AP Worldipedia - User contributions [en]

Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750

2026-05-16T03:28:08Z

Jhenderson:

::1492 was an important year. You know it, of course, as the year of Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas. However, it was also the year the Kingdom of Spain completed its unification by defeating the last remaining Muslim kingdom of Granada. This “unification” of Iberia created two new kingdoms, Portugal and Spain, both eager to establish their importance and strength among the older kingdoms of Europe. Unaffected by the ravages of Europe's 100 Years War and Spain's civil strife, '''Portugal''' became the first European nation to embark on a program of exploration. King John's son, '''Prince Henry''', was motivated by a crusading zeal to convert heathens to Christianity and an economic zeal to gain access to west Africa's legendary sources of gold. Henry's capture of the Muslim city of Ceuta in 1415 opened the western coast of Africa to Portuguese exploration, and by the year of Henry's death in 1460 his country had arrived in [[File:Ceuta.png|left|frame|The location of Ceuta. Its fall to Prince Henry encouraged the Portuguese exploration of Africa's west coast.]]Guinea on Africa's western coast. Soon African gold was flowing by sea from west Africa directly to Iberia rather than across the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Algiers and Tunis in north Africa were economically devastated by this rerouting of trade. Portugal got rich. <ref>''The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559.'' Rice and Grafton, p. 35.</ref> As contacts with west African societies continued the Portuguese began trading in ivory and slaves as well. 
::After a dispute with his father, Prince Henry returned home to Portugal but avoided the capital of Lisbon where he could have easily gained a comfortable royal job. Instead, he settled in the remove coastal town of Sagres which he turned into a center of navigational studies and cartography. Now called '''Prince Henry the Navigator''', he collected fresh information from newly arrived sailors to produce the most current maps possible. The compass, thought by many Europeans to be driven my occult powers, was disenchanted of superstition and its use expanded and refined. Since initial Portuguese voyages traveled north and south exploring Africa, more precise means of measuring latitude were researched. Borrowing elements of Arabic shipbuilding, Prince Henry and his engineers designed the famous caravel, mentioned above. All the elements needed for global exploration were brought together by Prince Henry at Sagres. Portugal was poised to take the lead, albeit brief, in the exploration and exploitation of the globe. <ref>''The Discoverers.'' Boorstin, pp. 156-164.</ref> 
::Equipped with new maritime instruments and knowledge, the Portuguese accomplished many "firsts" in global exploration. In 1487 '''Bartholomew Diaz''' sailed his caravel around the southern tip of Africa, the first European to do so (his crew refused to press on to India). Then '''Vasco da Gama''' became the first to sail all the way to India in 1498. When he turned to Portugal the following year, the spice cargo in his ship was worth 60 times the cost of his voyage. <ref>''The Scents of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade.'' Charles Corn, (1997),p. xxiv.