Religion- A Ripple

Taken from: http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/religion-cliparts

Religion is one of the cornerstones of the entire world history of civilization. The lifestyles of the people as well as the systems that govern them are often influenced by their faith of religion. What items are held sacred and encouraged to produce? How do people feel about their neighbors who are of a separate religion? What are the goals of the religion and how are the people affected by these goals? Civilization V captures the use of religion on kingdoms and subjects in an accurate way. While forming a religion is not required for a victory in a given match, it can be used to grant a powerful boon for players in meeting certain goals and gaining bonuses to do so. Religion in Civilization V also provides a system of pressuring other players and creating a competitive interaction with other civilizations.

Taken from: http://www.bodyforwife.com/the-weaponization-of-religion/

I will take a close examination on how religion often affects a society as well as how the society acts accordingly with the religion. I will mostly mention religion's effects on the Mongol period. In Civilization V, you can found your own religion if you follow certain procedures and meet requirements. A player would want to do this in order to receive bonuses that could greatly affect your goals in the game. Just as you can have a religion, so can other players. In history, multiple religions existed in large areas at once. There have been many attempts to stamp out religions in certain areas in order to promote a singular state religion in a given area. The Spanish Inquisition is notable in utilizing this process of eliminating opposing religions in an area. A player in Civilization V can build and use units called "Inquisitors" to the same effect. Why would a player want to eliminate another player's religion in their city? Players become stronger as a religion becomes more prevalent in the world. An example could be made with the religion of Islam. With the spreading of Islam during the Mongol period of expansion and trade, the religion had become more popular as it spread throughout the land. As more people follow the same religion, a civilization, undoubtedly, becomes more united and powerful. This is where politics comes into play.

These concepts are bedfellows in history.
Taken from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/joseph-weissman/michel-houellebecqs-novel_b_8213600.html

As the seeds of a religion are planted into a civilization, there is an intangible sense of pressure being exhibited on politics. This is shown in the gameplay of Civilization V through a mechanic called religious pressure. As cities would convert to a religion, nearby civilizations would be "pressured" into following the same religion. This can be compared to the effect of Islam and how it spread in the Mongol empire. While the Mongols were known to be fairly religiously accepting, Islam made the largest impact in the world of religions of this time. Rulers would often have to consider the effects of a religion on their people and decide how to act on it. With the Mongols, rulers such as Chinggas Khan saw the benefits in allowing religious exchange and made no attempt into stamping it out so long as it did not interfere with the interests of the empire. Ideas and culture would exchange among the people through religions and be beneficial for the empire. As empires and civilizations shared the same religion, there was a sense of a connection between them as shown in Civilization V. Some Mongol rulers converted to Islam solely for the purpose of a tactical political advantage.

Religion is most known for guiding people into a lifestyle of valued morals and beliefs. There is also an undeniable effect on a civilization's political scene as it is accurately portrayed in Civilization V. I would rate that Civilization V is very accurate in depicting a religion's effect on growing societies.

Trade- Connecting Civilizations

Trading is something that can connect civilizations globally in more ways than one. While it may only appear to be trading foreign goods with one another, trading passes around culture and ideas throughout the world and can either bring societies together or destroy them. Trade is an exchange between nations that brought new ideas, products, and many undesirable factors that all but shaped the future.

A fairly complicated trade system exists in Civilization V.
Taken from: http://www.nowgamer.com/civ-5-brave-new-world-review/

Establishing trade routes with other players in Civilization V has many benefits. Gold is the most obvious benefit, as it is provided when both players trade with one another. With trade, technologies between both civilizations are introduced to one another. Both players gain science points each turn if they have discovered scientific technologies the other player does not have. Trade routes can be used to spread the player's religion. Religion is influenced if the trading cities do not both have the majority religions. Nations are also given a bonus to tourism through trade.

The Silk Road, an ancient trade route that connected many nations.
Taken from: http://www.slideshare.net/APWorldHistory/chapter-07-ppt

How does this all relate to actual trading in actual civilization? Civilization V's trading system and mechanics are very similar to what actually happened in ancient civilization and modern society. The Silk Road is a notable example of a trade route that brought together nations in many ways. The Silk Road is a network of trade routes in ancient Asia that connected the east and west through trade. Merchants obviously benefited from this road financially while nations benefited both financially and culturally. At first glance, it is obvious in assuming that nations who took part in this trade route saw an increase in profits. Many nations that did take part such as China, India, and Arabia still thrive and exist today. Cultural and religious expansion is another major factor of the Silk Road. These trade routes connect the nations, creating the opportunity of expanding cultural and religious beliefs. Islam is a religion that thrived in this time period specifically in the western region of the Silk Road. Due to the nature of the religion, preaching and making mission trips were a common practice. With the connecting of multiple societies, it was incredibly easy to spread the word of Islam. Other major religion that thrived during the period of the Silk Road consist of Buddhism, Manicheism, and Zoroastrianism. There were also many technologies that were brought to different civilizations. While the production of silk was a largely guarded secret, the process eventually spread to the west. Paper was also another Chinese technology that was ultimately integrated into western societies through the Silk Road.

When I compare Civilization V's trade system with actual history, I find many similarities. The game seems to be very historically accurate with trading. A trading network can bring new cultures, religions, and technologies as well as economic benefits to many nations and connect them globally.

Agriculture- Making historical connections

Taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_India

Agriculture has been present in history for thousands of years, making it one of Earth's greatest and most used innovations. Agriculture provides a steady food source that requires timely labor. With agriculture, there is no longer a need to move from place to place, living in a nomadic fashion. A definite food supply will ensure that a civilization's population will grow steadily. The overall productivity of a civilization is also dependent on the food supply. If the people are not happy, productivity will logically go down.  This concept is nearly identical to Civ. V's use of agriculture and how it relates to both a civilization's productivity and population growth.

Agriculture in the game is always taken into consideration when settling a city in Civ. V. Does the area have sufficient resources? Can I exploit the land even further when my civilization expands? Are there any luxury resources nearby I can use? All these questions were likely asked when civilizations were being formed years ago. Eastern Asian civilizations such as the Han Dynasty largely exploited the use of nearby resources, such as the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Resources such as the use of the silkworm also made the Eastern Asian area thrive with the production of silk. The Middle Eastern region known as the Fertile Crescent was used for its fertile land and being nearby the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers.

A farmer's use of cattle and a plow is an agricultural technique.
Taken from: http://howafrica.com/nine-facts-about-agriculture-in-africa/

New techniques and technologies such as the plow can increase efficiency of farming. having a positive increasing effect on the overall food supply and population. A new technique that doubled rice production increased the Chinese population from about fifty million in the eighth century to about one hundred million in the twelfth century! This, no doubt, was pivotal in making China one of the most standing out civilizations of this time. With such a massive population, there would naturally be an increase in workers, farmers, traders, and soldiers.

If I were to become picky about one thing in the game, i will say that the land can be used for food as long as you can. There is no limit to when the land becomes unable to produce food. One of agriculture's most difficult problems is that the land will eventually become too exhausted to produce anything. Many civilizations have to expand and use new lands or techniques to keep producing food. Nomadic agricultural societies move around after harvests to avoid destroying the land. All in all, I will say that Civ. V and historical agriculture and the use of resources are very accurate. Population and productivity growth are also spot-on accurate between both worlds.