Topic 2.6: Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
Global Environmental Consequences of Connectivity (c. 1200 – c. 1450)
Historical Overview: Between the years of approximately 1200 and 1450, increased commerce and trade networks across Afro-Eurasia led to unprecedented environmental transformations.
The Primary Consequence: While trade facilitated the spread of new agricultural products (such as citrus fruits to the Mediterranean basin), the most dramatic environmental result of increased commerce was the spread of infectious disease.
The Bubonic Plague ("Black Death"): * Origin and Spread: The plague swept from Central Asia, striking in China, India, Persia, and Egypt, and arriving in Europe in 1347. * Mortality Rates: It is estimated to have killed between and million people across Eurasia. * European Peak: The epidemic reached its peak in Europe between the years 1347 and 1351. * Literary Impact: Giovanni Boccaccio (–) witnessed the horrors firsthand, famously writing The Decameron. He described the scene with the phrase: "Dead bodies filled every corner."
Agricultural Effects of Exchange Networks
Introduction of New Crops: Merchants introduced crops to regions where they had never grown before, impacting land use, population distribution, and growth.
Migration of Champa Rice: * Origin and Transmission: Champa rice was a quick-ripening variety introduced to the Champa states by Vietnam (a Hindu state) and later offered to the Chinese as tribute. Some scholars believe it originated in India due to the Hindu influence on Champa (present-day central Vietnam). * Characteristics: The grain was highly resilient, being flood-resistant, drought-resistant, and capable of yielding two crops per year. * Impact on China: It was widely distributed to meet the needs of a growing population and contributed further to that growth. * Land Use Changes: Champa rice allowed for farming on land previously thought unusable, specifically through: * Terraced Farming: Used in the uplands. * Paddies: Used in the lowlands. * Migration Patterns: As population increased, people migrated southward toward the original rice-growing regions, which contributed to the expansion of cities.
Migration of Bananas: * Transmission: Indonesian seafarers traveling across the Indian Ocean introduced bananas to Sub-Saharan Africa. * Settlement: Many Indonesians settled on the island of Madagascar. * Bantu Migration: Bananas allowed Bantu-speaking peoples to migrate to areas where their traditional food source, yams, did not grow easily. The Bantu combined this new crop with their metallurgy skills and existing farming techniques. * Nutritional and Environmental Impact: The nutrition-rich fruit led to a population spike and caused farmers to increase land cultivation, enriching diets significantly.
Islamic Expansion and Crop Diffusion: * As caliphs conquered lands beyond the Arabian Peninsula, they spread the Arabic language, Islam, and the cultivation of sugar, cotton, and citrus crops. * Trade Market Impact: New foods became available along trade routes. The markets of Samarkand introduced Southwest Asian products to Europe, including: * Rice * Citrus products * Various vegetables * Sugar and Slavery: European demand for sugar grew so intense that it later became a key factor in the massive utilization of enslaved people in the Americas starting in the 1500s.
Case Study: Samarkand as a Trade Hub
The Region: In the valleys of Central Asian Samarkand, farmers long cultivated a wide variety of fruits.
Distributed Products: Merchants on the Silk Roads widely distributed the following from Samarkand: * Melons, grapes, and apples. * Citrus fruits and pomegranates. * Apricots and peaches.
Historical Evidence: A 1911 photograph from the Library of Congress archives shows a vendor in Samarkand, illustrating the long-standing tradition of fruit commerce in the region.
Environmental Degradation and Resource Pressure
Population Pressures: Increases in human population put significant pressure on natural resources.
Overgrazing: In Great Zimbabwe, overgrazing was so severe that the city had to be abandoned in the late 1400s.
European Degradation: In feudal Europe, the combination of deforestation and the overuse of farmland led to soil erosion, which reduced agricultural yields.
The Little Ice Age: Lasting from approximately to , this period of cooling contributed to a further decrease in agricultural production.
The Mayans: Environmental degradation is also cited as a factor in the decline of the Mayan civilization in the Americas.
The Spread and Impact of Epidemics
Transmission via Mongol Conquests: The Mongol conquests facilitated the transmission of fleas carrying the bubonic plague (Black Death) from southern China to Central Asia, and then to Southeast Asia and Europe.
Role of Caravanserai: Historians suggest that caravanserai contributed to the spread because they housed humans and animals in close proximity; the animals likely carried the infected fleas.
Impact on Europe: * Mortality: One-third of the European population died within a few years. * Labor Changes: The massive death toll led to a shortage of workers. Consequently, each person's labor became more valuable, allowing survivors to demand higher wages. * Feudalism: These economic shifts helped lay the foundation for the decline of feudalism.
Impact on Other Regions: * China and Asia: Approximately million Chinese and other Asians died between 1332 and 1347. * North Africa: Experienced similar catastrophic life loss. * Exempt Regions: South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa were largely spared because they had fewer trading ports compared to other regions.
Key Terms by Theme
Environment: Crop Diffusion: * Champa rice * Bananas * Sugar * Citrus crops
Environment: Degradation: * Overgrazing * Deforestation * Soil erosion
Environment: Disease: * Bubonic plague