</ref>Europeans had found the illusive water route to the lucrative Indian Ocean trade network. The Portuguese strategy in the Indian Ocean was to dominate trade through the use of firepower, intimidation, and brutality. In the long run they were never able to completely monopolize this network but did succeed in building a '''trading-post empire''' which gave them a significant share of the spice and slave trade. With over 50 trading posts from southeast Asia to Africa's west coast, they attempted to force merchants to call at these ports and pay duties. They also required merchants to purchase passports from them; sailors caught at sea without one were mutilated and had their cargo confiscated. Despite these grand plans, the Portuguese had neither the manpower nor the fleet to carry out their demands. Many Indian Ocean merchants took their chances and sailed without passports or paying dues at Portuguese trading-posts. And the Spanish, English and Dutch sailors hired by the Portuguese to work their fleet took the knowledge of the seas back to their respective countries who were organizing their own expeditions to Asia. <ref>''Traditions and Encounters.'' Bentley ''et al''., pp. 612-613.</ref> The Portuguese began the explorations but were soon to be strong-armed out of the way by their European neighbors. 
[[File:640px-The Portuguese Empire.png|center|frame|The Portuguese Empire, including the New World (Brazil), West Africa (Angola), and the trading-posts of the Indian Ocean.]] 
::In 1476 a 25[[File:Christopher Columbus.PNG|right|thumb|Christopher Columbus]] year old '''Christopher Columbus''' washed onto the Portuguese shore with a broken oar he had used as a float. The cargo ship he worked on had been sunk by a French fleet near Gibraltar. As fortune would have it, the place where he reached the shore was only a few miles from Sagres, the location of Prince Henry's research center of navigation and cartography. Having grown up in Genoa on the Italian coast, Columbus had long possessed a fascination with sailing. But his time in Portugal, particularly Lisbon, would prove to be the most formative for what he would unwittingly accomplish. 
::The[[File:Christopher Columbus voyages.gif|left|thumb|The routes of Columbus in the Caribbean.]] idea that sailing west would lead one to Asia was not new. What was novel about Columbus was his conviction that the distance between Europe and Asia to the west was not significant. Basing his argument on '''Marco Polo's''' description of the distance across Eurasia and '''Ptolemy's''' longitudinal calculations, Columbus vastly underestimated the distance of a western route to Asia. Nevertheless, he set out enthusiastically to convince the monarchs of Europe he was right in order to obtain funding for his journey. After a series of rejections, '''Ferdinand''' and '''Isabella''' of newly united '''Spain''' decided to pay for Columbus' voyage. In October of 1492 he sighted land in what he believed to be Asia. Columbus would make four voyages across the Atlantic and seems to have died not knowing that he had failed. 
::Columbus did not actually discover anything, nor was he the first European to make this crossing. Nonetheless, his journey is very important historically because he initiated a world-transforming encounter between two hemispheres of this planet. There would be profound cultural, demographic, political and social consequences. 

