Chapter 2 - Medieval Europe, the Crusades, and Early Exploration
The Black Death and the Late Middle Ages
The Christian Church remained intact and emerged more unified and powerful after a period of difficulty.
Monasteries: Priests collected and copied religious and secular manuscripts, often adding drawings or artwork, helping to preserve knowledge.
The Black Death (1340s): a rat-borne bubonic plague that was highly contagious; a different airborne strain also caused deaths. Together these are known as the Black Death.
Toll: killed many millions, about 60\% of Europe’s population.
Villages were wiped out; some entire communities disappeared.
In the following century, a high birth rate and bountiful harvests allowed population growth, setting the stage for major changes by around 1450.
Aftermath: despite catastrophe, Europe eventually recovered and was on the brink of substantial transformation by the mid- to late 15th century.
LIFE IN FEUDAL EUROPE
Typical village layout: a lord’s manor house or castle, a church, and simple peasant/serf houses; serfs made up about 60 of western Europe’s population.
Feudal system was mutually supportive:
Lords owned land; knights provided military service and judgment to the lord; serfs worked the land in exchange for protection.
Land was often initially communally farmed, but powerful lords extended ownership and rented land to subjects.
Serfs: technically free but effectively bound to the land; their labor sustained the entire feudal structure.
The Catholic Church: owned vast land, grew wealthy from tithes (10 ext{%} of annual earnings) and rents on lands.
Serf life was harsh: high child mortality, poor sanitation, limited medical knowledge, and hardship in daily life.
Child mortality: about one-third of children died before age five.
Life expectancy: rarely older than 45 years.
Living conditions: multi-generational families in small, dark hovels; thatched roofs at risk from fires and smoke; limited clothing (usually two sets: woolen jacket/tunic and linen undergarments).
Seasonal rhythm of agrarian life:
Spring: tilling with wooden plows and crude tools; crops included wheat, rye, barley, & oats with small yields.
Summer: hay harvest; wool production (shearing, washing, spinning).
Fall: harvest, meat preservation (smoking/salting), and celebration for God at the harvest’s end.
Winter: indoor activities like weaving, sewing, threshing; fires kept burning; celebration of Christ’s birth with the winter solstice.
THE CHURCH AND SOCIETY
After Rome’s fall, Western Europe’s Church remained the dominant organized institution and authority. The Christian Church unified in dogma but split politically into Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) branches.
Great Schism (1054):
Eastern branch centered in Constantinople; used Greek in services.
Western branch centered in Rome; Roman Catholic Church used Latin.
Hierarchy: Pope → cardinals (princes of the church) → archbishops → bishops → priests.
The Church’s power:
The pope controlled theology and spirituality; excommunication could bar individuals from salvation, prompting fear among monarchs.
The Church was also the seat of knowledge; Latin served as a unifying language across diverse regions.
Illiteracy among serfs contrasted with literate priests who interpreted the Bible for them.
Sacraments: rites marking life stages from birth to maturation, marriage, and burial; regular church participation.
Spiritual worldview: Christianity explained natural events through sin and divine will. Sickness could be seen as sin; crop failure as unprayed prayers.
Penitents confessed sins to priests who granted absolution and assigned penance.
Parish priests wielded substantial local influence; the pope held ultimate temporal and theological authority.
CHRISTIANITY ENCOUNTERS ISLAM
622 CE: Muhammad’s revelation marked the rise of Islam; the Qur’an affirmed monotheism and viewed Jesus as a prophet, not divine.
After Muhammad’s death (632 CE), Islam rapidly spread through conquest and conversion across the Middle East and Asia Minor, into India and northern Africa, reaching Spain by 711 CE.
By 711, Islam had entered Europe via Iberia; Islamic rule persisted in parts of Spain until 1492.
The Islamic advance continued until 732 CE, when Charles Martel (the Hammer) defeated Abdul Rahman al-Ghafiqi at the Battle of Tours.
Major centers of learning such as Córdoba (leather and wool production) emerged under Muslim rule.
Reconquista: by the 11th century, Christian kingdoms began pushing back Muslims in Spain.
Crusades: Western Christian armies fought Muslims for control of the Holy Land, intertwining religious zeal with political and economic motives.
Opening of Crusader trade:
Maritime trade with the East expanded; Europeans encountered silk, spices, porcelain, and other goods, fueling desire for new routes (Venice, Genoa, and Florence were key players).
Silk Road trade proved costly and perilous; Muslim middlemen taxed goods; banditry along caravan routes prompted search for direct sea routes.
