QA問答：長久以來，西方為何如此成功？
Why has the West been so successful over time?
譯文簡介
譯文為羅賓的作答，及一些跟評。
正文翻譯
Robin Daverman, world traveler
Because the West had a jerk of a neighbor about 500 years ago, which gave the impetus for the West to try somehow go around this neighbor. And in the process of doing so, it ran straight into a mountain of gold. This is pretty much a “once-in-a-life-time” good luck story.
So Generation One “eliminated” the natives and took the gold back home. Generation Two put the gold to somewhat good use, modernized, and in the process, whitewashed itself. Generation Three comes online to ask questions such as “why are we so great and so successful over time?” LOL!
I maybe a little bit facetious, but if you are familiar with the Maddison Project, there’s really no basis to argue that the West was in anyway outstandingly “successful” before the 1500 AD. But right around that time, things started to change.
因為，大約500年前，西方曾經(jīng)有一個混蛋鄰居，這迫使西方國家不得不想方設法繞開它。而在這一努力過程中，西方直接撞上了一座金山——簡直就是個“千年一遇”的交好運的故事。
第一代“撞上金山”的西方人“消滅”了當?shù)厝耍腰S金運回了家；第二代西方人很好地使用了這些黃金，實現(xiàn)了現(xiàn)代化，并在這個過程中成功漂白了自己；第三代西方人，就開始在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上提一些莫名其妙的問題，比如“為什么我們會如此偉大、如此成功？”哈哈哈！
我這里或許有說笑的成分，但如果你熟悉“麥迪遜歷史統(tǒng)計項目”，你就真的不會認為西方在公元1500年之前，有多么“成功”了。但也就從那時起，事情開始產(chǎn)生變化。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://www.top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處
Because the West had a jerk of a neighbor about 500 years ago, which gave the impetus for the West to try somehow go around this neighbor. And in the process of doing so, it ran straight into a mountain of gold. This is pretty much a “once-in-a-life-time” good luck story.
So Generation One “eliminated” the natives and took the gold back home. Generation Two put the gold to somewhat good use, modernized, and in the process, whitewashed itself. Generation Three comes online to ask questions such as “why are we so great and so successful over time?” LOL!
I maybe a little bit facetious, but if you are familiar with the Maddison Project, there’s really no basis to argue that the West was in anyway outstandingly “successful” before the 1500 AD. But right around that time, things started to change.
因為，大約500年前，西方曾經(jīng)有一個混蛋鄰居，這迫使西方國家不得不想方設法繞開它。而在這一努力過程中，西方直接撞上了一座金山——簡直就是個“千年一遇”的交好運的故事。
第一代“撞上金山”的西方人“消滅”了當?shù)厝耍腰S金運回了家；第二代西方人很好地使用了這些黃金，實現(xiàn)了現(xiàn)代化，并在這個過程中成功漂白了自己；第三代西方人，就開始在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上提一些莫名其妙的問題，比如“為什么我們會如此偉大、如此成功？”哈哈哈！
我這里或許有說笑的成分，但如果你熟悉“麥迪遜歷史統(tǒng)計項目”，你就真的不會認為西方在公元1500年之前，有多么“成功”了。但也就從那時起，事情開始產(chǎn)生變化。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://www.top-shui.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處
Source: Over 2,000 Years of Economic History in One Chart
一圖概括兩千年來的人類經(jīng)濟史
America and Oceania had not been discovered by the Europeans. Africa was only partially known. Asia, as the source of the all-important spices, was only tethered through the long and fragile Silk Road that run across the vast steppes of Central Asia and the Arabian desert. This important trade route was open when it was under the Persians in 200 BC, under the Romans in 500 AD, under the Byzantines in 1000 AD, and then boom! The Ottomans closed it in 1453! For no good reason! Total embargo of the black peppercorn! When the stuff was fetching 6000% mark-up in the Western Europe! 6000%!! Spice trade - Wikipedia
Now this was really exasperating! Black peppercorn was a vital ingredient in our daily dishes, and it was worth its weight in gold back then. And you know it was right over there! If you could somehow find your way to the East, load up a boat of the stuff and bring it back home, you’d be the George Soros of the day!
