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Because it can eat the rotten leaves in the soil, loosen the soil, and the excreted feces can restore the fertility of the soil. Eurasian can develop agriculture, which is largely because we are lucky and there are earthworms hidden in the ground.
But the Indians were not so lucky. Although they had discovered high-yield species such as corn and potatoes, the land in North America was extremely barren, and farming was very unprofitable.
So before the arrival of Europeans, they still lived a life dominated by fishing, hunting and gathering, and farming as the supplement, so they did not achieve a big explosion of the population.
So why did Spaniards only stay in Mexican ? The French just came here to fight beaver , because apart from the fur business, North America was really not in trouble at that time.
UK Virginia Company , the first few colonization activities ended in failure because they tried to grow grain in North America, but the Indians had tried it long ago. Even growing corn and potatoes in North America is not cost-effective, let alone growing wheat.
Until 1610, a colonist named John Rolf found that tobacco was very suitable for growing on this barren land of North America, which was considered to have found a way out for the colony, and he also became rich because of it.
Disney once had an animation, " Story of the Wind ", the story background is this era, the heroine in it, Indian Little Girl Pocahontas , is true, and later she married John Rolf.
As more and more ships from Europe to North America, some soil , which was regarded as ballast, was accidentally poured onto North American land. Earthworms came to North America in this way, and then gradually began to improve the land in coastal areas, and North America gradually became suitable for the growth of crops.
However, in North America at this time, the living environment is still extremely severe. The biggest threat to Europeans is the mosquito-borne malaria .
Most Europeans were bitten by mosquitoes from the southern United States. At the very least, they could not afford to be bedridden, and at the worst, they died. Only a very small number of Europeans could adapt to life in the southern region.
So most white people stayed in the north, and there were very few white people living in the south. Due to the extreme lack of labor, white people in the south had to buy slaves who could tolerate malaria in order to run their manors, and black people were the best choice, which led to the birth of the southern slave state.
If Charles Enman's statement is really a historical fact, then it seems that the so-called success or failure of mankind is just a coincidence of nature's choice.
1630, when Winthrop, with his indignant congregational swearing to North America to build their own "city on the top of the mountain", the earthworms had already erected the eastern part of the United States, and the United States could already develop agricultural civilization.
As we mentioned earlier, the Reformation of Britain is a compromise product, a hodgepodge of Catholicism, Protestantism and Calvinism. It contains both Catholic rice, Protestant noodles, and Puritans mechanism noodles . Everyone has the opportunity to mix things in it. So the Puritans initially wanted to peacefully transform British Anglican for their use.
But after King Charles I came to power, his wife was Catholic and liked to eat rice, so she especially hated Puritans. Why?
Because they are sneaky all day long, they sprinkle handfuls of noodles into the pot of the Anglican Church for no reason. How can they put them in?
So under the instigation of his wife, he appointed William Lauder, a Catholic archbishop, as the Archbishop of Canterbury. As soon as this man came to power, he pointed his finger at the most restless Puritans, not allowing them to own property, and not allowing their people to serve in the state religion.
Call it the Puritans' attempt to peacefully transform the Anglican Church, "Using a treacherous method and wearing a sacred cloak, essentially to overthrow the rule of the church."
(Source: Allen Frenc, Charles l and the Puritan Upheaval: A study of the causes of the great migration, Boston, Houghton Miffim)
This time, Charles I offended the Puritans. You must know that these people are dissidents among dissidents and extremists among extremists. They can't stand this tone.
From then on, some Puritans vowed to fight with Charles I to the end, including our familiar Duke of Protector Cromwell. Why did he have to cut off Charles I's head?
beams were formed at this time.
Puritans and their gods are all one virtue, and they are all a bunch of petty people.
By the way, there are three Kings of Charles in British history. Charles I is the only king in British history who has been beheaded by the people. This name is not very auspicious. Now the British crown prince, Prince Charles, is his official title.
