Irons Chapter 2 Main Point Questions

China's economic growth

Champa Rice → population growth → specialized labor → industry → trade → commercialization → economic growth

China's influence on neighbors

Chinese influence → Korea/Japan/Vietnam → bureaucracy + Confucianism → local cultures remain

Southeast Asia

Trade → China + India + Islam → cultural exchange → new religions + political systems

Islamic political change

Abbasid decline → fragmentation → Turkic groups → Ottoman Empire → stability → innovation

Spread of Islam

Merchants + Missionaries + Might → spread of Islam → cultural exchange

East Africa

Indian Ocean Trade → trading posts → city-states → Islam → trade + cultural exchange

West Africa

Trans-Saharan Trade → taxation → territorial empires → wealth + Islamic influence

Eastern Europe

Byzantine Christianity → Kievan Rus → unity + legitimacy → development of Russia

Western Europe

Fall of Rome → fragmentation → Catholic Church → stability + political legitimacy

Maya

Geographic separation → city-states → decentralized civilization

Aztec expansion

Military + alliances → conquest → tribute → wealth + power → empire

Aztec religion

Huitzilopochtli → human sacrifice → maintain cosmic order

Inca expansion

Conquest → incorporation → centralized empire → Mita labor → government services

Americas overall

Geographic isolation → separate civilizations → different cultures → European arrival → disease + weapons