JERUSALEM AND THE CRUSADES
Jerusalem holds sacred status for Jews, Christians, and Muslims; it has a long, contested history across three faiths.
1095: European Christians launched the Crusades to retake the Holy Lands.
Motives for Crusaders: religious zeal, personal adventure, land and title gains, and the Church’s promise of forgiveness of sins.
First Crusade achieved a dramatic capture of Jerusalem in June 1099, with accounts describing mass slaughter and looting at Solomon’s Temple.
1187: Saladin recaptured Jerusalem, prompting a response from Western Europe, notably King Richard I (the Lionheart).
Final outcomes: Crusaders lost their last stronghold at Acre in 1291; Christians eventually withdrew from the Holy Land.
Consequences:
Negative: persecution of Jews, increased anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish sentiment, and new forms of religious intolerance.
Positive: stimulated East–West maritime trade; Venetian merchants prospered from new trade routes; exposure to Eastern goods broadened European desires.
THE IBERIAN PENINSULA AND MOTIVES FOR EXPLORATION
The Iberian Peninsula was a focal point for exploration and religious conflict.
Norse exploration predated Columbus, but Portuguese and Spanish efforts in the 15th century catalyzed global contact.
Portugal: Lisbon became a center for trade and under Prince Henry the Navigator, authorities promoted exploration of western Africa.
Spain: Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon unified the two kingdoms (1469); their reign centralized power and funded exploration.
Inquisition (begun 1480): Isabella promoted efforts to root out Jews and Muslims who had seemingly converted but secretly practiced their faith.
1492: Ferdinand and Isabella completed the Reconquista by expelling the Moors from Granada and ordered unconverted Jews to leave Spain. In the same year, Columbus secured royal funding to seek a westward route to Asia.
Motives for exploration are traditionally summarized as three causes: God, glory, and gold.
Religious zeal (God): particularly strong in Catholic Spain and Portugal; converting new peoples and expanding Christendom.
Glory: quest for pan-European prestige, personal honor, and national prestige.
Gold: search for wealth, direct trade routes, and access to wealth of the East.
Influences shaping exploration:
Travel literature, such as Marco Polo’s Travels, inspired later explorers; descriptions of distant palaces and exotic realms fueled imagination and ambition (e.g., China’s imperial palace described as vast and splendid).
Columbus carried a copy of Travels, which shaped expectations about the world and potential routes to Asia.
1492 events linked to broader dynamics: the end of the Reconquista and the desire to expand Christian dominion, strengthen national power, and gain wealth through new trade networks.
Columbus’s voyage (1492): three caravels set sail after years of failed attempts to gain support elsewhere.
Voyage details: about 3{,}000 miles in roughly six weeks; landed on Guanahani (the Lucayans’ name), renamed San Salvador.
Ship details: the largest ship, the Santa Maria, was about 58 feet long.
Outcome: opened sustained contact between Europe and the Americas, ultimately altering global economic and ecological systems.
WEST AFRICA AND THE ROLE OF SLAVERY
The study region spans from modern-day Mauritania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and includes diverse ecologies: rainforests, savannas, and arid lands.
Early West African life:
Hunter-gatherer history until around 600 CE; farming developed in various zones depending on resources.
Proximity to major rivers (Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Volta, Congo) supported trade centers along waterways.
Social structure: extended families and clans defined identity; wives, children, and dependents (including enslaved people) symbolized wealth.
Polygyny was widespread; communities relied on kinship networks for aid and security.
Language diversity: hundreds of dialects; in modern Nigeria alone, nearly 500 dialects exist.
Major African empires and Islam:
After Muhammad’s death, Islam spread into West Africa, bringing a political-legal framework as rulers converted to Islam to participate in trade and governance.
Ghana Empire (c. 300 ext{ CE}–1200 ext{ CE}): wealth from taxing trans-Saharan trade; control of gold supply allowed price controls and military strength; location on Niger River basin enabled link with Berber and Arab traders.
Mali Empire under Sundiata Keita (c. 1220s–c. 1250s): Islam becomes influential at court; Timbuktu emerges as a leading Islamic center for education and commerce; gold fields expanded east of the Niger River.
Mali’s wealth rise reached a peak under Mansa Musa, whose pilgrimage to Mecca caused inflation due to gold gifts along the route.
Songhai Empire (late 15th century): Gao becomes powerful; by 1500, Songhai eclipsed Mali under Sonni Ali, later faced Tuareg pressures; Timbuktu and Gao remained centers of learning and trade.
