The document discusses the expansion and spread of major empires throughout history including the Roman Empire, Spanish Empire, British Empire, and others. It attributes their expansion to factors like religion, the quest for resources and wealth, and the establishment of centralized governments and strong militaries. The document also examines how Eurasian peoples came to dominate other regions due to advantages in food sources, disease resistance, and innovations that arose from interactions within Eurasia.

1. Big History
Joseph M. Kooiker
History 140
Professor Arguello

2.  The Roman Empire stretched
from the British Isles to India
under Alexander the Great
 It lasted until after the
conversion of Emperor
Constantine to Christianity
 The Roman Empire split into
four sections
 Constantinople became the
capitol of the Eastern section
of the Roman Empire and
remained as such until it was
conquered by the Muslims
and became Istanbul

3.  The Spanish spread their
empire because they believed
their religion demanded it
 The Spanish sent people to
the New World in search of
silver and gold
 As they went in search of
gold and riches they tried to
convert many of the Indians
they came into contact with
 This would later bring about
the destruction of the Aztec
and Incan empires in the New
World

4.  Another one of the major
empires to have spread
through the world was the
British Empire
 The British Empire spread
because of the need to gain
resources
 This quest for resources also
was one of the motivators for
the starting of the slave trade
 The British Empire was one
of the first countries to abolish
the slave trade but not
slavery
 Religion and Geography are
some of the main drivers for
the expansion of empires

5.  Eurasian people have
conquered many different
peoples
 Eurasian people have also
been able to survive
through many diseases
 Most of the triumphs of
humans have been
discovered throughout the
European and Asian
continents

6.  This progress of the Eurasian
people is due to the availability of
hearty foods which could be
gotten from domesticating plants
and animals
 The availability of flax to make
clothing also provided for
protection from the elements
 The exchange of diseases also
allowed the Eurasian people to
become immune to many
diseases which would decimate
other populations
 The spread of diseases allowed
the Eurasians to control many of
their conquered nations

7.  Geography allowed for the creating
of small empires within Eurasia
 Most other continents and their
peoples have been conquered by
Eurasians
 The small centralized governments
established in Eurasia allowed for
the creation of military and military
innovation which allowed these
groups to take over and conquer
other nations
 These dominant powers have been
China and Western Europe
 The British were able to expand
their empire to India
 The Romans were able to occupy
from the British Isles, Africa, and all
the way to India

8.  Some of the first written
recording of slavery were in the
Muslim world and throughout
many other cultures
 In Europe, slavery moved from
being the slavery of the Roman
empire to the serfdom of
Medieval Europe
 While in Africa, large groups of
people were being captured for
doing some of the world’s most
demeaning tasks
 As European countries began to
expand, the sat up colonies in
the Holy Land after many
Crusades

9.  After Columbus discovered the New
World, the new plantations of sugar,
tobacco, and other cash crops
 Many of the Native inhabitants of the
New World were brought into the
plantations of the European colonist
 The Indian populations didn’t last very
long on the plantations because they
were not immune to many illnesses so
black slaves were brought in by the
hundreds to work the plantations
 The English were one of the first of the
colonists to abolish the slave trade but
not slavery
 Slavery would not be abolished from
American culture until the Civil War