Western Egocentric Perception Of History

Was Europe in a "dark age" during the 500 to 1500? The term came from an Italian scholar named Petrarch. The time period had universities, education, a lot of food, population, the Magna Carta, black death, the decline in trade, and a lot of chaos (dark ages). While Europe had a lot of up's and down's, Europe was in a "dark age" during the 500 to 1500 time period. Europe was not in a "dark age" because there was a lot of growth in Europe.

Instead growing the same crops in the same field every year, which can ruin the soil, they would capriciously switch fields to refuel the nitrogen in the ground

In The Worst Hard Time, the author explains how new technology led to overproduction of many crops. A tractor was able to do the work of ten horses and a combine was able to thresh grain in one swoop. A farmer’s harvest could even go up by the thousands. As the farmers made more money they bought nearby land and ripped the grass out to make more space for more crops (Doc. C). With the overproduction of land came bare fields.

In the 1300's, an Italian scholar named Petrach used the term "dark ages" to describe the medieval period (Movie Talk: The Dark Ages). Petrach applied the "dark" and "light" terms to learning. Petrach believed that the Romans and Ancient Greeks were in the "light" of learning. The following period, the middle ages, was in the "dark''. Ever since he used the term, historians have been debating whether the time period between the 500's and the 1500's were really a "dark age.

Europe in Dark Age Before you say “Europe was never in a dark age.” think of the middle ages right after the fall of Rome, in The Crusades or The Black Death. These are just examples of why Europe was in a dark age. The phrase dark age means unsightly and dreadful, the term comes from Francesco Petrarch, he was an Italian scholar who compared Europe to Asia. The dark ages lasted 500 AD to 1500 AD.

Horses also introduced greater mobility and strength than humans could provide, making them useful for warfare and farming as a horse could be used for

Technological advances included the use of a tractor with a plow and a combine. The tractor made farming more prosperous and helped quicken the process. “With his new combine, Folkers could cut and thresh the grain in one swoop, using just a fraction of the labor...” (Egan). Tractors helped keep farmers afloat but also set them up for a downward spiral.

The metal plow was brought by the Spanish along with the cattle. The Europeans were able to increase the scale of their agricultural operations thanks to this device, attached to livestock. More agricultural land produced more food, which in turn expanded population and extended life expectancy. Additionally, cattle provide a consistent source of protein in the form of meat and dairy goods. Europeans were able to travel farther into the interior of the continents thanks to the horse.

“The vision of a huge fertile garden extending from the Appalachians to the Pacific Ocean had inspired Americans since the early days of the republic” (Out of Many - A History of the American People, pg. 622). Since its beginning, the American ways of farming had always been gradually evolving, but in the time between 1865 and 1900, it transformed like never before. The American tradition of agriculture would experience dramatic changes, as the growth of production and agribusiness would ensue from revolutions in technology, massive increase in population, and alterations in government policies. A major factor in changing the way of agriculture was the new technology being developed in farming and transportation.

Kate Foley Ms. Zisel Global 9H April 2nd, 2017 The Middle Ages was a time of destruction and redemption for the people of the Roman Empire between A.D. 500-1400. The best description of this time period can be represented by four terms, the Golden Age, the Dark Age, the Age of Faith and the Age of Feudalism. Each time caused for a significant change in society that had a tremendous impact. From the troubling times of invasions and destructions to a time of prosperity and progression, the best terms that describe the Middle Ages are the Dark Ages and the Golden Ages.

The Dark Ages consisted of invasion, and loss of trade and government. “The barbarians have broken through the ramparts. The Saracen [Moors] invasions have spread in successive waves over the South. There is no longer any trade, only unceasing terror...society has no longer any government,” (Doc. 1). These problems led to the decline and therefore this period of time was named the Dark Ages.

The age of Faith couldn't be the best because the church manipulated their followers. The Golden Age also couldn't be the best because all the good things came from something bad. The church acted as a good distraction and form of security from chaos, but it had bad intentions. As a result, the medieval period is also known as the Dark

Chapter 6- Economy and Society of the High Middle Ages 6.1- Europe’s population grew rapidly in the high middle ages which caused agricultural production to increase due to the spread of new technologies and newly cultivated lands. 6.2- Technological innovations for agriculture produced the economic prosperities prior to the nineteenth century, because the economy was reliant on agriculture, although much of the technology wasn’t widespread until after 1050. 6.2.1- In the eleventh-century water and wind power were being exploited, by the end of the century water mills fell into disrepair and windmills became more popular, it took two centuries for them to appear in Western Europe.

The horse collars were invented to be use as a harness for plow horses, and it impacted Western Europe by having horses increase effectiveness by plowing in a short amount of

The plow horse was a horse that had on horseshoes, a horse collar, and was selectively bred. The horseshoe let the horse work hard without the hooves cracking, while the horse collar acted as a barrier to make the horse pull the heavy load from their chest instead of straining their neck. The horses being selectively bred allowed the peasants to gain two more hours in the work day because the horses were stronger and faster. Overall, the innovations allowed the peasants to have an easier time going through the agriculture process. There were many economic and social changes that occurred in the Late Middle Ages.