（公元1500年之前）美洲和大洋洲還沒有被歐洲人“發(fā)現(xiàn)”；對非洲的了解也十分有限。亞洲，作為歐洲最主要的香料來源，僅僅靠著一條綿延萬里的脆弱的絲綢之路，和歐洲相連。這條重要貿(mào)易商道，在公元前200年處于波斯人控制之下，到公元500年則歸羅馬人掌管，公元1000年時是由拜占庭人扼守。然后，突然之間，奧斯曼帝國在1453年關閉了它！卻根本沒什么大不了的理由！歐洲的黑胡椒粉從此徹底斷貨！當時這種東西在西歐的價格一路暴漲了60倍！60倍?。。▍⒁姡壕S基百科-香料貿(mào)易）
這下麻煩大了！要知道，黑胡椒粉是我們?nèi)粘Ｉ攀忱锏年P鍵調(diào)料，當時價格已經(jīng)飛漲到和等重的黃金一樣昂貴——盡管人人都知道它們的產(chǎn)地在哪里！要是誰能找到別的通往東方的路線，把這玩意兒裝上船帶回來，那他就必定會成為那個時代的喬治·索羅斯！
Now this was really exasperating! Black peppercorn was a vital ingredient in our daily dishes, and it was worth its weight in gold back then. And you know it was right over there! If you could somehow find your way to the East, load up a boat of the stuff and bring it back home, you’d be the George Soros of the day!
（公元1500年之前）美洲和大洋洲還沒有被歐洲人“發(fā)現(xiàn)”；對非洲的了解也十分有限。亞洲，作為歐洲最主要的香料來源，僅僅靠著一條綿延萬里的脆弱的絲綢之路，和歐洲相連。這條重要貿(mào)易商道，在公元前200年處于波斯人控制之下，到公元500年則歸羅馬人掌管，公元1000年時是由拜占庭人扼守。然后，突然之間，奧斯曼帝國在1453年關閉了它！卻根本沒什么大不了的理由！歐洲的黑胡椒粉從此徹底斷貨！當時這種東西在西歐的價格一路暴漲了60倍！60倍?。。▍⒁姡壕S基百科-香料貿(mào)易）
這下麻煩大了！要知道，黑胡椒粉是我們?nèi)粘Ｉ攀忱锏年P鍵調(diào)料，當時價格已經(jīng)飛漲到和等重的黃金一樣昂貴——盡管人人都知道它們的產(chǎn)地在哪里！要是誰能找到別的通往東方的路線，把這玩意兒裝上船帶回來，那他就必定會成為那個時代的喬治·索羅斯！
Two guys set out to do exactly this. One was the Portuguese Vasco da Gama, who actually did reach India, and loaded his boat full of spices back home. He proceeded to load up on black pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg, setting up a couple of pirate stations,until he was driven out by the Spanish, the Dutch, and the British, who did the serious work of massacring entire islands worth of the local people to claim exclusive ownership of the spice. Nobody appeared to have thought about just buying a couple of seedlings and try to grow the plant themselves. It was some seriously messed way to get one’s hand on nutmeg, something that basically grows like weed in any tropical environment.
兩個家伙正整裝出發(fā)，就是為了這一目的。其中一個，就是葡萄牙人瓦斯科·達·伽馬（Vasco da Gama），他成功抵達了印度，并滿載香料而歸。此后他更開始大量販運黑胡椒、肉桂和肉豆蔻，并在航運線路上建立了好幾個非法站點，直到他最終被西班牙人、荷蘭人和英國人趕跑；而后面這幾位更是非常“勤快”地屠戮了一座座島嶼，清洗了島上居民，然后宣稱獨占這些香料產(chǎn)地！似乎他們當中就沒人想過要買幾顆香料樹苗，帶回去自己種……這真的是一種為得到這些香料的非常病態(tài)的手段，尤其是肉豆蔻——要知道它們在任何熱帶環(huán)境中都能像野草一樣生長。
Source: Da Gama Discovers a Sea Route to India
達·伽馬發(fā)現(xiàn)通往印度的海上航線
The other guy who set out to look for spice was the Italian swindler-turned Spanish courtier Christopher Columbus. He didn’t find India. The American continent was in the way. But whatever he found, it must be “India”, because there was money riding on it. So he named the American locals “Indians” and he named the Mexican chili “peppers”, as if it was some kind of proto-black peppercorn. Typical conduct for a swindler, to be honest.
