The Historian

Although Aristide Boucicaut was the first to introduce retail consumerism to Paris in 1838 with his 'Bon Marche', the concept would transport and greatly expand itself throughout New York City only ten years later. Interestingly enough, 1848 was the year Karl Marx would write his revolutionary 'Communist Manifesto', detailing the phases of capitalism and the globalized economy. How would America join on the 'capitalism train'? And why would socialism pervade amidst this growing economic boom? The Department Store was by far America's ticket to economic success. Upper class women could now find Parisian-style fashions just minutes from their 'millionaire-row' homes, instead of having to travel the distance abroad to obtain these fashions. Even moreso- dresses, shoes, hats, and men's suits could be purchased at a relatively affordable price. By the 1920 s, many of these items could be purchased in mass consumption, thus propelling the capitalistic...

From the corner of Armenia to the seas of Anatolia and North Africa, lied a massive stretch of Christian lands all tied under the city of Byzantium now modern-day Istanbul. Justinian chose to consolidate both western and eastern Christianity by naming Byzantium, 'Rum' or 'Rome'. He even went as far as to import the pope from Rome to the new empire, further illustrating his preference of the east to the lands of the west. What makes this land so important was its strategic and geopolitical importance. To have Byzantium, was essentially to have the world. A land mass that brought the Eastern philosophies of India and China to the minds of Greek scholars and rulers. It was the summit of world trade, where Chinese silks would reach the hands of Greek merchants and hellenistic peoples. Where Islamic philosophers could learn the Greek classics and reintroduce Aristotilean 'logos' to the world. This land, now our modern-day Middle East and Asia Minor otherw...