shemo mid term

Discuss the causes of the Black Death, the immediate impact of the Black Death, and the
longer term historical changes associated with the Black Death

Causes

• The Black Death was connected to trade and increased interaction between different parts of the world.

• The Mongols created a huge, connected trade network across Eurasia.

• Mongol trade routes allowed disease to travel more easily between regions.

• The disease spread along trade routes from Asia into the Middle East and Europe.

• The Black Death was therefore connected to the same trade networks that had encouraged economic and cultural exchange.

Immediate impact

• Death rates were around 25–50% in affected populations.

• European population decreased by about 1/3.

• China's population fell from about 120 million to 80 million.

• Both states and the Christian Church lost legitimacy.

• There was increased anti-Semitism because Jews were scapegoated.

• There were major labor shortages.

• Laborers gained more power because there were fewer workers available.

Long-term changes

• Contributed to the end of feudalism in Europe.

• Workers gained more bargaining power.

• Stronger states eventually replaced weaker political structures.

• The Church became more involved in social services as it tried to reassert its power.

• The Black Death weakened old political and social systems and helped create conditions for major changes in Europe.

What were the successes of the Mongol Empire, and why was it so short-lived? What does
the Mongol Empire tell us about historical memory?

Successes

uccesses

• Created one of the largest empires in history.

• Avoided many of the religious conflicts that existed in Europe.

• Allowed conquered people to keep many of their traditions.

• Used engineers and officials from conquered societies.

• Women had more freedom in Mongol society.

• Most importantly, the Mongols created one of the most extensive trade systems the world had ever seen.

• Protected trade routes and merchants.

• Created secure way stations.

• Encouraged commercial and cultural exchange.

• Developed shared systems of credit and accounting. 1-31 World in 1400 Mongols Bla…

Why was it short-lived?

• Mongols had difficulty ruling societies that were more literate and technologically advanced than their own.

• Their violence during conquest caused resentment.

• Most importantly: the Black Death weakened the empire and disrupted the trade system that had helped make it successful. 1-31 World in 1400 Mongols Bla…

Historical memory

• The Mongols are remembered differently depending on who is telling the story.

• Someone can be called a traitor or a liberator.

• Someone can be viewed as a ruthless invader or a successful conqueror.

• The Mongols were extremely violent in conquest, but they also created trade networks and allowed cultural exchange.

• This shows that history is not always simply good vs. bad.

• Historical memory depends on perspective and which parts of the past people choose to remember.

Compare and contrast the three Islamic Empires that arose after the Mongol Invasion, in the wake of the Black Death in terms of geographic location, size, the religious profile of the populations, and religious tolerance. The best answers will make connections between
these points.

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Ottoman Empire

• Located around modern-day Turkey and southeastern Europe, expanding into the Middle East.

• One of the largest of the three.

• Sunni Muslim.

• Took Constantinople in 1453, renaming it Istanbul.

• Expanded significantly under the Ottomans.

• Had a diverse population because of its large territory.

Safavid Empire

• Located primarily in modern-day Iran.

• Shi'ite Muslim.

• This created an important religious distinction from the Sunni Ottomans.

• Religious differences between the Ottomans and Safavids contributed to conflict.

• Smaller geographically than the Ottoman Empire.

Mughal Empire

• Located in modern-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

• Ruled over a population that was largely Hindu, while the ruling dynasty was Muslim.

• This made religious tolerance especially important.

• Akbar held religious debates and was relatively tolerant.

• Later, Aurangzeb was less tolerant of religious diversity. Black Death and the Isalmic Emp…

Connection between geography, religion, and tolerance

• The Ottomans and Safavids were both Muslim empires, but their Sunni/Shi'ite differences were important.

• The Mughals ruled a largely non-Muslim population, so religious tolerance was especially important for keeping the empire together.

• Akbar's religious tolerance helped him rule a diverse empire.

• Under Aurangzeb, decreased religious tolerance contributed to difficulties holding the empire together after his death.

• Geography and population therefore affected how each empire approached religion.

why did the Chinese government decide to discontinue Zheng He’s voyages and destroy
the finest navy in the world? What were the short term and long term consequences?
What do you think of this choice, and why?

Why did China stop?

• Zheng He made 7 major voyages between 1405–1433.

