Asoka was an enlightened ruler because he added Kalinga to India, made many reforms, and spreaded welfare.
Asoka added Kalinga to India. Kalinga was awkwardly located in the middle of India which made it arduous to travel from one side to the other (Doc A). And by strategically adding Kalinga, Asoka made traveling throughout the Indian empire much easier. Indians could take a direct route, rather than rerouting and significantly lengthening their trek. Asoka also prevented India from invasion, as Kalinga was India’s only enemy. Furthermore, Kalinga was “a powerful maritime area” (Doc B). This meant that Kalinga had a bustling fishing industry, was rich in natural resources, and was a powerful trading nation. And when added to the empire, Kalinga provided a significant economic boost to India. Asoka added Kalinga to India, not simply to expand. He added Kalinga because he
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acknowledged India’s problems and identified Kalinga as one of the solutions; and he was right. Inside India, Asoka made many reforms. For example, one of his edicts: “Medicinal herbs… have been brought and planted wherever they did not grow” (Doc D). This reform drastically improved the general health. For example, a woman needs Herb X within 2 days, or she will die. But Herb X only grows 2,000 miles away, and she dies. Her disease, however, is also communicable. And now everyone has it in her village. All of them could die. But with Asoka’s reform, this hypothetical woman would not have died, and her disease would have been treated before it could spread, preventing thousands of deaths. Another one of Asoka’s important reforms can be found on Pillar Edict IV: “…prisoners who have been convicted and sentenced to death shall be granted a respite of three days when their relatives may appeal to the officials for the prisoners’ lives” (Doc D). This reform gave prisoners a second chance; if sentenced to death, they could live. Asoka pardoned criminals because he realized that life is beautiful, and understood that the most valuable thing in life, is life. He saved thousands of lives by making medicine more easily accessible. He allowed prisoners to have second chances. He made it his duty to protect and save lives. And he succeeded. Asoka also made it his duty to spread welfare.
But some argue that he was ruthless. They say that Asoka was responsible for 200,000 deaths during his conquest of Kalinga. They also say that he displaced 150,000 Kalingans after his conquest. They claim that he had already killed hundreds of thousands of Kalingans and still forced the remaining Kalingans off their land, suggesting that he had no compassion for human life. But Asoka was not ruthless: “…if a hundredth or a thousandth part of those people who were killed or died or were deported when Kalinga was annexed were to suffer…, it would weigh heavily on the mind of the Beloved of the Gods [Asoka]” (Doc E). Asoka had pity for the deaths he caused; and therefore had ruth. And after the war, Asoka realized that the killing of thousands of people was wrong and made it his duty to spread welfare: “…Asoka gave rich gifts to the poor. He consulted with local communities about proper governance, about good conduct…” (Doc C). Asoka overwhelmed his wrongdoings with his many righteous deeds. He killed thousands of people, but he was not
ruthless.
In the 1300s Mansa Musa, king of Mali took his holy pilgrimage to the city of Mecca as a devout muslim, traveling through scorching deserts and bustling cities, although there might be other reasons he took his religious Hajj. The pilgrimage of Mansa Musa traveled all across Northern Africa and Arabia, stopping in cities along the way where Mansa Musa gave out gold to all he saw. The journey from the Empire of Mali to the city of Mecca was not only a faithful religious journey to the holy city, but also to create a name for Mali as the wealthy and powerful empire it was.
As the Reconstruction Era ended, the United States became the up and coming world power. The Spanish-American war was in full swing, and the First World War was well on its way. As a result of the open-door policy, England, Germany, France, Russia, and eventually Japan experienced rapid industrial growth; the United States decided to pursue a foreign policy because of both self- interest and idealism. According to the documents, Economic self- interest, rather than idealism was more significant in driving American foreign policy from 1895 to 1920 because the United States wanted to protect their foreign trade, property and their access to recourses. While the documents also show that Nationalistic thought (idealism) was also crucial in driving American foreign policy, economic Self- interest prevailed.
Asoka was a ruler of Ancient India and has done evil, but good things, so would you think he is a ruthless conqueror or an enlightened ruler? Asoka had been a ruler in 268 BC. He had conquered an emperor, Kalinga. During the war, he had killed many people. Because he felt a great crisis, he decided to seek enlightenment. After seeking enlightenment with a buddhist monk, he helped his citizens. Because Asoka was remorse after the killings of many people, he helped the poor, and spread the Buddha’s beliefs while still honoring the traditions of the Hindu religion in India, proving Asoka really was an enlightened ruler.
In today’s society many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get in involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and state that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb.