Considering that Prince Charles' reputation has never been very good, Charles III's name is a bit sinister, how long can the British royal family last in his hands? It really makes people feel distressed for him.
As for the other Puritans, they felt that their arms could not twist their thighs. Instead of doing so, they could not make any name for themselves in the UK. It would be better to start a new business and try their luck in the New World.
So they announced: "God has closed the door of service in England and opened it in New England (North America)."
(Source: Carl Bridenbaugh, Vexed and Troubled Englishmen: 1590-1642, oxford university Press New York)
Then they called on all Puritans to follow them to America and build the dream city of mountaintops.
1629, the Puritans applied to Charles I to establish a colony in today's United States, with Winthrop as governor.
When Charles I heard that the group of thorns were leaving, he quickly approved it. So Winthrop, the leader of this immigration movement, successfully took office in London.
winthrop
So why do we say this person repeatedly?
Because most of the theoretical basis and political system of the thirteen colonies in North America were laid by him.
We have talked about earlier that the core of Calvinism theory is that whether you can enter heaven is God, Party A, has the final say. As Party B, you, no matter how hard you make trouble, it is useless.
So people who believe in this religion are always anxious. Has they been chosen by God? Is it in line with God's will when we go to America? How can we figure out what God thinks?
Winthrop gave the answer.
He said this is very simple. Whether God likes you or not, it really has to wait until you die to know, but whether God likes us people will know immediately. Why?
is very simple. It's like Cuihua likes Erzhuzi and plans to marry him. Then she will come to Erzhuzi to chat if she has something to do. She often gives Erzhuzi some delicious food. When something happens, she will definitely say good things for Erzhuzi. This can be seen.
Similarly, there are signs whether God is willing to sign a contract with us and let us enter heaven, because he is going to sign a contract with all those who go to North America. So if we do very successfully in North America, it proves that we are God's elect.
Therefore, as long as we can arrive in North America safely, it proves that God agreed to sign a contract with us. This time he did not sign a contract with one of us, but a contract with us collectively, which is a "national contract".
In this contract, the success of one or two people is useless and must be collective success. So Winthrop finally said: " In any case, public interests are higher than private interests, because once society is destroyed, private interests will never exist, so we must unite and ."
(Source: John Winthrop, A model of Christian Charity, From the American Puritans: their prose and poetry,ed by Miller Perry, Garden city,NY)
The logic of the Puritans has always been rather strange. To understand their thinking process, it is basically to keep brain teasers.
Why is God working in Europe in black box, all of which are personal blending, but when he arrives in North America, he changes it to collective bargaining and consecrating in public. This idea is really a bit big.
If you think Winthrop's divergent process is really incredible, then some of his thoughts were absolutely horrifying at the time. He actually discovered that God and human beings are equal. Why?
Because you are willing to go to America and have this collective negotiation with God, you can make a voluntary decision. Isn’t this the best evidence?
Since you and the omniscient and omnipotent God can negotiate terms, it means that "freedom" is also given to mankind by God, so "freedom" is the basis of all human rights.
(Source: John Winthrop, A Defence of an Order of Court, From the American Puritans: their prose and poetry,ed by Miller Perry, Garden city, NY)
Why did the following truths in the US Constitution clearly emphasized that the following truths are self-evident, everyone is born equal, and everyone is born free..., because before the Puritans entered the American continent, they had already thought about these issues clearly, and they were all given by God.
1630, the Abel arrived in North America smoothly. On the turbulent Atlantic Ocean, the group of Winthrop was unscathed, which made them more convinced that God signed a contract with them to build a "city on the top of the mountain". This psychology is called Survivor deviation , because those who died at risk have no say.
But turning religious ideals into real politics is also a severe test for these Puritans. So what should they do?
Learn from God.
Can God give them the right to enter heaven by signing a contract with people?
The ruler should also sign a contract with the ruled to obtain the right to rule.
So who can become the ruler?
