AP World History Units 1-4
UNIT 1: THE GLOBAL TAPESTRY (1200-1450)
Developments in East Asia
How the Song Dynasty maintained and justified its power
Confucianism: Song rulers revived Confucianism, emphasizing hierarchical relationships in society and the practice of filial piety.
DEFINITION: A philosophy that taught human society is hierarchical by nature, society was composed of unequal relationships. (ex: father > sons, husbands > wife’s, rulers > subjects)
Filial piety: practice of honoring one’s ancestors and parents
Neo-Confucianism: influence of Buddhist and Daoist philosophical ideas
Note: the revival of Confucianism is a historical continuity between ancient China and the Song, also demonstrates innovation
Imperial bureaucracy: The Song Dynasty relied on a large bureaucracy to ensure obedience to the emperor’s rule, with positions awarded based on merit through civil service exams.
Women in the Song Dynasty
subordinate position in the hierarchy - forbidden to remarry if divorced
FOOT BINDING: women had trouble walking, made foot smaller than it started (more seen in elite societies)
Influence on neighboring states
Korea: Maintained a tributary relationship with China, adopting aspects of Chinese culture (elite members), including Confucian principles and a similar civil service exam system.
Japan: Voluntarily adopted cultural traits from China, such as the imperial bureaucracy and Buddhism.
used whatever they found useful in Chinese society and politics.
Vietnam: Also maintained a tributary relationship with China, adopting Confucianism, Buddhism, and the civil service examination system, while women had a higher status compared to China.
Role of Buddhism in Chinese Society
Buddhism spread to China, with different branches emerging, including Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism.
Theravada: original form, restricted to monks only for a select few
Mahayana: Buddhist teachings were available to all, emphasized compassion, made the Buddha into an object of devotion
Tibetan: emphasized more mystical practices (lying prostrate, elaborate imaginings of deities)
Buddhism coexisted with Confucianism in Chinese society, with the Song Dynasty emphasizing more traditional Chinese ideas, but still acknowledging the significant role of Buddhism.
Four Noble Truths: 1) life is suffering, 2) we suffer because we crave, 3) we cease suffering when we cease craving, 4) the eightfold path leads to the cessation of suffering and craving
Eightfold path: principles and practices that a Buddhist must follow (moral lifestyle + practice of meditation)
Song Economy and Prosperity
1) Widespread commercialization: China produced excess goods and sold them on the world market, utilizing paper money and credit practices.
2) Iron and steel production: Both large-scale manufacturers and home-based artisans contributed to the production of iron and steel, used for warfare, trading, taxation, and agriculture.
3) Agricultural innovations: Introduction of Champa rice, a drought-resistant and high-yield crop, led to a population BOOM and increased agricultural output.
4) Transportation innovations: Expansion of the Grand Canal (travel cheaper), improvements in navigation with the magnetic compass, and advancements in shipbuilding techniques (Junk ships with rudders).
Developments in Dar-Al-Islam
aka House of Islam!
Three Major Religions
Judaism (originated in the Middle East)
Monotheistic religion practiced by the Jews
Influenced the development of Christianity and Islam
Christianity
Established by Jesus Christ, a Jewish Prophet
Followers spread the message of salvation by grace
Early Christians initially persecuted minority, later adopted by the Roman Empire (most significant influence of Christianity)
Influenced the organization of states in Europe and Africa
Islam
Founded by the Prophet Muhammad (7th century, Arabian Peninsula).
Taught salvation through righteous actions (almsgiving, prayer, and fasting).
Spread rapidly throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
Facilitated trade and led to the rise of prosperous Islamic states.
Rise of New Islamic Empires
Abbasid Caliphate (8th century): ethnically Arab + in power during Golden Age of Islam (innovations/advancements) → declined → new Islamic empires rose (made up of TURKIC people).
Seljuk Empire: Central Asia, pastoral people brought in by the Abbasids as a military force to expand their empire by force → Seljuk warriors claimed more political power.
Mamluk Sultanate: Turkic Warriors (Mamluks) seized power in Egypt under the leadership of Saladin (needed more labor) → gave rise to another Turkic Muslim state.
Delhi Sultanate: Turkic Muslims established a state in South Asia.
NOTE: Continuity in Muslim empire: 1) military in charge of administration, 2) Implemented Sharia Law (code of laws established in the Quran).
Expansion of Islam
Military Expansion: Delhi Sultanate.
Merchant Activity (trade): Ex - North Africa ruled by Muslims who stimulated trade throughout Africa → Mali converted to Islam.
Muslim Missionaries (Sufis): Sufism - emphasized mystical experience, and was available to anyone (significant force for the spread of Islam worldwide).
Intellectual Innovations and Transfers
Mathematics (Nasser): Invented Trigonometry to better understand how planets/stars move through the sky.
House of Wisdom: Established in Baghdad during the Golden Age of Islam (library to study religion, scholars responsible for preserving philosophy by Plato and Aristotle).
Translated them into Arabic and made extensive commentaries, works would’ve been lost forever → translations went to Europe, became the basis for the Renaissance.
