Unit 1-9 Global History Review Study Notes: Extensive Review and Study Guide

Overview of the World's Major Religions and Belief Systems in $1200$ ● History is defined by the interactions between new states emerging from the collapse of classical civilizations and the growth of long-distance trade. ● Most historical events during this period are fundamentally connected to religion. ● Subgroups and sects exist within most major religions, though the study focus remains on the overall belief systems. ● Understanding involves analyzing the theological basis and the impact on social, political, cultural, and military developments. ● Origins and spread are linked to cultural interactions and religious mysticism, where adherents use prayer and meditation to approach the divine. ● Buddhism: * Found in India, China, Southeast Asia, and Japan. * Founded by Siddhartha Gautama ($563-483\,BCE$), a Hindu prince from Nepal who rejected wealth to become the Buddha (Enlightened One). * Concepts: No supreme being; the $4$ Noble Truths state: ($1$) all life is suffering, ($2$) suffering is caused by desire, ($3$) one can be freed of desire, ($4$) freedom is achieved by following a prescribed path. * Split ($483\,BCE$): Theravada Buddhism (focus on meditation, simplicity, and nirvana as renunciation of self) and Mahayana Buddhism (ritual-focused, spiritual comfort, more complex, wider spread). * Impact: Rejects the caste system, appealing to lower ranks; reabsorbed by Hinduism in India but thrived in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. ● Christianity: * Emerged from a group of Jews and expanded into Europe, northeastern Africa, and the Middle East. * Based on Jesus of Nazareth, the purported Messiah; teachings focus on devotion to God and love for others. * Jesus was crucified in $30\,CE$; followers believe in his resurrection. * Beliefs: Jesus is the Son of God; forgiveness and everlasting life are achievable through him. The world was created by God but fell from Him; believers must care for God and others. * Impact: Appealed to women and lower classes; became the official religion of the Roman Empire and a cornerstone of global culture. ● Confucianism: * Developed in China from $400\,BCE$ onwards by Confucius, whose sayings are in the Analects. * Focus: Restoring political and social order, not philosophical or religious topics. * Five Fundamental Relations: ($1$) ruler and subject, ($2$) parent and child, ($3$) husband and wife, ($4$) older and younger sibling, ($5$) friend and friend. * Impact: Compatible with other religions; fostered tight-knit Chinese communities. ● Hinduism: * Primarily in India; belief in one supreme force called Brahma. * Manifestations of Brahma: Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer). * Goal: Merge with Brahma through multiple lives; determined by internal peace (moksha) and following the dharma (caste rules). * Texts: Vedas and Upanishads. * Impact: Tied to the social caste system, limiting global acceptance though originating Buddhism. ● Islam: * Believers (Muslims) follow words from Allah presented through the prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an ($7th\,century$). * Salvation via the $5$ Pillars: ($1$) confession, ($2$) prayer five times daily, ($3$) charity, ($4$) fasting during Ramadan, ($5$) pilgrimage to Mecca. * Divisions: Shia and Sunni groups disagreed on Muhammad's successor. * Impact: Rapidly spread across the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. ● Judaism: * Based on a unique relationship between God and a selected holy people (Hebrews) who follow His laws. * Texts: Torah ($Hebrew\,Bible$). Belief in free will and a destiny of paradise. * Impact: First major monotheistic faith. # Developments in the Middle East and Islamic Caliphates ($750-1258\,CE$) ● Abbasid Dynasty: Represented a Golden Age from $750$ to $1258\,CE$. * Capital in Baghdad (Iraq) served as a center for arts and sciences. * Key figures/institutions: Nasir al-Din al Tusi (mathematics) and the House of Wisdom library. * Trade: Built on a system using receipts and bills. ● Decline of Caliphates: Challenged by internal rivalries (Turkish slave warrior revolts) and external threats (Persians, Europeans, Byzantines). * The