JSIS 200 Midterm

Entrepot

Trading hubs/commercial cities. Notables 1100-1300: Alexandria, Cairo, Venice, Quilon, Melaka, Quanzhou

Abbasid Empire

750-1258, Golden age of Islam, capital in Baghdad, focused on institutions and economic expansion, ethnic equality, problems were rifts with the Persians/Shia. Religious toleration of non-Muslims as long as they accepted Muslim political dominion. Other communities were free to choose their own religious leaders but paid tax and followed laws set by Muslim rulers.

Sufism

a branch of Islam that believed in mystics, aestheticism (giving up worldly goods). spread quickly to India, Southeast Asia, trade increases and more converts appear in Islamic lands, embracing Persian literature, Turkish ruling skills, an Arabic language contributions in law, religion, literature, and science

Delhi Sultanate

1206-1526 Muslim Turkish regime in Northern India brought political integration, strengthened cultural diversity and tolerance. Sultans did not forcibly convert subjects to Islam and allowed coastal cities to develop on their own.

Song Dynasty

(960-1279 CE) The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military.

Flying cash

a paper currency of the Tang/Song dynasty in China. printed money rather than coins linking northern traders with southern, govt collects tax revenue in cash rather than grain/cloth -> govt prints more notes to pay its bills -> runaway inflation

Feudalism/manorialism

Social system: Feudalism describes the relationship between the king and his nobles in mediaeval Europe.
Economic system: Manorialism describes the relationship between a noble and his peasants in medieval Europe. Feudalism was thus primarily political and military, while manorialism was more economic and social

Crusades

A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

4th Crusade

Christians take Constantinople. Other Christians living under Ottoman Empire flee to Europe, especially Venice -> brings Eastern knowledge, triggers Renaissance

Holy Roman Empire

Loose federation of mostly German states and principalities (Byzantine), headed by an emperor elected by the princes. It lasted from 962 to 1806. Emphasis on papal authority.

The Great Divergence

growth in GDP and widening gap in prosperity between rich and poor countries. Global income inequality increased over the 19th century. One of the reasons for growing conflict and resentment.

Ghenghis Khan

Ghenghis Khan founds the Mongol dynasty— expansion began in 1206 as he launched a series of conquests southward across the Great Wall of China and westward to Afghanistan and Persia, Pacific Ocean and Adriatic Sea by his sons

Jizya

Special tax that non-Muslims were forced to pay to their Islamic rulers in return for which they were given security and property and granted cultural autonomy

Pax Mongolia

Also known as the mongol peace. A time when global trade expanded due to the political stability provided by mongol rulers.

Effects of bubonic plague

Social: debauchery, Jewish persecution, piety and flagellation. Post-plague, societies reaffirm deeply held beliefs— Confucianism, Islam, Catholicism.
Economic: Food production collapsed -> famines -> rising prices, hoarding, work stoppages, unrest, regimes collapse everywhere. Surviving peasants gain greater autonomy -> end of feudalism, guilds.
Political: Dynasties become instituted— ruling families derive power from divine calling (mandate of heaven, divine right), leaders establish clear rules about succession to the throne, elevate power through conquest or alliance, enact coercive laws and send emissaries to govern, establish standing armies and tax collection, building projects to proclaim royal power

Ottoman Empire

Major Turkish Islamic state centered on Anatolia that came to include the Balkans, the Near East, and much of North Africa. Embrace Sunni Islam and Byzantine governance, spread into Christian heartlands. Highly bureaucratic. Conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1453, renamed Istanbul. Ottoman expansion over trade routes to South/East Asia drives Europeans to look for alternative routes -> Columbus, Vasco de Gama; offered stability and security; lower taxes; tolerant rulers; did not assimilate Christians

Devshirme

'Selection' in Turkish. The system by which boys from Christian communities were taken by the Ottoman state to serve as Janissaries.

Mughal Empire

Mughals rule wealthy but divided realm of Indian subcontinent, assimilating Islamic and pre-Islamic Indian ways, constant target for internal dissent and external aggression. Open towards non-Muslims . Warriors of Timur invaded and crushed Delhi sultanate, wave of religious revivals including Sikhism in the Punjab. Babur the Tiger, Turkish prince, proclaimed himself emperor and laid foundation of Mughal Empire.

Safavid Empire

Safavids adhere to Shiite Islam and were devoted to pre-Islamic traditions of Persia, less effective at spreading Persian base. Merged with tribal groups in Persia, devout and persecuted non-Shiites. Ismail first shah of the Safavid Empire, conversion or death. Extreme and militant form of Islam, rulers ordained by God, activist clergy as enforcers.