As I walked through the snow with aching, raw feet, the blood, making a trail behind me, I soon began to realize how Valley Forge and this whole war in it’s entirety was driving me to the point where I wanted to quit. It was the winter of 1777 and the American Army was forced to set up camp 18 miles outside of Philadelphia, we called it Valley Forge. The question that keeps popping up in my mind while I sit miserably in my hut is, am I going to re-enlist? I am not going to re-enlist for 3 reasons; death and illness, harsh conditions, and the lack of support and supplies.
East Asia from 1450-1750, including China, Japan, and Ming China, used many different strategies for empire and state building including taking voyages around the world to get ideas for their empire, having a good educational system and a strong, powerful government, including women in schooling and political events, having different views on religious freedoms and having a tough military.
“Season of Hope” happened during 1870 to 1890. “Some blacks in the South pressured plantation owners into adopting individual family farming.” Also, black men’s voting rights were guaranteed and even some office accepted black. Benjamin Singleton, a slave who escaped from his owner tried to help other move to Kansas. Those who answered him were called “Exodusters”. Singleton helped black people start their own industries, even though he sooner realized he was not strong enough to do that. From 1890 the Southern states began to enforce white supremacy through disfranchisement and segregation. They tried to remove African-American from the vote list so that they could do whatever they want. Not only the race separation, black people were also
Throughout Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, nations were filled with poor and less fortunate individuals. While the nobles of countries such as France and England ruled their lands, many forgot about the underprivileged that roamed the city streets begging for alms. As a result, the opinions towards these lower class people were very differentiated. However, three main opinions stood out. All in all, the views of the poor in fifteenth – eighteenth century Europe included those who believed individuals should help the poor because it is the right thing to do, those who believed individuals should help the poor for God, and those who believed the poor were just idlers
With power that he received and the entire area completely conquered, he the continued his work and managed the government. He favored the instillation of several missions. Introduced traded of new plants, promoted cotton, and publicized Indian
Asoka’s conversion to Buddhism, affected with the help of his own teacher, Upragupta, was gradual. Even though he did little to change the system of government he inherited, he introduced a novel and powerful moral idealism, which was a moral rule or way of life in the Buddhist sense, as he understood it. He called this the “Law of Piety.” This law, though following the tenets of the Buddha, was distinct from them and peculiar to Asoka. It was to become one of the great turning points of the civilization of the East, having profound effects throughout the neighboring kingdoms, not least in
“About one thousand years ago, people in two societies halfway around the world from each other faced this problem. In Europe, the mighty western Roman Empire had fallen, in the late 400s, leaving a continent divided among weak kingdoms”..... “The warriors of Europe were called knights. The warriors of Japan were called samurai.” (Mini-Q Background Essay). The downfall of the Roman Empire in the late 400s, led to the origination of knights and samurai, in Europe and Japan. These new forms of warriors, arose due to feudalism, that appeared in the land. Samurai and knights may have portrayed similar characteristics, yet in general, these two kinds of warriors fought their own different kinds of battles, with their own different kinds of
During the seventeenth century, the Ming dynasty was weakening and falling into chaotic disarray. Many fringe tribes were using this time to attack the dynasty’s borders and to increase their territories. One group to the northeast was the Manchus, which was a segment of the larger Jürchen tribe, who lived east of the Liao River. Here they intermingled with the Han Chinese emigrants and engaged in a settled, arable agriculture and also traded luxury goods, horses, and furs (Spence 32.) Taking advantage of the Ming’s weakened state, a Manchu general conquered Peking and put the Manchus into power over the Chinese empire. Upon the Manchu conquest of the Ming dynasty, it was important for the new Qing, emperors to consolidate power by imposing
patroonship - Dutch land in the Hudson River Bay that was granted to promoters who agreed to settle 50 people on them.
Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism made a great impact on the Mauryan Empire. If Ashoka continued to be a ruler with such evil ways of enforcement, the people of the Mauryan Empire would not be happy. His conversion to Buddhism saved a lot of lives because of his new belief in ahimsa. Ashoka also sent out many Buddhist missionaries all over the country to spread the religion of Buddhism. Significant events like these were very important events that occurred during the time period of the Mauryan Empire.
India was the first major Asian civilizations to fall victim to European predatory activities (Duiker 31). With conquering India, the British had various purposes behind it. Their main purpose was to achieve a monopolistic trading position (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). The second purpose was the control of India; this was a key element in the world power structure, in terms of geography, logistics and military manpower (The Economic and Social Impact of Colonial Rule in India). When the East India Company continued to trade under the British, huge armies were created, largely composed of Indian sepoys (Marshall). The armies were used to defend the Company’s territories protect the Indian states (Marshall).