Unit 1 Vocab Flashcards
Champa Rice
(Economic) A quick-maturing, drought resistant rice. It expanded agriculture production in China. It allowed farming to spread to the lands where rice couldn’t grow. (low lands, river banks, and hills.)
Pax Mongolica
(Economics) Describes a period of relative stability in Eurasia under the Mongol Empire during the 13th and 14th century. The Pax Mongolica brought a period of stability among the people who lived in the conquered territory.
Bushido
(Culture) The code of conduct of the Samurai or bushi (warrior), class of premodern Japan. In the 18th century the precepts were made the basis of ethical training for the whole society, replacing the daimyo.
Mit’a
(Economic) A mandatory public system. Established by the Incan Empire in order to construct building or create roads. Conquered people under the Incas did not have to pay tribute.
Serfdom
(Political) The state of being a serf, serfs couldn’t travel without permission or marry. Children born to surfs became surfs.
Trans-Sahara Trade
(Economic) Transformed West Africa by connecting it to the larger parts of the world. The exchange of goods brought them wealth, political power, and cultural diversity.
Diaspora
(Social) Refers to the involuntary mass dispersion of a population from its indigenous territories, in particular the dispersion of Jews.
Maharaja
(Social) An administrative rank in India; generally speaking, a Hindu prince ranking above a raja. Used historically, maharaja refers to a ruler of one of the principal native states of India.
100 Years War
(Political) A series of conflicts in Western Europe from 1337-1453 fought by England and France. The war had two important outcomes, how people saw themselves and how they fought.
Song Dysnasty
(Political) A Chinese dynasty that ruled from 960-1279. Under the Song Dynasty, China became the most populous trading area in the world.
Shogunate
(Social) A title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator.
Chinampas
(Interaction) Floating gardens built by Aztecs, were used to grow crops without harming the environment. Small rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds.
Pueblos
(Culture) A communal structure for the multiple dwelling and defensive purposes of certain agricultural Indians of the southwestern U.S. can be seen in Mesa Verde.
Hanseatic League
(Political) Organization founded by north German towns and German merchant communities abroad to protect their mutual trading interests.
Caravanserai
(Economic) A roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day’s journey. It also supported the flow of commerce, most notably the Silk Road.
Sultanate
(Political) The territory or a country ruled by a sultan. The office, ranks, or jurisdiction of a sultan.
Urdu
(Culture) A language developed among Muslims of south Asia. Melded the grammatical pattern of Hindu the vocab of Arabic, and some elements of Farsi - Persians language
Crusades
(Political) A series of European military campaigns in the Middle East between 1096 and the 1200’s. The Europeans sought to reclaim control of the Holy Land and the Byzantine Empire couldn’t act as a buffer between Muslim East and the Catholic West.
Khanates
(Political) The area governed by a Khan.
Shinto
(Culture) A Japanese religion incorporating the worship of ancestors and nature spirits and a belief in sacred power. Centered on veneration.
Quipi
(Culture) Developed by the Inca, a system of knotted strings used to record numerical information for trade and engineering and for recording messages to be carried throughout the empire.
Feudalism
(Political) A decentralized political organization based on a system of exchanges of land for loyalty. Wealth was measured in land rather than cash.
Magna Carta
(Political) A charter of liberties to which the English barons forced King John to sign at Runnymede in June 1215.
Sufism
(Culture) Emphasized introspection to grasp truths that they believed could not be understood through learning. Many have begun as a mystical response to the perceived love of luxury by the early Umayyad caliphate.
Seljuk Turks
(Political) Muslims that began conquering parts of the Middle East, eventually extending their power almost as far east as Western China. Their leader (sultan) was Saladin.
Black Death/Bubonic Plague
(Interaction) Black rats carried the infected flea that started the plague in the early 1300’s. It began in China, and spread through the Muslim world and hit Europe in 1347.
