1. Bohemia was a nation during the Renaissance in Europe.

It has
an area of 20,102 square miles, slightly smaller than the state of
West Virginia. Also known as the Bohemian crown lands, it
consisted of several territories: the Kingdom of Bohemia, the
Margravates of Moravia, Upper and Lower Lusatia, and the
Principality of Sulesia. It was also known as the Hussite Empire
from the early 15th century to the early 17th century. It later
became Czechoslovakia in 1918, which was replaced by the
Czech Republic in the late 20th century during the fall of
communism. Its boundaries included Upper and Lower Austria on
the south, Bavaria on the west, Saxony and Lusatia on the north,
Silesia on the Northeast, and Moravia on the east. Today it forms
pretty much the whole Western half of the Czech Republic.
Therefore, nowadays it is bordered by Germany to the west and
northwest, Poland to the northeast, the rest of the Czech
Republic (known as Moravia) to the east, and Austria to the
south. Bohemia is a landlocked region whose rivers flow into the
North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and Black Sea. It consists of a river
basin drained by the Elbe and Vitava rivers. The Vitava is the
longest river within the Czech Republic. It runs from the
Southwest part of Bohemia up to mid northern part where it
meets the Elbe River. The Krkonose Mountains are at the
Northern part of Bohemia and separate Bohemia from Silesia.

Nowadays, it is part of the Czech-Polish border. Its peak, Snezka,

is in Bohemia and is the highest point in the Czech Republic at
5,259 feet. Another mountain range that forms the border of
Bohemia is the Bohemian Forest. It extends from southern
Bohemia to Austria and Bavaria in Germany. It forms the
southwestern border between Bohemia on one side, and
Germany and Austria on the other. The Ore Mountains are at the
Northwest part of Bohemia. They separated Bohemia from
Saxony from the 12th to the 20th centuries. Nowadays, it is part of
the Czech-German border. The Bohemian-Moravian highlands is a
series of hills and low mountains that cuts northeast through the
Czech Republic and separates the two regions. Bohemia saw the
height of its political power in the 14th century, during the
Renaissance, under the Luxembourg Dynasty. The Premysl
dynasty reigned before from the 10th century to the 14th century.
The House of Luxembourg was a royal family that ruled the Holy
Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Bohemia in the late middle
ages. John I of Bohemia from this family married the Premyslid
heiress in 1310. This linked the new Premysl power to Bohemia.
John Is son Charles IV became the king of Bohemia in 1346. He
brought Bohemia to its peak power when they controlled
Moravia, Silesia, Upper and Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg,
Luxembourg, and many small towns throughout Germany. He

also founded central Europes first university, Charles University.

Prague is the home of Charles University and is also the capital
of Bohemia. Charles was also elected as the Holy Roman
emperor, being the first King of Bohemia to do so.
2. Leonardo da Vinci lived during the 16th century. I think he would
love to see how the world is today. He would be fascinated with
all of the amazing things we have that he did not have during his
time. Leonardo was ahead of his time in terms of his ideas and
inventions. Some of the technology that we have would blow his
mind. He studied anatomy, so if I walked him through the
Westmoreland hospital he would be amazed at how far we have
come with our knowledge of how the human body works. I could
also show him the helipad in Greensburg. He could watch the
helicopter take off. I bet he would appreciate something so
advanced. He would also feel a sense of accomplishment
knowing that he pioneered the helicopter in a way. I think
Leonardo would be not be too surprised by all the churches
around Greensburg and Seton Hill. Religion was a big part of
peoples live in Italy during the time he was alive. Actually, he
would most likely be surprised by how lax we are with our
religion. I think he would like this more than during his time
because he was not necessarily a very religious man. I think
Leonardo would struggle with why women werent being treated
like they were helpless. He would wonder why the men are not

being chivalrous. It would take him a while to realize that women

can be independent. He would also struggle with seeing people
of different race whether on campus or in Greensburg. The
people in Renaissance Italy all looked pretty similar and were the
same race. It would be eye opening for him to see different races
of people. Sir Isaac Newton lived from December 25th, 1642 until
his death on March 20th, 1726. Newton would be fascinated if I
were to walk him around Seton Hill campus and Greensburg. He
would be extremely interested in all the automobiles that he
would see. I am sure he would want to know the physics and
mathematics that went into developing this new type of
technology. He would most likely wonder the same things if he
were to see a plane fly overhead or watch a helicopter takeoff in
Greensburg. I would then tell him that there were some of those
flying objects called airplanes that could break the sound barrier.
He studied the speed of sound, so that would blow him away.
Isaac would be so overwhelmed by flight because of his studies
of gravity. I think he would be torn between wanting to see more
of these things and wanting to sit down and study the mechanics
of it all. He might feel that maybe his studies helped to develop
some of those technologies. He would probably also be relieved
that there was no threat of a plague in Greensburg. If Newton
were to ask me about the state of religion, he would probably be

