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What were some key contexts of the Silk Road from 1200-1450?
Early monopolization of goods like silk in China and spices in Southeast Asia; - Long-distance trade started around 500; - Trade shaped culture and society; - Trade was mostly indirect, involving chains of separate transactions
How did the Silk Road economically impact regions?
Altered consumption, e.g., West Africans could get salt to flavor and preserve food; - Changed day-to-day lives through trade specialization, leading to less self-sufficiency and more dependency
What were some social impacts of the Silk Road?
Traders formed their own social group, sometimes viewed suspiciously; - Trade became a means of social mobility (money = land = power and status); - Elites used trade to distinguish themselves, affording luxury goods like silk and ivory
How did the Silk Road politically impact regions?
Motivated the creation of states and kingdoms to control and tax trade; - Wealth from trade sustained states and facilitated their growth
How was Eurasia divided regionally during the Silk Road era?
Divided into inner and outer zones with different ecologies; - Outer Eurasia: warm and well-watered (China, India, Middle East, Mediterranean); - Inner Eurasia: harsh, dry climate (Eastern Russia, Central Asia); - Led to steppe products being traded for agricultural and manufactured goods
What role did classical civilizations and empires play in the Silk Road trade network?
Civilizations like the Persian, Greek, Roman Empires, Han dynasty, and Gupta Empire added major players to the trade network, leading to the growth of the Silk Roads
What types of goods were primarily traded along the Silk Road?
Mostly luxury goods, such as silk, rather than staple goods; - Goods were for elite and wealthy markets, as only high-value items were worth transporting with high costs; - China had a silk monopoly until the 500s
What were the major effects of silk on societies along the Silk Road?
Used as currency in Central Asia; - Symbol of high status in China and the Byzantine Empire; - Used in Buddhism and Christianity (e.g., worn by Buddhist monks and as altar covers in churches); - Though the volume of trade was small, the social and economic impacts were significant
How did the Silk Road trade impact culture, particularly with Buddhism?
The Silk Road facilitated the spread of Buddhism from India to Central and East Asia; - Spread by Indian traders and Buddhist monks, particularly to oases cities in Central Asia; - Cities that adopted Buddhism gained links to the wealthy and prestigious civilization of India, becoming centers of learning and commerce
What type of goods were primarily offered by the Silk Road?
Silk and other luxury goods
What type of goods did the Indian Ocean trade network offer?
Both luxury (porcelain, spices, ivory, gold) and common goods (wheat, sugar, rice)
What allowed for more resources to be exchanged in the Indian Ocean trade network?
The size of the ships
What was a significant factor affecting trade in the Indian Ocean?
Trade was seasonal because of the monsoon winds
What direction did summer winds blow in the Indian Ocean?
Northeast
What direction did winter winds blow in the Indian Ocean?
Southwest
What technological innovations encouraged the growth of inter-regional trade?
Caravanserai (roadside inn)
What technological innovations encouraged the growth of inter-regional trade?
Forms of credit
What technological innovations encouraged the growth of inter-regional trade?
Development of money economies
What technological innovations encouraged the growth of inter-regional trade?
The compass
What technological innovations encouraged the growth of inter-regional trade?
The astrolabe (to calculate latitude)
What technological innovations encouraged the growth of inter-regional trade?
Larger ship designs
What type of ship was a Dhow?
A ship with one or more masts and lateen (triangular) sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region
What type of ship was a Junk?
A Chinese sailing ship designed to carry heavy cargo and up to 500 men
How were Islamic empires connected through trade?
Through the existing trade networks
What were the Swahili City States?
City-states in East Africa that participated in trade
What role did Gujarat play in Indian Ocean trade?
It was a hub for Muslim merchants trading with China, Samara, Muslims, Malaya, and Burma
What was the Srivijaya Empire?
A power in Southeast Asia that controlled the Strait of Malacca
What products did the Mediterranean Basin contribute to Indian Ocean trade?
Ceramics, glassware, wine, gold, olive oil
What products did East Africa contribute to Indian Ocean trade?
Ivory, gold, iron goods, slaves, tortoiseshells, quartz, leopard skins
What products did Arabia contribute to Indian Ocean trade?
Frankincense, myrrh, perfumes
What products did India contribute to Indian Ocean trade?
Grain, ivory, precious stones, cotton textiles, spices, timber, tortoiseshells
What products did Southeast Asia contribute to Indian Ocean trade?
Tin, sandalwood, cloves, nutmeg, mace
What products did China contribute to Indian Ocean trade?
