lecture 3 - European backwardness Flashcards
eurocentrism
- definition
= a point of view that places Europe at the center of everything, particularly modernity and progress, and that sees the rest of the world as historically backwards
about European empires
- Last lecture
- they truly were global
- most recent empires to achieve a global hegemony
so it is a good starting point for global history
bottomline this lecture
Europeans were backwards in almost every aspect comparing to non-western civilizations
'’backwardness’’ not in a the sense of a lineair process of history that works for everywhere, but to throw this word against Europeans, who used it against the ‘‘third world’’
a world of knowledge - east vs west?
e.g. Aristotle only known in Europe C12-13 through Arabic translations (which they translated to Latin)
- original texts of Aristotle weren’t really read until much later, they read translations from Arabic translations
(links to Leiden)
- Plaque for Franciscus Raphelengius: dictionary Arabic->Lating (the first)
- Joseph Scaliger: spoke ancient languages + expanded ancient history to include e.g. Babylonia, Jewish settlements, Egyptian history
- Tulips came from the Ottoman empire
1593 first tulip planted in Leiden
*speculation about tulip prices helped/led to development first stock market
key idea: The Eastern Origins of Western Civilization
- title of book by John M. Hobson
- seen as major revision Eurocentric IR
Voltaire: when you study this globe as a philospoher, you first direct your attention towards the East, the cradle of all arts, which were then given to the Weest
methodological Eurocentrism
- methodological internalism = origins and sources of modernity are internal to Europe + were later shared with the rest of the world
- historical priority = Europe was the first to reach modernity + remains the ‘core’ and prime mover of history
- universal stagism = there are stages of development, through which all societies must pass
- linear developmentalism= there are stages that follow after another (linear process)
5 assertions about the pre-1500 world (eurocentric world)
- it was stuck in stagnant ‘‘tradition’’ that undermined economic development (there was considerable Eastern economic progress before C16)
- it was divided into insular regions (Afro-Asian age of discovery 500-1500 = local and regional economies were linked: proto-globalization)
- it was ruled by irrational despots or petty chieftains (europeans entered the imperial game in the late C15 under circumstances dictated to them by Middle Easterners)
- a globally interdependent world was not yet possible
- that interdependent world was finally created during Europe’s ‘‘age of discovery’’ starting in 1492
!the first 3 are easy to disprove by looking at the facts
*4 and 5 aren’t necessarily Eurocentric, it depends what evidence, reasoning is behind them
The Oriental Globalization
what it is
- ca. 500-1800
- Middle Eastern Muslims % North Africans were the first to begin creating a ‘‘global’’ economy after 500
- East-oriented global economy was further developed and maintained until ca. 1800 by diverse groups of people (Chinese, Jews, Arabs, Persians etc.)
- it linked together all major world civilization (exc. Americas) though trade -> oriental/eastern globalization
key facts about the Oriental Globalization
- begins ca. 500 with the revival of land routes through Central Asia traversed by camels (*fall of Rome, the eastern Roman Empire continued to exist)
- ca.500-1100: two main centers of civilizations (Middle East & China) are connected through trade, creating a world system
- **mostly peaceful relations between empires:* trade is mutually beneficial; few areas of territorial dispute
4 main empires of medieval world
- Byzantyne Empire (ca. 330-1453)
- Tang Empire, followed by Song Empire in China (618-1279)
- Umayyad Empire followed by Abbasid Empire in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia (661-1258)
- Fatimid Empire in North Africa (909-1171)
Byzantine Empire
- ca. 330-1453
- aka Eastern Roman Empire
- Capital = Constantinople (Istanbul)
- Christian empire until C11 (schism leading to (Greek orthodox church))
- Conquered by the Ottomans
Tang Empire + Song Empire
- China
- 618-1279
- capital in Chang’an (Xi’an)
- interregnum in C10: five dynasties and ten kingdoms period
Umayyad Empire + Abbasid Empire
- 661-1258
- Abbasid Golden Age (cultural+ scientific), late C8-C9
- fell during the Mongol invasions C13
- Sunni Islamic caliphates, capitals in Damascus and Baghdad (the round system)
Fatimid Empire
- North Africa
- 909-1171
- Shia Islamic caliphate
- fell to Abbasid Empire and Christian First Crusade (C11-C12)
(Holy Roman Emperor)
Charles the Great crowned himself in Aix-la-Chapelle
25 dec. 800 (on christmas)
the silk roads / ?Indian Ocean trading network?
