Unit 1- A global Tapestry.gdoc

This is the medieval time period in the world. Monarchy and Kingdoms are how most people live. The silk roads became an important part of trade for inner and outer eurasia The eurasia land mass, home to the majority of the world's population and many of its most economicall...

This is the medieval time period in the world. Monarchy and Kingdoms are how most people live. The silk roads became an important part of trade for inner and outer eurasia The eurasia land mass, home to the majority of the world's population and many of its most economically productive areas, is divided by geography and historical development In India, China, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, there were a series of economically vibrant urban centers, states and empires. These civilizations were on periphery of the continent, outer eurasia Between them lay the colder plains and steppes of inner eurasia. These land were home to nomadic pastoral groups groups with herd animals Pastoral people in motion: These nomadic pastoralists raised animals and traded animal products with the people of the outer zone. They also began to carry products from one area to another. Indirect connections between empires: These pastoralists served as indirect methods of communication between the empires of the outer zone. PASTORAL GROUPS FACILITATE TRADE, WAR, DISEASE AND CONNECT EMPIRES DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. Luxury goods such as silk: Staples and other foodstuffs were too heavy to carry on the silk roads The cost of long-distance transportation. The trade network thus carried lightweight and expensive items, especially silk and spices China and other centers of silk production: China enjoyed a monopoly on silk production for centuries, but by the sixth century, the knowledge of how to make silk spread to the Byzantine empire and various sites in Asia Buddhism on the road: Buddhism spread along the silk roads, gaining converts among pastoral peopled and in oasis towns Buddhism’s universal message had a strong appeal to the cosmopolitan merchant world of inner eurasia TRADE 500-1500 DISEASE IN TRANSIT 1. Smallpox and measles in han and rome: These diseases caused various epidemic outbreaks in both empires on either end of eurasia 2. Bubonic plague in Byzantium and elsewhere: Between 534 and 750 C.E., bubonic plague broke out at various times in various places around the mediterranean. Sometimes these outbreaks could kill thousands in a day as in a 40-day epidemic in constantinople in 534 3. Mongols and the black death:The most famous case of epidemic disease was the black death  a. Spread during the mongol control of the silk roads, it moved from china to europe and the middle east b. It killed one-third of the european population between 1346 and 1350 EXPANSION OF TRADE Oceanic trade and the silk road 1. East Africa becomes important in trade 2. They brought various crops such as bananas and coconuts as far as east africa. There are still various cultural traces of the malay voyagers in Africa 3. New technologies: The development of new technologies for shipbuilding and navigation 4. These technologies included ships known as junks with stern rudders, keels that gave more stability, the astrolabe, and the compass 5. Thanks to both its central geographic location and its vibrant economy, India Becomes the center of trade 6. Impact of chin: The economic revival of the Tang and Song 7. China produced a variety of goods for export to the of the world, increasing the volume of trade on these sea routes 8. Islam and trade:The rise of Islam also had positive impact on trade for several reasons 9. Islam created a single political system the incorporated a number of different economic centers 10. In the indian ocean, islam created an international maritime culture Sea roads as a catalyst for change: East Africa 1. Swahili: this was the civilization of coastal East africa. While they were of bantu descent they created a new identity thanks to their participation in the indian ocean trade networks 2. Rise of islamic trade: while the swahili coast had traded with merchants from the north for centuries, The rise of Islam marked a dramatic turning point in the region's fortunes. They imported goods such as Indian gold art and Chinese porcelain. Lamu,Mombasa,Kilwa, and Sofala: the swahili culture was an urban culture composed of independent city states of perhaps 20,00o people These societies had intense social stratification between elites and commoners Cultural fusions: The swahili cities were home to a rich fusion of various cultures from Africa, The Middle East, and Asia. The swahili language, For example, if of bantu origin but uses arabic script and has many arabic loan words Africa Recap Muslim Africans: With the spread if islam, the East coast of africa was home to a large population of muslims who did not trace their roots back to the arabian peninsula but didsee themselves as a part of a larger islamic community Great Zimbabwe:the swahili merchants forged links with peoples of the interior of the continent as well as further south To the south and inland from the cost lay the impressive kingdom of great zimbabwe with large stone buildings in its capital , indicating much wealth and social organization Environmental Variation around the sahara: there are diverse environments in and around the sahara, each producing a different set of goods. To the north on the shores of the Mediterranean were communities that produced goods such as weapons, tools, books, clothes, and glassware.  The sahara had deposits of copper and salt as well as oases with date palms. To the immediate south in the savanna grasslands, there were millet and sorghum farmers; further south in the forest, root and tree crops such as yam and kola nuts Trade in mesoamerica Trade in mesoamerica differed greatly from silk road trading Trade in mesoamerica was not as inclusive as silk road routes Many kingdoms fought too much for trade or activity tried to not trade with each other An america network: commerce and connection in the western hemisphere Geographic barriers: Unlike Eurasia with its easy east-west trade axis The americas had serious obstacles to travel in the jungles of the narrow isthmus of Panama Regional trade networks: The americas did have a series of regional trade networks that could move goods and cultural practices over hundreds of miles Mayan and Aztec trade: The mesoamerican states such as the Mayan and the Aztecs made themselves wealthy by controlling the trade routes through their territory Incan Roads: the inca used their 20,000-mile road system to run a state-controlled trade network of various commodities from the diverse lands they controlled