AP World History Unit 2: Networks of Exchange Review

Flashcards covering the major networks of exchange, technological innovations, commercial practices, state growth, cultural/environmental transfers, and the Mongol Empire from AP World History Unit 2.

What time period is covered in AP World History Unit 2?

1200 to 1450.

What is the central focus of AP World History Unit 2?

How various states and empires were connected to one another through networks of exchange.

Why are trade routes officially referred to as 'networks of exchange' in AP World History?

Because merchants carried not only physical goods for sale, but also religions, languages, and technologies, facilitating cultural diffusion alongside economic interaction.

What are the three major networks of exchange in the period 1200 to 1450?

The Silk Roads, the Indian Ocean Network, and the Trans-Saharan Trade.

What general developments occurred across all three major trade networks in the period 1200 to 1450?

Their geographical range expanded, they grew due to commercial and technological innovations, participation made states wealthy and powerful, and they caused the rise or fall of various states and cities.

What types of goods were primarily traded along the Silk Roads and why?

Luxury goods, such as Chinese silk and porcelain, because long-distance overland travel was expensive and arduous, making common items unprofitable.

How did growing demand for luxury goods affect peasants in the Yangtze River Delta?

They scaled back on food production to produce more luxury goods destined for trade across the Silk Road.

What transportation innovation provided safety and lodging roughly a day's journey apart along the Silk Roads?

Caravanserai.

What was the 'flying money system' developed in China?

A money economy innovation using paper money that allowed merchants to deposit bills in one location and withdraw the same amount in another, avoiding heavy metal currency.

How did banking houses in Europe facilitate trade using credit?

Merchants could present a bill of exchange stating the money owed to them and receive that amount directly from the banking house.

Why did the city of Kashgar become a powerful trading hub along the Silk Roads?

It was situated around a river in a lush valley at the convergence of two major Silk Road routes, offering vital resources after inhospitable terrain.

What environmental factor enabled maritime trade across the Indian Ocean Network?

A thorough understanding of predictable, seasonal monsoon winds that blew in specific directions depending on the time of year.

How did the types of goods traded on the Indian Ocean Network differ from those on the Silk Roads?

The Indian Ocean Network traded large bulk common goods like textiles and spices in addition to luxury goods, because ship hulls held far more cargo than camels.

What three technological innovations facilitated trade expansion in the Indian Ocean Network?

The magnetic compass, the improved astrolabe, and new ship designs like the Chinese junk.

What role did the Swahili city-states play in the Indian Ocean trade network?

They acted as brokers for goods originating in the African interior, such as gold, ivory, and enslaved people.

What is a diasporic community?

A settlement of ethnic people living in a location other than their homeland.

How did the Swahili language originate?

It emerged as a blend of native Bantu languages and Arabic words resulting from cultural intermingling between Arab/Persian merchants and local East African populations.

What was the primary objective of Zheng He's voyages commissioned by China's Ming dynasty?

To travel throughout the Indian Ocean enrolling states in China's tributary system while spreading Chinese maritime technology and culture.

Which transportation innovation allowed merchants to carry significantly larger loads across the Sahara Desert?

The new and improved camel saddle.

How did conversion to Islam benefit the Empire of Mali?

It connected Mali directly into the prosperous merchant networks across Dar Al Islam.

Under whose 14th-century leadership did the Empire of Mali reach its peak of wealth and influence?

Mansa Musa.

How did Buddhism enter China during this period?

It spread from South Asia into China via the Silk Roads, carried by merchants and missionaries.

How did scholars at Baghdad's House of Wisdom contribute to the later European Renaissance?

They translated Greek and Roman classics into Arabic and added medical and philosophical commentaries, which were later transferred to Europe.

Where was gunpowder invented, and how did it reach Eastern Europe?

It was invented in China, spread to Muslim empires through exchange networks, and was introduced to Eastern Europe when the Mongols invaded.

Why did the Chinese city of Hangzhou experience rapid growth and urbanization?

It was located at one end of China's Grand Canal, which facilitated extensive trade.

What major political event caused the destruction and collapse of Baghdad in 1258?

An attack and sacking by Mongol armies.

Who was Ibn Battuta, and why are his writings valuable to historians?

A Moroccan Muslim scholar who spent thirty years traveling across Dar Al Islam and left detailed firsthand written accounts of the cultures, rulers, and places he visited.

What effect did the introduction of Champa rice have on China's population?

Imported as tribute from the Champa Kingdom, this drought-resistant rice produced higher food yields, leading to substantial population growth.

How was the bubonic plague transmitted along major trade routes?

The disease originated in China in 1331 and was carried by fleas on rats that traveled on camels along the Silk Roads and inside merchant ships in the Indian Ocean.

What is Pax Mongolica, and how did it benefit trade along the Silk Roads?

Pax Mongolica ('Peace of the Mongols') was a period of stability when Mongol rule unified Eurasia, enforcing security, encouraging trade, and reducing hazards for long-distance merchants.

What written script did the Mongols adopt for administrative use, policy, and diplomacy?

The Uighur script, adopted from a Turkic Muslim group in Central Asia.