Benjamin of Tudela

Beginning in his hometown of Tudela, Benjamin set out to record as many jewish settlements as he could find and hear about. He left Tudela between 1159 and 1163 and returned in 1172/1173. During this time he visited many places listing them all in his travel diary known today as The Itinerary on Benjamin of Tudela. What is left of his itinerary today is nothing more than the town name, the distance to the town, the prominent Rabbis and scholars of the town, and the occasional description of his journey. When traveling through a large town such as Rome or Constantinople he might describe the town and its people in more detail, but this is a rare occurrence. These were pivotal times for all three of the abrahamic religions. It seems as if Benjamin could see the emerging power struggle between cross and crescent and that Judaism was going to be caught in the middle of this struggle. His journey then becomes a proactive attempt to show that judaism was just as widespread as christianity and Islam. When setting out to travel the know world he left home deliberately with the goal of identifying as many Jewish settlements as possible. His cataloging of as many jewish settlements and their leaders as he could was an act of necessity to show that though Judaism was not a religious superpower he was not going to…

region. Each civilization was brought together in some way, whether it was their beliefs or keeping balance in society. In a way trade ties together the different societies that developed independently in their political, social, and cultural ideas. Trading was very useful for everyone, for it is the main reason cities prospered. Travelers who were interested in trade revealed how extensive trade networks were. Trading in the Middle East had resulted in new religion and the introduction to new…

Carlos Mangundayao David Howard-Pitney History 17A November 20, 2014 The Success of Benjamin Franklin We all might know and see Benjamin Franklin everyday in our current hundred dollar bills. What we don 't know is all his achievements, success, and huge contributions to American history. Franklin established the American Philosophical Society, which is an association of the advancement of science. He held some minor positions responsible for printing work for the government. In that time, he…

Revolutions of Interest Gordon Wood and Gary Nash offered two different claims about the radical ideas of the American Revolution and who had them. Wood proposed the revolution derived from the more elite in society, wealthier land owning white men. It was between Patriots and Courtiers. Courtiers were those who wished to maintain the rule of Great Britain, in order that social position should derive from the King and aristocracy. While Patriots desired talent and merit, along with recognition…

Benjamin Franklin achieved his intellectual and literary proficiency in the Eighteenth Century during the Age of Reason, with the multitude of philosophical advances that reflected heavily on the content and style of his work. He was no stranger to the works of John Locke, Montesquieu, and Voltaire, and his writing echoed those found also in the literature of the period. Long past the early colonial days of Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, the Christian idea of…

hot topic in neuroscience, still even nearly twenty years after this article was penned, due to the controversy it attracts regarding morals and self-determination. Tom Wolfe argues, in a rather snarky tone consistently seen throughout the article, that the concept of a self is dead—much like Nietzsche’s preceding declaration that God is dead. However, the concept of self is not yet dead in neuroscience like Wolfe predicted. Rather, more recent research suggests that free will stemming from a…

America got its independence, many representatives from each state came and had a convention where they talked about many issues that the country was having. Franklin talked about how if they agreed this country will prosper, “I hope, therefore, for our own sakes, as a part of the people, and for the sake of our posterity. That we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution, wherever our Influence may extend and turn our future thoughts and endeavors to the means of…

The life of Benjamin Franklin, an American mastermind, is purely breathtaking. His ability to accomplish so much within his life is proof of the American Dream. Not only did Franklin have a scientific life, but he also has a political life. Although first a strong supporter of the English crown and Parliament, Franklin later becomes a powerful and important contributor to the American Revolution. This paper will argue that Franklin’s reason for his shift is simply because of Great Britain’s…

(Cavendish) Among the brominated people that had played prominent parts in the revolution were many of the founding fathers. The founding fathers such as George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson still had another key factor to play in this newly developing nation. America was made for the most part of farmers. They had plantations, farms, and almost everyone had a vegetable garden. Gardens helped the American people to provide for themselves on plantations, to also have fresh…

Although the British Army helped remove the French, the American colonists’ most powerful adversary from their land, the British still had plans on controlling the colonies. The British attempted to tighten control of the colonies by limiting how far they were able to settle and raising revenue. These restrictions began to stir a resistance among the American colonists. The Americans desire to revolt and declare themselves as an independent nation in 1776 was impacted by events such as the…