Unit 2: Networks of Exchange

WHAP

Political system in Western Europe during Early Middle Ages

Feudalism

Political structure of Byzantine Empire

Centralized government

Political changes in Europe after 1000

Centralization in England, France, Spain; rise of merchant cities in Italy

Economic system in Europe around 600 CE

Manorialism with limited trade

Economic developments after 1000 CE

Increased trade, Hanseatic League, guilds

Causes of increased trade and urbanization

Crusades, merchant activity, agricultural surplus

Effects of increased trade and urbanization

Growth of cities, rise of merchant class, cultural exchange

Methods of increasing agricultural production

Crop rotation, new tools, land clearing

Impact of religion in Post Classical Europe

Church influence on daily life, education, and plague response

Causes of the Crusades

Religious zeal, desire for land and wealth

Effects of the Crusades

Increased trade, cultural diffusion, weakened feudalism

Church role during the bubonic plague

Provided spiritual support, blamed for plague, loss of influence

Role of monasteries and missionaries

Spread Christianity, education, preserved texts

St. John of Montecorvino

Missionary to China

Reconquista in Spain

Christian reclaiming of Muslim territories, led by Ferdinand and Isabella

Great Schism of 1054

Split between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches

St. Thomas Aquinas

Scholastic thinker who merged faith and reason

Social changes after the Black Plague

Decline of feudalism, rise of peasants and merchants

Women’s roles in Post

Classical Europe

Viking adaptation to environment

Shipbuilding, raiding, trading

Western European adaptation to environment

Agricultural innovation, urban development

Characteristics of nomadic societies

Mobility, pastoralism, gender roles, religious tolerance

Turkic interactions with other empires

Fought and allied with Abbasids, Byzantines, India

Rise of Genghis Khan

United Mongol tribes, conquered China and Persia

Impacts of Mongol rule

Safe trade routes, tech diffusion, religious tolerance

Foundations of Ottoman Empire

Turkic expansion and consolidation

Silk Road characteristics

Overland trade route connecting China to Europe

Trans Saharan route characteristics

Trade across North Africa, reliant on camels

Indian Ocean trade characteristics

Maritime trade connecting East Africa, Middle East, South Asia

Goods traded on Silk Road

Silk, porcelain, spices

Goods traded on Trans

Saharan routes

Goods traded on Indian Ocean routes

Textiles, spices, ivory

Reasons for growth of port cities

Strategic location, increased maritime trade

Motivations for long

distance travel

Ibn Battuta

Muslim traveler who documented Islamic world

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant who traveled to China

Zheng He

Chinese admiral who led maritime expeditions

Margery Kempe

English mystic who wrote spiritual autobiography

Spread of crops in Post

Classical Era

Causes of the Black Death

Spread via trade routes, fleas on rats

Effects of the Black Death

Population decline, labor shifts, religious upheaval

Religious responses to the Black Death

Flagellants, increased piety, persecution

Little Ice Age

Period of cooling affecting agriculture and settlement

Changes under Hongwu and Yongle

Restoration of Confucianism, reduced foreign trade

Fall of Yuan Dynasty

Rebellion, loss of Mandate of Heaven

Return to traditional Chinese government

Revival of Confucian bureaucracy

Decline in foreign trade under Ming

Isolationist policies, focus on internal stability

Common traits in European state

building

Renaissance characteristics

Humanism, art, science, classical revival

State building in England

Strong monarchy, legal reforms

State building in France

Centralized power, taxation, standing army

State building in Russia

Expansion under Ivan III, Orthodox Church support

State building in Spain

Unification under Ferdinand and Isabella, Reconquista