Now you have to get a sense of scale of these discoveries. In 1500, Spain had a population of around 8 million, and a territory of about 500,000 square kilometers. At that time, the Incas had 12 million people, the Aztecs had 8 million people, the Vijayanagara Empire in India had 18 million people, and the giant in the East, China, had 125 million people. The Americas had 16,500,000 square kilometers, that’s like 40 times the size of Spain. China had 20 times the size of Spain in territory, and almost 20 times the population as well. India and the south-east Asian countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc.) were just as big and as populous.
另外一個出發(fā)去尋找香料的人，就是那個著名的意大利騙子，后來成為西班牙朝臣的克里斯托弗·哥倫布（Christopher Columbus）。他沒能找到印度，美洲大陸擋住了他的去路。但不管他到底“發(fā)現(xiàn)”的是什么地方，管它叫“印度”就對了，因為那里也的確是遍地財富——他把美洲原住民也稱作“印第安人”，把墨西哥辣椒叫作“甜椒/胡椒”——聽起來像是某種原始黑胡椒。說老實話，是不是搞詐騙的老套路啦。
注意，人們有必要弄清楚這些“地理大發(fā)現(xiàn)”的規(guī)模：1500年，西班牙人口約800萬，國土面積約50萬平方公里，而同一時期，印加帝國人口1200萬，阿茲特克人口800萬，印度次大陸上的維賈亞納加拉帝國人口1800萬，而東邊的巨人——中國，人口已達1.25億。當時美洲原住民國家控制的土地面積約1650萬平方公里，相當于40個西班牙；中國的國土面積則相當于20個西班牙，人口也是20個西班牙。印度和東南亞（馬來西亞、印度尼西亞、菲律賓等）合在一起同樣龐大且人口眾多。
Now you have to get a sense of scale of these discoveries. In 1500, Spain had a population of around 8 million, and a territory of about 500,000 square kilometers. At that time, the Incas had 12 million people, the Aztecs had 8 million people, the Vijayanagara Empire in India had 18 million people, and the giant in the East, China, had 125 million people. The Americas had 16,500,000 square kilometers, that’s like 40 times the size of Spain. China had 20 times the size of Spain in territory, and almost 20 times the population as well. India and the south-east Asian countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc.) were just as big and as populous.
另外一個出發(fā)去尋找香料的人，就是那個著名的意大利騙子，后來成為西班牙朝臣的克里斯托弗·哥倫布（Christopher Columbus）。他沒能找到印度，美洲大陸擋住了他的去路。但不管他到底“發(fā)現(xiàn)”的是什么地方，管它叫“印度”就對了，因為那里也的確是遍地財富——他把美洲原住民也稱作“印第安人”，把墨西哥辣椒叫作“甜椒/胡椒”——聽起來像是某種原始黑胡椒。說老實話，是不是搞詐騙的老套路啦。
注意，人們有必要弄清楚這些“地理大發(fā)現(xiàn)”的規(guī)模：1500年，西班牙人口約800萬，國土面積約50萬平方公里，而同一時期，印加帝國人口1200萬，阿茲特克人口800萬，印度次大陸上的維賈亞納加拉帝國人口1800萬，而東邊的巨人——中國，人口已達1.25億。當時美洲原住民國家控制的土地面積約1650萬平方公里，相當于40個西班牙；中國的國土面積則相當于20個西班牙，人口也是20個西班牙。印度和東南亞（馬來西亞、印度尼西亞、菲律賓等）合在一起同樣龐大且人口眾多。
Then there was Africa, with 30,000,000 square kilometers, the size of Europe, China, India, all combined, 60 times that of Spain. So this was the scale of things in early 1500. List of countries by population in 1500 They essentially stumbled on a world 150 times bigger, filled with awesome treasures and rather mild-tempered locals, living off the land. So forget about the petty squabbles of those handful of self-important dudes and their lame myth-making, look at the numbers! The numbers! This is the whole story, right here!
