2.5 - Cultural Consequences of Connectivity

Cultural Consequences of Connectivity

• Time Frame: Circa 1200 to circa 1450, during the flourishing of trade networks across Afro-Eurasia.
• Key Question: What were the intellectual and cultural effects of trade networks during this period?

Trade Networks and the Mongol Empire

• Mongol Empire: Provided stability and protection to merchants and travelers, facilitating the free exchange of goods, ideas, and cultures.
• Technological Diffusion: Innovations such as gunpowder and paper were spread through trade.
• Travelers' Accounts: Figures like Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta documented their experiences, expanding the known world.

Religious Effects of Interaction

• Religious Diffusion: New religions influenced local cultures and governance. For example:
  • Buddhism in East Asia:
  • Originated from India to China via the Silk Roads.
  • Syncretism with Daoism led to Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
  • Popular among the general public; integrated into Confucian thought.
  • Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia:
  • Srivijaya (Hindu) and Majapahit (Buddhist) kingdoms emerged.
  • Sinhala dynasties in Sri Lanka became centers of Buddhist learning.

Spread of Islam

• Methods of Spread: Through trade, missionary activities, and conquests.
• Cultural Influences of Islam:
  • Africa: Swahili language (Bantu + Arabic), and Timbuktu as an Islamic learning center.
  • South Asia: Attraction of lower-caste Hindus to Islam due to its emphasis on equality; blend of Hindu and Islamic architectural styles.
  • Southeast Asia: Adoption of Urdu language, and integration of Islamic elements in local traditions.

Scientific and Technological Innovations

• Trade routes facilitated the exchange of knowledge and technology:
  • Islamic Scholars: Preserved and translated Greek texts, enhanced medical practices, and advanced agriculture and manufacturing.
  • Agricultural Innovations: Spread of Champa rice improved food supply in Vietnam and China.
  • Nautical Innovations: Development of technologies like the lateen sail, astrolabe, and magnetic compass,
  • Gunpowder: Originating from China, it transformed warfare practices.

Urban Growth and Decline

• Factors Contributing to Growth of Cities:
  • Political stability, safe transport, rise of commerce, abundant labor, and increased agricultural output.
• Key Cities:
  • Hangzhou: Cultural and trade center in southern China, noted for high levels of urbanization and literary influence.
  • Other significant cities included Samarkand, Kashgar, Timbuktu, and Calicut.
• Decline of Cities:
  • Factors included invasions, political instability, and diseases like the Black Death, which significantly reduced populations and economic activity.

Impact of the Crusades

• Increased knowledge of Eastern cultures; greater demand for Eastern goods in Europe.
• The Crusades also opened Europe to new diseases, notably the Black Death, which led to severe social and economic changes.

Travelers' Tales and Cultural Exchange

• Marco Polo (1254-1324):
  • Detailed travels to Asia and descriptions of its wealth and culture, which were initially met with skepticism in Europe.
• Ibn Battuta (1304-1369):
  • Muslim scholar who traveled extensively to learn about Islam; documented diverse cultures and practices.
• Margery Kempe (c. 1373-1440):
  • Early autobiographer, recorded her spiritual journeys and experiences as a medieval woman.

Key Terms

• Disease: Black Death
• Culture: Swahili, Urdu
• Society: Cities - Hangzhou, Samarkand, Constantinople
• Travel Writers: Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Margery Kempe
• Technological Improvements: Lateen sail, stern rudder, astrolabe, magnetic compass