::When it was realized that Columbus had not succeeded in finding a route to Asia, the quest did not end. '''North Atlantic crossings''' increased as European explorers sought to exploit the wealth of the ''New World'' and continue to find a way across it. The waters off the eastern coast of North America were teeming with fish and some men made fortunes shipping salt-cured cod to Europe and the Caribbean. <ref>http://amhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/1_2.html</ref> Explorers such as '''Champlain''' from France earned huge profits by sending beaver pelts back to Europe. But like many others, Champlain's motivation was not merely conquest or profit for their own sake. The furs were used to fund his ongoing obsession--the discovery of a western route to China. <ref>''Vermeer's Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World'', (2008), Timothy Brook, p. 46.</ref> 

 
:The new global circulation of goods was facilitated by royal chartered European monopoly companies that took silver from Spanish colonies in the Americas to purchase Asian goods for the Atlantic markets, but regional markets continued to flourish in Afro-Eurasia by using established commercial practices and new transoceanic shipping services developed by European merchants.''' 

::According [[File:Kilwa Kisiwani Fort.jpg|right|thumb|The Sultan of Kilwa on the Swahili coast of Africa was expelled by the Portuguese.]]to the long standing conventions of Indian Ocean trade, no single power controlled the entire network and the seas were free and open to any merchant. The Europeans would attempt to change this. Beginning with the Portuguese, Europeans attempted to install a Mediterranean system of trade which used military might to divert trade through trading ports they controlled. There it could be taxed. <ref>''Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean: An Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750'', (1985), K. N. Chaudhuri, p. 64.</ref> They did not really bring any items of their own to trade, or add value to the sum of trade in this region. Instead, they attempted, in a parasitic way, to extract benefits from the host network into which they forced themselves. 
::From the start, superior firepower allowed them to accomplish much. The Portuguese stormed the Swahili city of Kilwa and threw out its Muslim leaders. Commander Alfonso Alboquerque seized Malacca in 1511 (the Dutch would take it from Portugal in 1641). The Portuguese attempted to close the Red Sea to trade to stop this "leak" of trade through their fingers into the Mediterranean via Egypt. Breaking traditional customs of tolerance, the King of Portugal asked the leader of Calicut to expel all Muslims from his kingdom. But Portugal's ambitions were grander than its ability to enforce its demands. Rather than an all-out conquest of the region, they established a trading-post empire (mentioned above) in order to profit from goods as they moved from one area to another. Indeed, by the end of the 1500s they had integrated with the normal political and economic climate of the region. <ref>''Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean'', K. N. Chaudhuri, p. 80.</ref> Other European countries would implement the same strategy. The Dutch, for example, found that working within the existing system could produce for them the highest profits. They made a fortune charging fees to transport items from one Asian area to another. <ref>''World Civilizations'', (2003, 4th ed.), Peter Stearns ''et al''., p. 505.</ref> The European powers were never able to establish genuine and lasting monopolies in the Indian Ocean. This is in stark contrast with their experiences in the New World. 
::We [[File:Ferdinand VII Coin.jpg|right|thumb|A peso de ocho, or piece of eight.]]saw in the previous period (600-1450) that the creation of a common currency in China facilitated trade in that region. Widely accepted currencies speed up transactions and provide standardized way for merchants to measure the value of products. In this period the use of a common currency expanded from regional to global use. The Spanish '''peso de ocho''', or "piece of eight," was the first currency in history to be used globally. 
::This currency was the product of Spain's mining of enormous amounts of silver in the New World. In present day Bolivia and Mexico, they discovered massive deposits of silver, including a mountain full of silver at Potosi. After the purest veins of silver were quickly strip-mined production slowed; then the [[File:Taj Mahal 2012.jpg|left|thumb|The Taj Mahal is a testimony to the wealth of silver.]]Spanish introduced the amalgamation method of using mercury to extract silver from ore. Production soared. In two centuries the silver mines of the Spanish New World produced 40,000 tons of silver. <ref>''Silver, Trade, and War: Spain and America in the Making of Early Modern Europe'', (2000), Stanley J. Stein, Barbara H. Stein, p. 21.</ref> The industrial centers that grew around these mines minted 2.5 million silver coins per year. The peso de ocho, worth about 80 US dollars today, gained acceptance around the world and lubricated global trade on an unprecedented level. Mughal India wanted Spanish silver for payment for its pepper sales, and this surge of silver funded Shah Jahan's construction of the '''Taj Mahal'''. Much of the Spanish silver ended up the hands of the Chinese, who had no desire for European products but readily accepted silver as payment for its coveted exports. The peso do ocho was even accepted currency in the United States until the Coinage Act of 1857. <ref>http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=011/llsl011.db&recNum=184</ref>

Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750

2026-05-16T03:25:47Z

Jhenderson:

