Transcript Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Before the First Global Age
Section 3
Trade Networks of Africa and Asia
Trade Networks of Africa and
Asia
 Travelers and trade goods moved along the land and on sea
routes that linked the people of Africa, the Middle East,
and Asia.
 The amount of long-distance trade and travel increased
dramatically in the 1400s.
 This period marks the beginning of what historians call the
first global age.
 For the first time, far-off places of the world began to be
linked together.
The Muslim World
 Arab merchants played a large role in the growing trade.
 The Rise and Spread of Islam
 In the early 600s, a new religion, Islam, emerged in Arabia. Its
founder was the prophet Muhammad.
 The central teaching of Islam was belief in one God- Allah.
Followers of Islam- Muslims-believe that the Quran the sacred
book of Islam, contained the exact word of God as revealed to
Muhammad.
 Muhammad had many followers among Arabs and after his
death in 632, Islam spread rapidly-across Northern Africa into
Spain, and east from Persia to India.
The Muslim World
 Islam expanded through trade and conquest. The people in lands
that were conquered chose to convert, and Muslim traders
brought the religion to people among trade routes.
 Islam united Muslims in many lands. They have a duty to make a
pilgrimage to Mecca (their holy city) at least once in their lives.
 Trade Routes
 Muslim merchants traded across a vast area-sailing to ports
around the Indian Ocean, using ships with triangular sails that
allowed them to use wind, even if it changed direction.
The Muslim World
 Silk Road
 Some Muslim traveled overland routes that took crossed
the grasslands, mountains, and deserts of Central Asia and
linked China and the Middle East. These routes became
known as the Silk Road because prized Chinese silks had
been carried westward on them for over 2,000 years.
 Travel on the Silk Road was dangerous- desert storms,
hunger, and bandits were always a threat. This caused
traders to form caravans for safer travel.
 By the 1400s, trade goods flowed- Muslim traders sold fine
porcelains from China, cloth from India, ivory and gold
from East Africa, and spices from Southeast Asia.
African Trading States and Cultures
 Trade routes played a large role in Africa- long-distance
routes crossed the Sahara, with them bringing salt, dried fish,
gold, fabrics, jewelry, and slaves.
 City-States of East Africa
 Trade had always prospered up and down the coast of East
Africa, helped by good natural harbors that grew into bustling
trade centers.
 Gold from Zimbabwe was carried to coastal cities, where it was
put on ships with hardwoods and ivory going to China and
India.
African Trading States and Cultures
 Wealth from trade helped local East African rulers
build strong city-states- large town that has its own
government and controls the surrounding countryside.
 Many rulers of the city-states became Muslim, which
in time influenced East African traditions. The blend of
cultures led to the rise of a new language, Swahili
which blended Arabic words with local African
language.
African Trading States and Cultures
 Trading Kingdoms of West Africa
 Savanna is a region of grasslands, and this made up
much of West Africa, where several rich trading
kingdoms emerged. Best known were Mali and
Songhai.
 The city of Timbuktu was the major trading center
for both cities.
 Many West African rulers adopted Islam.
African Trading States and Cultures
 The kingdom of Mali rose around 1200 and flourished
for about 200 years. Mali’s most famous ruler was
Mansa Musa, who was Muslim, made a pilgrimage to
Mecca in 1324, and stopped in Cairo on his way. His
wealthy caravan amazed the Egyptians.
 In the 1400s, Songhai emerged as the most powerful
kingdom, and thanks to Muslim rulers they extended
its power and made Timbuktu a thriving city.
Chinese Voyages of Trade and
Exploration
 Chinese power was centered on the emperor.
 Most Chinese rulers allowed trade, but they were often suspicious
of outsiders.
 The Great Treasure Fleet
 In 1402, the emperor ordered a huge fleet to built for trade and
named Zheng He to command it.
 It numbered 300 ships and carried 28,000 sailors and tons of
trade goods. The largest ships were more than 400ft long, with
9 tall masts that held giant red sails.
 Between 1405-1433, Zheng He made 7 long voyages, trading at
posts in Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and Mogadishu in East
Africa. Spreading Chinese trade and influence across a wide
region
Chinese Voyages of Trade and Exploration
 The Voyages End
 The great fleet returned home with exotic goods and animals, such
as giraffes, that the Chinese had never seen. Soon after Zheng He’s
death in 1435, China’s voyages overseas abruptly ended.
 A new emperor decided China had nothing to learn from the
outside world- outlawing foreign travel.
 What Might Have Been
 Historians wonder what could have happened if Zheng He had
sailed around the southern tip of Africa or went across the Pacific.
 If he had traveled across the Pacific and reached the Americas.
