The European philosophers and scientists who led the Enlightenment were dominated by Isaac Newton (1643-1727), who co-invented calculus and produced the first unified theory of nature.
This is interesting because I have heard about Isaac Newton but I actually didn't know he was that important and made that big of an impact on society and philosophers and scientists.
The development of science in Europe during the Renaissance would not have been possible without the contributions made by Muslim scholars.
This is interesting because in my opinion I would have never thought that Muslim people lived in Europe and they were very important to them back then.
Many members of the nobility, particularly in northern Germany and Scandinavia, embraced Luther’s ideas not only for theological reasons but also for political reasons: they would no longer need to pay tribute and pledge to submit their authority to the Pope in Rome.
This is interesting because it reveals that the reformation was more than just religion.
Feudal lords squeezed their peasants for crops and labor, and states raised taxes. Several million died during the famine, and then two thirds of Europe’s population disappeared between the plague’s arrival in 1347 and 1353
This is interesting because it highlights how ordinary people suffered. This also explained major changes and this represents the present for example COVID-19.
In comparison, the fourteen nations of western Europe produced just about half of China’s GDP or only one-eight of the global total production. The largest European economy, in Italy, produced only about one-sixth of China’s output.
This shows how powerful China was and how much they were producing compared to all of the other European countries.
When the Yongle Emperor’s son and grandson inherited the throne, Zheng He’s expeditions gradually became less of a priority
This showed how after the son and grandson took over they didn't was to go on the expeditions and that was at the bottom of their list of priorities.
Often, when local leaders seemed unwilling to submit, Zheng He seized them and brought them to Beijing where they could be convinced of the overwhelming power of the Chinese Empire.
This shows how rude Zheng He was and that if he didn't get what he wanted it was not good and some not so good things happened like seizing leaders and bringing them to Beijing.
Hongwu had fought his way to prominence by eliminating his rivals and trusting only his family
This expresses how after Confucian died and Hongwu became the ruler the country was much more strict and no one could trust anyone besides close ones like family.
The indigenous in central Mexico developed other plants to flavor their cuisine: the various types of hot peppers, beans, and tomatoes present in Mexican food today were enjoyed by the Olmecs, Toltecs, and Mexica hundreds of years before their encounter with Europeans in the sixteenth century. The Meso-Americans also ground cocoa beans and added hot water, peppers, and honey to make hot chocolate–even today, millions of Latin Americans begin and end their day with a cup, prepared in a traditional olleta with a hand-held batidor, using chunks of chocolate. However, such a delicious drink was originally reserved for the nobility, and cocoa beans themselves were often used as a kind of currency.
This was interesting because the indigenous people in central Mexico were basically creating their own plants and most likely you wouldn't see that today because back then they didn't have all the things that we have today and mainly just had the simple main foods and not all the "fancy" foods.
Staple crops produce the foods that provide the greatest percentage of the calories people eat. It might surprise you that today only about fifteen staple crops account for 90% of the calories people eat every day.
I found it interesting and was surprised by the fact that only 15 staple crops like grain account for 90% of the total amount of calories everyone eats every day.
Farming developed in a number of different parts of the ancient world, before the beginning of recorded history. That means it’s very difficult for historians to describe early agricultural societies in as much detail as we’d like.
I think this was interesting because I would have thought that we would have at least a little bit of evidence of the farming back then but most people don't know at all what it was like.