還有就是非洲，這塊3千萬平方公里的大陸，面積等于歐洲+中國+印度的總和，是西班牙的60倍。這就是16世紀早期的世界。
換句話說，西班牙人幾乎是偶然間發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個150倍于自己的世界，里面充滿了令人瞠目的財富，以及相對溫和、依賴各自土地為生的當?shù)厝恕?br /> 所以，忘了那些自命不凡的家伙的無聊爭辯和他們自創(chuàng)的蹩腳神話吧，看看上面這些數(shù)字！數(shù)字！所有的真相就在其中！
還有就是非洲，這塊3千萬平方公里的大陸，面積等于歐洲+中國+印度的總和，是西班牙的60倍。這就是16世紀早期的世界。
換句話說，西班牙人幾乎是偶然間發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個150倍于自己的世界，里面充滿了令人瞠目的財富，以及相對溫和、依賴各自土地為生的當?shù)厝恕?br /> 所以，忘了那些自命不凡的家伙的無聊爭辯和他們自創(chuàng)的蹩腳神話吧，看看上面這些數(shù)字！數(shù)字！所有的真相就在其中！
Starting then was a process of massive wealth transfer and wealth concentration, from the rest of the globe to Europe. Spanish treasure fleet It was amazing. The Dutch got the Manhattan Island from the local Indians for $24 dollars. The European migrants got vast fertile farmlands for free. Gold, precious stones, spices, all made their way across the ocean to Europe. I mean, if you can have Manhattan for $24 bucks like the Dutch did, and get the state of Wisconsin for free like the Brits did, you’d be as rich as Rockefellers too. Mr. Trump just got a tiny portion of Manhattan from Daddy. Look where he is now.
從那時起，全世界財富就開始了從其他地區(qū)向歐洲大規(guī)模轉(zhuǎn)移和集中的過程。神奇的“西班牙珍寶船隊”；荷蘭人用大約僅值24美元的物品從當?shù)赜〉诎踩耸种匈I下曼哈頓島；歐洲移民免費獲得大片肥沃農(nóng)田；黃金、寶石、香料，源源不斷地經(jīng)大洋運往歐洲……我想說的是，如果你能像荷蘭人那樣花24美元買下曼哈頓，像英國人那樣免費得到威斯康星州，你當然就能像洛克菲勒一樣富有、一樣“成功”。特朗普先生不過是從他父親那里得到了曼哈頓的一小片（地皮），看看現(xiàn)在的他。
而這一切的過程，無疑都是丑陋和血腥的。在美洲，亞洲和非洲，原住民得到的只有災難。美洲的瑪雅人和阿茲特克人、印度的眾多王國、東南亞的高棉帝國、非洲的馬里人以及其他無數(shù)的古老文明，全被徹底消滅，他們曾經(jīng)的國土上只剩殘破的石垣。再看看這個：三角貿(mào)易-維基百科（https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade）
從那時起，全世界財富就開始了從其他地區(qū)向歐洲大規(guī)模轉(zhuǎn)移和集中的過程。神奇的“西班牙珍寶船隊”；荷蘭人用大約僅值24美元的物品從當?shù)赜〉诎踩耸种匈I下曼哈頓島；歐洲移民免費獲得大片肥沃農(nóng)田；黃金、寶石、香料，源源不斷地經(jīng)大洋運往歐洲……我想說的是，如果你能像荷蘭人那樣花24美元買下曼哈頓，像英國人那樣免費得到威斯康星州，你當然就能像洛克菲勒一樣富有、一樣“成功”。特朗普先生不過是從他父親那里得到了曼哈頓的一小片（地皮），看看現(xiàn)在的他。
而這一切的過程，無疑都是丑陋和血腥的。在美洲，亞洲和非洲，原住民得到的只有災難。美洲的瑪雅人和阿茲特克人、印度的眾多王國、東南亞的高棉帝國、非洲的馬里人以及其他無數(shù)的古老文明，全被徹底消滅，他們曾經(jīng)的國土上只剩殘破的石垣。再看看這個：三角貿(mào)易-維基百科（https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade）
It was indubitably ugly and bloody because the locals in the Americas, in Asia, and in Africa got destroyed. The ancient civilizations such as the Mayans and the Aztecs in the Americas, the multitude of kingdoms in India, the Khmer empire in south east Asia, the Malis in Africa, and countless others, all gone up in smoke, with only the ruined stones on the ground, and the gold plating peeled off and shipped to Europe. Triangular trade - Wikipedia
But the concentration of wealth seeded the growth of middle class in Europe, which in turn permitted an army of young, bright minds to get an education and then engage in science and technology development, without the constant struggle for survival. Einstein, Madam Curie, Linus Pauling, … these were all educated by government-funded public colleges and universities, without which none of them would be anywhere. What, do you serious expect the Windsors or the Habsburgs to, eh, discover new laws of physics or chemistry? They are not that smart. Have NEVER been that smart. No. The backbone of scientific discovery is the army of middle-class kids. They formed the basis for the 400-year-long Scientific Revolution. The middle-class nerds made those happen, over a much longer time period, because science is very much sequential - meaning you absolutely can’t get to Z until you first get to A, then work hard to get to B, then work hard to get to C,… all the way to Z. Painstaking, frustrating, boring, long and hard! But that’s where MODERNIZATION truly comes from.