Ming Dynasty

Succeeded Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially mounted huge trade expeditions to southern Asia and elsewhere, but later concentrated efforts on internal development within China. Ethnically Han Chinese rulers. Most highly centralized system of government of all the monarchies of this period. Banned private maritime commerce in 1371, lax enforcement -> resurged.

Zheng He

Officially sponsored expeditions— Zheng He commanded massive ships and established tributary relationships with Southeast Asian and Indian territories, exhibit Chinese might

Effects of Renaissance

Interests in social issues, new forms of literature, artistic achievements, appreciation and funding for art— patronage system.
Questioning of religion— Church responds by demanding strict faith— persecution of Jews, Muslims, witches, heretics. Also expanded charitable and bureaucratic functions. Selling of indulgences (certificates that reduced one's time in purgatory). Sparked Protestant Reformation.
Free peasantry emerged as labor shortages made it impossible to keep peasants bound to the soil.
Consolidation of centralized monarchies through strategic marriages, warfare. Tudors in England, Valois in France, Habsburgs provide continuous emperors for the Holy Roman Empire from 1445 to 1806 including Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, parts of Italy, Poland, Switzerland.

Humanism

Renaissance intellectual movement: aspiration to know more about the human experience beyond what scriptures offered.

Who colonized the Plains peoples in America?

Spanish

Hundred Years War

1337-1453 in which the French sought to throw off English domination. Push English back across the English channel, French House of Valois began to consolidate royal power through strategic marriages and civil war.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan 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. Served as a Muslim judge settling disputes.

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.

Suleiman the Magnificent

Expanded empire from Hungary/Crimea to Arabian Peninsula to Morocco to border with Safavid Iran.
Devshirme system, rise of janissaries in military, replacement of powerful landholding families with individuals loyal to the state
Incorporation of ethnic and religious groups into hierarchy; those who were willing to serve could rise high
Other subjects were not forced to convert and governed their own communities but paid taxes to the Turkish overlords

Vasco de Gama

A Portuguese sailor who was the first European to sail around southern Africa to the Indian Ocean. Opened Malaysian peninsula and Indian Ocean to Portuguese conquest— Melaka, piracy.

Christopher Columbus / Columbian Exchange

Columbus arrives in Caribbean in 1492, claims land Spain; the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries

Mamluks

Under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries. Mamluks eventually founded their own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517).

Martin Luther

95 Thesis, posted in 1517, led to religious reform in Germany, denied papal power and absolutist rule. Claimed there were only 2 sacraments: baptism and communion.

Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Mehmed II

Ottoman sultan called the "Conqueror"; responsible for conquest of Constantinople in 1453; destroyed what remained of Byzantine Empire. Took Athens and Balkan territory, Budapest, Venetian Empire, Transylvania, North Africa and Egypt by 1550, exerted control over Mediterranean and captured European ships

Portuguese colonization

Trade in sugar, golf, and enslaved Africans drove European-African interaction. Portuguese establish trading ports and commercial ties with African kingdoms
Relations break down as Portuguese begin illegally enslaving, priestly corruption, arrival of Dutch and English, and internal civil wars -> Portuguese seize islands along the West African coast and establish sugarcane cultivation built on slavery.
Portuguese venture into Indian Ocean and adapt to local circumstances to exploit Asian commercial networks and trading systems.

Pass system

Required ships to pay for cartazes— identification documents

Encomenderos

Spanish conquerors of Hispaniola (Haiti and DR) experimented with colonial rule. When indigenous people resisted, soldiers replied with punitive expeditions and began enslaving them to work in mines extracting gold -> rich class of encomenderos

Hernan Cortes

Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the conquest of Aztec Mexico in 1519-1521. Allied with Tlaxcalans, Aztec King Moctezuma's enemies. Aztec resistance after two years -> Spaniards devastate Tenochtitlan with artillery and smallpox, Cortes becomes governor and declares New Spain. Enacts tributary networks to extract wealth without extensive settlement, conscripted labor.

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish explorer who conquered the Incas in what is now Peru and founded the city of Lima (1475-1541).

Treaty of Tordesillas

A 1494 agreement between Portugal and Spain, declaring that newly discovered lands to the west of an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean would belong to Spain and newly discovered lands to the east of the line would belong to Portugal.

Transatlantic slave trade

The system of trading African Slaves from Africa to the Americas. It changed the economy, politics, and environment. It affected Africa, Europe, and America. It implies that slaves were used for cash crops and created a whole new economy.

Inquisition

1481 taking aim against converted Jews and Muslims, ordered expulsion and forced conversion/emigration of Muslims. Spain becomes increasingly homogenous.

