UNIT II - Networks of Exchange

Towns chartered on lands controlled by feudal lords were given certain rights. Merchants rose near the towns.

The towns had a great deal of independence within empires. However, they were not as self sufficient as the manors in the feudal system.

The Burghers were middle class merchants who became politically powerful.

The Hanseatic League was an alliance of towns established in 1358. The Hanseatic League controlled trade in northern Europe.

Cities were able to maintain their status as city-states and not strive towards statehood. This increases social mobility and flexibility among the classes.

Cathedrals were originally built in the Romanesque style. However, as the Gothic Style developed, the use of “flying buttresses” came into play. While it brought worshipers closer to God, Cathedrals become more then a place of worship, it became art and a place of art.

Scholasticism was a progression of people thinking more openly as more universities allowed men to study topics such as law, medicine, and philosophy. Ideas were also brought in from Greek philosophers/scientists, and European contact with the Islamic and Byzantine Empires.

The idea of Scholasticism relied on logic which conflicted with faith.

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns set by European Christians from the 11th century to the 14th century in order to take over the Holy Land and convert non-christians to Christianity.

During the Crusades, European contact with the Muslim world broadened the perspective of previously narrow-minded people who then began to question religion citing reason. The church would find this threatening.

Practices or beliefs that went against church doctrine. However, some things were defined as heresies were simply older beliefs.

Pope Innocent III issued struct decrees on church doctrine and actively persecuted heretics and jews and directed a fourth, unsuccessful crusade.

This Crusade was motivated by greed, conquered and sacked an already Christian Constantinople and then declared a Latin Empire.

This Empire was centered around Constantinople would only last 50 years as the Byzantines would overthrow the Latins in 1261.

Pope Gregory X set the notorious inquisition into motion.

The Inquisition was a formal interrogation and persecution process of heretics and punishments that ranged from excommunication to execution for nonbelievers.

Thomas Aquinas who lived from 1225-1274, was a famous Christian theologian who altered Christian thought. His most notable work was the Summa Theologica.

The Summa Theologica outlined Aquinas’ view on faith and how faith and reason were not in conflict; they were, however, gifts from God that could enhance one another.

The Bubonic Plague, also referred to as the Black Death originated in China, where it killed an estimated 35 million people. In the mid-14th century, it spread rapidly through Europe via the Silk Trade Route.

Within only two years, more than one third of Europe’s population was dead. This lead to traditional social structures nearly collapsing and a shift towards commercial economy, the development of new industries, and more individual freedoms.

Urbanization led to cities becoming urban centers found along trade routes. Trade and Merchants would gather in specific cities and would lead to cities showcasing their wealth and power

The most populous cities were Islamic and Chinese cities such as Baghdad, Merv, and Chang’an. Constantinople was the only European city of any importance. The populous cities often were part of the Silk Trade Route.

• After 1400, European cities such as Paris and Italian City-states emerged as new trading powers

The Mongols were a group of nomadic people who were skilled horsemen and archers. They existed for a long period of time prior to becoming a global force. Rivalries between different tribes and clans prevented them from unifying and allowed them to remain isolated from.

Genghis Khan appeared in the 1200s and unified the Mongol Tribes and prioritized expansion which would lead to the creation of the largest empire in the world. He established the first pony express, tax breaks for teachers and clerics within his empire, and the postal system

The Mongol Empire spanned from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe. In 1234, Genghis Khan would lead the Mongol invasion of China. The Mongol Empire typically stifled the cultural growth of its conquered cultures due to the brutality of the initial raids. 

The death of Genghis Khan would lead the Mongol Empire to fracture into different groups called Hordes. After Genghis and his successor, the hordes would elect their own Great Khan. After the election of Kublai Khan, the hordes were independent and had no central leadership

Kublai Khan was the grandson of Genghis Khan and ruled the region of modern-day China.

• The Golden Horde conquered the area of modern-day Russia

Pax Mongolica meant that the Mongol Empire was relatively peaceful once their domain was established.

The Mongols would assimilate into the cultures of the people they conquered. The Empire allowed for the exchange of goods, ideas, and culture from one region to another. Due to the the enormous size and diversity  of the Mongol Empire, The Mongols did not try to unify a way of life

While the Mongol Empire was the largest Empire up until that point of time and was tolerant of the cultures and religions it conquered. This contrasts with the Sultans in India who attempted to impose its own religion. It is Important to note that ideas and cultures spread throughout the Empire, it just wasn't the mongolian culture. 