The role of slavery in Africa:
Slavery existed before European contact and was integrated into many African societies as a form of servitude, debt bondage, or protection-based exchange.
In some contexts, slavery resembled a system of bondage within tribal or regional networks; elements of chattel slavery existed in the Nile valley.
Arab slave trade: long before European involvement, Muslim traders transported enslaved Africans to North Africa and beyond, including Europe (Spain, Sicily, Italy).
The African slave trade was part of broader Mediterranean and trans-Saharan commercial networks.
The European slave trade and the Atlantic slave system:
The European slave trade began with Portuguese exploration along West Africa’s coast (mid-15th century).
By 1444, enslaved Africans were taken to the Madeira Islands for plantation labor on sugar plantations.
The Atlantic slave trade expanded dramatically as European colonies in the New World demanded large labor forces for sugar, tobacco, rice, and later cotton.
The slave trade contributed to a global system of forced labor and became a cornerstone of mercantilist economies.
Slavery in the New World and its racial dimensions:
Early attempts to use Native American labor failed due to high mortality from disease and harsh conditions; some early advocates (e.g., Bartolomé de Las Casas) argued for African labor as an alternative, albeit with his later retraction.
Africans were initially chosen because they were less susceptible to Old World diseases and available in larger numbers; their enslavement became tied to persistent racial ideologies.
In English colonies, indentured servitude initially supplied labor in the North, but the demand for labor in the South led to a shift toward permanent, inherited slavery.
This shift established a race-based system of slavery that persisted in the Americas, with children born to enslaved individuals also becoming enslaved.
Beginnings of racial slavery:
Slavery has ancient precedents, with various justifications and practices across civilizations (the text references Aristotle’s early ideas about slavery).
In the Americas, the emergence of hereditary, race-based slavery marked a new and enduring form of bondage with profound social, economic, and ethical implications.
KEY CONCEPTS, TERMS, AND HISTORICAL LINKAGES
Feudalism: a reciprocal system linking lords, knights, and serfs; land control and protection in exchange for labor.
Sacraments: essential rites marking life stages and bringing individuals into the Church.
Great Schism: the split between Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) Christianity in 1054, shaping religious and political alignments.
Monotheistic faiths and interaction: Islam’s spread in Africa and Europe; Christian-Muslim interactions through the Crusades and trade.
Crusades: religiously motivated campaigns with mixed motives (religion, wealth, land, forgiveness); long-term effects included increased trade and cultural exchange, as well as persecution and intolerance.
Silk Road and maritime routes: longstanding trade networks; European desire for direct sea routes to the East spurred exploration.
Motives for exploration: God, glory, and gold; the desire to spread Christianity, gain prestige, and collect wealth.
Inquisition (1480): religious enforcement in Iberia, notably against Jews and Muslims who had converted but were suspected of practicing privately.
The Reconquista: centuries-long effort to reclaim Iberia from Muslim rulers, culminating in 1492 with Granada’s fall.
Colom-bus and the Columbian exchange: global links created by transatlantic contact, starting with Columbus’s 1492 voyage; opened up the Americas to sustained European contact and reciprocal exchanges.
West African empires and Islam: the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires illustrate the spread of Islam’s political and legal structures in West Africa and their integration into trans-Saharan trade.
Slavery across regions: forms of servitude existed in Africa prior to European contact; the Atlantic slave trade created a racialized, hereditary system that dramatically reshaped global history.
Important dates to remember (selected):
622: Muhammad’s revelation; birth of Islam
632: Muhammad’s death; consolidation of Islamic rule
711: Islam reaches Iberia
732: Battle of Tours (Christian-European victory)
1095–1099: First Crusade and capture of Jerusalem
1187: Saladin retakes Jerusalem
1291: Fall of Acre; end of major Crusader presence in Holy Land
1340s: Black Death erupts in Europe
1444: Enslaved people taken to Madeira
1469: Ferdinand and Isabella unite parts of Iberia
1492: Granada falls; Jews expelled; Columbus sails to the Americas
1492 onward: Opening of sustained Atlantic contact and the Atlantic slave trade
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANCE AND RELEVANCE
The period set the stage for global exploration, trade, and cultural exchange that reshaped economies, politics, and societies.
The intertwining of religion, state power, and economic motive produced both advances (learning, technology, trade) and dark consequences (persecution, expansion of slavery, and ethnic-religious conflict).
Understanding these dynamics helps explain the origins of the Atlantic World, the seeds of modern capitalism, and the problematic roots of race-based systems that persisted for centuries.