Unit 2 Networks of Exchange 1200-1450 Flashcards
Why are trade routes called networks of exchange?
Not only were merchants carrying goods for sale, but they also brought their cultures.
General developments on major networks of exchange:
- Geographical range expanded → further connections among states.
- These networks expanded due to commercial and technological innovations.
- Increased connectivity between states caused various states to grow wealth and power due to their participation in these networks.
- Increased connectivity caused the rise of powerful trading cities while also causing the collapse of older cities.
The Silk Roads
Luxury goods trading network that stretches across Eurasia → Chinese silk and Porcelain.
Why did merchants on the Silk Roads trade luxury goods?
It was expensive to travel from one side of the world to the other → carried goods that would make profit.
_________ caused an _________ of these goods by Chinese, Indian, and Persian artisans.
Increased demand for luxury goods & increase in production.
Transportation technology that facilitated the expansion of the Silk Roads . . .
Caravanserai which were a series of inns and guesthouses along the Silk Roads → provided safety against theft.
Brought merchants from different cultures together → cultural exchange.
Commercial practices that facilitated the expansion of trade along ALL networks of exchange . . .
- Money economies that used paper money to facilitate exchange, unlike a barter economy which uses goods as currency (first developed in China) → eliminated the hassle of carrying heavy metal coins across long distances.
- The Chinese cash system allowed merchants to deposit bills in one location and withdraw that same amount in another location → safer travel and easier transactions.
- Introduction of new forms of credit → European banking houses where merchants could present bills of exchange and be given a set amount of money.
Increase in trade led to the rise of . . .
Powerful trading cities such as Kashgar and Samarkand → flourished because of their strategic location along the Silk Roads → centers of trade and cultural exchange.
Knowledge of _________ made trade along the Indian Ocean network possible.
Monsoon winds → predictable winds that blew in one direction or the other depending on the season.
In contrast to the Silk Roads, _________ were traded more along the Indian Ocean trade routes.
Common goods such as textiles and spices → because ships could hold way more cargo.
Technological innovations that expanded trade along the Indian Ocean . . .
- The magnetic compass helped merchants know which direction to sail in.
- The astrolabe helped merchants measure the stars and understand longitude/latitude.
- New ships designs such as the Chinese junk allowed merchants to carry more goods across longer distances.
Swahili City-States
Collection of independent city-states long Africa’s east coast →grew wealthy by trading gold, ivory, and slaves.
Became Islamic and got connected into the larger trading world of Dar-al-Islam.
Diasporic Communities
Settlement of ethnic people in a location other than their homeland → Arab and Persian communities in East Africa led to the further spread of Islam and fostered the growth of the Swahili city-states.
Zheng He
Sent by the Ming Dynasty to enroll states in China’s tributary system → spread China’s navigation technologies.
After his death, Ming emperors focused on building internal power → decline in overseas exploration.
Transportation technology that expanded trade along the trans-Saharan trade . . .
Camel saddles were developed for transporting way bigger loads of cargo across the desert.
Mali Empire
Islamic empire that grew wealthy through the trade of gold and by taxing merchants traveling to West Africa.
Mansa Musa monopolized trade between the North and the interior of the continent.
Cultural consequences of increased connectivity through networks of exchange . . .
- Transfer of religions → Spread of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
- Literary and artistic transfers → House of Wisdom.
- Transfer of scientific and technological innovations → Chinese gunpowder which spread to Muslim empires.
- Rise and fall of cities → Hangzhou became increasingly wealthy and urbanized, while Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongols.
- Facilitated travelers such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Margery Kempe.
Environmental consequences on increased connectivity through networks of exchange . . .
- Transfer of crops → champa rice.
- Transfer of disease → Bubonic plague.
The Mongol Empire
Established the largest land-based empire of all time through brutal military tactics and superior weapons.
After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire was divided into four khanates:
Golden Horde (Russia), Ilkhanate (Middle East), Chagatai Khanate (Central Asia), and the Yuan Dynasty (China).
The division of the Mongol Empire represented a shift from . . .
Centralized power to fragmented power.
Yuan Dynasty
Established by Kublai Khan → introduced Mongol administrative & cultural practices and adopted aspects of Chinese culture.
Faced resistance from Han Chinese who felt marginalized under foreign rule → Red Turban Rebellion (peasant rebellion).
Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty.
Under the Mongols, trade along the Silk Roads increased because of . . .
Improved infrastructure and safety.
Pax Mongolica
Period of stability under Mongol rule → religious tolerance, trade and cultural exchange, communication, and safer travel.
The Mongol Empire declined due to . . .
- The collapse of the Yuan Dynasty → further fragmentation of the empire.
- Internal struggles in the other khanates.
- The Black Death
