1.Changing form Absolute Monarchy to Constitutional Monarchy (Rama VII [Prajadhipok Phra Pok Klao Chaoyuhua]) This provided more equality, since it gave people more voice. People now had more say in how they felt about how they were governed, and they could change it if they disliked it. Democracy was introduced, while the ancient tradtion of Monarchy was still kept. The king is still a figurehead and can still earn respect and admiration from the people. This is the most important because this ultimately determined how the country is shaped today by the people who governing because of this political change.
2.Abolishment of Slavery (Rama V [King Chulalongkorn Phra Chulachomklao- Piya Maharaj]) The most important thing is that this provided equality and everybody became equal in society. Everyone was a citizen that was part of the population. People became more independent and had to depend on themselves. People were able to pursue what they want, and not live their lives according to who they were born to. This allows the varuety of jobs and people that we have today.
3.Moving the Capital from Thonburi to Krungthep (Rama I [King Buddha Yot Fa Chulalok]) This was important because it changed the possbilities for the future. By moving to Krungthep, it was better for trade and it was easier to defend from any outside threat
4. Ceding Land to France and Britain (Rama V [King Chulalongkorn Phra Chulachomklao- Piya Maharaj]) It allowed the country to be independent and avoid becoming a coloony. It allowed the country to develop.
5. Primary Education made Compulsory (Rama VI [King Vajiravudh- Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua]) This was important becasue everyone would be educated to some level and it allowed the country to modernize. People were no longer judged by family background.
6. First University in Thailand (Rama VI Rama VI [King Vajiravudh- Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua]) This raised the standard of education and the education in Thailand was no less than other countries. People could pursue more education.
7. Sign Treaties with Western Countries (Rama IV [King Mongkut- Phra Chom Klao]) This created better relationships with the West, and it made Thailand a more familar country to the west. This helped Thailand to negotiate itself out of coloniztion.
8. Developing a Fatherly Style of Leading (Rama IV [King Mongkut- Phra Chom Klao]) It made the Kings more close to the people and people admired the kings more and allowed the continuation of the monarchy.
9.Wild Tiger Corps (Rama VI [King Vajiravudh- Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua]) It taught discipline and supported the army. This created more unity.
10.Changing the Flag (Rama VI [King Vajiravudh- Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua]) This made the Thai flag more recognizable to others. It encouraged nationalism, as the flag represented, King, Buddhism, adn constitution.
Posted by Camp, Gain, Victoria
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC.)
The Qin dynasty marked the true beginning of the unified lands we now called China.
The fall of the Zhou dynasty in 700 BC. led to the rise of the Qin dynasty 500 years later. The royal Zhou family became weak, and nobles took uncontrollable power causing continuous series of rebels. The Zhou dynasty finally reached its end. (4) After the fall of the capital, Zongzhou, small cities-states arose and started battling other states in order to settle in the former land of Zhou, and Qin state was one of them. During the Chunqiu period (722-481 BC.) the Qin state was able to unify other neighboring areas and by the end of 400 BC., Qin was able to control the entire former Western Zhou. In the next century, Qin state began political reforms which allowed Qin to remain strong and taking over other states. Finally Qin state became Qin dynasty after the unification of China in 221 BC. (1)
Many Dukes had been fighting and reforming before the state of Qin could become a real powerful empire. King Zheng was in controlled when Qin became China, so he named himself Qin Shihuangdi or the first emperor. (1)He wished to build an empire that will last thousands of years but he knew not that his dynasty only last four years after his death. (2)
During 200 BC., many things happened around the world along with the creation of China. Aritstarchus of Samos made a discovery on the size of Earth, Sun and the moon. He also calculated the distance between Earth and the Sun. Another Greek mathematician, Archemides, showed the value of pi and calculated area of a circle, and yet another Greek also discovered the law of specific gravity. During the time, the Asoka’s Empire took over India and ruled according to Buddhist laws. The Punic Wars were a big event when Hannibal led his army into battle to fulfill his great ambition. In addition, those years were bloody when Ptolemy IV of Egypt won Antiochus III of Syria in the series of Syrian Wars. The third century BC. were years of bloodsheds and discoveries. (3)