State Building in South & Southeast Asia
Belief Systems
Hinduism: Dominant in South Asia (India)
Polytheistic belief system → sets apart from other monotheistic religions
Ultimate goal = To reunite their individual souls to all pervasive world soul aka Brahman
Involves cycling through death and rebirth (reincarnation) to achieve
Provided the conditions for a unified culture in India → structured Indian society (caste system, couldn’t move up in status)
Ethnic religion: Bound to a particular people in a particular place → don’t spread well
Islam → Turkic Muslim invaders came into South Asia and set up a Muslim empire (Delhi Sultanate)
Since Muslims were in charge in large parts of India → religion of the elite + spread throughout Southeast Asia
Buddhism: Founded in India (shared several beliefs with Hinduism) = more likely to spread + its influence was dying in India by 1200
Belief Systems CHANGE
Hinduism (Bhakti Movement = Bhaktis)
Encouraged believers to worship one particular god in the Hindu pantheon of gods
Rejected the hierarchy of Hinduism
Encouraged spiritual experiences to all people
Islam (Sufism = Sufis)
More mystical, spiritual experience-based version of Islam
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Buddhism
Despite it being a universalizing religion, in South Asia, it become more and more exclusive → on a decline
State building in South Asia
Muslim leaders had a lot of trouble imposing Islam on India (a minority religion here)
Resistance to Muslim rule → Rajput Kingdoms:
rival and warring Hindu kingdoms, some were conquered by Muslim rulers and some were independent Hindu states
Vijayanagara Empire (South)
Rulers wanted to extend the rule of the Delhi Sultanate to the South → sent emissaries
Emissaries were Hindus who converted to Islam → established this
State building in Southeast Asia
note: when a state is sea-based or land-based, it’s talking about whether it gets their power from the sea or the land
Sea-based states
Srivijaya Empire: Buddhist but influenced by Indian Hindu culture
Had control over the Strait of Malacca (main power source) → imposed taxes on ships passing by
Majapahit Kingdom (Java): originally a Hindu kingdom, but had strong Buddhist influences
Maintained power: Created a tributary system among the states in the region
Land-Based States
Sinhala Dynasties (Sri Lanka): Buddhist state
Khmer Empire: founded as a Hindu empire
Prosperous state and created a Hindu building (Angkor wat) → represented the entire Hindu universe
Khmer rulers converted to Buddhism and added Buddha’s all over the temple
note: blending of religions = syncretism
State Building in the Americas
Mesoamerican civilizations
note: Decentralized power (people they conquered were set up as tributary states)
note: centralized power = a govt where power is concentrated in a single authority
CONTEXT: Maya civilization (250-900 CE)
Built urban centers, had a good writing system, math (concept of zero)
State structure was a decentralized collection of city-states that were often at war with one another
Fought to create a network of tributary states among neighboring regions
Emphasized human sacrifice (believed the sun was a deity)
Aztec Empire (1345-1528)
CONTEXT
Mexica people (semi-nomadic) who migrated South and built their military prowess
By 1428, they consolidated a lot of power in the region → alliance with two other Mesoamerican states → established the Aztec empire
To secure their legitimacy as rulers → Mexica claimed heritage from older, more renowned Mesoamerican people
Expansion: War provided human blood for the Sun (religious motivation) + Tributary system
Capital City: Tenochtitlan → held a vast population → Markets were established meaning their economy was commercialized to some degree + had palaces for rulers and pyramid temples
Andean Civilizations
CONTEXT
the Wari (1000 CE) → included in a series of societies that were developed along the Indian mountains
Inca Empire (established around the 1400s)
Borrowed a lot from the Wari and older civilizations
Established the Mit’a System = required the labor of everyone for a period of time each year to work on state projects (mining or military service)
Made use of systems by earlier civilizations
North American Civilizations
Mississippian culture (8th/9th century CE)
established in the Mississippi River Valley + represented the first large-scale civilization in North America
society was developed around agriculture + thoroughly hierarchical
Known for their extensive mound-building projects → acted as burial sites for important people + hosted religious ceremonies on the top of the mountains
had enough people to construct these + major urban areas were surrounded by these
Cahokia → largest urban center of the Mississippian culture
Chaco + Mesa Verde societies (after the rise of Mississippian culture)
dry as heck → made innovative ways to store water
weren’t many trees to provide timber for structures → Chaco carved Sandstone blocks out of massive quarries, imported Timber from other locations, and built massive structures (largest in NA)
Mesa Verde solution to this → built housing complex into the sides of cliffs using sandstone!
State Building in Africa
extra notes
note: sub-saharan = sahara desert
African states (during this period) adopted Islam to organize their societies and facilitate trade with the larger network in Dar-al-Islam
State Building in Sub-Saharan Africa
Swahili Civilization (Africa’s east coast, 8th century)
collection of city-states + popular due to their location gave them access to the Indian Ocean trade
Muslim Merchants who came here were interested in → Gold, Ivory, Timber, and Enslaved people
Since they were focused on trade → goods imported from farmers and pastoralists
Islam was a dominant belief system → Conversion among the Swahili elite took place voluntarily was good since it connected them to Dar-al-Islam
Islam influenced the Swahili language (hybrid between the Bantu languages and Arabic)
Great Zimbabwe (South)
Got rich by being in the Indian Ocean Trade by controlling ports on the coast
Imported gold, but their economic prosperity revolved around farming and cattle herding → with extra money, the rulers built the capital city (the largest structure in Africa) and represented the seat of power for the state
State Building in West & East Africa
Hausa Kingdoms: a collection of city-states that were politically independent and gained power/wealth through trade across the TRANS-SAHARAN trade network
Ethiopia (christian)
Christian rulers built massive stone churches → communicated to their subjects who were in charge
(13th century) → Grew wealthy through trade (traded in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean) + traded SALT (most valuable good)
Centralized power → King sat at top + class hierarchy below the king
Developments in Europe
Christianity in Europe
CONTEXT: In the Roman Empire → Constantine made Christianity the official state religion which united Romans (476 CE = Roman empire fell ☹ )
Byzantine Empire (eastern half of the Roman empire): kept Christianity alive in Europe
Eastern Orthodox Christianity → helped rulers justify and consolidate their power structure (highly centralized)
Roman Catholic Christianity
Byzantine got attacked by neighboring Islamic powers → lost a lot of territory BUT had a lot of influence still on Southwest Europe and East Mediterranean
1453 → Ottoman Empire (muslim power) attacked the capital city: Constantinople and renamed it to Istanbul → END TO THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Kievan Rus - adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity (before the fall of Constantinople)
Borrowed from Byzantine → alphabet, architectural style, using church structures to organize the state
Western Europe → isolated from the world (lots of Roman Catholicism in this region)
Church hierarchy (popes, bishops, cardinals) provided a common structure in states across Western Europe
Roman Catholic Church also made European Christians into a religious Fury → went to fight Muslims in distant lands (CRUSADES)
First Crusade → Europeans got beat up by Muslims
Islam and Judaism held important minority positions (EX: Iberian Peninsula, Muslims invaded and ran the place aka Muslim Rule in Europe + Jews were around Europe and participated in trade)
Christians were suspicious of Jews → anti-semitism (Jewish marginalization/persecution
Political Decentralization in the West
Around this period, there were no large empires in Europe!!