Winthrop said that tangible saints should be allowed to do this.
Then what is a tangible saint?
are those who are hypocritical, rich in their pockets, and look quite capable.
So who decides who is the tangible saint?
All believers voted to select these tangible saints recognized by everyone.
1 On August 23, 630, the Massachusetts Company, the original organizational name obtained from Charles I, held its first meeting and determined that a governor, eight assistants, would be managed by a common court.
1 In May 631, 118 men took the oath to become citizens, voted to elect 8 assistants, and elected the Governor among the assistants.
1 In May 2, the colony decided to change the election method, and the Governor was elected by all the people. At the same time, in order to calm the tax dispute, it is stipulated that each town can select one to three representatives, with the same rights as assistants, and protect their own interests.
(Source: James Truslow Adams, The Founding of New England, Boston: Little, Brown, 1927)
Just like that, with the extreme fanaticism about religion and the shocking imaginations of the Bible and Calvinism, the Puritans accidentally created an ultimate killing weapon, a "universal" legitimate regime! Although the "weapon" of
still looks very simple now and even misses, it has been constantly tempering and finally allowed the United States to sweep away all its opponents and become the world's overlord in the 20th century. Why is that?
We have repeatedly argued before that the strength of military power is the key to whether a civilization can survive and develop. So what are the ways to change the strength of military power?
The first type is the revolution of military technology itself, such as chariots, heavy armored cavalry, gunpowder weapon , etc.
The second type is the revolution in organizational methods: for example, the centralization and civil servant system in ancient China formed a war model for adults to fight children.
The third type is geographical advantages: for example, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States all enjoyed the benefits of island countries in the era of maritime rights.
However, from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the most important factor that determines the strength of a country's military power has become scientific and technological capabilities. Therefore, whoever has higher scientific and technological capabilities will have stronger military power.
What is the most critical point to determine whether a country’s scientific and technological capabilities are strong?
talents! Those who win the hearts of the people will win the world.
So how can we win people's hearts?
A "universal" legal regime is the key to all of this.
In the past, as long as I wrote about the United States, the United States would eventually decline, China will definitely have a chance, and readers will immediately leave messages to criticize me, why do rich Chinese people have to run to the United States? Why did Tsinghua and Peking University all stay in the United States in the end?
Then I will answer your question today, because the Americans have spent more than 200 years since the founding of the country and have been tempering an unprecedented "weapon" and a "universal" legal government in human history. This is the key to its invincibility after entering the 20th century.
Here, we must first clarify a concept, "national" legal government and "universal" legal government, these are two different concepts.
For example, the British government is legal in the British Isles, but for , the British Empire , it is illegal. Why?
Because it does not give people's representation outside the British Isles, it does not welcome other colonies of the British Empire, participate in the politics of the British Isles, and it does not welcome other ethnic groups to integrate into Britain.
By the same token, the Third Reich of Germany was legal to the German people because Hitler came to power in the election.
But it was illegal for Nazi Germany to rule Europe. This was not because it plundered these lands by war, but because it never treated the people on these occupied lands equally with the Germans, let alone Jewish .
But the United States is different. Before World War II , it provided opportunities for almost all white Europeans to integrate, so Nikola Tesla went to the United States, Einstein went to the United States, von Neumann went to the United States, and even the Nazi scientist von Braun eventually became the founder of the American aerospace industry.
This is also the key reason why Britain, which also belongs to the island country, has risen earlier and has a larger territory, cannot beat the United States in the end, because compared with the United States, they lack the ultimate weapon of the 20th century, cannot gain the faith of the people of the world, and cannot win over talents from the world. In the end, they are defeated at the same time in the two battlefields of economic innovation and technological innovation.
So what superpowers did the American political system gain from the process of a theocracy and turning it into a "universal" legal government, and what superpowers did it become the "faith" of the vast majority of people in the world?
Why will it inevitably decline after achieving significant success? (To be continued)