American history might have turned out very different.
 Instead they closed the doors on trade and Europeans set out for
other routes to Asia.
Section 4
Tradition and Change in Europe
Jewish and Christian Traditions
 European civilization emerged slowly during a long period
from about 500-1400. Religious beliefs played an important
role in life, providing moral guidance and helped people
understand their place in the world.
 Judaism and the Importance of Laws
 Judaism refers to the religious beliefs of the Israelites. Jews
believe in one God and feel a sacred duty to obey God’s rules.
 The history and laws of the ancient Jews were recorded in the
Torah.
Jewish and Christian Traditions
 The Jews believe that every Jew must obey the 10
Commandments and other religious laws. No one is
above God’s laws, even the most powerful rulers.
 More than 2,000 years ago, many Jews left their
homeland, this scattering of people sent Jews to
different parts of the world.
 Wherever they settled, Jews maintained their identity
as a people by obeying their religion’s laws and
traditions.
Jewish and Christian Traditions
 Christianity and the Teachings of Jesus
 As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, officials
sometimes persecuted Christians, this however did not slow the
growth.
 Around 391, Christianity became the official religion of the
empire. By now the Christians had organized a strong Church
with its own government officials. The Church sent out
missionaries who spread the Christian teaching across Europe.
Slowly, missionaries brought many non-Christian peoples of
Europe into the new faith.
Greek and Roman Traditions
 Greek Ideas About Government
 Around 500 B.C., Greece entered a golden age-artists created
fine marble statues and designed elegant temples, poets and
playwrights created works that are still read today.
 Greek thinkers like Socrates and Aristotle valued human reason.
Using reason, individuals could understand the natural world.
Other Greek thinkers made important contributions to science
and math. They developed geometry and pioneered the idea that
all matter is made up of small moving atoms.
Greek and Roman Traditions
 Greek doctors tried to diagnose and treat diseases using the scientific
method. Greek thinkers debated many issues, including the best kind of
government.
 Greek ideas about government would have a great impact on later
European thinking.
 The Greeks lived in small city-states. First it was ruled by a ruler, but slowly,
some city-states developed a different type of government.
 Ancient Athens first created direct democracy- form of government in
which ordinary citizens have the power to govern.
 All citizens could attend the Assembly and make laws for the city.
Athenian gov’t was limited however- only free men whose parents had
been born in Athens were citizens, most people in Athens were not
citizens. This included all women, slaves and men who came to Athens
from other city-states.
Greek and Roman Traditions
 Roman Government and Law
 As the Greeks entered their golden age, a few small villages in
Italy were growing into the city of Rome.
 From a small city-state, Rome would one day become a huge
empire.
 During this process, it absorbed ideas from many other people,
including the Greeks, however it did create its own traditions,
especially in the fields of law and government.
 In 509 B.C., the Romans overthrew their king and set up a
republic- a system of government in which citizens choose
representatives to govern them.
 In the Roman Republic, a senate and assembly made the laws.
Greek and Roman Traditions
 As Rome expanded, the republic faced a series of crises that caused
military leaders to seize power.
 Among them was Julius Caesar, who named himself dictator for
life.
 After Caesar’s murder, his nephew, Octavian, declared himself
emperor in 27 B.C. He received the title Caesar Augustus.
 The Roman empire lasted for almost 500 years. Rome spread its
language, Latin, and ideas about law across a wide area.
 In Roman tradition, everyone was equal before the law. Accused
people were assumed innocent, until proven guilty. Rome also set up
rules about the use of evidence in court. Roman legal traditions
would later influence Europe.
Greek and Roman Traditions
 Decline of Rome
 The Roman empire declined slowly. Invaders attacked and
overran many regions, and trade and travel slowed.
 In place of the Roman Empire, Europe was splintered into many
small, warring kingdoms.
 During this time, the achievements of Greece and Rome were
largely forgotten. A few Christian monasteries preserved
ancient manuscripts, other survived in the Islamic world.
 Later, Europeans will rediscover these ancient texts and they
would play a key role in American history.
The Middle Ages
 This period lasted from 500- about 1400.
 During the early Middle Ages, invasion and war were
common, without the Roman armies, people had to find
other means of defending themselves.
 Feudalism
 A new kind of government evolved during the Middle Ages.
 Kings and Queens divided their lands among warrior nobles,
who in turn promised to fight for the ruler when asked. This
system of rules by lords who ruled their lands, but owed loyalty
and military services to a monarch is called feudalism.
The Middle Ages
 At the top of feudal society stood the king and the most
powerful lords, next came lesser lords. Most people in feudal
society were peasants who farmed the lord’s lands, and could
not leave the land without the lord’s permission.