Order was organized around a system known as FEUDALISM
Feudalism - a system of allegiances between powerful lords, monarchs, and knights
Greater lords and kings gained allegiance from lesser lords/kings + Land was exchanged to keep everyone loyal
Land was owned and ruled independently
Manorialism - peasants (serfs) bound to land and worked in exchange for protection from the lord and his military forces
Serfs vs Slaves (serfs weren’t owned by the lord)
Around 1200 Europe’s political structures began to change: Monarchs in states began to gain power and centralize their states by introducing large militaries and bureaucracies → prior to this, Nobility had the most power
Increasing powerful monarchs → looking towards one another and competing for influence and territory → wars of conquest to determine who was the biggest power
UNIT 2: NETWORKS OF EXCHANGE
THE SILK ROADS
Definition: network of roads and trails that facilitated trade and the spread of culture and ideas (cultural diffusion) across Eurasia in and before the period 1200-1450
Mainly luxury items were exchanged (Chinese SILK)
The Silk Roads Expand: CAUSES
Innovations in Commercial practices
Development of money economies
Paper money → merchants could deposit bills in one location and withdraw the same amount in another location
Increasing use of credit
Flying Money → Merchants could secure pieces of paper in one region then go to another region to exchange the paper for coins! → increased expansion and networks
Rise of Banks
Banking houses (Europe) → bill of exchange (merchants receive the amount of money equal to the bill)
Innovations in Transportation
Caravanserai: series of guest houses on routes used for rest areas + provided safety and were centers of cultural diffusion
Saddles: made riding easier + held large cargos
The Silk Roads Expand: EFFECTS
Effect #1 - New Trading Cities: located along the routes and had a lot of wealth
provided places to stop and resupply
Kashgar: convergence of major routes → suitable for agriculture
With increasing demand for interregional trade → had highly profitable markets and a center for Islamic scholarship
Samarkand: repeat of Kashgar
Effect #2 - Increased demand for luxury goods: chinese silk and porcelain
As demand grew, the production of these goods increased
Production of luxury goods in distant markets had effects on populations → EX: peasants in the Yangtze River Valley spent more time producing luxury goods, they spent less time on food production → created proto-industrialization
Proto-Industrialization: Process where China produced more goods than their own population could consume (extra goods sold in distant markets) → with all the extra money they reinvested it into the Iron/Steel industry
Effect #3 - Cultural Diffusion
EX: Islamic merchants spread Islam + Buddhist merchants spread Buddhism
The Mongol Empire
(largest continuous land-based empire)
pastoral nomads: traveling people who moved depending on the season
Rise of the Mongol Empire
Temujin: Mongol (pastoral nomads living in the Gobi Desert) + powerful leader + united the Mongol groups and named himself Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan)
After he died, his sons who succeeded him kept expanding the empire → reached its peak in 1279
How did they conquer so much even if they were outnumbered?