Even though the reign of Qin dynasty was short, it had made a lot of reforms and creations that still exist today. Feudalism was completely abolished and so the land were taken away from nobles and distributed to peasants. The empire had new sets of law based upon the idea that people has equal rights. The empire was divided into 36 provinces, each with its own governor that worked under the government. Men are recruited into the military. (1) Chinese written language, currency and measurements were standardized. (2) The emperor ruled his nation by totalitarian which means strict laws and deadly punishments. He ordered mass murder on people that opposed his rule. He also wanted all books burned fearing that intellectuals will took over him. He seized weapons from his people and used the metal for the construction of his grand palace. He wanted all rich families to stay in the capital so that they could be kept under state control. He commanded 500,000 soldiers and laborers to build the Great Wall to stop invasion from the north. (1) Another big group of builders were sent to Xian capital to construct the massive underground palace where thousand of terra-cotta warriors stand. The empire only lasted 14 years, but so many things were accomplished. (3)
After the death of Shihuangdi, his heirs were not strong enough to rule the empire. The court was unable to control the rebels which were growing. The nation went out of control and became chaos. The young prince was put to the throne and immediately surrendered to the people. Civil wars raged through China and Qin dynasty came to an end in 206 BC. (1)
The fall of the Zhou dynasty in 700 BC. led to the rise of the Qin dynasty 500 years later. The royal Zhou family became weak, and nobles took uncontrollable power causing continuous series of rebels. The Zhou dynasty finally reached its end. (4) After the fall of the capital, Zongzhou, small cities-states arose and started battling other states in order to settle in the former land of Zhou, and Qin state was one of them. During the Chunqiu period (722-481 BC.) the Qin state was able to unify other neighboring areas and by the end of 400 BC., Qin was able to control the entire former Western Zhou. In the next century, Qin state began political reforms which allowed Qin to remain strong and taking over other states. Finally Qin state became Qin dynasty after the unification of China in 221 BC. (1)
Many Dukes had been fighting and reforming before the state of Qin could become a real powerful empire. King Zheng was in controlled when Qin became China, so he named himself Qin Shihuangdi or the first emperor. (1)He wished to build an empire that will last thousands of years but he knew not that his dynasty only last four years after his death. (2)During 200 BC., many things happened around the world along with the creation of China. Aritstarchus of Samos made a discovery on the size of Earth, Sun and the moon. He also calculated the distance between Earth and the Sun. Another Greek mathematician, Archemides, showed the value of pi and calculated area of a circle, and yet another Greek also discovered the law of specific gravity. During the time, the Asoka’s Empire took over India and ruled according to Buddhist laws. The Punic Wars were a big event when Hannibal led his army into battle to fulfill his great ambition. In addition, those years were bloody when Ptolemy IV of Egypt won Antiochus III of Syria in the series of Syrian Wars. The third century BC. were years of bloodsheds and discoveries. (3)
Even though the reign of Qin dynasty was short, it had made a lot of reforms and creations that still exist today. Feudalism was completely abolished and so the land were taken away from nobles and distributed to peasants. The empire had new sets of law based upon the idea that people has equal rights. The empire was divided into 36 provinces, each with its own governor that worked under the government. Men are recruited into the military. (1) Chinese written language, currency and measurements were standardized. (2) The emperor ruled his nation by totalitarian which means strict laws and deadly punishments. He ordered mass murder on people that opposed his rule. He also wanted all books burned fearing that intellectuals will took over him. He seized weapons from his people and used the metal for the construction of his grand palace. He wanted all rich families to stay in the capital so that they could be kept under state control. He commanded 500,000 soldiers and laborers to build the Great Wall to stop invasion from the north. (1) Another big group of builders were sent to Xian capital to construct the massive underground palace where thousand of terra-cotta warriors stand. The empire only lasted 14 years, but so many things were accomplished. (3)
After the death of Shihuangdi, his heirs were not strong enough to rule the empire. The court was unable to control the rebels which were growing. The nation went out of control and became chaos. The young prince was put to the throne and immediately surrendered to the people. Civil wars raged through China and Qin dynasty came to an end in 206 BC. (1)
Work Cited
1.) "Qin Dynasty," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007
2.) http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/greatwall/Emperor.html Col, Jeananda. Enchanted Learning. http://www.EnchantedLearning.com 1996
3.)http://www.data.historycentral.com/dates/300bc.html HistoryCentral © 2000 MultiEducator, Inc.
