AP World History Unit 2: Networks of Exchange

Flashcards covering the major networks of exchange, technological innovations, and cultural consequences during the period 1200-1450, including the impact of the Mongol Empire.

Networks of Exchange

Trading routes that facilitated the movement of goods, religion, languages, and technology among various states during the period $1200$ to $1450$.

Silk Roads

A major network of exchange across Eurasia that specialized in luxury goods such as Chinese silk and porcelain due to high transportation costs.

Caravan surai

A series of inns and guesthouses located about a day's journey apart along the Silk Roads that provided safety for merchants and allowed for cultural and technological transfers.

Money Economy

An economic system first developed in China that uses paper money to facilitate exchange rather than bartering goods.

Flying Money System

A Chinese commercial practice where merchants could deposit bills in one location and withdraw the same amount in another, increasing the ease and security of trade.

Bill of Exchange

A written document presented at banking houses that stated a merchant's name and the amount of money owed to him, functioning similarly to a modern check.

Kashgar

A powerful trading city located at the convergence of two major Silk Road routes that grew wealthy due to its river and lush valley amidst inhospitable terrain.

Indian Ocean Network

A maritime trade network that expanded during this period and specialized in bulk trading of common goods like textiles and spices alongside luxury items.

Monsoon Winds

Predictable seasonal wind patterns in the Indian Ocean that merchants mastered to navigate more efficiently between different trading states.

Magnetic Compass

A technological innovation that helped maritime merchants determine their direction while traversing the ocean.

Astrolabe

A tool used by merchants to measure the stars and calculate latitude, facilitating navigation on the open sea.

Chinese Junk

Massive ships with enormous cargo holds that allowed for the transportation of large quantities of goods across the Indian Ocean.

Swahili City States

A collection of independent states on Africa's East Coast that acted as commercial brokers for gold, ivory, and enslaved people, eventually converting to Islam.

Diasporic Communities

Settlements of ethnic people, such as Arab and Persian merchants in East Africa, in locations other than their homeland often via trade connections.

Swahili

A language that emerged from the intermingling of native Bantu languages and Arabic through cultural diffusion in East African trading centers.

Zheng He

A Ming dynasty explorer who led a massive fleet to enroll states in China's tributary system and facilitated technological and cultural transfers.

Trans Saharan Trade

An African trade network that expanded significantly due to innovations like the new and improved camel saddle, facilitating the transport of large cargo loads.

Mali

A powerful West African empire that grew wealthy by trading gold and taxing merchants, becoming a key part of the Islamic merchant network.

Mansa Musa

A fourteenth-century ruler of Mali whose pilgrimage and monopolization of trade increased the empire's wealth and expanded trade networks.

House of Wisdom

An academic center in Baghdad where Islamic scholars translated Greek and Roman classics into Arabic, preserving and developing scientific and philosophical works.

Gunpowder

An invention from China that spread through exchange networks and the Mongols, eventually altering the global balance of power as it reached Europe and Muslim empires.

Hangzhou

A highly urbanized trading city in China situated at one end of the Grand Canal that grew wealthy through increased regional connectivity.

Ibn Battuta

A Muslim scholar from Morocco who traveled for $30$ years across Dar Al Islam, writing detailed accounts of the cultures, rulers, and people he encountered.

Champa Rice

A fast-ripening, drought-resistant grain introduced to China from the Champa Kingdom that led to a significant increase in food production and population growth.

Bubonic Plague

A deadly disease that erupted in China in $1331$ and spread along Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade routes via fleas on rats and camels.

Khanates

The term used to describe the four distinct states ruled by descendants of the Khan after the Mongol Empire was divided.

Pax Mongolica

A period of 'Mongol Peace' that facilitated increased international trade, communication, and safety across Eurasia under Mongol rule.

Uighur Script

A written language adopted from a Turkic Muslim group by the Mongols to serve as the official language for policy, diplomacy, and record-keeping.