Military organization: groups of 10k, 1k, 100, and 10 + superior weaponry and skill (larger bows that shot farther + skilled horse riders)
Lucky timing: sack of Baghdad
Reputation for brutality: killed nearly everyone except a few so they could warn the others of them → created fear so they can surrender
Pax Mongolica: happened after they ruled and conquered a lot
Chinggis Khan’s grandsons organized the empire into several khanates or military regions
Mongol rulers adopted a lot of the cultural norms of the people they ruled: EX - Kublai Khan ruled over China and made the Yuan Dynasty → united warring factions, many Confucian elite believed he possessed the Mandate of Heaven
Mandate of Heaven: Ruler who brings peace must be the rightful ruler
Kublai Khan established himself as a confucian style ruler
Mongol and Economics
Silk roads were never more organized and prosperous than they were under Mongol rule → Mongols were responsible for protecting everyone within the Silk Roads
Improved Infrastructure → built bridges and repaired roads → facilitated trade
Increased communication: EX - Yam system: a series of communication and relay stations spread across the empire
Technological & Cultural Transfers
Mongols had a high opinion of intellectuals and skilled artisans → didn’t kill them when they were conquering
Mongol policy: Send skilled people to different parts of the empire → encouraged the transfer of technology, ideas, and culture
Medical Knowledge: Greek/Islamic scholars to Western Europe
Adoption of Uyghur Script: Their language (Chinggis Khan needed to have a Mongolian language)
Mongols fell out of power as quickly as they rose to power → many under Mongol rule redoubled their efforts to install powerful, centralized leaders to create a unified culture (paved the way for the rise of the modern world)
Indian Ocean Trade Network
Definition: A network of sea routes that connected the various states throughout Afro-Eurasia through trade
Maritime = Sea-based
Causes of Expansion
#1: Collapse of the Mongol Empire: when the Mongol fell apart, so did the safety of travel along the Silk Roads → greater emphasis on maritime trade in the Indian Ocean
#2: Commercial Practices: money economies + ability to buy goods on credit → made trade easier and increased the use of these routes
#3: Transportation Technologies: Magnetic Compass (gave direction) + Astrolabe (accurate location) + Lateen sail (allowed ships to take wind in any direction), Knowledge of Monsoon Winds (blew in dif directions based on seasons) + Improvements in ship builds (Junk ships = massive ship that would carry large loads)
Dhows → Arab traders used these and hauled more cargo
#4: Spread of Islam: Islam was a belief system friendly to merchants, because Muhammad was a merchant → increased trade along sea-based routes
Effects of the Growth of the Indian Oc. Network
Effect #1: Growth of powerful trading cities
Swahili city-states → built mosques that displayed their wealth + location was right on the Indian Ocean Trade
Malacca (capital city of the sultanate of Malacca): Controlled the Strait of Malacca → got rich from the Indian Oc. Trade and expanded their power (taxed ships that passed through the Strait)
Gujarat (India’s west coast) - With its massive coastline and rich agricultural areas → traded cotton textile and indigo + exchanged for gold and silver (taxed ships coming and going from its ports → increased wealth)
Effect #2: Diasporic Communities: group of people from one place who establish a home in another place while retaining their cultural customs
Became a connective tissue holding the Indian Oc. Network together + increasing its scope
EX: Chinese merchants would arrive in ports around southeast asia and the diasporic chinese merchants living there would interact with the local merchants and the govt to facilitate trade
Effect #3: Cultural & Technological Transfers (STUDY)
Just as significant as the goods exchanged
Zheng He: Sent by the Ming Dynasty to go explore the Indian Oc. + enroll other states in China’s tributary system
First voyage: had many ships with crews that were equipped with the latest military tech (gunpowder cannons) → later adopted in many regions
Trans-Saharan Trade Network
Definition: a series of trade routes that connected North Africa and the MEditerranean world with the interior of West Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa
Causes of Expansion
Transportation Technologies: CAMELS + Saddles + Caravanserais → since merchants could travel more comfortably, carry big loads, and find shelter → expanded the Trans-Saharan network
GOODS TRADED: Gold, Kola Nuts (source of caffeine), horses, SALT!!
Each region specialized in creating and growing various goods → made the demand to trade with each other → created the expansion of networks
Growth of Empires
Mali Empire: grew wealthy because of its participation in the Trans-Saharan network
Exported goods (GOLD) + gained wealth/power by taxing merchants travelling through their region
Mansa Musa (Muslim Ruler): Embarked on the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) → left with a giant entourage + stopped in Egypt to resupply
in Egypt, him and his crew injected so much gold into the Egyptian economy → Value of all existing gold plummeted
Further monopolized trade between the North and the interior of the continent → increased the wealth of Mali + facilitating the growth of existing trade networks
Cultural & Environmental Effects of Connectivity
Cultural Effects
DONT FORGET: Islam was supportive of merchant activity + Dar al-islam had many places that Muslim merchants could sell their goods → encouraged leaders in various states to convert to Islam
EX: Swahili civilization grew large bc they adopted Islam
Trade Networks and Diffusion
#1 Cultural transfers: spread of belief systems (EX: Buddhism spread from India to East Asia via the Silk Roads → Buddhism changed overtime)
To make buddhist teachings intelligible to the Chinese → merchants/monks explained them in terms of Daoism (belief system indigenous to China)
Buddhism + Daoism = Chan Buddhism (popular among lower classes) (syncretism)
Buddhism exported to Japan → Zen Buddhism
#2: Literary and Artistic Transfers: House of Wisdom (Muslim scholars translated Greek/Roman works) → Transferred to Europe that sparked the Renaissance
#3: Scientific and Technological transfers: Papermaking + Movable Type (modified and adapted by Europeans) spread to Europe → increase in literacy
Spread of Gunpowder from China (Mongols): adapted by Islamic empires + European states → to blow up stuff (altered the balance of power)
Effects on Trade on Cities
Hangzhou (at the end of the Grand Canal): One of China’s most significant trading cities → urbanization + increase population
Samarkand/Kashgar: Grew in power and influence by facilitating trade → increased their productivity
CITIES IN DECLINE
Baghdad (capital of Islamic cultural/artistic achievement): Mongols rose to power and sacked it + ended the Abbasid Empire
Constantinople (capital of Byzantine Empire): Ottomans sacked it → renamed it to Istanbul
Increased Interregional Travel
Ibn Battuta (Muslim Scholar from Morocco): Traveled all over Dar Al Islam + Took notes about places, people, rulers, and cultures → travels possible with trade routes + told stories of the places he visited (helped his readers understand cultures across the world)
Marco Polo: Traveled from Italy to China + traveled throughout Indian Oc. → wrote about court of Kublai Khan and China
Margery Kemp (christian mystic): Made pilgrimages to christianity’s holy sites + dictated her observations to others to write them down → observations provided invaluable insights of how Christianity was practiced across dif cultures of Europe/Middle East
Environmental Effects
Diffusion of Crops/Agricultural Transfers
#1: Bananas: Rainforests in Africa provided good conditions for bananas to flourish → diets expanded + population BOOM
Bantu people were able to migrate things and parts of the banana (Yam: their main source) → able to move places where the Yam couldn’t grow bc they relied on Bananas!
