World History: Connectivity and Trade (1200-1450)

A set of vocabulary flashcards detailing major trade networks, the Mongol Empire, and the cultural and environmental impacts of global connectivity from 1200 to 1450.

Silk Roads

A network spanning Eurasia that facilitated the trade of luxury goods like silk and porcelain.

Caravanserais

Innovations along the Silk Roads designed to provide safety for merchants.

Indian Ocean Network

A maritime trade network relying on monsoon winds and featuring bulkier goods like textiles and spices.

Magnetic compass and astrolabe

Advanced navigation tools that facilitated trade and maritime travel in the Indian Ocean Network.

Trans-Saharan Trade Network

An African trade route that grew due to the improved camel saddle, allowing for heavier cargo transport.

Empire of Mali

A wealthy African empire that prospered through gold trade and taxation, notably under the leadership of Mansa Musa.

Mansa Musa

A ruler of the Empire of Mali known for his immense wealth derived from gold trade and taxation.

Mongol Empire

The largest land-based empire in history, which established the Pax Mongolica.

Pax Mongolica

A period of stability and safety for merchants under Mongol rule, which significantly increased trade across Eurasia.

Uygher script

A writing system adopted by the Mongols as a language of administration.

Champa rice

A crop transfer that fueled population growth as an environmental consequence of connectivity.

Bubonic plague

A disease whose rapid spread was facilitated by the expansion of trade routes.

Swahili city-states

Coastal settlements in Africa that grew as a result of trade within the Indian Ocean Network.

Paper money and banking houses

Commercial practices that helped expand the scale and reach of trade along the Silk Roads.

Gunpowder

A technological transfer that spread as a cultural consequence of connectivity between 1200 and 1450.