APWH:M - Period 1 (Unit 2)

Definition: A series of trade routes connecting Asia & Europe. Sold luxury goods, because of distance & costs along the road. Transfered

Caused by:
Results in:

Shows: The Silk Roads facilitated trade & spread of culture/ideas across Eurasia during & before the time period 1200-1450

Definition: The gigantic peace that extended from Europe to Asia under the 100 years of Mongol rule. Mostly conquered by Chingus Khan, but split up to rule his sons & grandsons. Rulers often adopted their local beliefs, ex: Kublai Khan in Yuan China who presented himself as a Confucius ruler in order to gain more popularity.

Caused by: 1206, the Mongols were pastoral nomads from the Golgi desert united by Temujin/Chingus Khan/Genghis Khan, who was able to conquer much of Eurasia with superior weaponry, military tactics, & scare tactics. (Partially because they got lucky and it was the fall of the Song & especially Abbasid, they took Bagdad in 1258)
Results in:

1. Silk Roads became extremely prosperous because they used to pass through many different countries that were often warring & dangerous, but the Mongols united everyone so now it’s safe.

2. Built bridges/roads & increased transportation & communication, ex: Chinese x Persians developing things together via the Yam system (relay stations set up across the empire)

3. Transfer of culture & technology, such as

   a. medical knowledge (from Islamic scholars to Western Europe) & the adoption of the

   b. Uyghur Script (adapted by Chingus Khan as the written script of the Mongolian language) as the lingua franca of the empire

Shows: During the time period between 1200-1450, the Mongol Empire allowed for lots of cultural transfer across Eurasia, even though they krilled a lot of people at the beguining.

Definition: Credits. Merchants get a sheet of paper saying they have a certain amount of money, which they can withdraw for that amount at a different location.

Caused by: Money economies, the introduction of paper money & credits, the result of commercialization in China
Results in: Allowed for easier (no heavy gold coins) & safer (thieves can’t steal gold) travel. Banking Houses in Europe & rest of the world to maintain trade based on the “Flying Money“ Model.

Shows:

Definition: Caravanserai were inns spaced 1 day apart, for merchants to rest at night. + Saddles made travel more comfortably

Results in: Caravanserai kept merchants safe from thieves & allowed for cultural diffusion because of merchants from everywhere. Increase in new trading cities

Shows: New technologies allowed for an increase in trade & culture diffusion along the Silk Roads & the Trans-Saharan Trade

Definition: Cities with great locations allowed for merchants to rest & resupply which eventually became a destination for markets & intellectual centers.

ex: Kashgar (located next to the most hot/dry part of the route) & Smarkand a city built next to a river (Merchants could stop to resupply for water), eventually had booming markets & a center of Islamic scholarship.

Caused by: Certain areas along the trade routes that were too hot or too long.
Results in: Allowed for merchants to take a break & resupply. + lots of cultural exchange/diffusion occurred in these cities

Shows: Cities in specific locations along the trade routes caused them to prosper

Definition: Such as silk & porcelain from China

Caused by:
Results in: More demand = more supply (making more goods). Chinese/Persians started to create more luxury items just for sale. (Also caused decrease in food production in China because more people were making luxury items) Proto-Industrialization (Making more than you need, just to sell them)

Shows:

Definition: Major increase in the Indian Ocean Trade in the 1300s. Able to trade common items instead of luxury goods because of bigger & better ships/technology.

Caused by: Fall of the Mongol Empire which meant a decline in the safety of travel in the Silk Roads, which pushed people towards maritime trade. + Commercialization & money economies & credits + New maritime technologies + Dar-Al-Islam

Results in: Rise in sea-based city-states that control a strategic location along the trade routes & spread of cultural & technological innovation

Shows:

Definition: Growth of city-states, mostly ones that acted as middlemen for the entire trade route. Became extremely wealthy due to the Indian Ocean Trade

Caused by:
Results in: Swahli (unit 1) & Sultanate of Malacca (controlled/taxed the Strait of Malacca, making them super rich) & Gujarat (west coast of India, traded indigo/cotton, also taxed ships, making the super rich)

Shows:

Magnetic Compass, which allowed for more accurate directions

Astrolabe, which allowed for more accurate locations

Lateen Sail, which allowed ships to travel faster/easier travel

Monsoon Winds, recognized wind patterns in the Indian Ocean, which allowed for safer/more efficient travel

Shipbuilding, Chinese Junks & Arabic Dhows, which allowed for more goods to be carried

Shows: New advancements in maritime technology allowed for increase in Indian Ocean Trade during this time period

Definition: Rise in Chinese Diasporic communities in Southeast Asia + Arabic & Persian Diasporic communities.

