America has been effected by the social order imposed by the Spanish.  How do you think the effects of the system imposed by the Spanish will manifest themselves throughout the history of Latin America?

Apartheid was the law of the land in South Africa long before there was even a nation of South Africa.  Why do you think it took so long for an Enlightened nation to get rid of law that violates the human rights of the majority of the population?

In 1660 Jan Van Riebeck planted a bitter almond hedge around the Dutch Colony at the Cape in South Africa.  The hedge was meant to protect the Dutch settlers from the dangers at the edge of Africa but it would have long lasting effects.  What do you think the long last impact of the bitter almond hedge has been on South Africa?

After the 1989 Tienanmen Square Massacre the Chinese government seemingly made an unspoken agreement with the Chinese people.  The government would restrict freedom, not allow democracy and increase censorship.   In exchange the Chinese people would begin to see their quality of life rise and more and more people would have access to a better life for themselves.  Would you have made the made the same “bargain”?  Would you trade away your rights and freedom in exchange for a better standard of living? Why or why not?

Mao versus Deng…who did more to modernize China and make it the great rising power that
it is today.  Pick a leader and explain why his modernization plan did more to make China what it is today.

What do you think?  Sounds exciting to be a teenager and to have the power in the society in  which you live.  Would you like to live in a society where kids had the kids of powers that the Red Guard had in China?  Why or why not?  What do you think would happen in a society where adults feared being reported on by the kids?

The Chinese Civil war culminated after World War II.  The U.S. supported Jiang to the  bitter end even after it was clear that Mao would be the eventual winner.  We even supported Jiang as he and his followers fled to the island of Taiwan. We even continued to support Jiang’s people for decades refusing to even acknowledge the existence of the government in Beijing.  To this day America still protects the government Jiang left in place on Taiwan.  The question is why have we stayed so loyal to Jiang and his followers?  Do you think ourloyalty to Jiang hurt our relationship with China?

It seems as if everyone today knows that China is led a by dictatorship that practices a communist  economic system.  Well, what if?  What if Sun Yixan lives past 1925?  How might China be different today if Sun and his 3 Principles had lasted longer?  What might have happened if Yixan had been able to implement some of his plans?

Negotiators have sought peace in the Middle East since the birth of the state of Israel in 1948 however that peace has been elusive.  After today’s experience in class why is it that peace is so hard to achieve in the Middle East?