Unit 2: Networks of Exchange Flashcards
This deck will aid in helping you gain a profound comprehension of the networks of exchange that existed in the world in the time period 1200-1450.
Describe the height of the Middle Ages.
Towns emerged in an act of urbanization as trade increased. These towns…
- chartered on lands controlled by feudal Lords
- burghers arose
- allainces between towns were established, most notable example being the Hanseatic League (13th-15th century)
What effect did commercial interdependence have in Western Europe?
It prompted nationhood and social mobility amongst the classes.
Describe the artistic nature of the Middle Ages.
- Gothic style arose with “flying buttresses” up to support high windows and ceilings
- Gotchi style was initially used for cathedrals but came to be an art form
- artists were commissioned
What is scholasticism?
As universities were founded, a surge in an intellectual pursuit of science occurred. Interaction with Byzantium and the Arabic Empire fueled this process via trading and crusading.
Describe the Crusades.
- 1095-1291
- were religious wars aimed to liberate the Holy Land and convert Muslims and non-Christians into Christianity
What were the effects of scholasticism on the Roman Catholic Church?
The rise of scholasticism gave way to heresies, some of which arose from the people’s view of the Chruch as becoming wealthy and worldly.
Briefly summarize the whole situation with heresies.
In 1201, Pope Innocent II launched the Crusade that sacked Constantinople and persecuted heretics and Jews. Pope Gregory the 9th, after a few years of the fall of the Latin Empire in Byzantium, also persecuted heretics. Because of all this persecution and power exercised by the Church prompted the name Church Militant.
Describe the Bubonic Plague.
- originated in China
- began at around the 1330s
- beacuse of Mongol rule, it spread quickly and rapidly
- indirectly brought about social and economic movements since it allowed for lesser authority and more individual freedom
Describe urbanization in the 1440s.
- cities started to emerge as a place for exchange
- cities also began acting as displays of power and wealth
- cities were usually located along trade routes or places with good defense
Prior to the 1400s, what was the only economically noteworthy city at the time?
Constantinople. But, Paris and Italy emerged as new trading powers after the 1400s.
Who were the Mongols?
They were nomadic, pastoral people who were superb horsemen and archers from thier homeland in Mongolia. They were initially tribes but were united under Chinggis Khan, who expanded the empire so that the unity between the tribes would not be destroyed. They began this conquest of Eurasia in 1234 but were divided into hordes.
Did the Mongols assimilate into Persian society?
Yes.
What did the Mongols do or didn’t do during their rule?
They did not bother establishing thier culture or religion amongst the vastly different ethnuc groups under their control. They established the first pony express and assisted in spreading technologies and cultures, just not their own.
What did Timur/Tamerlane do?
He took over the Dehli Sultanate, but when returning to his capital at Samarkand, the sultanate was restored.
How did the Mongols expand so much?
They were a highly organized and mobile army and had advanced bows (the composite bow) and calvary. They were so brutal that other nations grew weary of them and planned out how they were going to react to them.
Describe the Mongol Impact.
-in China, inter-marriage was prohibited and Chinese learning of the Mongol language
TWO MAJOR CONSEQUENCES:
-Russia didn’t develop as quickly as the rest of Europe.
-a Eurasian form of globalization occured
-by the 1450s, the world would never again be disconnected
Describe the Mali Empire.
- 1200-1450
- Mali had tons of gold
- capital city was Timbuktu
- ruler was Mansa Musa
- in 1324, Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca with gold-carrying servants and camels and became an international sensation
- Mali actively partook in trade with the Muslim world
Describe the Songhai Empire.
- ended at around 1600
- largest empire in West Africa
- had a university that attracted Islamic scholars in Timbuktu
List some notable Chinese technologies.
- bureaucratic system based on merit with the imperial examinations
- these examinations provided the government with loyal workers since they were also based in Confucian values
- transportation was established (canals)
- business practices of paper money and letters of credit
- movable type was made
- printed books spread knowledge, leading to increased productivity and population growth
List some more notable Chinese technologies.
- gunpowder
- compass
- bulkheads
- Chinesw junks
- increase in iron production from 800-1100
- Chapma rise, drought-resistant and fast-ripening from Vietnam led to increased population
What helped develop maintained trade relationships?
Monetary systems and accounting methods helped maintain business trade relationships; record-keeping and money management are key.
Did trade systems allow the Bubonic Plague to spread from China? How many people did the Bubonic Plague kill?
Yes. The plague killed one out of three people in Western Europe and caused feudalism to decline as manors could not function.
Describe Great Zimbabwe.
- located in modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique
- the de facto distributer of African gold to the rest of the world
Did the Indian Ocean have resilient ships as compared to other naval trades?
Yes, and it was also comparitively safer than the Mediterranean trade.