#2 Champa Rice: China had a population BOOM
#3 Citrus Fruits (orange/limes): Introduced by Muslim traders into Europe via the Mediterranean trade routes (spread throughout Europe/North Africa) → diets + better health
Diffusion of Diseases
BUBONIC PLAGUE (Black Death): Emerged in North China → spread rapidly across the Silk Roads and the Indian Oc. Trade routes
Middle East: Killed nearly 1/3 of their population + Europe: killed ½ of their population
UNIT 3: LAND-BASED EMPIRES (1450-1750)
note: Before this period, two major divisions of Islam developed (Shi’a and Sunni) → argued who was the successor of Muhammad (Shi’a - Blood relative, Sunni - Elected)
Land-Based Empires EXPAND
Gunpowder empires (came out on top)
expanding geographically
main cause of expansion: adoption of gunpowder weapons
THE MAIN 4 GP EMPIRES
Ottoman Empire (most significant Islamic empire):
Expansion: control of the Dardanelles + adopted gunpowder weapons
Sacked Constantinople: Mehmed II and his army raided this city and renamed it to Istanbul (empire expanded)
Safavid Empire (1500s): Ismail (the shah) and declared it as a Shi’a State
Shah Abbas expanded the Safavid military and adopted gunpowder weapons
Mughal Empire (replaced the Delhi Sultanate, 16th century): leader Babur
Babur made use of an expanding military armed with gunpowder cannons/guns to extend the geographic reach of the empire
Babur’s grandson, Akbar expanded it even more → tolerant of religious beliefs + masterful administrator → Mughal became the most prosperous empire of the 16th century
Qing Dynasty:
CONTEXT: With the decline of Mongol rule in China → new dynasty: Ming Dynasty (14th century, ethnically han: means it’s a true Chinese dynasty)
Established peace and order + expanded their borders with gunpowder
Around the 1500s, they declined due to internal divisions and external wars → rise of the Qing
Qing was established by the Manchu(not ethnically han) people (took advantage of the Ming decline to set up their own dynasty)
Qing rulers did a 40 year campaign to claim all former Ming territory (Taiwan/Mongolia)
Rivalries Between States
Safavid-Mughal (17th century): Religious rivalry (Shi’a vs Sunni)
Songhai-Moroccan: Songhai became rich due to Trans-Saharan trade → weakened due to internal conflicts → Moroccan kingdom invaded Songhai and beat them with their gunpowder weapons (Songhai had none)
Land-Based Empires: ADMINISTRATION
note: Bureaucracy - body of govt officials responsible for administering the empire and ensures the laws are being kept
Legitimizing & Consolidating Power
Legitimize power - methods the ruler uses to communicate to all their subjects WHO is in charge
Consolidate power - measures a ruler uses to take power from other groups and claim it for themselves
#1) Bureaucracies & Militaries
#1 Large Imperial bureaucracies (expanding empires = larger bureaucracies)
Devshirme System (ottomans): System where ottomans staffed their bureaucracy with high-trained individuals (enslaved) → registering enslaved christian boys
#2 Military Expansion (creating elite military professionals)
Devshirme system → elite soldiers (Janissaries): formed the core of the Ottoman army which was increasing in size
#2) Religion, Art, and Architecture
Religion & Power
Rule by divine right of kings (Europe): king ruled with the approval of Jesus (to oppose the king, you would oppose God too)
Human Sacrifice (Aztecs): Mexica believed the Sun god lost energy, to gain power back for the Sun → human sacrifice (held public sacrifices to let everyone know who was in charge)
Art
Qing Dynasty: Emperor Kangxi had imperial portraits of himself around the city → to prove to the Chinese that he was the ruler (depicted according to traditional Confucian values → appealed to Chinese subjects)
Architecture
Palace of Versailles (built for Louis XIV, 14th century) → huge palace, made everyone know who was in charge
Louis consolidated power → forced French nobility to live at the palace part-time (he was able to remove power from them)
Inca Sun temple (Kusco): since rulers were associated with the gods → buildings like this serve to legitimize their power
Financing Imperial Expansion
#1 Zamindar system (Mughal): Due to Mughal rulers being Muslim while the Indian population was Hindu led to suspicion toward their Muslim rulers → implemented Zamindars (local land owners) to collect taxes
#2 Tax Farming (Ottoman): The right to tax subjects of the empire went to the highest bidder → whoever got the right, needed to collect taxes + collected more taxes than were legally required → Provided the Ottomans a good source of income
Tax farmers wren’t members of the official bureaucracy → ottomans didn’t have to pay them, they paid themselves by fleecing the people
Land-Based Empires: BELIEF SYSTEMS
Christianity in Europe
CONTEXT: Two Branches of Christianity: Eastern Orthodox Church + Roman Catholic Church (Great Schism of 1054)
By 1500, the Catholic Church had a lot of power in Europe (Pope Leo X) → built massive structures
To fund these buildings, the church began the sale of INDULGENCES (promised the forgiveness of sins) + Simony: high church positions up for sale → people’s confidence in the church was dying
Martin Luther (catholic monk): wrote the 95 Theses (series of complains abt the corrupt practices) + nailed them to the church → Church excommunicated him + Luther’s work split the church AGAIN (Protestant Reformation)
Luther’s work was published using the Printing Press
Church decided that the complains might be right → Catholic/Counter Reformation → church gathered at a series of meetings (Council of Trent) + tossed out many corrupt practices + Catholics reaffirmed their ancient doctrines