財富的集中孕育了歐洲中產(chǎn)階層的茁壯成長，又進一步滋養(yǎng)了一代又一代年輕聰明的人口接受教育，然后從事科技研發(fā)而不必掙扎于糊口謀生。愛因斯坦、居里夫人、萊納斯·鮑林……他們都是在政府資助的公立大學或?qū)W院接受教育的，沒有這些大學和學院，就不會有他們的成就。要不然，難道你想讓溫莎公爵夫婦或者哈布斯堡夫婦去發(fā)現(xiàn)什么物理化學定律？他們可沒那么聰明，從來沒有過。不！科學發(fā)現(xiàn)的支柱，是中產(chǎn)階級子女這一人口大軍。是他們構成了長達400年科技革命的基礎。在很長一段時間里，所有這些事情（科技進步）都要歸功于那些中產(chǎn)階層的“書呆子”們——因為科學是非常循序漸進的——也就是說，在你首先發(fā)現(xiàn)a，然后努力找到b，發(fā)現(xiàn)c……之前，你是不可能一步登天找到z的?？萍脊ぷ餍量啵瑝阂?，無聊，漫長，艱難！但這才是現(xiàn)代化的真正源泉。
But the concentration of wealth seeded the growth of middle class in Europe, which in turn permitted an army of young, bright minds to get an education and then engage in science and technology development, without the constant struggle for survival. Einstein, Madam Curie, Linus Pauling, … these were all educated by government-funded public colleges and universities, without which none of them would be anywhere. What, do you serious expect the Windsors or the Habsburgs to, eh, discover new laws of physics or chemistry? They are not that smart. Have NEVER been that smart. No. The backbone of scientific discovery is the army of middle-class kids. They formed the basis for the 400-year-long Scientific Revolution. The middle-class nerds made those happen, over a much longer time period, because science is very much sequential - meaning you absolutely can’t get to Z until you first get to A, then work hard to get to B, then work hard to get to C,… all the way to Z. Painstaking, frustrating, boring, long and hard! But that’s where MODERNIZATION truly comes from.
財富的集中孕育了歐洲中產(chǎn)階層的茁壯成長，又進一步滋養(yǎng)了一代又一代年輕聰明的人口接受教育，然后從事科技研發(fā)而不必掙扎于糊口謀生。愛因斯坦、居里夫人、萊納斯·鮑林……他們都是在政府資助的公立大學或?qū)W院接受教育的，沒有這些大學和學院，就不會有他們的成就。要不然，難道你想讓溫莎公爵夫婦或者哈布斯堡夫婦去發(fā)現(xiàn)什么物理化學定律？他們可沒那么聰明，從來沒有過。不！科學發(fā)現(xiàn)的支柱，是中產(chǎn)階級子女這一人口大軍。是他們構成了長達400年科技革命的基礎。在很長一段時間里，所有這些事情（科技進步）都要歸功于那些中產(chǎn)階層的“書呆子”們——因為科學是非常循序漸進的——也就是說，在你首先發(fā)現(xiàn)a，然后努力找到b，發(fā)現(xiàn)c……之前，你是不可能一步登天找到z的?？萍脊ぷ餍量啵瑝阂?，無聊，漫長，艱難！但這才是現(xiàn)代化的真正源泉。
But after 500 years, this once-in-a-life-time disturbance is receding, and the rest of the globe is catching up, re-balancing. With a LOT LESS BLOODSHED than when the wealth was concentrated 500 years ago. It turned out that the children of those slaughtered natives are just as intelligent and capable as the Europeans.