- silk and spices to the west
- land and sea routes
- Italian city-states were connected + became rich because of this (period of the Renaissance, e.g. Medici family rich through silk roads network)
!not one route, it’s a network that emerged over time
first = western (middle east) parts of the roads dominant, then eastern (Chinese) dominance
Silk Road networks to the West: Islamic and African forerunners
- important role islam
- trade with Africa: Eqypt as crucial junction middle East and North Africa + African markets were the most profitable branch of trade + East Africans were trading with India even before Muslims arrived
Islam central to globalization for 2 reasons:
- brought cultural and political unity to a previously fragmented region
- was a religion that encouraged trade (e.g. contract law acceptance + personal freedom + business was as good for business as for the soul) = source for modern capitalism
Islamic world was the bridge linking together a massive Afro-Asian economy, ca. 650-1800
some major cities (not (detailed) on exam): Samarkand, Baghdad, Isfahan
explorers
Marco Polo (1254-1324): first to discover/reach China/the Indies (over land)
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506): tried to reach the Indies over sea, accidently found the Americas
Ibn Battuta (1304-1377): greatest Muslim/Moroccan explorer: made 3 journeys over land and sea: Asia, Africa, Middle east
general features of Chinese empires
- Become even more internally powerful than Islamic counterparts from ca. 1100 onward
= China was enormously wealthy (*Europeans were ‘‘unable’’ to believe the reality of the wealth/marvels of the Orient described by Marco Polo) - by 1400s, start influencing global economy more strongly than Islamic empires
why was China so wealthy?
- during Song dynasty (920-1279), China undergoes its ‘‘first industrial miracle’’
- develops characteristics usually associated with the British industrial revolution C18-C19
*money values, e.g. indication of GDP compared Europe and China is hard if not impossible to do historically: requires it is commensurable
Chinese industrial revolution?
contested idea
during Song dynasty: 960-1279
- huge increase in (cast) iron and steel production = cheap, durable good
- expansion of transportation system = cheap and fast distribution
-
tax system based on cash money (rather than goods, e.g. crops (as in Europe + Islamic world) = more urbanization + population growth
= political/administrative innovation - advanced agricultural techniques (e.g. Iron plow + more efficient horse harnesses) = higher yield ratios
- first military revolution 850-1920 (gunpowder, cannons, better shipbuilding), e.g. minelayer barge with detachable bow + better ship steering + artillery (heaven-rumbling thunderclap fierce fire erupter) + crossbow use (far before Europeans)
- revolution in navigational techniques (compass)
Maddison: for Europe as a whole the twelfth century Chinese situation was not achieved until the twentieth century
*this is eurocentric: linear developmentalism
Case study: Zheng He (1371-1433) and the Treasure Fleet
- probably the greatest admiral you’ve never heard of (John Green)
- Muslim (indicates long history of religious/ethnic mixing and religious tolerant Mongols in C13)
- Under Ming dynasty, he went on 7 voyages with '’treasure fleets’‘ 1405-1433
- goal = show off treasures and military strength + project Chinese power
e. 1433: China renounces imperialist expansion
- Zhen He died in 1433 + the Xuande emporer died in 1435, shortly after the Treasure Fleet was voluntarily destroyed, and further large voyages were abandoned
- turn toward Confucian ideals and isolationism
- C15 renounced maritime imperialism, despite its real potential to rule world
- China remained open to international trade
Summary
China was incredibly advanced during the Middle Ages and would remain so long after 1492
Chinese rulers decided against massive imperial expansion despite real possibility
China nonetheless continued to play a central role in imperialist world systems
Indian Ocean Trading Network
/ Maritime Silk Road
ca. 800-1500
- now intentions to restore/recreate it
- declined 1500 when Portugal tried to take control (they failed, but they disrupted severely)
- city states traded with inland cities for gold, iron, etc. this was traded to Southeast Asian traders
- African city states were buying cotton, silk, porcelain
- new ethnic group developed though trade relations: Swahili (also language is rooted in this mix)
key points to keep in mind
- silk roads were essential for connecting world empires during the ‘‘Oriental Globalization’’ (its not a global system (not all regions involved) + there were overlapping uneven systems/networks)
- from C14/C15, trading over land routes was superseded by maritime trade in the Indian Ocean
- Europeans were initially minor participants in these trade networks: start getting involved from late C15, with growth of mercantile ports (e.g. Venice, Genoa, Hanseatic cities)
Major cities Islamic world
Samarkand, Baghdad, Isfahan