Caused by:
Results in: Diaspora communities connect the merchants from their home country with the local government for more effective trade.

Shows: Diaspora Communities held the Indian Ocean Network together

Definition: Traveler/explorer with a fleet of 300 ships with gunpower cannons

Caused by: Commissioned by the Ming to explore & recruit more tributary states into China’s system
Results in: Caused many states around the Indian Ocean to participate in trade more, but mainly spread Chinese shipbuilding technology to all the areas he traveled to.

Shows: Cultural & technological transfers throughout the Indian Ocean Trade Network

Definition: 1200, Major expansion of trade routes that connect North Africa & the Mediterranean with West/sub-Saharan Africa. Traded gold, kola nuts (caffeine), horses, salt

Caused by: Merchants were able to travel more easily & carry more goods & get protection/rest along the way due to new technologies. Specialization of each region's goods, creating demand for trade with one another.
Results in: Empire of Mali which converted to Islam (connected to Dar-Al-Islam) & got super rich through monopolizing the Trans-Sharan Trade (Between North & Interior Africa). Mansa Musa (Mali ruler who went on the Hajj/pilgrimage to Mecca) stopped in Egypt & inflated the price of gold because he was way too rich.

Shows: New inventions allowed for the expansion of the Trans-Saharan Trade Network, shown especially through Mali & Mansa Musa, who joined Dar-Al-Islam & profited lots during it.

Definition: Buddhism spread into East Asia & changed over time/distance resulting syncretism (ex: Chan Buddhism in China is Dao+Confu.+Budd) Many states converted to Islam in hopes of joining the economy of Dar-al-Islam

Shows: Belief systems like Buddhism & Islam spread rapidly via trade routes during the time period between 1200-1450.

Definition: House of Wisdom —> Renaissance (unit 1)

Definition: ex: Chinese paper-making technology & moveable type & gunpowder(via Mongols) spreading to Europe.

Definition: Trade has caused an increase of wealth/power of trading cities (ex: Hangzhou at the end of the Grand Canal, Samarkand & Kashgar) Cities where the expansion of trading networks increased influence & productivity.

Definition: Fall of Constantinople (political/religious capital of the Byzantine Empire) to Ottoman expansion in 1453 + Fall of Baghdad (Islamic cultural/artistic capital) to Mongol empire in 1258

Definition: Muslim scholar from Morocco who wrote detailed notes about lots of places within Dar-Al-Islam.

Caused by: Travel made possible by trade routes
Results in: Allowed his readers to understand other cultures

Shows:

Definition: Italian merchant who traveled to China & wrote about Kublai Khan

Results in: Told Europeans about China

Definition: Christian Mystic who recollected about her pilgrimages to Christian sites

Results in: Provided insight into how Christianity was practiced

More food + Expanded diet = longer life spans & population growth

1. Bananas, from Southeast Asia into Africa via Indian Ocean Trade, where it grew super well in the rainforests (allowed for Bantu people to travel to new places where yam can’t be grown but banana can

2. Champa Rice, Vietnam to China via the tributary system, and fed China who always had the largest population in the world

3. Citrus Fruits, from Muslims to Europe via Mediterranean Trade

   Shows: Signifigant spread of crops as a result of connectivity during the time period 1200-1450

Definition: Black Death

Caused by: Spread via Mongols’ trade routes & Pax Mongolica along with the increase of trade & merchants.

Results in: 1/3 of the Middle East dead + ½ of Europe dead

Shows: Signifigant spread of germs as a result of connectivity during the time period 1200-1450

Timeline of Major Developments 600-1450