• Voyages traveled from China through the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf and Africa.

• Chinese officials questioned the cost of these voyages.

• Confucian philosophy viewed merchants and profit negatively.

• Confucian thinkers believed profit could be a temptation that should be resisted.

• There was conflict between scholars and eunuchs over the voyages.

• China also had problems on its northern frontier, which required attention and resources.

• By 1500, the ships were dismantled and it became illegal to build ships like them. Zheng He (1)

• The government therefore chose to focus resources inward instead of continuing expensive overseas expeditions.

Short-term consequences

• More pirates.

• China had less ability to defend its coast.

• China still had substantial trade despite ending the voyages. Zheng He (1)

Long-term consequence

• About 400 years later, China faced the Opium War.

• China had lost the powerful navy that could have helped defend its interests.

• European powers became much more powerful in relation to China.

My opinion

• I think destroying the navy was a bad decision.

• China gave up a major technological and military advantage.

• It also reduced China's ability to defend its coast.

• The long-term consequence was that European powers eventually had a much stronger position against China.

• However, Chinese officials had legitimate concerns about cost, taxation, and problems on the northern frontier.

Why did Europeans make the journey that let them discover the new world, when the
Chinese, who were much more technologically advanced a century earlier, did not

Why Europeans explored

• Europeans wanted Chinese goods, especially luxury goods.

• Europeans needed silver to pay for Asian goods.

• Europeans wanted access to the Indian Ocean spice trade.

• In 1453, the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople, making European access to traditional trade routes more difficult.

• Europeans therefore looked for new routes to Asia.

• European exploration was motivated by economic interests and competition.

Why China did not continue exploring

• China was already a powerful and wealthy center of the world.

• Zheng He's voyages demonstrated that China had the technology and ability to travel long distances.

• China did not have the same economic need to find new routes.

• Confucian officials were suspicious of merchants and profit.

• The government eventually dismantled the ships.

• China focused more on internal problems and the northern frontier. Zheng He (1)

Main argument

• Technology alone does not cause exploration.

• China was technologically advanced enough to explore, but its political and economic priorities were different.

• Europeans were more motivated by the need to find new trade routes and wealth.

• This is why Columbus went west while China stopped Zheng He's voyages.

List the five factors that scholars have found to be important in European ability to
conquer highly developed societies in the Americas, and make an argument about which
factor (or factors) are the most important, giving at least two reasons for your choice

• A. Technological advantage – Europeans had cannons, guns, and other military technology.

• B. Horses – Europeans had horses, while there were no domesticated horses in the Americas.

• C. Other Amerindian allies – Europeans were able to form alliances with Native groups who were enemies of the Aztecs and other empires.

• D. Disease – Diseases such as smallpox devastated Native populations because they had little previous exposure or immunity.

• E. Aztec culture – Religious beliefs and practices, including human sacrifice, helped create enemies and may have contributed to the Aztec defeat. European Colonization of Americ…

My argument: Disease was the most important factor

• Disease caused massive population loss, especially smallpox, which weakened Native societies before and during European conquest.

• Europeans had an advantage because Native Americans had no previous exposure to many European diseases, so they had little immunity.

• Disease also made it easier for the Europeans to defeat larger armies, because the Europeans were already greatly outnumbered.

• Technology alone was not enough, as the slideshow points out by asking whether European technology could really overcome Aztec numerical superiority. European Colonization of Americ…

• The factors worked together, but disease was the most important because it weakened the population and military strength that Europeans would otherwise have had to fight.

While slavery was pervasive in Africa long before the Trans-Atlantic slave trade became prevalent in the 1700s, Traditional and Trans-Saharan slavery were different from each other, and Trans-Atlantic slavery was very different from either. Discuss two basic and
three substantive differences between Traditional, Trans-Saharan, and Trans-Atlantic
slavery

Basic differences1. How slaves were acquired

• Traditional African slavery: Mostly warfare, punishment, or pawning.

• Trans-Saharan: Slaves were captured and transported across the Sahara.

• Trans-Atlantic: Large numbers were captured by African slave traders and sold to Europeans. Kidnapping and warfare became important. Slave trades F24 Slave trades F24

2. Treatment/status

• Traditional: Slaves could become part of the family.