EFFECT: rulers across europe remained Catholic or imposed Protestantism upon the people they ruled → led to a series of religious wars in Europe
Islam in the MIddle East
Safavids (Shia) vs Ottomans (sunni): Ottomans got the upper hand → note: their political rivalry intensified the split between Shia and the sunni
Change in South Asia
Bhakti + Sufism = exchange and blending
Hindu + Islam = Sikhism
Demonstrates continuity because it held onto significant doctrines of both belief systems
Demonstrates change because many distinctions were discarded (caste system/gender hierarchies)
UNIT 4: TRANSOCEANIC INTERACTIONS (1450-1750)
Technology innovations and Causes of European Exploration
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS
Sea-based empires were in Europe
Adopted Technologies
#1 Magnetic Compass (developed in China + give direction)
#2 Astrolabe (determined latitude and longitude by measuring stars)
#3 Lateen Sail (triangular-shaped sail + developed by Arab merchants + takes wind on either side)
#4 Astronomical charts (diagrams of stars & constellations)
REMEMBER THIS: europeans didn’t invent these, they ADOPTED them from other cultures → got tech from trade routes
European Innovations
Shipbuilding
Caravel (Portugal): more nimble and navigable on water + had cannons
Carrack (Portugal): Portugal decided world domination = trade → created these HUGE ships to carry guns
Fluyt (Dutch): Dethroned the Portuguese in the Indian Oc. Trade (designed for trade + big cargo hold + small crews + cheap to build)
Dutch had tools to build them → cut the cost of production in half → mid 17th century: Fluyt were responsible for about half of all europe’s shipping weight (tonnage)
CAUSES FOR EUROPEAN EXPLORATION
State Sponsored Exploration
New era of sea-based empire building was state-sponsored → result of changes in the distribution of power in European states (population grew + monarchs consolidated power)
Monarchs built up their militaries + used gunpowder weapons + created ways to tax their people
Huge Motivator for states sponsoring maritime exploration → increasing desire of Asian/Southeast Asian SPICES (pepper)
Why? Pepper came from trade routes and were expensive in Europe → Europeans tried to find ways to trade with states → began looking to the sea
Portugal’s Trading Post Empire
Had no way to expand except by the sea
Prince Henry the Navigator sponsored the first attempts to find an all water route into the Indian Oc. network
Portugal’s Motivations
#1 Technology: caravel/carrack
#2 Economics: Trans-saharan Gold + Spices
#3 Religion: desire to spread christianity → Prince Henry desired to find a Eastern Christian Monarch (Prester John): he thought it was good to connect states in the west and east
Set up trading posts around Africa and the Indian Oc. → Vasco de Gama sailed established more trading posts down south (found Calicut and found out the riches were greater → trading posts established around region)
Spain’s sea-based empire
While the Portugal was busy, Isabelle and Ferdinand wanted what Portugal has
Christopher Columbus → had an idea to sail westward to access the Spice Islands quicker (Isabelle/Ferdinand agreed)
1492: Him and his crew reached the Caribbean islands (thought they were the Spice Islands) → Europe discovered two huge continents (North/South America)
After this discovery, Spain sponsored other explorers
Ferdinand Magellan: sailed to the actual east indies
Spanish sent fleets to the Americas to colonize and conquer → opened up the transatlantic trade
Other States’ Empires
Causes for Exploration
Political Rivalry
Envy
Desire for wealth
Need for alternative routes to asia
France
sought a westward passage to the Indian Oc. → explored N/A and got access to fur trade → Quebec was established (had a habit of dying in large #’s, mainly established presence in trading posts)
England
After Queen Elizabeth I rose to power + defeated Spain’s attempts to invade England (weakened Spain) → She supported westward exploration
Elizabeth commissioned Sir Walter Raleigh to lead the expedition → established England’s first colony in the Americas (Virginia + Jamestown)
Dutch
1579: gained independence from Spain + were the wealthiest state in all of Europe
Began competing for trading posts around Africa → dethroned the Portuguese
1608: Dutch sponsored Henry Hudson to establish a Dutch presence in the new world by finding the colony of New Amsterdam
COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
Definition: transfer of new diseases, food, plants, and animals between the Eastern and Western hemispheres
Causes
Columbus created contact between the New World and the Old World
Effects: Diseases
Europeans brought disease vectors (rats/mosquitos) to the Americas
Malaria: carried by mosquitos, introduced by enslaved Africans who were transported for plantation work → killed a lot of indigenous americans
Measles: highly contagious and spread rapidly in densely populated areas → killed millions
Smallpox: spread from Mexico to South America → Great Dying
Effects: Plants & Food
Europeans brought: Bananas & Sugar (olives, wheat, grapes) → indigenous adopted some of these new foods (diversified their diets + increased their life span)
Americas transferred potatoes, maize, manioc (better diets/health → population grew)
On European control plantations in the Americas they grew Cash Crops → method of agriculture where food is grown for export
plantations worked by coerced laborers (didn’t have a choice)
EX of Cash Cropping: Growth of Sugar Cane in Caribbean colonies → enslaved africans did the labor + sugar was exported to markets in Europe/Middle east
