Transcript The West and the Changing World Balance

The West and the Changing World Balance
Chapter 15 (1 of 1)
The World Powers During the
Postclassical Error Decline
1258
Abbasids are defeated by
Mongols
1453
Turks conquer the
Byzantine Empire
What city was destroyed
to end Abbasid rule?
What city was defeated to
end the Byzantine Empire?
Baghdad
Constantinople
The Fall of the
Byzantine
Empire’s capital
of Constantinople
marks the end of
the postclassical
period in world
history
Over Time, Arab Dominance Ends
By the 1100s, the Abbasid
caliphate (which ruled
Arab/Muslim empire) was
beginning to decline
Can you name a group
that controlled the
Abbasid empire and made
the Abbasid caliphs
puppet leaders?
945 = Persians (called
Buyids) capture Baghdad,
and they run the Abbasid
caliphate
1055 = Seljuk Turks defeat
the Buyids and run the
empire
1258 = Mongols destroy
Baghdad and kill the last
Abbasid caliph, ending the
Abbasid empire
Serfdom in the Middle East
As Abbasid empire fell,
landlords seized control
over peasants, who were
reduced to serfdom
Agriculture suffered as
peasants no longer free to
farm, had to provide what
landlord wanted
Arabs, who had once
dominated trade, started
to fall behind, as western
Europeans gained on them
As the
postclassical era
came to a close in
the 1400s, the
Middle East began
being more strict
to their Islamic
religion
Secular (nonreligious) ideas,
such as science
and philosophy,
were losing out
to a focus on
religion
Ottomans Take Control of Muslim Lands (1453)
Though powerful,
Ottomans never
became main
world superpower
like Arabs
One reason was because
previously had
they did not promote trade
Would the Mongols Fill Power Vacuum and
Become the Dominant World Power?
But Mongol rule
was relatively
short-lived and they
began to decline
Decline of Mongols,
meant overland
trade routes no
longer safe
Instead, there was a
new focus on
finding trade routes
by sea
So China, and the New Ming Dynasty, Must
Have Emerged As New World Leaders?
China did play the role of
world leaders, but only for
about 50 years
Ming Dynasty
defeated the
Mongols in
1368 and
sponsored
trade
expeditions
From 1405 –
1433, these
Chinese
expeditions
were led by a
Chinese
Muslim named
Zheng He
Zheng He (or Chang Ho)
Despite Zheng He’s Success, China Abruptly
Stopped Exploration and Trade in 1433
Confucians believed the
expeditions went against
their values (remember –
looked down on artisans
and merchant)
Chinese were still in
process of driving out
Mongols and building
huge capital at Beijing,
and expeditions were too
costly
Instead, Ming Dynasty Focused
Internally and Within the Region
• Focused on getting tribute from neighbors in
East Asia
• Focused on finishing off the nomadic invaders
(such as Mongols) to the north
• Focused on building Chinese agriculture
• Focused on internal economic development
The Power Vacuum Was Left Open
Who would emerge as the predominant
power in the world?
Arabs decline
after fall of
Abbasids as
Ottomans
weren’t focused
on trade and
exploration
Byzantine
Empire gone in
eastern Europe,
controlled by
Ottomans
China took the
lead and looked
like next world
power, but
quickly decided
to stop
The Door
Was Open
For Western
Europe
Western Europe Unlikely Winners to be
Next World Power in 1400s
Bubonic Plague
(Black Death)
wiped out 1/3
of its
population in
the 1300s
Famines led to
more death
and peasant
uprisings
The Roman
Catholic
church was
under political
and
theological
attack
Western
Europe still
somewhat
behind
technologically
Trade Plays Big Role
When Mongols had big empire, trade flourished, an
western Europe benefitted more than most area
In 1291, the Muslims drove out the last Christian Crusaders at Acre,
and trade to Asia had to go through the Muslim Middle East
Avoid the Muslims
Western Europeans wanted trade with Asia, but avoid the Middle East,
which led to a search for sea routes to Asia (and the Italian city-states
of Venice and Genoa were key leaders in the search)
The Renaissance Begins in 1400
Italian city-states became
wealthy and could support the
arts and literature, which began
to flourish
The Renaissance was a cultural
and intellectual movement
which revived the Greco-Roman
style, and at first only affected
high society
The Iberian Peninsula joins the Italian citystates in a push for change and innovation
The Iberian Peninsula is
where Spain and Portugal
are today
During most of
postclassical era, the
Muslims had ruled the
Iberian Peninsula
A Marriage for the Ages!
In 1469, Ferdinand and
Isabella wed, uniting the
Castile and Aragon, the 2
major monarchies on the
peninsula
Ferdinand and Isabella
promoted Catholicism and
began the Spanish Inquisition
to drive out Muslims,
Protestants, and Jews
Vivaldis Brothers = Italian
brothers seeking western
sea-route to Asia, but
disappeared in 1291
Their efforts
sparked others
to try to find a
route (such as
Columbus 200
years later)
Italians and Portuguese Intensify Efforts
to Find Western Sea-Route to Asia
Technological Barriers Overcome
Until the 1430s, a lack of
technology prevented sea
travelers from western
Europe from exploring
past the west coast of
Africa
But then the compass and
astrolabe (learned from
the Arabs, who had
learned them from the
Chinese) made its way to
western Europe
I was a Portuguese
explorer who found a
sea route to India,
which allowed
Portugal to dominate
trade in the Indian
Ocean. Who am I?
Vasco de Gama
Portuguese prince who
was responsible for
Portuguese explorations
Portugal was 1st European
nation to establish an
overseas colony (the
Azores in 1439)
Henry the Navigator
Spain Follows Portugal to
Establish Overseas Colonies
These colonies were set
up to produce cash crops
Slaves were imported
from northwest Africa to
do much of the work
Meanwhile, In the Rest Of the World…
By that we mean the areas
that did not have contact
with the rest of the world
during the postclassical era
The two areas are the
Americas and the
Polynesians living on the
Society Islands (Fiji, Tahiti,
and Samoa) in the Pacific
Because they were isolated from the rest of the world,
America and Polynesia were not affected by outside forces
during postclassical era
However, changes were going on within each society that
would weaken each, and make them susceptible to foreign
invasion
Americas
Polynesia
Aztec and Inca were
suffering from rebellions
and other Native
American groups were
beginning to emerge and
vie for power
Because they developed
in isolation, they lacked
modern technology and
were very vulnerable
when the Europeans
showed up
More on Polynesia
During the Postclassical Era (especially 600 C.E. – 1300 C.E.)
Polynesians were expanding to new territories (2 of which were
Hawaii and New Zealand)
Aloha!
• Polynesians settled Hawaiian islands up until 1400, when
migration to stopped (from 1400 to 1778, Hawaii cut off from all
societies, including Polynesia)
• Politically, Hawaii divided into warlike regional kingdoms
• Caste system established (priests and nobles at top, and
commoners very low and barred from doing many activities)
• Despite outdated technology and no written language the
Hawaiians still created a complex culture
• Polynesians from Society Island migrated to
New Zealand starting in early 700s, and they
are called Maoris
• Maoris produced the most elaborate
Polynesian art and population kept expanding
• Like in Hawaii, tribal military leaders and
priests held great power (and each tribe had
slaves gotten from prisoners of war)
• Maoris produced a rich oral tradition and
were good at woodworking (no metal, but
had vigorous economy by combining imported
crops and animals with vegetation native to
their new settlements)
The
Maoris