• Trans-Saharan: Some slaves could gain freedom through conversion to Islam; women could become concubines.

• Trans-Atlantic: Slavery became much more permanent and was increasingly connected to race. Slave trades F24

Three substantive differences1. Type of labor

• Traditional slavery was not a separate class of slave labor.

• Trans-Saharan slavery often involved domestic work, concubinage, and servants.

• Trans-Atlantic slavery was heavily connected to plantation labor, including sugar, rice, tobacco, and cotton. Slave trades F24 Slave trades F24

2. Gender

• Traditional and Trans-Saharan systems often preferred women and children.

• Trans-Atlantic slavery often preferred males, especially for plantation labor.

• North American slavery had more equal sex ratios than some other areas. Slave trades F24

3. Race and permanence

• Traditional African slavery was not based on the modern idea of race.

• Trans-Saharan slavery was connected to religious distinctions, including the Islamic concept of “People of the Book.”

• Trans-Atlantic slavery increasingly became associated with race, especially by the 18th century.

• This made slavery more hereditary and permanent. Slave trades F24 Slave trades F24

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How did the Trans-Atlantic slave trade end, and how did slavery within Africa transform
as a result of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade?

How the slave trade ended

• European and American governments gradually began abolishing the slave trade.

• Denmark abolished the trade in 1803.

• Britain abolished it in 1807.

• The United States abolished it in 1808.

• Spain was one of the last, ending it in 1845.

• British naval patrols were used to stop slave ships. Slave trades F24

Transformation within Africa

• Africa eventually stopped being primarily a supplier of slaves to other countries.

• By the 1830s, Africa had become the largest slave-holding continent.

• Slavery within Africa became more similar to the Trans-Atlantic system.

• The Atlantic trade had already caused:

  • Depopulation

  • Destruction of families

  • Warfare

  • Political instability

• Some African kingdoms became richer and more powerful through the slave trade, including Asante, Oyo, and Benin, but the overall impact on Africa was harmful. Slave trades F24 Slave trades F24

How was the Mughal Empire “deindustrialized”? What does this process tell us about the
changing balance of power in the world in the late 1700s?

How India was deindustrialized

• In the 1700s, India was a major supplier of fine cotton to global markets.

• Britain passed tariffs to discourage people from importing Indian cotton.

• By the late 1700s, Britain gained increasing political control over India.

• Britain encouraged India to export raw cotton.

• Britain industrialized and began producing cheaper manufactured cotton.

• Britain then flooded Indian markets with British cotton.

• Indian weavers lost their jobs.

• India increasingly became a place that exported raw materials and imported finished goods.

• Peasants also faced heavier taxation and debt. British Imperialism and Mughal …

What does this show?

• The balance of power was shifting from Asian manufacturing centers toward industrial Europe.

• India had once been a major industrial and textile power.

• Britain's Industrial Revolution allowed it to overpower Indian textile production.

• Political control and industrialization worked together.

• This shows that by the late 1700s, European economic and political power was increasing while Asian economic independence was weakening.

How did China go from being the power center of the world at the end of the 1700s to
having to face European and American imperialism as a serious threat by the 1850s?

China as a major power

• China was one of the major power centers of the world.

• It had a large population, strong economy, and extensive trade.

• China had previously possessed an extremely powerful navy under Zheng He.

• However, China chose to dismantle that navy and focus inward. Zheng He (1)

What changed?

• China stopped Zheng He's voyages and destroyed much of its naval advantage.

• China became less able to defend its coast.

• European powers continued to develop their military and industrial technology.

• Britain became increasingly powerful through industrialization and global trade.

• Britain wanted access to Chinese markets.

• Britain used opium as part of its trade with China.

• China attempted to stop the opium trade.

• This eventually contributed to the Opium War.

By the 1850s

• European powers had demonstrated that they could use military force against China.

• China was increasingly forced to deal with European and American imperialism.

• The result was a major change in the balance of global power.

• A country that had once been one of the world's strongest centers was now struggling to defend itself against industrial European powers.

• The Zheng He slide specifically connects China's decision to dismantle its navy with the Opium War about 400 years later. Zheng He (1)

Big idea to remember

China did not suddenly become weak — European powers became much stronger while China chose to turn inward. That changing balance of power is the key connection between Zheng He, industrialization, and the Opium War.