Source: globalinequality
From the look of it, there aren’t a lot of time left for Generation Three to be pounding out these kinds of questions on the keyboard. Better hurry then!
但是，500年后的今天，這種“千年一回狗*運”級的失衡正在消退，其他地區(qū)國家正在迎頭趕上，世界正在重新平衡。與500年前那次財富集中相比，這回流的血要少得多。而事實證明，那些當年被歐洲人屠殺的原住民/當?shù)厝说暮蟠?，其實和歐洲人一樣聰明能干。
看樣子，留給“第三代”西方人的時間真的不多了——瞧瞧他們敲著鍵盤提的都是些什么問題——趕緊振作起來吧！
Source: globalinequality
From the look of it, there aren’t a lot of time left for Generation Three to be pounding out these kinds of questions on the keyboard. Better hurry then!
但是，500年后的今天，這種“千年一回狗*運”級的失衡正在消退，其他地區(qū)國家正在迎頭趕上，世界正在重新平衡。與500年前那次財富集中相比，這回流的血要少得多。而事實證明，那些當年被歐洲人屠殺的原住民/當?shù)厝说暮蟠?，其實和歐洲人一樣聰明能干。
看樣子，留給“第三代”西方人的時間真的不多了——瞧瞧他們敲著鍵盤提的都是些什么問題——趕緊振作起來吧！
評論翻譯
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Garwin Kim Sing
Ohhh…You just ruined the romanticism of “The Age of Discovery” that my history lessons were imbued with.
唔呼呼……答主你直接把我們在歷史課堂上被灌輸?shù)摹暗乩泶蟀l(fā)現(xiàn)”浪漫主義情懷給毀了。
The age of discovery WAS important , that's what help them build better weapons to butcher natives.
地理大發(fā)現(xiàn)當然重要，正是這些“大發(fā)現(xiàn)”幫助他們制造出了更好的武器，然后用來屠殺原住民。
An old British rhyme:
“Whatever happens, we have got/ The Maxim gun, and they have not.”
一句古老的英國韻文：“做了什么都別怕，只要口徑比人大！”
Rod Willett
Good answer and I loved the way you phrased the importance of the emergence of the middle class. Spices got them there, gold paid for it, even if it did wrech the Spanish economy. But it was the Caribbean sugar plantations which financed the industrial revolution, and really made England and Europe great.
回答得真好，我特別喜歡答者對中產(chǎn)階級崛起重要性的描述。他們（西方人）為香料而來，得到的卻是黃金，即使這到頭來反而毒害了西班牙的經(jīng)濟。但正是加勒比海蔗糖種植園，為工業(yè)革命提供了資金，才使得英國乃至整個歐洲真正偉大起來。
Queen Elizabeth played a part in the emergence of a relatively large English middle class because of the way she used the already growing towns as a foil against the large landowners. They were an important tax base for her, but her policies also diverted considerable wealth to the towns and allowed them to take full advantage of their position during the age of exploration, and the ensuing economic expansion.
英國能產(chǎn)生一個相對規(guī)模更大的中產(chǎn)階級，伊麗莎白女王在其中扮演了重要角色。她利用已經(jīng)發(fā)展起來的城鎮(zhèn)，去對抗當時英國的大地主階級，因為對她來說，這里是一個重要的國家稅收來源。但她的政策同時也將相當多的財富轉(zhuǎn)移到了這些城鎮(zhèn)，使它們能夠充分利用地理大發(fā)現(xiàn)以及隨后的經(jīng)濟擴張期快速擠占有利地位。
------------3 單個跟評------------
500 years ago Europe was already on the way of the critical thinking, scientific method, separating state from religion and other things like that.
It was a different set of mind that brought out all the scientific progress we had.
Do you enjoy your life under human rights, democracy, rule of law and civil liberties? This is European heritage.