Mongols destroyed Baghdad in $1258$. * The Mamluks, an Egyptian group, defeated Mongols in Nazareth to preserve Islam. * Ottoman Turks eventually reunited Arabia, Syria, and Egypt into a state lasting until $1918$. # Developments in Europe: Feudalism and the Rise of Nation-States ● Middle Ages: Period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. * Eastern Rome survived as the Byzantine Empire. * Western Europe collapsed, though Christianity remained a unifying force. ● European Feudalism: A hierarchical social system. * Hierarchy: ($1$) King (power over kingdom), ($2$) Nobles (granted land sections for loyalty/military service), ($3$) Vassals (lesser lords managing fiefs or manors), ($4$) Peasants/Serfs (worked the land). * Manors were self-sufficient; used a three-field system (fall, spring, and empty fields). * Social Codes: Chivalry regulated lord interaction (respect and anti-betrayal). * Gender Roles: Male-dominated; primogeniture (land to eldest son); women lacked land rights. * Economic shift: Global trade led to the emergence of a middle class (craftsmen/merchants). ● Emergence of Nation-States ($13th\,century$): * Germany: Period of interregnum (between kings) allowed merchants to gain power. * England: Nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, creating foundations for Parliament (House of Lords and House of Commons). * France: Joan of Arc led revolts against English occupation at Orleans; the Hundred Years’ War ($1337-1453$) unified the country. * Spain: Queen Isabella and Ferdinand united the monarchy; instituted the Spanish Inquisition for Christian conversion. * Russia: Ruled by Tartars (Mongols) under Genghis Khan from $1242$; later expanded by Ivan III (Czar) and Ivan the Terrible (user of secret police). # Developments in Asia and Africa ($1200-1450$) ● China's Dynasties: * Song Dynasty ($960-1279$): Used Confucianism to justify subordination of women (foot binding). Developed Neo-Confucianism (Buddhist ideas on soul + filial piety). * Ming Dynasty ($1368-1644$): Restored after Mongol dominance. * Religion: Influenced by Mahayana Buddhism (peaceful existence) and Chan/Zen Buddhism (meditation/beauty). * Technology: Created a bureaucratic merit system via civil service exams; improved literacy with printed books. ● Japan: * Relatively isolated; Feudal system ($1192$) included: ($1$) Emperor, ($2$) Shogun (chief general), ($3$) Daimyo (samurai/land owners), ($4$) Lesser samurai, ($5$) Peasants/Artisans. * Samurai followed the Code of Bushido (loyalty, courage, honor). ● India: * Delhi Sultanate: Islamic kingdom in Northern India; introduced colleges and farming improvements. * Rajput Kingdoms: Unified Hindu principalities that resisted Muslim forces until $1527$. ● Southeast Asia: * Khmer Empire ($9th-15th\,century$): Hindu empire in Cambodia/Laos/Thailand; built Angkor Wat; influenced by Indian Ocean trade. ● Africa: * Spread of Islam reached sub-Saharan West Africa in the $7th-8th\,centuries$. * Hausa Kingdoms: Series of state systems near Niger River; Kano was a center of leather and salt trade. # Developments in the Americas: Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans ● Aztecs ($Mexico, mid-1200s$): * Capital at Tenochtitlan; empire of $12\,million$ people. * Expansionist policy with a strict army; women could inherit property but were subordinate. ● Incas ($Andes\,Mountains, Peru$): * Established a bureaucracy, unified language, and road/tunnel systems. * Capital at Cuzco ($300,000\,people$); female inheritance was possible. * Religion: Polytheistic, centered on the Sun god; practiced mummification and human sacrifice. * Architecture: Temple of the Sun and Machu Picchu. ● Mayans: Historically significant but less detailed in the primary textbook source. # Unit 2: Networks of Exchange and the Impact of the Mongols ● Trade Alliances: Merchants (Burghers) became powerful; Hanseatic League ($1358$) drove northern European nationhood and social mobility. ● Culture and Education: * Architecture: Shift from Romanesque to Gothic (flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings). * Scholasticism: Founding of universities for men (law, medicine, philosophy). ● The Crusades ($11-14th\,century$): * Military campaigns