 Daily Life
 Feudal life revolved around the manor which included the lord’s
castle and the lands around it, which could include several
villages.
 Each manor was self sufficient- meaning people made almost
everything they needed. Life for peasants was hard- they
struggled to produce enough food to survive.
The Middle Ages
 The most powerful force was the Roman Catholic Church, it
ruled religious life. The Church owned large amounts of land
and was the source of education. The clergy were often the only
people who could read and write, through their efforts, much
of the learning from the ancient world was preserved.
 By about 900, life began to change. Peasants introduced new
methods of farming to produce more food, warfare declined
and trade began to grow. Slowly people began to look beyond
their isolated villages.
The Middle Ages
 The Crusades
 The pace of change increased between 1100-1300 in part
because of the Crusades. The Crusades were a series of wars
fought by Christians to control the Holy Land, which Muslims
had controlled the region for centuries.
 During the Crusades, tens of thousands of Christians journeyed
to the Middle East. Fighting continued between Muslims and
Christians for almost 200 years.
 Christians won some battles, but failed to win the Holy Land.
The Middle Ages
 Growth of Trade
 The Crusades had important effects on Europe- Crusaders
traveled beyond their villages and came into contact with other
civilizations.
 In the Middle East, they tasted new foods, such as rice, oranges,
dates, and new spices. They saw beautiful silks and woven rugs.
 Europe had traded with the Middle East for many years before
the Crusades, but many returning Crusaders demanded more of
the Asian foods, spices, silks, and rugs. Italian merchants
realized that people would pay high prices for them, so they
increased trade with the Muslim world.
The Middle Ages
 New Tools for Navigation
 Trade brought new knowledge- From the Muslim world,
Europeans acquired sailing skills and the magnetic compass
(which originally came from China).
 Another useful instrument was the astrolabe which helped
sailors determine their latitude while at sea. These new
instruments let Europeans sail far out to sea, beyond the sight of
land. By 1500, Portugal had taken the lead in this new overseas
travel.
The Renaissance Expands Horizons
 Increased trade and travel made Europeans eager to learn
more about the wider world. Scholars looked in monastery
libraries for manuscripts of ancient Greek and Roman works.
Some traveled to the Muslim world, where many ancient
works had been preserved.
 As scholars studied ancient learning, they began to make
their own discoveries- produced new books on art, medicine,
astronomy, and chemistry. This great burst of learning was
called the Renaissance, a French word meaning rebirth. It
lasted from the late 1300s-1600s.
The Renaissance Expands Horizons
 A new invention, the printing press, helped to spread
Renaissance learning. Invented by a German, Johannes
Gutenberg in the 1430s.
 Before then, books were scarce and costly because each was
copied by hand. Now large numbers of books could be
produced quickly and at low cost.
 More people began to read, and learning spread more
quickly.
The Renaissance Expands Horizons
 The Search For New Trade Routes
 During the Renaissance, trade brought new prosperity. European
rulers began to increase their power.
 In England and France, kings and queens tried to bring powerful feudal lords
under their control.
 In Spain and Portugal, Christian monarchs drove out the Muslims rules who
had governed for centuries.
 Rulers in England, France, Spain, and Portugal were eager to increase
their wealth, they saw the great profits that could be made through
trade.
 Muslim and Italian merchants controlled the trade routes through the
Mediterranean Sea, so western leaders began looking for their own
trade routes to Asia- many looking to Africa as a source of riches.
The Renaissance Expands Horizons
 Portuguese Voyages
 Portugal was an early leader in the search for a new trade route
to Asia and the source of African gold.
 In the early 1400s, Prince Henry, known as Henry the
Navigator encouraged sea captains to sail south along the coast
of West Africa.
 Realizing that Portugal needed better navigators to accomplish
the task, he set up an informal school to teach sailors techniques
of navigation and the art of ship building.
 Under Prince Henry’s guidance, the Portuguese designed a new
type of ship, caravel. It had triangular sails and a steering
rudder, so they could be sailed into the wind.
The Renaissance Expands Horizons
 These Portuguese caravels stopped at many places along the
coast of West Africa trading cloth, silver, textiles, and grain for
gold, ivory, and slaves.
 Slowly Portuguese explorers ventured further south hoping to
find a new sea route around Africa to Asia. In 1488,Bartolomeu
Dias reached the southern tip of Africa.
 In 1497, Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the
southern tip of Africa. He then sailed up the coast of East Africa
and across the Indian Ocean to India. The Portuguese pushed
onto the East Indies, the islands of Southeast Asia and the source
of valuable spices.