Africa brought new foods to the Americas: okra and rice
Effects: Animals
(Animals introduced to the Americas from Europe had the biggest effect)Europeans brought pigs, sheep, cattle → created the foundation for future ranching economies
new animals brought environmental consequences that put strains on farmers (sheep ate grass → erosion)
HORSES: changed the society of indigenous peoples by allowing them to hunt large herds of Buffalo (staple food item for them)
Maritime Empires established + Economics of Empire Building
MARITIME EMPIRES ESTABLISHED
European Trade Ascendancy
Motives for Imperialism: Gold, God, Glory
To enrich themselves
To spread Christianity
Be the greatest state
Portuguese: established first trading post empire → Portuguese participated in Indian Oc. trade by owning/controlling it by force
Spanish (Spain): set up their operations in the Philippines + established colonies instead of trading posts (maintained through tribute systems, taxation, coerced labor)
Dutch: used same methods as Portuguese to establish control over the trade route + Dutch did the same thing what the british did (colonial rule) in Indonesia
British: Lacked military power to take over the Mughal Empire → established trading posts along their coasts
near the end of the 18th century, British transformed trading posts into colonial rule in India
Continuity in Trade: Asian merchants who had been using the trade network for centuries before the arrival of Europeans continued to use it → increased profits for europeans and merchants
Merchants like Gujaratis in the Mughal Empire continued to use this trade route even with the Europeans wanting to dominate it → increased power/wealth
Asian resistance
Japan: early 1600s Japan united under a Shogun from the Tokugawa Clan → thought european trade was a threat (europeans wanted to convert ppl to christianity)
many japanese converted to christianity → Shogun expelled all christian missionaries + suppressed the faith with violence
Ming China: Many motives for the voyages of Zheng He, the most important was to create a situation where most of maritime trade in the Indian Oc. was processed through the Chinese state (didn’t work, isolationist trade policies)
Portuguese came to China (early 1500s) traded only with bribery → Ming officials expelled them (isolation grew)
Expansion of African States
Asante Empire: Key trading partner with the Portuguese (later the British) providing Gold, Ivory, enslaved laborers → made them rich and expanded/consolidated their military and power
Used their power to repel against the British from colonizing the region
Kingdom of the Kongo: Made strong diplomatic ties to Portuguese traders who desired for gold, ivory, and enslaved laborers → to keep this economic relationship, the King converted to Christianity (relationship deteriorated) BUT their connection enriched African states
Economic and Labor Systems
colonial economies were structured around Agriculture
Existing Labor Systems
Spanish used the Mit’a system → for their silver mining operations
New labor systems
Chattel (property) Slavery: Laborers were owned like a piece of property (race-based + slavery became hereditary)
Indentured Servitude: Laborer would sign a contract that would bound them to a particular work for a period of time → poorer europeans used this to pay their passage to the colonies, after contract was done they can live their lives
Encomienda System: Spanish used this to get indigenous Americans to work for colonial authorities → indigenous ppl forced to provide labor for the Spanish in exchange for food/protection (similar to Feudalism)
Hacienda System: Haciendas were large agricultural estates owned by elite Spaniards → laborers forced to work the fields + crops exported/sold
DIFFERENCE: Encomienda focused on controlling the population → Hacienda focused on the economics of food
Development of Slavery
Continuity:
African slave Trade → Cultural Assimilation
Domestic Work (african slaves became servants w/ a high demand for enslaved women)
Slaves held Power (could hold military/political positions)
These continued during the rise and establishment of maritime empires
Change:
Agricultural Work (male slaves purchased → impacted demographics of African states)
transatlantic trade larger
Racial Prejudice (In the Americas, slavery became identified with blackness which justified the brutality of slavery)
Being black = less human, being less human = plantation owners could treat workers with violence
ECONOMICS OF EMPIRE BUILDING (how did maritime empires maintained/developed)
Economic Strategies
Mercantilism: system that emphasizes the buildup of mineral wealth by maintaining a favorable balance of trade (merchants wanted exports > imports)
In short: mercantilist economies saw the world’s wealth like a pie and the goal was to get the biggest piece of pie (world’s wealth)
Powerful motivation for empires → once a colony was established, it created a closed market to buy exports from the parent country (more colonies = more mineral wealth)
Joint-Stock Companies: limited liability business (often chartered by the state) that was funded by a group of investors
Liability: investors could only lose the money they invested in the business
Chartered by the state: govt approved this business + granted it trade monopolies in regions
Funded by a group: Big innovation how businesses were funded as they were PRIVATELY funded, not state-funded
EX: Dutch East India Company - 1602, a dutch state granted the company a monopoly on trade in the Indian Oc.
company’s investors became rich
dutch imperial govt expanded its power/influence throughout the Indian Oc.