to convert non-Christians and combat heresies. * Pope Innocent III persecuted heretics; Pope Gregory IX launched the Inquisition (excommunication, torture, execution). * Thomas Aquinas ($1225-1274$): Argued faith and reason are not in conflict. ● Urbanization: Cities grew around the Silk Route (Baghdad, Merv, Chang’an) and later in Europe (Paris, Italian city-states). ● The Mongol Empire: * Genghis Khan unified Mongolian tribes in the early $1200s$, invading China in $1234$. * Spanned from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe; split into Hordes (e.g., Golden Horde in Russia). * Kublai Khan ruled China; Timur Lang took over India, spreading Islam. * Impact: Ruthless fighters but great diffusers of culture; facilitated world trade while preventing Russia's cultural development. ● Africa and India Trade: * Mali: Mansa Musa built Timbuktu, famous for gold trade. * Great Zimbabwe: Major trading empire ($11th-15th\,centuries$). * Indian Ocean: Dominated by Persians/Arabs; mixed cultures due to sailors marrying local women. # Unit 3: Land-Based Empires and European Revolutions ($1450-1750$) ● The Renaissance: * Focus shifted to Humanism (personal accomplishment/life on earth rather than just salvation). * Art: Realism (Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello) supported by patrons like the Medici family. * Literacy: Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press (mid-$1400s$) made books accessible and affordable. ● The Protestant Reformation: * Martin Luther: Published complaints against the Catholic Church; argued salvation comes directly from God, not the church. * Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther. * Other branches: Calvinism (John Calvin/predestination); Anglican/Church of England (Henry VIII); Jesuits (Ignatius Loyola). * Catholic Counter-Reformation: Council of Trent punished heretics and reinstated Latin/Pope authority. ● Scientific Revolution: * Copernican Revolution: Nicolaus Copernicus discovered celestial bodies revolve around the sun. * Galileo: Proved Copernicus's theories; forced to recant by the Church. * Scientific Method: Founded by Bacon, Kepler, and Newton; shift to theory, documentation, and repetition. ● European Rivals ($1450-1750$): * Spain: Powerful under Charles V and Philip; used the Spanish Inquisition. * Portugal: Dominated coastal Africa and the Spice Islands. * England: Elizabethan Age ($1558-1603$) was a golden age; English Civil War led to Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth and later the Stuart Restoration and Glorious Revolution ($1689$ Bill of Rights). * France: Strong monarchy (Bourbons) and religious conflict with Huguenots; Louis XIV ($1642-1715$) was a self-important ruler who built an empire but faced the War of Spanish Succession. ● Russia ($1450-1750$): * Center at Moscow; leaders like Ivan III and Ivan IV (the Terrible) expanded territory. * Romanov Dynasty ruled from $1613$ to $1917$. * Peter the Great ($1682-1725$) westernized Russia; Catherine the Great ($1762-1796$) promoted education but ignored serfs. ● Gunpowder Empires: * Ottoman Empire: Founded by Osman Bey; conquered Constantinople ($1453$). Used devshirme (enslaved Christian children/Janissaries). Golden Age under Suleiman I ($1520-1566$). * Mughal Empire: Founded by Babur ($1526$). Akbar unified India with religious tolerance. Taj Mahal built under Shah Jahan. Aurangzeb later ended toleration. # Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections and the New World ● Expansion and Exploration: * Leaders: Prince Henry the Navigator (Portugal), Christopher Columbus (Spain). * Treaty of Tordesillas ($1494$): Split colonized land between Spain and Portugal. * Key Explorers: Amerigo Vespucci, Magellan (circumnavigation), John Cabot, Henry Hudson. * Tech: Sternpost rudder ($China$), Lateen sails ($Rome$), Astrolabe, Magnetic compass. ● Conquest of Americas: * Hernando Cortés landed in Mexico ($1519$) and seized Tenochtitlan. * Francisco Pizarro took over the Inca Empire by $1535$. * Disease: Smallpox reduced Aztec population from $20\,million$ ($1520$) to $2\,million$ ($1580$). ● Colonial Social Structure (New Spain): ($1$) Peninsulares, ($2$) Creoles, ($3$) Mestizos, ($4$) Mulattos, ($5$) Native