Transcript 600 – 1450: Regional and Transregional Interaction

600 – 1450:
Regional and Transregional
Interaction
Review with 5 Themes
Environment
• Travel Technology
– Caravan Organization
– Compass
– Astrolabe
– Bigger ships
• Long distance trade requires knowledge of
environment and technology.
– Viking ships on rivers and sea
– Arab camel caravans in Sahara
– Central Asia horses
Environment, Cont
• Migration
– Bantu people spread from central to southern
Africa with iron and agriculture
– Polynesians to Pacific islands with domestic
plants and animals
• Disease spread on trade routes
– “Black Death” from Asia to Europe
• Food spreads
– Ex: Bananas from SE Asia to Africa
Culture
• Diffusion of languages
– Bantu people spread Swahili
– Turkic & Arabic around SW Asia
• New Religion: Islam
– Influences: Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrian
– Expands by trade and war in Asia, Africa,
Europe
Culture, Cont
• Writings by international travelers spread
knowledge
– Europe: Marco Polo to China and back
– Africa: Ibn Battuta to Mecca
• Conflict diffused technology
– Crusades: Islam to Europe
– Mongols: conquer from East Asia to East
Europe
Culture, Cont
• Cross-cultural diffusion of literature, art,
traditions
– Hindu and Buddhism, India to SE Asia
– Greek and Indian math to Muslims
– Chinese paper and gunpowder to Muslims
Organizations
• States support growing trade
– China: Grand Canal, paper money
• Trading organizations
– Hanseatic League in Europe
• Expanding Empires
– China
– Byzantine (was the East Roman Empire)
– Islamic Caliphates
– Mongols (Genghis Khan!)
Organizations, Cont
• Old Empires collapsed, replaced by new
– Roman -> West collapsed, East=Byzantine
– Kept from old: religion, patriarchy
– Try new: adjust religion, new tax methods
• New States
– Islamic
– Mongols
– Aztecs, Maya
– Feudalism in Japan and Europe
Economics
• The 4 big trade routes flourish (SR, ION,
SC, Med Sea), spawn trade cities.
– Africa: Timbuktu
– Asia: Melaka
– Europe: Venice
– Mexico: Tenochtitlan
• New forms of money and credit
– Banks
– checks
Econ, cont
• Increased agricultural production because
of technology
– Aztec chinampas
– Terrace farming in Asia and South America
– Horse collar
• China, Persia and India increase
production of luxury cloth and porcelain for
export
Social
• Increased demand for luxury goods
– Silk and cotton cloth
– Porcelain
– Spices
• Urban decline, causes:
– Invasions
– Disease
– Agricultural problems
– The “Little Ice Age”
Social, Cont
• Urban revival, caused by:
– End of invasions
– Safe and reliable transport
– Year 800-1300 warming climate
– Agricultural increase
– Available labor
Social, cont
• Labor organization
– Free peasants
– Nomadic Pastoralist
– Craft guilds
– Unfree labor: serfs and slaves, labor tax
– Military draft
• Improvements for women in Mongolia,
West Africa, Japan SE Asia