Unit 2: Networks of Exchange 1200 CE - 1450 CE

Flashcards about networks of exchange and the Silk Road

Networks of Exchange

Another way of saying trade routes.

Trade Routes (c. 1200-c. 1450)

Expanded which led to further connections among states in Afro-Eurasia due to new trade technology and commercial practices, and the growth of various states and cities.

Main Trade Goods on the Silk Road

Luxury goods like Chinese silk and porcelain because it was an expensive and difficult journey, so merchants only wanted to sell goods that would make a big profit.

Impact of Increased Trade on the Silk Road

Increased demand led to increased production of goods. Some farmers scaled back on food production to make more luxury goods to sell.

Innovations That Led to Increased Trade on the Silk Road

Caravanserai (inns or guesthouses), development of a money economy, paper money in China, the Flying Cash/Money System, and banking houses in Europe.

Caravanserai

Inns or guesthouses on the Silk Road a day’s travel apart for merchants that kept goods and merchants safe & allowed for cross-cultural interactions.

Kashgar

City along the Silk Road where two major routes came together, growing richer and more powerful as more merchants stopped there to rest.

Indian Ocean Merchants

Needed to know about the monsoon winds that blew in one direction or the other at predictable times of the year.

Innovations That Led to Increased Trade on the Indian Ocean

Improvements of the magnetic compass and astrolabe, and new ship designs like Chinese junks that had big cargo holds.

Main Trade Goods on the Indian Ocean

Bulk items like textiles and spices, but also luxury goods.

Growth of Cities and States due to Indian Ocean Trade

Many cities grew by becoming important ports for trade and becoming linked to Dar al-Islam, such as the Swahili City-States.

Diasporic Merchant Communities

Established in many places like East Africa, where Arab and Persian merchants created communities and married African women, leading to the spread of Islam and the development of the Swahili language.

Zheng He

A sailor sent by the Ming Dynasty to bring more states into China’s tributary system, leading to a number of transfers of technology and culture.

Innovations That Led to Increased Trade on the Trans-Saharan Trade Networks

Improved Camel Saddles.

Empire of Mali

Grew very rich through its connections to Dar al-Islam, the gold trade, and taxing trade routes in West Africa.

Cultural Transfers due to Increased Connections

Spread of religion (Islam and Hinduism into Southeast Asia, Buddhism from South Asia to China) and literary & artistic transfers (works of ancient Greece and Rome translated into Arabic).

Most Significant Innovation/Technological Transfer

Gunpowder, which traveled from China all the way west by Muslims and Mongols.

Hangzhou

A city in China that grew wealthy and urbanized because of its location at the end of the Grand Canal.

Baghdad

A city that went into decline when it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1258.

Ibn Battuta

A Muslim scholar from Morocco who traveled for 30 years all over Dar al-Islam, writing about the different cultures he saw.

Champa Rice

Came to China via the tribute system leading to population growth.

Bubonic Plague

Traveled from China all along the Silk Road to the Middle East and Europe killing huge numbers of people.

The Mongols

Facilitated the connections discussed in this unit by creating the largest land-based empire of all time.

Political Impact of the Mongols

Caused the fall of the Song Dynasty in China and the Abbasid Empire in the Middle East, and ruled through states called Khanates ruled by Khans.

Pax Mongolica

The Mongol's policy of encouraging trade by paying high prices for goods from other countries and kept the Silk Road safe.

Cultural and Technological Transfers due to the Mongols

Transfer of Greek and Islamic medical knowledge to Western Europe and the adoption of the Uyghur script (from Central Asia) to create their own written language.