Effects of the Little Ice Age

Crop failure, changes in agricultural practices, disease, unrest; herding societies invaded settled societies;

Little Ice Age

Plunging temperatures and drought

Chartered companies

Groups of private investors who paid an annual fee to France and England in exchange for a monopoly over trade to the West Indies colonies.

Mali Empire

West African empire, founded by the legendary king Sundiata in the early thirteenth century. It facilitated thriving commerce along routes linking the Atlantic Ocean, the Sahara, and beyond

Dynasty

Hereditary ruling family that passed control from one generation to the next

Yuan Dynasty

(1279-1368 CE) The dynasty with Mongol rule in China; centralized with bureaucracy but structure is different. Religious freedom, foreign trade, social hierarchy over Han Chinese. Collapsed during 14th century black plague.

Monarchy

Political system in which one individual holds supreme power and passes that power on to his or her next of kin

What were the three attacks on the Islamic Heartland?

1. Crusades (left enclaves)
2. Mongols (absorbed into local dynasties)
3. Turkic tribes: convert to Islam and established empires)

Renaissance

Term meaning "rebirth" used by historians to characterize the cultural flourishing of European nations between 1430-1550, which emphasized a break from the church-centered medieval world and a new concept of humankind as the center of the world.

Three most important Chinese dynasties

1. Yuan (Mongols)
2. Ming
3. Qing (Manchus)

4 ports that Yuan permitted trade

Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Quanzhou, Kaifeng

Counter-Reformation

Movement to counter the spread of the Reformation, initiated by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in 1545. The Catholic Church enacted reforms to attack clerical corruption and placed a greater emphasis on individual spirituality. During this time, the Jesuits were founded to help revive the Catholic Church.

Inca Empire

Empire of Quechua-speaking rulers in the Andean valley of Cuzco that encompassed a population of 4 to 6 million. The Incas lacked a clear inheritance system, causing an internal split that Pizarro's forces exploited in 1533.

Jesuits

Religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola to counter the inroads of the Protestant Reformation; the Jesuits, or the Society of Jesus, were active in politics, education, and missionary work

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Columbian Exchange

Movements between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas of previously unknown plants, animals, diseases, and products that followed in the wake of Columbus' voyages.

Conquistadors

Spanish military leaders who led the conquest of the New World in the 16th century

Who established Mongols?

Genghis Khan in 1206

Jean Calvin

1509-1564, A French theologian during the Protestant Reformation. Calvin developed a Christianity that emphasized moral regeneration through church teachings and laid out a doctrine of predestination.

Printing Press

A machine used to print text or pictures from type or plates, dramatically increasing the speed at which information would be copied and disseminated. The spread of printing press technology in the 1450s created a revolution in communication around the world.

Rajas

Indian rival chiefs; leaders of ancient cities in India

Aztec Empire

Mesoamerican empire that originated with a league of three Mexica cities in 1430 and gradually expanded through the Central Valley of Mexico, uniting numerous small, independent states under a single monarch who ruled with the help of counselors, military leaders, and priests. By the late fifteenth century, the Aztec realm may have embraced 25 million people. In 1521, the Aztecs were defeated by the conquistador Herman Cortes

Significance of Istanbul

Built by Romans (second Rome); incorporated Byzantine traditions; opened city's gates to refugees with open arms

Atlantic System

New system of trade and expansion that linked Europe, Africa and the Americas. It emerged in the wake of European voyages across the Atlantic Ocean.

How did the Ottomans govern Jews and Christians?

Allowed to practice their own religions; safety and security; had similar status to Muslims

Where are the Balkans and why are they important to the Ottomans?

Balkans are the gateway between Europe and Asia; included Croatia, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia, etc; provided access to vital trade routes meant they could expand their influence

What were the three routes to the East?

1. Northern: Constantinople --> Central Asia
2. Middle: Baghdad, Basra, Indian Ocean
3. Southern: Alexandria, Cairo, Red Sea

Mercantilism

Saw the world's wealth as fixed; any one country's wealth came at the expense of other countries; overseas possessions existed solely to further enrich European motherlands because it measured imperial power according to treasure in the crown

Black Death

Plague pandemic that ravaged Europe, East Asia, and North Africa in the fourteenth century, killing large numbers of people, including perhaps as much as two-thirds of the European population

Effects of silver on global economy

Silver allowed Europeans to gradually insert themselves into the . Eurasian luxury trade. Grafted onto Asian commercial networks and actors. Drove European actors into competition across the Atlantic. Only currency that China would accept for trade. Silver from the Andes and Mesoamerica boosted world's supply of money and injected liquidity into global trading networks -> inflations and contractions. New stock markets and lending houses spur global commercial activity

Canton System

Required European traders to have guild merchants act as guarantors for their good behavior and payment of fees. Trade remained marginal and restricted to the coast, like the Ming. Failure to adapt to a changing world order?

