World History Units 2-5 Review Flashcards

Global Interconnectivity and the Mongol Legacy

• Impact of Connectivity on Disease:   - Increased global connectivity facilitated the rapid spread of the bubonic plague, known as the Black Death.   - This disease is characterized as one of the most deadly in world history.

• The Mongol Empire:   - The Mongols created the largest land-based empire in human history.   - This massive political entity facilitated further interconnection and interaction across the Afro-Eurasian landmass.   - The empire established a system where exchanges occurred easily, allowing for the movement of skilled artisans, ambassadors, and military intelligence.

• Technological and Cultural Transfers:   - It was official Mongol policy to relocate skilled individuals to different parts of the empire, encouraging the transfer of technology, ideas, and culture.   - Science and Technology: In the Ilkhanate region (a former Mongol territory), authorities made significant advances in astronomy.   - They created advanced astronomical tools, which increased the accuracy of calendars and improved instruments like the astrolabe.

The Rise and Consolidation of Land-Based Gunpowder Empires ($1450$–$1750$)

• General Characteristics: Rulers gained power and maintained control by establishing complex bureaucracies, sponsoring art, centralizing tax systems, and developing large militaries equipped with gunpowder weapons.

• The Ottoman Empire:   - Founded in the $14^{th}$ century; it underwent significant growth due to gunpowder adoption.   - By $1402$, the empire controlled much of Anatolia and Southwestern Europe.   - In $1453$, the Ottomans sacked Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul.   - The Devshirme System: This was the practice of enslaving Christian boys from conquered regions, converting them to Islam, and training them as bureaucrats or elite soldiers.   - The Janissaries: An elite fighting force made up of these enslaved individuals, trained specifically in gunpowder weapons.

• The Safavid Empire:   - Established in $1501$ in the Middle East under the leadership of Shah Ismail.   - It was a Shiite dynasty, creating religious tension with neighbors like the Sunni Ottoman and Mughal Empires.   - Under Shah Abbas, the military was modernized with gunpowder weapons.   - Similar to the Ottomans, Shah Abbas used a permanent army of enslaved Christians from conquered regions to serve as soldiers.

• The Mughal Empire:   - Established in $1526$ in South and Central Asia by Babur, who displaced the Delhi Sultanate using gunpowder weapons.   - Akbar: Babur's grandson, under whose leadership the empire covered half of the Indian subcontinent. He was famous for religious tolerance and masterful administration.

• The Qing Dynasty (Manchu Empire):   - Established in $1636$ after the decline of the Ming Dynasty.   - The Manchu people from the North raided China and established themselves as rulers.   - Ethnic Tension: The majority of the population was ethnically Han, while the rulers were Manchu, creating long-term internal conflict.

• Global Conflicts: Shared territorial ambitions and religious differences (Sunni vs. Shia) led to wars, such as the Safavid-Mughal conflict in the Middle East during the $17^{th}$ century.

Methodology of Power: Legitimacy and Consolidation

• Legitimatizing Power: Methods used by a ruler to communicate their authority (e.g., "How do you know I am in charge?").   - Europe: Kings claimed the "Divine Right," asserting they were God’s representatives on Earth (e.g., Louis XIV of France).   - Art and Architecture: Portraits and monumental structures displayed wealth and grandeur.     - Louis XIV: Built the Palace of Versailles and forced nobility to live there to maintain control (consolidating power).     - Inca Empire: Built the Sun Temple of Cuzco, covered in gold and statues, to facilitate worship and display power.     - Qing Dynasty: Emperor Kangxi used imperial portraits, often depicting him with Confucian wisdom, to legitimize his rule over the Han population.   - Religious Rituals: The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice as a religious method to consolidate power.

• Consolidating Power: Methods used to transfer power from smaller groups or rival entities to a single central ruler (e.g., "I am taking your power for myself").   - Bureaucracy: The Ottomans used the Devshirme to staff a professional bureaucracy.   - Military Professionals: The Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan placed the Samurai on the government payroll, turning them into salaried warriors and bureaucrats.

• Tax Collection Systems:   - Mughal Zamindars: Elite landowners granted authority to tax peasants on behalf of the imperial government.   - Ottoman Tax Farming: Collected revenue to centralize financial control.

Belief Systems as Unifiers and Dividers

• Christianity in Europe: Remained a dominant bond until the $16^{th}$ century Protestant Reformation.   - Protestant Reformation ($1517$): Martin Luther denounced Catholic corruption in his $95$ Theses. Spread quickly via the printing press, splitting the church into Catholic and Protestant branches.

• The Sunni-Shia Divide: Intensified conflict between the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires.

• Syncretism: The blending of different cultural or religious beliefs into a new system.   - Sikhism: A syncretic faith in Asia that blended Hindu and Islamic doctrines into an entirely new religion.

Transoceanic Interconnections and Sea-Based Empires ($1450$–$1750$)

• Maritime Technology: Borrowed from classical Islamic and Asian societies.   - Astrolabe: Determined latitude (North/South of the Equator); originated with Greeks and Muslims.   - Magnetic Compass: Originated in China.   - Lateen Sail: Triangular sail from the Mediterranean trade network.   - Innovations in Ship Design:     - Caravel: Portuguese ship; small, fast, nimble, combining square and lateen sails for cargo and exploration.     - Fluyt: Dutch ship; designed with massive cargo space to dominate the Indian Ocean trade.