French and British made their own companies for trade and expansion → growing rivalry around the “pie” (Anglo Dutch war)
note: Spain + Portugal were funding their trade and imperial ventures through the state → influence on the world was waning
Trade Networks: Change and Continuity
Change
Atlantic system: movement of goods between eastern/western hemispheres
Importance of Sugar: colonial plantations specialized in the growth of sugar cane
Silver was King (EX: in Bolivia, spanish exploited a silver mine in potosi + other colonies → sent back to Spain)
Effects of Silver:
Satisfied Chinese Demand for silver: further the commercialization of their economy
Increased Profits: The goods silver purchased in Asian markets were traded across the atlantic system → more profits
Coerced Labor (systems)
Forced indigenous labor
indentured servitude
enslaved africans
ALL established by the global flow of silver and trade monopolies granted by state to joint stock companies (Atlantic system turned European states into political/geographical equivalent of hogging that “pie”)
Continuity
Afro-Eurasian markets thrived: increased their reach and flourished (even though europeans were increasingly dominating the Indian Oc. network, Merchants continued to trade + benefited from the increased merchant traffic)
Asian Land Routes: overland routes like the silk roads almost controlled by asian land-based powers (Ming China/Qing Dynasty)
Peasant and Artisan labor: intensified
Peasants were farmers but w/ the increase demand for goods → they produced more goods for distant markets
EX: demand for cotton increased throughout Europe → peasant farmers increased their production for export + increase their standard of living
Artisans were skilled laborers who made goods by hand → increased their production
Social Effects (of the African slave trade)
Gender Imbalance: majority of slaves purchased were men
Changed family structures: african states were being depleted of their male population → increase in polygyny (practice of men marrying more than one women)
Cultural synthesis: Enslaved africans came from states/cultures → in the americas they adopted Creole(mixed) languages
Creole languages developed as a synthesis of european and african languages
Changing Belief Systems
Spanish/Portuguese Christianity in South America: sent Catholic missionaries to their colonies to spread Christianity among indigenous people
european language and culture was introduced/imposed upon indigenous ppl + use of printing press had these ideas spread rapidly
(outcome: some indigenous adopted christianity, some practiced their own beliefs → violent retaliation from colonial authorities)
Las Casas’s Defense of Indigenous Americans: protected indigenous americans from the abuse of colonial authorities → led to outlawing the enslavement of indigenous ppl + limiting the forms of coerced labor they could participate in
even though widespread conversion was their aim = slow progress → syncretic blending of Christianity + native belief systems
note: enslaved africans brought their native belief systems with them like islam and more blending happened
Challenges to STATE Power
Local Resistance
Fronde (france): resistance crushed and monarch increased in power
CONTEXT: Louis XIV was a poster boy for absolutism (monarchs consolidated all power) → increased taxation + nobility been under threat from the growing power of the monarchy → Fronde
Queen Ana Nzing’s resistance: She ruled over kingdoms of Vango and Matamba, grew sus of Portuguese merchants → allied with the Dutch to fight back the armies (successful)
Pueblo Revolt (North America): Pueblo forced into coerced labor for spanish projects + suffered from diseases → population suffered
Rebelled against the spanish killing many missionaries and leaders → temporarily eject the Spanish, but spanish came back to regain control
SUMMARY: Due to the efforts of European states to expand their empires and solidate power under themselves, the many groups suffered the effects of that expansion resisted, sometimes success/unsuccessful
Resistance from the Enslaved
Maroon societies (caribbean/brazil): free blacks → with harsh conditions enslaved africans ran away + joined free blacks (maroons)
Maroon communities served as an endless attraction for their workers to abandon the fields and flee
EX: In Jamaica, British colonial authorities tried to crush these communities, but the maroon fought back → colonial militia failed to wipe them out due to them living in mountains/thick forests
1738: Treaty was signed that recognized the freedom of the maroons
British colonies (north america) aka Stono rebellion of 1739: in south cal it was a major agricultural operation that specialized in the export of rice/indigo → Britain sent enslaved africans there until the majority of people there were enslaved
1739: enslaved ppl stormed the local armory and traveled to kill their enslavers but local militia crushed this rebellion → event struck fear into slaveholding-colonies
Changing SOCIAL Hierarchies
Responses to Ethnic Diversity (expulsion-tolerance)
Jews in Spain/Portugal: spain/portugal expelled all jews from their kingdom due to fear of their influence on converted Jews
CONTEXT: 1492 - Spain completed the Reconquista (effort to rid the Iberian Peninsula of Muslim rule) → re established christianity as the official religion of the region
Jews in the Ottoman Empire (tolerant): Mehmed II opened empire to displaced Jews, some rose in the court and some contributed to economic/cultural environment
“relative” tolerance doesn’t mean Jews enjoyed full equality under ottoman rule → required to pay the Gia (tax that non-muslims pay, only permitted to live in parts of urban areas)
Qing Dynasty (expulsion): Manchu rulers adopted parts of traditional chinese culture (confucian) → made a division between ethnic manchu and Han ppl
EX: Manchu retain the civil service exam to staff their bureaucracy BUT all high positions reserved for Manchus → Han ppl barred from those positions + Han men required to wear their hair in braided queues
Mughal Empire (tolerant): Funded the construction of churches and temples and Mosques + no tax (the Gia)
Rise of New Elites
note: none of the spanish nobility migrated to the new world → conquistadors in Spain’s empire in the new world imposed a new hierarchy
Casta System (organized society by race/heredity)
Peninsulares: Born on the Iberian Peninsula + Creoles: European/Born in the new world
Castas (remaining members of society): Mestizos - European/indigenous, Mulattoes - European/African, bottom: indigenous and africans
REMEMBER - prior to the imposing of the casta system, native ppl were part of a wide variety of cultural groups
Struggles of Existing Elites
Russian Boyars: made up the aristocratic landowning class in Russia + exerted great power in the administration
Peter the Great: Removed power from the boyars and consolidated it under himself → boyars protested and Peter abolished the rank of Boyar in Russia (required anyone who wanted employment in the bureaucracy to serve the state directly)
Ottoman Timars: Land grants made by the Ottomans to an aristocratic class in payment for service to the govt (military service)
Aristocrats who controlled the timars grew rich/powerful through taxation of the people living on the land
16th century - Ottoman sultans took over the timars and converted them to tax farms → directed revenue directly to the state (elites found themselves weak)