Qing Dynasty

(1644-1911 CE), the last imperial dynasty of China which was overthrown by revolutionaries; was ruled by the Manchu people. Established stable imperial system— adapted to local ways, respected Confucian codes and kept classic texts as basis of civil service exams, continued social hierarchies
Added territories in Taiwan, Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, gave newly acquired their own form of local governments. Emphasized authority, distinctiveness, and submission of Han Chinese subjects. Forged tributary relations with Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Nepal. Wanted to stabilize their frontiers and check any threat from expanding Russia. Russian and Qing envoys negotiated Treaty of Nerchinsk 1689 recognizing sovereignty and borders.

charter companies

Visible collaborations between the state and merchant classes; awarded trading rights over large areas. Notably: Virginia Company (Americas), East India Companies (English and Dutch).

Ulama

Scholars who despised Sufis and loathed their rigor

Kongo Kingdom

Based on agriculture; formed on the lower Congo River by late 15th century; firearms and gunpowder very important to their wars

Guild

Associations of craftsmen and merchants who formed groups for mutual aid and protection; 11-16th centuries; different types of guilds for different types of trades; set and maintained standards for products

Tribute

Part of a tribute system where a state or region gives resources/services to a more powerful state in exchange for support like protection or legitimacy; notable ones are Mongols and Aztecs; demonstrate authority while also fostering diplomatic relationships

Mamaluks

A military class in Egypt, originally composed of enslaved soldiers, who rose to power and established a sultanate from the 13th to the 16th centuries. They are notable for their role in defeating the Mongols and the Crusaders, thereby preserving Islamic territory.

Cairo

Modern day Egypt: Muslim and Jewish trading firms, Paper, textiles, jewelry, tobacco and slave markets

Alexandria

Modern day Egypt: Silks from Chinam olive oil, glassware, flax, corals

Quilon

The tip of Modern India: nerve center for major maritime trade. Because of its location it became a major crossroads of indian ocean and red sea travel. Spices, perfumes, textiles

Quanzhou

China: location of Song government offices of seafaring affairs. Silk, ceramics, paper, tea

Kublai Khan (1215–1294)

The grandson of Genghis Khan. Founded the Yuan Dynasty in China and became its first emperor. Established a centralized government, solidified Mongol control over China. He is also notable for his interactions with foreign travelers, such as Marco Polo.

Demascus

Modern Syria: Middle Eastern meeting point between Europe and Asia. Trade goods include dried fruits, cloth goods, purple dye, glass, and Damascus steel.

Baghdad

Modern Iraq: Middle Eastern meeting point between Europe and Asia. Trade goods include diamonds, soap, ivory, camel fur, honey silk, textiles, glass, paper and tiles.

Venice

Because of its location on the Mediterranean, Venice’s easy access to Middle Eastern trade as well as its powerful Navy allowed it to dominate other European powers and become the most powerful European city in the 13th century.

How did the Song handle trade?

• Strict regulations on maritime trade, particularly through the establishment of official trade ports, like Quanzhou and Guangzhou. These ports were designated for foreign trade, and merchants had to register with the authorities to conduct business.

• This regulation aimed to control the influx of goods and ideas, manage taxation, and curb piracy

How did the Yuan handle trade?

• Implemented controls that integrated local trade with broader Mongol trade networks. They established the "Pax Mongolica," which facilitated trade across the vast Mongol Empire but also allowed the Yuan to exert control over trade routes.

• The Yuan imposed heavy taxes on foreign trade and maintained monopolies over certain goods, particularly salt and tea, which were crucial for both domestic use and export.

Janet Abu-Lughod Argument

Argues that the 1250- 1350 world system was not a dead-end but a precursor of the capitalist world system that emerged later in the sixteenth century

How does Janet Abu-Lughod make her point?

Emphasizes that the thirteenth century featured a complex web of trade routes connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, fostering essential economic and cultural exchanges for a global system. She highlights sophisticated economic practices, including trade and capital accumulation, that existed outside of Europe, challenging the idea that capitalism was solely a European invention. She frames this century as a critical turning point, where the balance of power between East and West was relatively equal, suggesting that Europe's later dominance was not inevitable.

Mansa Musa

Mali King who made a pilgrimage to Mecca displaying his wealth in gold.