Unit 2: Topic 6 - Environmental Consequences of Connectivity

Question 1

What happened as a result of the expansion of trade routes?

Answer 1

The increase of trade routes in both Asia along the Silk Road and the Trans-Saharan trade routes resulted in both positive and devastating effects. Positive effects are the result of the interchange of crops such as Champa Rice from Vietnam, which provided for the large population growth seen in China and Southeast Asia, or bananas which became a key food source for Bantu-speaking people extending past their arable lands. Further, the expansion of Islam led to sugar and citrus crops spreading to Europe. However, the growth of trade had its downsides, name the Bubonic Plague / Black Death. A disease that came from fleas, the disease wreaked havoc upon the world, leading to almost 1/3 of the population of Europe and over 25 million Asians succumbing to the disease. At the same time, The Little Ice Age and overgrazing and deforestation lead to decreased crop yield and erosion.

Question 2

How was Europe affected by the Black Death?

Answer 2

Europe was one of the hardest-hit regions. Dirty, unsanitary conditions for serfs in Feudal Europe facilitated the spread of the disease, which led to over 1/3 of the population perishing from the disease. Economically, the Black Death also had a large role. Due to serfs living in dirty conditions, the spread of disease affected largely serfs which reduced the working population for the feudal lords. As a result, serfs began to gain more power as their work became more valued among their Feudal lords.

Question 3

Bubonic Plague

Answer 3

Also called the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague was a deadly disease that spread through Europe and killed one out of every three people

Question 4

Boccaccio

Answer 4

(1313-1375) Wrote the Decameron which tells about ambitious merchants, portrays a sensual, and worldly society.

Question 5

Champa Rice

Answer 5

Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season. Originally introduced into Champa from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state (as part of the tributary system.)

Question 6

Terrace Farming

Answer 6

A farming system that is in the form of steps going up a mountain; uplands and paddies in the lowlands, it was used in many parts of China where land was once thought unuseable for growing rice.

Question 7

Bananas

Answer 7

Indonesian seafarers traveling across the Indian Ocean introduced this crop to Sub-Saharan Africa. The nutrition-rich food led to a spike in population. Many Indonesians settled on the island of Madagascar. This crop allowed Bantu-speaking peoples with their metallurgy skills and farming techniques to migrate to places where yams - a traditional source of food - did not easily grow. To grow this crop, farmers increased land for cultivation, which enriched diets and led to population growth.

Question 8

Samarkand

Answer 8

During the rule of Timur Lane, Samarkand was the most influential capital city, a wealthy trading center known for decorated mosques and tombs. New foods were available at the markets along the trade routes. For example, this town introduced new fruits and vegetables as well as rice and citrus products from Southwest Asia, to Europe.

Question 9

Sugar

Answer 9

Their demand for sugar would become so high that it became a key factor in the massive use of enslaved people in the Americas in the 1500s and after.

Question 10

How did the Mongols contribute to the transmission of diseases?

Answer 10

Helped to transmit the fleas that carried the bubonic plague, termed the Black Death, from southern China to Central Asia, and from there to Southeast Asia and Europe.

Question 11

What role did the carvanserai play in the spreading of the bubonic plague?

Answer 11

Some historians believe that these locations that housed people and animals together may have contributed to the spread of the Bubonic plague, since the animals likely carried infected fleas.

Question 12

Death Toll of the Bubonic Plague

Answer 12

1/3 of the population in just a few years (1346-1353); It also led to similar loss of life in other areas, including North Africa, China, and Central Asia. About 25 million Chinese and other Asians died between 1332-1347. South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa were spared because there were few trading ports in those regions.

Question 13

Environmental Degradation

Answer 13

Overgrazing, Deforestation and Soil Erosion all occurred due to the introduction of new crops through the various trade networks.

Question 14

Explain the environmental effects of the various exchange networks in Afro-Eurasia from 1200 to 1450.

Answer 14

There was continued diffusion of crops and pathogens with epidemic disease, including the bubonic plague along trade routes. DIFFUSION OF CROPS: bananas in Africa, new rice varieties in East Asia, spread of citrus in the Mediterranean

Question 15

Define citrus crops.

Answer 15

Foods introduced to the Mediterranean from the Arabian Peninsula, such as lemons and oranges

Question 16

Define overgrazing.

Answer 16

grazing of natural pastures at stocking intensities above the livestock carrying capacity

Question 17

Define soil erosion.

Answer 17

wearing away of surface soil due to overuse of farm land

Question 18

How did the introduction of new crops impact food production and the environment?

Answer 18

Merchants in some places introduced crops where they had grown before, which impacted the land use, population growth, and distribution. Some found ways to sustain abundant production; however, the overuse of land led to environmental degradation.

Question 19

What was the Champa rice’s impact on population growth?

Answer 19

Capable of yielding 2 crops per year, widely distributed to meet needs of population, contributed to growing population

Question 20

What religion was Vietnam at the time Champa rice was introduced to China?

Answer 20

Hinduism

Question 21

What was Champa rice’s impacts on land use?

Answer 21

used on land once considered unusable for rice (e.g. uplands, paddies in lowlands)

Question 22

What was the banana’s impact on land use?

Answer 22

Farmers increased land for cultivation, enriching diet, & increasing population

Question 23

What trade route was used to spread bananas from Indonesia to Sub-Saharan Africa?

Answer 23

Indian Ocean trade routes

Question 24

What crops did Muslim merchants spread?

Answer 24

Cotton, sugar, citrus crops

Question 25

How did European involvement in sugar trade lead to growth in slavery?

Answer 25

Deterioration of environment through depletion of resources (e.g. overgrazing, deforestation, soil erosion)

Question 26

What was the Black Death’s impact on Europe’s labor?

Answer 26

New relationships were between feudal lords & workers as each person’s labor became more valuable, so they could demand higher wages.