relieved. Sir Isaac would most likely feel more comfortable with
expressing his views on religion without being criticized for not
being an Orthodox Christian or Protestant. Women would not be
of much interest to Newton. He might be surprised to see lots of
people of different races than he was accustomed too, but he
probably wouldnt mention it. He was never very social with
people and didnt have any relations with women. He might even
be uncomfortable looking at women and how they dress
differently than the women of his time. Benjamin Franklin lived
during the majority of the 18th century. Ben would be so excited
to see how he affected our time if I took him around Seton Hill
and Greensburg. He would see how extensively we use
electricity. He would feel a sense of pride, but also wonder in
what ways advancements were made to some of his ideas. He
would probably also feel good if I showed him the 100 dollar bill
that still has his face on it. Franklin would be glad to see all the
different places of worship and types of religion in Greensburg.
He was a supportive of integrating all religions. Ben would be
confused by the amount of power that women have nowadays.
He would probably struggle with the fact that they have the right
to vote. Benjamin Franklin would be happy to see African
Americans walking around as free people who were not slaves.
He was an abolitionist towards the end of his life. He would still

probably struggle with all the changes to the Constitution that

have been made since his life.
3. Womens rights were much different in the 16th century than they
are now. Women in 16th century Europe were essentially servants
of their husbands and only focused on things going on in their
households. Women were uneducated and not supposed to
question the authority of men. If they spoke out against
something and were unmarried, they were often put on trial as
witches. Elizabeth I was unusual in this time because she was a
leader as well as being well educated in many different subjects.
The trends of inferiority continued into the 17th century with the
same consequences if they spoke out in political situations. They
were to back their husbands views. Some women would be
hanged in the colonies if they challenged laws or political views.
Other women during this time were doing private writings and
journals to express their ideas and intellect. A woman named
Mary Rowlandson wrote a narrative in 1682 that was private, but
it eventually became a public success. Changes started to
happen in the 18th century with womens rights. There was a
cultural revolution in Britain that led to increasing power of the
middle class and expansion in consumerism. Women in the lower
and middle classes could now assist their husbands in work other
than in their homes. There was also a more separate higher class
due to the expansion of the middle class. Due to this, the higher

class would distinguish themselves by wearing more extravagant

types of clothing. Some women started writing guides on
etiquette. The lower class probably wouldnt read those, but
there were now more lower class people able to read
nonetheless. With the Cultural Revolution, there was an increase
in literacy and publishing. The periodical made a rise during this
time causing many men and women all of classes to start writing
about anything they wanted. Women were still writing about
issues of the home and other practical ideas, but there was still
advancement for them. Women from the colonies were also
writing about the foreign issues in the colonies and sending them
back to Britain. It was definitely stilled frowned upon for women
to be educated in subjects such as business. Education for
women was not much of an academic one, but more of them
achieving womanhood by learning how to be skilled in domestics.
There were women who tried to speak out against this and get
access to an actual education for women of the 18th century.
Mary Wollstonecraft spoke out publicly about education as well
as marriage laws. Marriage laws were not in favor of women.
Despite her efforts, not many laws were changed in the 18th
century. Britain was not the only place in the world during the
18th century that womens rights were expanding. Catherine the
Great of Russia took the throne in 1762 by devising a coup

dtat. She stayed away from the influence of men and did not
end up marrying. She was a powerful leader that changed the
political structure of Russia significantly. A French woman named
Olympe de Gouges was executed in 1793 for demanding equal
rights for women. Madame Roland was a very influential woman
in the French revolution. Her husband was a supporter of the
French revolution and member of the Girondist faction. She
owned a salon in a hotel where the leaders of the revolution
could discuss their ideas in private. She acted as her husbands
secretary and listened in on the discussions to educate herself. It
was said that when her husband was speaking, he was also
speaking some of her ideas as well. The two were a team and
she gave him ideas, even though she could not publicly
announce them. She often included her ideas in writings under
his name. Madame Roland was eventually found out and
executed. Phillis Wheatley was an African-American slave who
wrote poetry about slavery and British Imperialism. She was an
important figure among abolitionists. Women, since the 16th-18th
centuries have gained a lot of power in many parts of the world.
Certain religions and cultures still view women as inferior though.
Muslim wives are often involved in polygamy and are not allowed
to show their face to anyone but their husbands. Women in the
United States of America have gained the right to vote as well as

increasing their equality. Women in the 50s and 60s in America

were still viewed as the keeper of the domestics. Nowadays, a
stay-at-home mom is not as common as more women are
pursuing careers. I still think that women need to have the same
pay as men in America. Slavery was obviously another huge
issue during the period from the 16th through the 18th centuries.
Slavery was already used in antiquity and up to this time all
throughout the world. To name a few examples: Portugal started
using Chinese slaves during the 16th century, Napoleon was using
Haitian slaves during the 18th century; Spain was using African
slaves in the 16th century, and so were the Dutch in the 18th
century. Americans finally abolished slavery in the 18th century.
Black people have gained the right to vote as well as being full
citizens. The Civil Rights movement also made improvements in
America as we got rid of segregation. Things are much better
nowadays, but racism is still alive and well. A big issue today is
the black lives matter and blue lives matter conflict. Not a week
goes by without hearing about a cop shooting a black person or a
black person shooting a cop. There are extremists on both sides
of the issue. The media is also a big part of the problem. I think
much work still needs to be done in bringing people of all races
together in America.