Silks, porcelain, tea
What was the demand for luxury goods in Afro-Eurasia?
It increased significantly
How did the fate of cities vary in relation to trade?
They experienced periods of decline and periods of increased urbanization
How did the economy of Song China change due to trade?
It became increasingly commercialized while depending on free peasant and artisanal labor
How did the economy of Song China flourish?
Due to increased productive capacity, expanding trade networks, and innovations in agriculture and manufacturing
How did Muslim rule expand in Afro-Eurasia?
Through military expansion, merchants, missionaries, and Sufis
What were diasporic communities along trade routes?
Communities where merchants introduced their own cultural traditions and were influenced by indigenous cultures
Who was called Genghis Khan?
A noble king of great renown
What was Genghis Khan known for in his time?
Being an excellent lord in all things
What qualities did Genghis Khan possess?
Hardy, wise, rich, piteous, just, honorable, and courageous
What was the perception of Mongols during the Middle Ages/Renaissance?
Positive
How were Mongols viewed during the Enlightenment (1700s)?
Negatively, seen as barbarians
What did Montesquieu say about the Mongols?
Described them as “the most singular people on earth”
What did Voltaire say about the Mongols?
Called them “wild sons of rapine” who detest arts, customs, and laws
What did the Mongols lack in terms of cultural advancements?
Technological breakthroughs, new religions, books, plays, new crops or agricultural methods, artifacts, and buildings
What was the primary structure built by the Mongols?
Bridges
Why is the construction of bridges by the Mongols significant?
They facilitated trade and connectivity across regions
What modern ideas did Genghis Khan have despite his illiteracy?
A professional and mobile army, commitment to global commerce, a secularized system of laws, and religious tolerance
What was a key characteristic of Genghis Khan's military strategy?
Killed all who resisted and displayed superior military tactics
What was the estimated number of people killed in China under Mongol rule?
18.4 million
What strategies contributed to the Mongols' military might?
Superior tactics, extreme discipline and loyalty, use of advanced weapons, and intelligence gathering
What did the nomadic Mongols understand about trade?
Its importance for their economy and connectivity
What infrastructure did the Mongols build to support trade?
Roads and extended the Grand Canal in China
What trading institutions did the Mongols establish?
Post offices/trading posts and merchant associations (ortoghs)
What benefits did Mongol rule provide to merchants?
Protection and higher status
What was the Mongols' approach to religious tolerance?
No intention to spread their religion; offered tax benefits to all religious leaders
How did the Mongols influence European access to Asian products?
More Asian products became available to Europe due to trade routes
Who was Marco Polo and how did he contribute to European imagination?
He spent 17 years in the Mongol court and wrote a book that inspired Europeans
What prompted the Portuguese to seek a quicker route to Asia?
The desire to find an alternative route around Africa
What was Columbus's aim when he sailed west?
To find Mongol China using Marco Polo’s journal
What marked the decline of Mongol power in China?
The beginning of the Ming Dynasty
How did the Mongols assimilate into cultures in Russia and Persia?
Slowly assimilated into the local culture
What were some factors that led to the decline of the Mongols?
Guns, greed, and disunity
What were the effects of Mongol rule on China?
70 years of conquests (1209–1279), establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, foreign occupation, and collapse leading to the Ming Dynasty
What were the effects of Mongol rule on Persia?
Damage to agriculture, significant casualties in the Sack of Baghdad, and the end of the Abbasid Caliphate
What years did the Black Death decimate large populations?
Between the 1330s and 1350s
What bacteria is believed to have caused the Black Death?
Yersinia pestis
How did the plague become highly contagious?
Once the bacteria jumped to humans
What were some symptoms of the plague?
Fever, painful swelling of lymph glands (buboes), black spots on the skin
What was the survival rate for most people who contracted the plague?
Most died within days
Where is it believed the plague originated?
In China in the 1330s
How did the plague spread to other regions?
It traveled west along trade routes by land and sea in the 1340s
How many people did the Black Death kill across three continents?
Between 75 and 200 million
What percentage of the European population died from the plague?
Nearly 50%
What percentage of the Middle Eastern population died from the plague?
Approximately 30%
What are the three types of plague?
Bubonic, Pneumonic, Septicemic
What is the mortality rate for Bubonic plague?
60%, with death in 3-4 days
What is the mortality rate for Pneumonic plague?
95-100%
What is the mortality rate for Septicemic plague?
100% within one day
What was the general understanding of the plague in the 14th century?
People had little knowledge of its origin, spread, or treatment
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Flashcard (39)