• Motivations for Exploration:   - Wealth: Seeking access to the Indian Ocean spice trade without relying on Muslim middlemen in the Silk Road networks.   - Religion: Universalizing impulse to spread Christianity, often tied directly to state power.   - Competition: Mercantilism drove states to compete for finite global wealth.

• State-Sponsored Exploration:   - Portugal: Established a "Trading Post Empire" along the African coast and Indian Ocean to maintain a monopoly on spices.   - Spain: Sponsored Christopher Columbus in $1492$ to find a western route to Asia. This led to the colonization of large land masses (New Spain).   - Treaty of Tordesillas: A diplomatic agreement between Spain and Portugal that divided the Americas ($Portugal$ received the western part of Brazil; $Spain$ received the East).

The Columbian Exchange and Global Economic Systems

• Agricultural Transfers:   - Americas to Europe: Potatoes and Maize (corn).   - Europe to Americas: Wheat, Rice, and Okra (brought by enslaved Africans).   - Impact: Afro-Eurasian populations became healthier with diversified diets, leading to increased lifespans and population growth.

• Animal Transfers:   - Americas to Europe: Turkeys and Llamas.   - Europe to Americas: Cattle, Pigs, and Horses.

• Disease: Smallpox and Measles from Europe devastated the indigenous populations of the Americas.

• Labor Systems:   - Mercantilism: Economic policy emphasizing a favorable balance of trade (more exports than imports) and the accumulation of gold/silver.   - Encomienda System: Spanish forced labor system where indigenous people worked on plantations.   - Hacienda System: Replaced the Encomienda; laborers were paid very low wages and kept in debt to tie them to the land.   - Silver Mining: A primary source of wealth for the Spanish empire.   - Transatlantic Slave Trade: As indigenous populations declined due to disease, Europeans turned to Africa for enslaved labor to fuel the plantation economy.

• Joint-Stock Companies: (e.g., British East India Company, Dutch VOC) Allowed exploration and colonization with limited risk to individual investors.

Resistance and Social Hierarchies

• Resistance Movements:   - Maratha Rebellion: Hindu warriors in India overthrew the Mughal Empire to establish the Maratha Empire.   - Pueblo Revolt: In North America, Pueblo and Apache Indians rebelled against Spanish forced conversions.   - Stono Rebellion: A revolt of enslaved Africans in British North American colonies.

• Social Change:   - Spanish Casta System: A new hierarchy based on ancestry and race. Spaniards born in Spain were at the top; Africans and indigenous people were at the bottom.

The Enlightenment and the Age of Revolutions ($1750$–$1900$)

• Enlightenment Thought: Shifted the locus of knowledge from belief to empirical data and observation.   - John Locke: Proposed natural rights.   - Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Proposed the social contract.

• Reform Movements:   - Women’s Suffrage: Seneca Falls Convention ($1848$) in the U.S. called for equal voting rights.   - Abolitionism: The slave trade was banned in many states in the early $1800s$. Russia abolished serfdom in $1861$.

• Political Revolutions:   - American Revolution: Resulted in the Declaration of Independence and a state based on Enlightenment principles.   - French Revolution: Produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.   - Haitian Revolution: Inspired by American and French ideals.   - Latin American Movements: Simon Bolivar’s "Letter from Jamaica" outlined grievances and revolutionary goals.

The Industrial Revolution and Global Transformation

• Origins in Great Britain: Due to proximity to waterways, coal/iron/timber resources, urbanization (Enclosure Movement), and improved agricultural productivity (Seed Drill, Crop Rotation).

• Technological Phases:   - First Industrial Revolution ($1750s$–$1830s$): Focused on textiles; powered by the water wheel and later the steam engine (coal).   - Second Industrial Revolution ($1830s$–$1920s$): Focused on steel, chemicals, and precision machinery; powered by oil and electricity (internal combustion engine).

• Global Spread and Decline:   - Industrialization spread to the U.S. (via immigration), Russia (Trans-Siberian Railroad), and Japan (Meiji Restoration).   - Manufacturing in Middle Eastern and Asian countries (e.g., Indian textiles) declined as Western states dominated manufacturing.

• Economic and Social Shifts:   - Free Market Capitalism: Adam Smith’s "Wealth of Nations" advocated for "laissez-faire" (government hands-off) and the "invisible hand" of the market.   - Transnational Corporations: (e.g., Unilever) Operated across national boundaries.   - Standard of Living: Increased for some, leading to the rise of the middle class.

Responses to Industrialization and Reforms

• Labor Unions: Workers organized to bargain collectively for minimum wage, shorter workdays, and safer conditions.

• Marxism: Karl Marx (Communist Manifesto) argued that the Bourgeoisie (factory owners) oppressed the Proletariat (working class). He advocated for socialism leading to a classless communist society.

• Ottoman Tanzimat Reforms: Late efforts to industrialize and eliminate government corruption; less successful than Japan’s Meiji Restoration.

Questions & Discussion

• The "Empire" Joke:   - Question/Setup: Why did the empire fall?   - Response/Punchline: Because it couldn't maintain political stability, underwent economic decline, and was invaded by external forces.   - Context: The speaker used this as a "dad joke" generated by an AI to illustrate the factual causes of imperial collapse in a humorous, academic context.