This guy is comparing raw numbers to proclaim some kind of superiority. It's laughable.
Who cares that the Aztecs had more area and population than the Spanish? They were still in the bronze age.
Really guys, just ignore the poor white guilty author.
五百年前的歐洲已經(jīng)迎來了批判性思維、科學方法、政教分離等等諸般新興事物的萌芽。它們是一套全新的思維模式，引發(fā)了后來我們所熟知的一切科技進步。
你在倡導人權、民主、法治和公民自由的環(huán)境下生活可還滿意？這些可都是歐洲人的遺產(chǎn)。
這個答者就想靠著堆砌些粗糙的數(shù)據(jù)以表現(xiàn)某種優(yōu)越感，簡直可笑。
誰會在乎阿茲特克的面積或者人口比西班牙多？他們還處在青銅時代。
說真的，伙計們，別鳥這個可憐的“白人負疚感/原罪論”答者。
Answers like this seem more like self-shaming or West-shaming than actual, factual answers. There are other factors that made the West unique and allowed them to dominate large empires and also have massive economic growth beyond just murdering countless numbers of native peoples around the globe.
Relatively liberal governments, capital and private investments, scientific advancements, and population growth all played a role. You can be apologetic for the actions of your ancestors without minimizing their accomplishments.
Good day!
像這類作答，似乎更像是要進行自我羞辱或羞辱西方，而不是真正地據(jù)實回答問題。還有其它許多因素造成了西方的獨一無二，使他們能夠征服一個個龐大帝國，催生空前的經(jīng)濟增長——可不僅僅是因為屠殺了全球無數(shù)土著這么簡單。
相對自由開明的政府治理，資本主義和私人投資，科技進步和人口增長都發(fā)揮了重要作用。你可以為你祖先的行徑感到抱歉，但沒有必要把他們的成就貶低到一文不值。祝好運！
This is beyond retarded and is little more then white guilt at play.
By the time of the Age of Exploration, the West was technologically superior to most of the world with the exception of China. They had the Printing Press, gunpowder firearms, secular nationstates such as France/England and a generally more openminded vision of religion.
Meanwhile Native America still used spears, had no firearms, practiced child sacrifice and the Aztecs started religious wars to slaughter innocent people .
The Ottoman Empire was also stagnant/declining by this point.
This attempt to downplay the West's achirvements by going “You pillaged lands!” is not just wrong, but a perpetuation of a laughable myth to push white guilt down our throats.
The West conquered the world for a reason, and its not because of pillaging or oppression, but because we were simply smarter then you and still are to this day. Hell, the alleged achievements of other non-European nations of the modern era entirely came because they copied our ideologies. White guilt needs to end.
這個作答簡直智障！而且已經(jīng)有點突破“白人負疚感/原罪論”的范疇了。
到地里大發(fā)現(xiàn)時代，西方在技術上已經(jīng)超越了除中國以外世界大多數(shù)國家。此時西方人已經(jīng)掌握了印刷術、火藥火器，形成了如法蘭西/英格蘭這樣的世俗化國家，并擁有普遍更加開明開放的宗教觀。
與之相比，美洲原住民還在使用長矛，沒有火器，用孩童進行獻祭，阿茲特克人還會發(fā)動宗教戰(zhàn)爭屠殺無辜平民。
在這一時期，奧斯曼帝國同樣是停滯不前。
你這種試圖用“你們掠奪了土地”來淡化西方成就的企圖，不僅錯誤，更是一種可笑迷思的延伸，就是要強迫我們接受“白種人負疚感/原罪論”。
西方征服世界是有原因的，不是因為掠奪或者壓迫，而是因為當時我們就是比別人聰明，且這一條至今適用。見鬼，當代那些非歐洲國家所謂的成就，完全是因為他們照搬了我們的觀念體系。所謂“白人負疚感/原罪論”應該到此為止了。
Excellent answer!!! Is a pleasure to read someone that don’t just read history, but is able to interpret it!
I’ll just add that the Spanish gold did a lot more for the rest of Europe than for Spain. Spain, inundated by gold, became a very hard place to live for the common men. Inequality raised to maximum levels, and progress was thwarted by that.
