Transcript World Before Exploration

World Before Exploration
Review: World Before Exploration
• Europe
– Byzantines?
– High Middle Ages?
– Late Middle Ages?
– Renaissance?
Review: World Before Exploration
• Arabs
– Islam?
– Abbasid Dynasty?
– Crusades?
Review: World Before Exploration
• China
– Song Dynasty?
– Mongols?
– Yuan Dynasty?
– Marco Polo?
– Ming Dynasty?
• The world during the fourteenth century consisted of three great
trading systems:
– East Asia System (dominated by Chinese)
– Middle East-Mongolian system (dominated by Arabs)
– European system (dominated by Italians)
• These trading systems were all linked together.
– Allowed a “world system” of trade to develop.
• Functioned without a central controlling or dominating force.
– No one controlled the whole system.
– Each system could prosper.
What could destroy this “balance?”
• As a result, the world is polycentric.
– “More than one center”
– Each has its own wealthy center of population surrounded by
population providing raw materials.
Rise of the Ottomans
• By late 13th century, a
group of Turks begin
to build power.
– Ottoman Turks
• By 1453, the Ottoman
Turks conquered
Constantinople.
– Change name to
Istanbul.
• Eventually conquer
much of former
Islamic Empire.
A new route to Asia?
• With the Ottomans now controlling the important crossroads between
Europe and Asia, the Europeans begin looking to the seas for trading
routes to Asia.
– Lead the Europeans to Africa and the Americas.
– Will change the “polycentric” nature of the world.