2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity

Black Death

The common name for a major outbreak of plague that spread across Asia, North Africa, and Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, carrying off vast numbers of persons. Caused by the Mongols.

Marco Polo

(1254-1324) Italian explorer and author. He made numerous trips to China and returned to Europe to write of his journeys. He is responsible for much of the knowledge exchanged between Europe and China during this time period. Simulated interest in Asian trade.

Ibn Battuta

(1304-1369) Morrocan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan. His writings gave a glimpse into the world of that time period.

Margery Kempe

Wrote the Book of Margery Kempe - considered the 1st autobiography in the Eng. language. Chronicles her pilgrimages to holy sites in Europe and Asia. Claimed to have vision that called her to leave the vanities of the world (saw vision of Christ). Was tempted by sex and jealousy, but was devout. Acts as best insight that points to a mid. class female experience in the Middle Ages. Records the tension in late medieval England between orthodoxy and religious dissent. Was tried for illegal acts, but proved orthodoxy. Went into crying fits and many were skeptical, but eventually believed she spoke with God.

Swahili

Bantu language with Arabic loanwords spoken in coastal regions of East Africa.

Urdu

A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in Arabic characters and used as a literary language since the 1300s. Official language of Pakistan.

Lateen Sail

triangular sail that made it possible to sail against the wind; used in the Indian Ocean trade

Stern Rudder

A small piece of wood that controls the sailing direction of a ship

Astrolabe

An instrument used by sailors to determine their location (latitude) by observing the position of the stars and planets

Magnetic compass

Chinese invention that aided navigation by showing which direction was north

Hangzhou

Capital of later Song dynasty; located near East China Sea; permitted overseas trading; population exceeded 1 million.

Samarkand

During the rule of Timur Lane was the most influential captial city, a wealthy trading center known for decorated mosques and tombs.

Kashgar

A central trading point at which the western and the eastern Silk Road met

Constantinople

A large and wealthy city that was the imperial capital of the Byzantine empire and later the Ottoman Empire, now known as Istanbul