India was invaded and destroyed, including the sultanate. However, the Mongols quickly left. A few years later, the Sultanate would be restored.  Under the Mongols in India, Islam would continue to grow and Hindus would continue to maintain its numbers

In some cases, the Mongols would assimilate to the culture of the areas they conquered. However, in other cases, The Mongols would remain completely separate.

The Mongols were thrown out of China in 1368 and prioritized traditional chinese culture and practices

The first consequence of Mongol rule was that the Golden Horde was treated like a vassal state and did not unify or culturally develop as quickly as its western counterparts. The second consequence was that because the Mongol Empire essentially connected the entirety of Eurasia, world trade and global awareness grew.

Gold

Mali was a major power in trading Gold and existed from 1200 - 1450

Mansa Musa was one of the great Malian rulers and extremely wealthy. He would build a capital, expand the kingdom, and make an extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca to show off.

Timbuktu was the capital city of Mali. In the Songhai Empire, it would become a major cultural center that contained  a university. 

It was the largest Empire in west Africa.The Empire was formed from the mid 15th century to the 1600s established by Sonni Ali

The Song Dynasty was relatively stable at its peak due to the bureaucratic System.

The Bureaucratic System was based on merit and required civil service examinations that focused on confucian principles were regularly modified by Song rulers. This system led to a large number of educated, loyal government workers.

The Bureaucratic System led to the Introduction of paper money, letters of credit, new business practices which all increased trade and cultural diffusion.

The movable type was an early version of the printing press that increased literacy rates and the number bureaucrats among the lower class

Increased literacy rates and productions of books led to an increase in agricultural production

The Song made many technological advancements in military such as gunpowder, compass, bulkheads, and junks (chinese ships). Its iron production would eventually rival the production of the English in the 1700s.

The Song Dynasty would develop into an industrial society.

The Song were an urban population that had some of the most populous cities in the world. The Song’s wealth was based on its navy and it’s involvement in trade

Champa rice led to a rapid growth in population

• Hanseatic League

• Silk Trade Route (1200 C.E - 1600 C.E)

• Mongol’s land routes

• trade between China and Japan

• Trade between India and Persia

• Trade between West Africa and the Islamic Empire

An Increase in trade.

The Indian Ocean Trade Route connected ports in western India to the Persian gulf which then connected Eastern Africa. 

Great Zimbabwe was a thriving coastal city that served as a trading empire on the southeastern coast of Africa. Great Zimbabwe was in the perfect location as it was the most direct route between Indian Ocean ports and African gold mines.

Uyghur was a common script that standardized much of the trade communications in Central Asia. 

The Hanseatic League was a collection of more than a 100 city-states from the Baltic and North sea regions of Europe that established in 1241 to establish trade practices. This established created a trade monopoly that resulted in a  large middle class and set a president for large european trading operations

• There was no single party or person managing global trade.

• As Empires expanded, religion was intentionally spread through missionary work or religious warfare.

• As populations grew, large groups of people moved. which led to cities growing even larger which led to an increase of populations. 

  • Everytime an empire would build a city to flaunt itself, it would attract people as intended. Examples include Timbuktu and Constantinople. Mecca was the most significant destination

Global travelers often wrote of their journeys which informed the people in their homelands of cultures in other parts of the world.

This period is defined by expanding trade, expanding empires and expanding interaction which all led to an increase in wealth, cultural appropriation,and the development of new ideas. 

• Universities, algebra, chess, guns, cannons, and surgical instruments came from the Islamic World.

• Gunpowder cannons, movable type, porcelain, and paper currency came from China

Religion had an immense impact on the status of Women. A Woman’s freedom was based on their class. However Urbanization caused women of the upper class to be even more restricted as their status rose in society.

Religion did not have a large impact on the status of Women. African societies believed in equality. Women had a lot of freedom, sometimes societies were matriarchal. In African Societies, women rather had a bride-price, rather than having to give a dowry. 

As societies began to prosper and interact, the status and role of Women began to change including them having access to more education.

Confucian cultures of China and Japan led to women being illiterate while expecting proper virtue and their domestic roles. Even Educated or Wealthy women were subjected to cultural and legal restrictions.