4.)http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/qin.html Copyright © 2007MSU EMuseum TN 337 Minnesota State University
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Indonesia Wildfire in 1997
Indonesia has numerous histories of wildfire which cause extreme consequences throughout the whole island. Following the largest forest fire in history in 1982, another disastrous wildfire struck the island of Borneo and Sumatra again in 1997.
Wildfire might not seem to be a severe disaster to human. In reality, number of deaths is low, but the casualties are massive. The year 1997 and 1998 are the years with very strong El Nino or extreme dry and hot weather, weather suitable for a nice fire outbreak in the tropical forest of Indonesia. (5.) It became the fire season for Indonesia. Most of the wildfires in Indonesia are caused by human errors. It is a country where agriculture plays a big role in producing the economy as well as creating fire which may last for months. (2.)
During those years of drought, the soil poor are almost impossible to grow any crops on. Fire is the cheapest available way for farmers to fertilize the poor soil and to forest and land clearing, but due to the dry and hot weather, fire became unstoppable and raged through the tropical rain forest and the grassland. Sumatra, Borneo and Kalimantan blazed for months between 1997 and 1998 and caused long term effects on the world. (2.)
The blaze affects the whole world by polluting the atmosphere with massive amount of carbon dioxide. The picture above by NASA shows the amount of toxic carbon monoxide pollution in the year of the wildfire. In that year, the growth rate of carbon in the atmosphere doubled which will have a great impact to the world. In total, it releases about 2 billion tons of carbon into the atmospere which is almost 40 percent of the annually global carbon produced fossil fuel. The dust, smoke and vapor covered the area about the size of Europe. (5.)
As you can see, the amount polluting carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and the haze will cause severe health problems to living things in the area. (2.)No death was reported when the disaster occurred, but over 20 million people breathed in highly polluted air which will cause long-term health problems. People in Indonesia and Malaysia were told to remain indoors while schools, offices and factories were closed. Flights were canceled and shipping was stuck for months. In Kalimantan alone, 900,000 hectares of land had been burned. For the whole of Indonesia, about 10 million hectares of national forest were destroyed as well as disturbing the wildlife in those areas. It destructed the habitats of some endangered species such as bears, tigers, rhinos, elephants and orangutans. (4.) The fire provided nutrient for the sea to produce red tide which destroy coral reefs in Mentawai Islands. People and wildlife would have to adapt to their new way of life. The total casualties costed 17 billion US dollars. (1.)
Even though vast area of land and forest were burned, people still decided to stay instead of evacuating. On the other hand, the fire returned nutrient back to the soil which makes farming very efficient, and people are willing to take the risk. (2.)
Since 1987, Indonesia has been working with Malaysia and Singapore in a workshop hosted by the German Government. They outlined the "Long-term Integrated Fire Management for Indonesia." They built up fire management facilities in East-Kalimantan including fire detection, fire danger rating anf trained personnel to prevent and fight fires. The fire management capabilities alone would not be enough to prevent fire. The government wanted fire to be completely banned because the main cause of fire is that people use fire carelessly. (2.)
Sources :
1.) http://www.disastercenter.com/disaster/TOP100C.html
2.) http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/iffn/country/id/id_12.htm
3.) http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0888-8892(199810)12:5%3C954:EEOWOL%3E2.0.CO;2-U
4.) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2002/2002-11-08-06.asp
5.) http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/elnino_wildfire.html
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