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AP World History: Unit 2.6 - Environmental Consequences of Connectivity

Environmental Consequences of Connectivity (c. 1200-c. 1450)

Essential Question & Overview

  • Essential Question: What were some of the environmental effects of trade in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to c. 1450?

  • Key Insight: While trade facilitated the spread of novel agricultural products (e.g., citrus fruits to the Mediterranean), the most profound environmental consequence was the transmission of diseases, particularly the Bubonic Plague.

Agricultural Effects of Exchange Networks

  • Impact of New Crops: Merchants introduced crops to new regions, influencing land use and affecting population growth and distribution.

    • Some areas achieved sustainable abundant production.

    • Other areas experienced environmental degradation due to land overuse.

  • Migration of Crops: Several crops had significant impacts:

    • Champa Rice:

      • Origin: Introduced to the Champa states by Vietnam (a Hindu state), then offered as tribute to the Chinese. Scholars suggest an Indian origin due to Hindu influence in Champa.

      • Characteristics: Drought-resistant, flood-resistant, and capable of yielding two crops per year.

      • Impact in China: Widely distributed to meet the needs of a growing population, significantly contributing to population growth.

      • Land Use: Allowed for the cultivation of rice in previously unusable land in China through terraced farming in uplands and paddies in lowlands.

      • Population Shift: As China's population grew, people migrated southward to original rice-growing regions, contributing to city growth.

    • Bananas to Sub-Saharan Africa:

      • Introduction: Indonesian seafarers introduced bananas to Sub-Saharan Africa via the Indian Ocean.

      • Nutritional Impact: Rich in nutrition, leading to a spike in population.

      • Migration: Indonesians settled on Madagascar.

      • Bantu Migration: Bananas enabled Bantu-speaking peoples, with their metallurgy and farming skills, to migrate to areas where traditional yams did not grow easily.

      • Land Use & Diet: Farmers increased land for banana cultivation, enriching diets and further contributing to population growth.

    • Cotton, Sugar, and Citrus Crops:

      • Spread: Caliphs spread Islam, the Arabic language, and the cultivation of these crops as they conquered lands beyond the Arabian Peninsula.

      • Market Availability: New foods became available along trade routes, with markets like Samarkand introducing fruits, vegetables, rice, and citrus from Southwest Asia to Europe.

      • Sugar's Long-Term Impact: European demand for sugar became immense, becoming a key factor in the massive use of enslaved people in the Americas from the 1500s onward.

Environmental Degradation

  • Pressure on Resources: Population increases often led to environmental strain.

    • Overgrazing: Severe overgrazing outside Great Zimbabwe led to the abandonment of the city in the late 1400s.

    • Feudal Europe: Overuse of farmland and deforestation resulted in soil erosion, diminishing agricultural production.

    • Little Ice Age: From c. 1300 to c. 1800, this period also contributed to decreased agricultural output.

    • Mayan Decline: Environmental degradation was a contributing factor in the decline of the Mayans in the Americas.

Spread of Epidemics through Exchange Networks

  • Limitations of Medical Knowledge: Despite advances in medical understanding in Dar al-Islam and India, no contemporary knowledge could prevent the spread of infectious diseases facilitated by trade.

  • Bubonic Plague (Black Death):

    • Transmission: Mongol conquests played a crucial role in transmitting fleas carrying the bubonic plague from southern China to Central Asia, and from there to Southeast Asia and Europe.

    • Contributing Factors: Historians suggest caravanserai, which housed both people and animals, contributed to the spread as animals likely carried infected fleas.

    • Arrival in Europe: Arrived in Europe in 1347.

    • Mortality Estimates: Estimated to have killed 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia.

    • Peak in Europe: Peaked in Europe from 1347 to 1351, killing approximately one-third (1/3) of the population in a few years.

    • Eyewitness Account: Giovanni Boccaccio's work, The Decameron, was inspired by his experiences living through the plague, describing the horrors he witnessed.

    • Impact on Europe:

      • Agricultural Decline: Fewer workers led to a continued decrease in agricultural production.

      • Labor Market Shift: The reduced number of workers increased the value of individual labor.

      • Economic Change: Workers could demand higher wages, laying groundwork for economic shifts as feudalism declined.

    • Impact in Other Regions: Similar catastrophic loss of life in North Africa, China, and Central Asia. About 25 million Chinese and other Asians died between 1332 and 1347.

    • Regions Spared: South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa were largely spared due to fewer trading ports in those regions.

Key Terms By Theme

  • ENVIRONMENT: Crop Diffusion

    • Champa rice

    • Bananas

    • Sugar

    • Citrus crops

  • ENVIRONMENT: Degradation

    • Overgrazing

    • Deforestation

    • Soil erosion

  • ENVIRONMENT: Disease

    • Bubonic plague