Americans. * Viceroys managed regions; Encomienda system instituted forced labor. ● African Slave Trade: * Middle Passage: Brutal transatlantic transport; approximately $13\,million$ Africans taken ($60\%$ to South America, $35\%$ to Caribbean, $5\%$ to North America); $20\%$ died during transport. ● Commercial Revolution: * Mercantilism: Creating a favorable balance of trade through exports/colonization. * Financial instruments: Joint-stock companies (Muscovy Company, Dutch East India Company) and early stock markets. # Unit 5: Revolutions and the Age of Enlightenment ($1750-1900$) ● Enlightenment Philosophy: * Social Contract: Government exists to meet social/economic needs, not by divine right. * Thinkers: Thomas Hobbes (stability via power), John Locke (natural rights), Rousseau (general will), Adam Smith (laissez-faire/invisible hand), Mary Wollstonecraft (women's rights). ● American Revolution: * Rooted in opposition to British acts (Stamp Act $1765$, Tea Act $1773$) and the Boston Tea Party. * Thomas Paine’s Common Sense led to the Declaration of Independence. ● French Revolution: * Caused by state debt; Third Estate formed the National Assembly ($1789$) and stormed the Bastille. * Declaration of the Rights of Man adopted; Reign of Terror led by Maximilien Robespierre; Napoleon Bonaparte took over in $1799$. ● Industrial Revolution ($19th\,century$): * Started in Britain; moved work from home (domestic system) to factories. * Key inventions: Cotton gin (Eli Whitney), Steam engine (Watt), Telegraph, Telephone, Radio. * Social Impact: Urbanization (London grew to $6\,million$); new classes (industrial aristocrats vs. working class). * Reactionary Marxism: Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto proposed workers take over production. * Reforms: Factory Act of $1883$ limited child labor; labor unions emerged. ● Unification and Nationalism: * Italy: Unified by Cavour and Garibaldi by $1861$. * Germany: Otto von Bismarck unified the German Empire through war. # Unit 6-9: Modern Eras, Global Conflict, and Globalization ● Imperialism in Asia and Africa ($1750-1900$): * India: British East India Company took control; Sepoy Mutiny ($1857$) led to direct crown rule (British Raj). * China: Opium Wars resulted from British trade; Treaty of Nanjing forced China to open trade. * Africa: Scramble for Africa led to the Berlin Conference ($1884$) where European powers divided the continent without regard for tribal boundaries. * Japan: Meiji Restoration transformed Japan into a westernized world power. ● World War I ($1914-1918$): * Sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. * Alliances: Central Powers (Ottoman, Germany, Austria-Hungary) vs. Triple Entente/Allies (Britain, France, Russia, later US). * Ended with the Treaty of Versailles ($1919$), forcing German reparations. ● World War II ($1939-1945$): * Rise of Fascism (Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany); Great Depression weakened trust in democratic governments. * War began with the invasion of Poland; Blitzkrieg tactics. * End of War: Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ($1945$) forced Japanese surrender. ● Cold War ($1945-1991$): * Conflict between US (capitalism) and USSR (communism). * Key events: Berlin Blockade, Truman Doctrine, NATO vs. Warsaw Pact, Cuban Missile Crisis. * End of Cold War: Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms; Berlin Wall falling ($1989$); collapse of the Soviet Union ($1991$). ● Post-Colonial Independence: * India divided into India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim) in $1947$. * South Africa: Nelson Mandela led the fight against Apartheid; elected president in $1994$. * Middle East: Creation of Israel ($1948$) led to ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict; Iranian Revolution ($1979$) created a theocracy. ● Globalization ($20th-21st\,centuries$): * Emergence of international organizations (UN, World Bank, WTO). * Terrorism: $9/11$ attacks by Al Qaeda led to the War on Terror and invasion of Afghanistan. * Technology: Personal computers and the Internet changed global connectivity. * Environment: Challenges include the Green Revolution and global warming due to industrial emissions.