The Plague in Western Europe

• Essential question: Describe what contributed to the outbreak of the plague in Western Europe and its short-term effects
• By the end of the period, students will analyze the networks of exchange from 1200-1450 by completing the Essential Question

Patterns of Long-Distance Trade

• Silk Roads were a key trade route.
• Sea lanes of the Indian Ocean basin facilitated trade.
• Trans-Saharan caravan routes were important for commerce.
• Trading cities and emporia developed as a result of increased trade.
• Nomadic invasions caused devastation but expanded the trade network.
• The Mongols in China during the 13th century are an example of nomadic expansion

Marco Polo (1253-1324)

• He exemplified long-distance travel.
• Polo traveled to China with his merchant father and uncle.
• He entered the service of Mongol Khublai Khan.
• After a 17-year absence, Polo returned to Venice.
• His experiences were recorded by a fellow prisoner during the Venice-Genoa conflict.
• Polo had great influence on European engagement with the Far East.

Political and Diplomatic Travel

• Trade required diplomatic relations after 1000 CE.
• Mongols and Christians recognized Muslims as a common enemy in the 13th century.
• Pope Innocent IV invited Mongols to convert to Christianity.
• The Mongols offered a counter-offer and asked that Christians must accept Mongol rule or face destruction

Diplomatic Travelers

• Rabban Sauma was a Nestorian Christian priest sent to the Pope by Mongols in Persia in 1287 to discuss a proposed attack on Jerusalem.
• Sauma did not win European support.
• In 1295, a new leader of Persia accepted Islam.
• Ibn Battuta (1304-1369) was an Islamic scholar who worked in governments on extensive travels.
• Strict punishments were meted out according to sharia.
• Lashes were given out for drinking alcohol, and hand amputations for theft.
• Ibn Battuta was unable to convince the women of the Maldive Islands to cover their breasts.

Missionary Travelers

• Sufi missionaries traveled throughout new Muslim territories from 1000-1500 CE.
• They did not require strict interpretations of Islam.
• They emphasized piety and devotion to Islam.
• They allowed reverence of traditional deities.
• Christian missionaries accompanied the Crusades.
• Roman Catholic priests traveled to China to serve distant communities and convert Chinese.
• John of Montecorvino traveled to China in 1291.
• Montecorvino translated Biblical texts and built churches.

Cultural and Technological Exchanges

• European troubadours adopted Muslim love songs.
• European scientists learned from early Muslim and Jewish scientists.
• The magnetic compass came from China and India and was adopted by Europeans.

Spread of Crops

• Citrus fruits, Asian rice, and cotton spread.
• Muslims introduced crystallized sugar to Europeans.
• Demand for sugar increased rapidly.
• Europeans used the Muslim precedent of having large populations of slaves work on sugarcane plantations.

Gunpowder Technologies

• Muslims and Mongols spread gunpowder from China.
• Technology reached Europe by 1258.
• Europeans began to make primitive rockets to blow holes into city walls.

Bubonic Plague

• The Little Ice Age, around 1300 CE, caused a decline in agricultural output, leading to widespread famine.
• The Bubonic Plague spread from southwest China.
• The Plague was carried by fleas on rodents.
• Mongol campaigns spread the disease to the Chinese interior.

Spread of Plague

• Mongols and merchants spread the disease west.
• Plague reached Black Sea ports by 1346
• It reached Mediterranean ports by 1347
• The Plague hit Western Europe by 1348.

Symptoms of the Black Death

• Symptoms included inflamed and discolored lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin area, known as buboes.
• There was a mortality rate of 60-70% within days of the onset of symptoms.
• Extreme northern climates were less affected because the winter was hard on the flea population.
• India and sub-Saharan Africa were unaffected, with unknown reasons.

Social and Economic Effects of the Plague

• A massive labor shortage occurred.
• There was demand for higher wages.
• Significant population movements took place.
• Governments attempted to freeze wages and stop serf movements.
• Riots resulted from these government actions.