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