It institutionalized such a incredibly powerful nobiliary class that was able to content a bit the bourgeoisie class in the 19th century, which was bad for progress, and that we are still suffering (to a much minor point) even today. The only advantage of this is that, in its ineptitude, it allowed for an early, and more humane, decolonization progress than the mess that other potencies did after WWI.
I understand, though, that all this is a bit out of scope of the question.
精彩的作答?。。￠喿x一位不只是懂歷史，還懂得如何講述歷史的答者作答，真是一種樂趣！
我想補充一點，就是西班牙掠奪來的黃金，對歐洲其它國家產(chǎn)生的作用還要遠大于對西班牙自己。當年被金銀財寶淹沒的西班牙，很快就成了平民無以生存之地，不平等程度達到了前所未有的水平，這直接阻礙了西班牙的進一步發(fā)展。
它使得西班牙國內(nèi)一個權勢熏天的貴族階級得到了徹底的制度化加強，直到19世紀，他們?nèi)杂胸斄o予西班牙資產(chǎn)階級一些甜頭讓其滿足——這對社會進步?jīng)]有任何好處。即便到了今天，我們西班牙人仍在為此受苦（盡管程度變輕了）！這種貴族固化帶來的唯一好處，可能就是因為它是如此無能，從而不得不更早、更人道地接受了（西班牙）去殖民化進程，而沒有出現(xiàn)其它列強在一次世界大戰(zhàn)后的那種混亂。
當然，我知道這有點跑題了。
“The Ottomans closed it in 1453! For no good reason!”
You might call the Iberian Peninsula Reconquista which is the longest war ever fought (781-years) as “no good reason”. It was the sanctions applied by the Ottomans against European powers for the treatment that Musli... were getting. Very similar to the sanctions today the US is imposing on a number of countries starting from Syria, to Venezuela to Iran to Russia or China, with further sanctions that might be about to fall on Turkey, Germany and a number of other nations. In the end, Ottomans could not help their Co-religionists hold on to their Al-Andalus real estate and even worse this ended up giving naval superiority to the Spanish and the Portuguese. If history teaches anything, US sanctions imposed on other countries are going to cause an adverse effect at some point in the future: and one has to look no further than the de-dollarization trend of these countries.
“奧斯曼帝國在1453年關閉了它（絲綢之路）！卻根本沒什么大不了的理由！”
你或許可以把伊比利亞半島上（西班牙/葡萄牙人對阿拉伯人）的再征服運動（亦稱“收復失地運動”）——這一有史以來最漫長的戰(zhàn)爭（持續(xù)了781年）看作是那個“沒什么大不了的理由”。關閉絲綢之路，正是奧斯曼帝國對歐洲列強實施的制裁！以報復穆斯林所遭受的待遇。這和今天美國對一系列國家實施的制裁非常類似，不論是對敘利亞還是委內(nèi)瑞拉、伊朗、俄羅斯或中國，（美國）進一步的制裁還可能落在土耳其、德國等其他一些國家頭上。
然而最終，奧斯曼人還是沒能幫助他們的穆斯林兄弟保住安達盧斯（Al-Andaluz，指阿拉伯和北非穆斯林統(tǒng)治下的伊比利亞半島和塞蒂馬尼亞）不動產(chǎn)。更糟糕的是，它的制裁最終催生了西班牙和葡萄牙的海上優(yōu)勢。如果我們能從歷史中學到什么的話，那就是今天美國動輒對他國發(fā)動的制裁，或許會在未來某個時候害到美國自己：不妨關注一下這些國家的去美元化趨勢。
Really excellent explanation of the truth of Western wealth and power i.e. robbery and murder on a vast scale. The arrogance of Europeans has always been staggering, but at last, with the many benefits of their brilliant scientific and economic advances made available to everyone, the rest of the world is catching up and, more to the point, catching on!!
答者很好地解釋了西方的財富和權力是如何得來的真相——即大規(guī)模劫掠和屠殺。歐洲人的傲慢自大總是令人震驚，但最終，隨著他們的科學和經(jīng)濟進步帶來的好處開始外溢，世界其他國家正在抓住機會不斷追趕——說得再準確點，趕超正在發(fā)生?。?br />
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