Notes on Chapter One: The Material and Trading Worlds, circa 1400

Series Editor: Mark Selden
Notable Works:
- Social and Political Change in Revolutionary China: The Taihang Base Area in the War of Resistance to Japan, 1937-1945 by David S. G. Goodman
- Transforming Asian Socialism: China and Vietnam Compared edited by Anita Chan, Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet, and Jonathan Unger
- North China at War: The Social Ecology of Revolution, 1937-1945 edited by Feng Chongyi and David S. G. Goodman
- Istanbul: Between the Global and the Local edited by Caglar Keyder
- The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative by Robert B. Marks
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham Boulder New York
Oxford

Thesis and Perspective: The analysis of how material and trading worlds shaped human lives around 1400 and the social structures that emerged from these conditions.
Key Context:
- We are born into a world shaped by social, economic, political, and cultural structures largely out of our control.
- These structures evolve slowly, often as a result of large-scale social movements or significant historical trends.

Major Structural Aspects of the World of 1400

Agricultural World (The Biological Old Regime):
- Majority lived in an agricultural setting, highlighting the limited nature of life and production.
- Relationships between various social classes including townspeople, elites, and peasants.
Trading Networks:
- Trading networks fostered greater connectivity between different regions.
- Significant events, such as the Black Death (mid-fourteenth century), showcased the interconnectedness of the material world and trade dynamics.

Key Concepts to Be Addressed

Civilization and Agricultural Revolution
Urban-rural Dynamics: Relationship between cities and the countryside, and the impact on food production.
Social Hierarchies: Relationship between ruling elites and agriculturalists, and the transition to urban living.
Polycentric World System: The nature of governance and population density around 1400.
Black Death: Its role as a catastrophic event with profound implications for society.

Global Population Estimates

Global Population Totals:
- 1400: Approximately 350 million people (6% of the current population).
- 1800: Population increased to 720-750 million.
- 80% of this population consisted of peasants who provided food for others (relevant for the 1800 population context).
Patterns of Population Increase and Decline:
- Population fluctuations formed a pattern of waves over centuries:
1. Rise from 900-1300, followed by a sharp decline due to the Black Death around 1350.
2. A resurgence post-1400 until a decline mid-17th century, influenced by factors like climatic shifts and food shortages.
3. Continued growth from around 1700 to present, with forecasts suggesting stabilization by 2100.
Climate Change:
- Climate affects food production and long-term sustainability of populations.
- Warm conditions promote growth, while cooling trends lead to food shortages and population declines.

Concentration of Population:
- Population concentrated in very few areas, 4.25 million square miles, only 7% of dry land area.
- Key civilizations:
- China, India, Europe, and others housing nearly all of the global population.
- Features shared among civilizations included urban centers that relied on surplus agriculture.

The Agricultural Revolution

Beginning of Agriculture:
- Emerged around 10,000 years ago starting in the Fertile Crescent.
- Transition from hunting-gathering to sedentary agriculture led to surplus production.
Social Implications of Surplus:
- Creation of distinct social groups (rulers, priests, non-producing elites).
- Emergence of cities as centers of governance, trade, and culture.

City Size and Distribution:
- Largest urban centers were predominantly in China.
- Factors contributing to city development included agricultural surplus and trade routes.
Illusions of Town Life:
- For peasants, cities represented a skewed perception of wealth and luxury unattainable in their rural lives.

Interactions Between Societies:
- Nomadic peoples and agrarian societies depended on each other for trade of goods and sustenance.
- Nomads often viewed as 'barbarians' by settled civilizations when they attacked during times of need.

Biodiversity and Human Impact

Wildlife and Human Expansion:
- Interactions led to declines in wildlife populations as humans expanded agricultural areas.
- Examples of wildlife interactions with human populations illustrate ecological consequences of demographic pressures.

Factors Influencing Famine

Food Production and Peasant Livelihoods:
- System of taxation and rent reduced peasants’ surplus and increased vulnerability.
Social Dynamics of Famine:
- Famine viewed as socially constructed rather than purely natural disasters influenced by governance and societal practices.

Epidemic Disease and Population Control

Historical Context of Diseases:
- The role of diseases as a population check, both in rural and urban environments, with elites faring better than the peasant class.
Spread of Epidemics:
- Rapid transmission of diseases like the Black Death across connected trading routes.

Nature of Previous World Systems:
- Pre-1500 connections traded goods and facilitated exchanges among disparate civilizations in a system lacking a central authority.
Consequences of the Black Death:
- Climatic and societal shifts led to both tragedy and unexpected socio-economic restructuring following mass deaths.

Definition: This era characterized by the interplay of human society with soil and ecological variation, which constrained population growth and societal development.
Shifting Dynamics Post-1750: The human population reached 750 million, with new agricultural developments easing prior constraints.