The most significant change in global trade between 1450 and 1750 was the rise and involvement of the Europeans. Beginning with Portugal and Spain, European countries would commission the exploration, charting, and colonization of a huge portion of the world. The advancements that enabled them to do this, however, did not originate in a vacuum. Europeans adapted, improved, and synthesized the use of technologies and knowledge that came to them from elsewhere. European technological developments in cartography and navigation built on previous knowledge developed in the classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds. 
::*'''Navigation Technologies''' [[File:Mariner's astrolabe.jpg|right|thumb|A mariner's astrolabe.]]Islamic civilization had long possessed the need for astronomical and geographic knowledge. Muslims schools were expected to pronounce daily prayer times, calculate the exact time of the holy month of Ramadan, and provide the faithful with the direction of Mecca for the purpose of prayer. To address these religious matters they developed the '''astrolabe''' which enabled them to solve "300 types of problems in astronomy, geography, and trigonometry." <ref>''Science and Technology in World History'' (2006, 2nd ed.) James E. McClellan III and Harold Dorn, p.107.</ref> Through Muslim Spain, the astrolabe entered Christian Europe. Borrowing the basic principles of the Islamic astrolabe, the Portuguese created the '''mariner's astrolabe''', an instrument whose functions were limited to and designed specifically for the purpose of navigation. At sea, the mariner's astrolabe helped ships determine their latitude by aligning the instrument with the sun or a known star. Centuries before the birth of Christ, the Chinese discovered the '''compass'''. Using the magnetic properties of lodestone, they initially used their “south pointing needle” to harmonize their environment or for divination. Later Chinese and Arab mariners fine-tuned this instrument for navigation. Europeans were slow to adapt this instrument—they first though it was driven by occultic powers—but soon made improvements that enhanced it as a navigational tool to help them find direction. Once again, Europeans benefited from a technology that they learned from Asian and Islamic regions. 
::*'''Cartography''' The sea voyages of the Europeans in this era could not have taken place without a revolution in the craft of cartography, or map making. European maps in the Middle Ages, called '''T-O maps''' because of their shape, were not intended as tools for navigation. These maps often placed Jerusalem in the center of the world and divided the world into the domains of Noah's three sons. [[File:T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472.jpg|left|thumb|A typical T-O Map dividing the world into the provinces of the sons of Noah from the Bible.]]Hence they were ''qualitative'' maps intended to make a religious statement about the world from a Christian point of view. They declared what was religiously important but were useless in bringing sailors back to port. <ref>''The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559.'' (1994) Eugene F. Rice, Jr. and Anthony Grafton, pp.126-27.</ref> 
::This changed with European contacts with Byzantine and Islamic influences that had been increasing over the previous few centuries. Although writings of the Greek cartographer '''Ptolemy''' (90-168 C.E.) had been making their way into Europe in the previous period, few Europeans read Greek. With the increase of available classical authors and their translation into Latin, a new interest in Ptolemy's work emerged. <ref>''Renaissance Thought and its Sources.'' (1979) Paul Oskar Kristeller, p.121.</ref> Combined with the growing desire for trade, navigation and cartography attracted some of the best academic minds of the 15th century who began to view the world, like Ptolemy, in a ''quantitative'' way.<ref>''The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know his World and Himself.'' (1993) Daniel Boorstin, pp.146-156.</ref> They believed mathematics corresponded with the actual way the world was.<ref>''The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science.'' (1997) John Henry, p.15.</ref> A change in [[File:Caravel Boa Esperanca Portugal.jpg|right|thumb|The Portuguese caravel.]][[File:Galleon-spanish.jpg|right|thumb|The Spanish Galleon.]]mentality meant that the world was now conceived in a mathematical and rational way. Cartography was concerned with making maps that resemble the features of geography as they actually existed rather than making a theological statement about the world. Merchants could now use maps to plot new routes to and from desired locations and their experiences and information was in turn applied to the latest maps. The craft of this new quantitative method of map-making and the training required for the new instruments of navigation were taught in the city of '''Lisbon''', Portugal. 
::*'''Innovations in Ship Design''' Another European advancement based on previous technologies was the '''caravel''', a light, fast, and maneuverable ship first devised by the Portuguese. (Columbus constantly praised his favorite ship, the ''Niña'' which along with the ''Pinta'' seemed to be a caravel.<ref> "The Niña, the Santa Cruz, and Other Caravels as Described in the Livro de armadas and Other Spanish Records." Lyon, E., ''The American Neptune''. (1993) 53.4:239-46</ref>) Lighter, requiring a smaller crew, and able to carry more cargo than the typical oar-driven Mediterranean ships, <ref>''Science and Technology in World History,'' McClellan, p.198.</ref> the caravel adopted the '''lateen sail''' first pioneered by Arab merchants in the India Ocean. This gave these ships the ability to tack into the face of the wind. The caravel was able to carry a large cargo with an inordinately small crew, thus decreasing the cost of shipping and increasing profits. Developing about a century after the caravel was [[File:Henrican navigation routes.gif|left|thumb|Note the indirect route (in red) of the return to Portugal from the western coast of Africa. The westerlies made this the more efficient route.]]the '''Spanish galleon''', a large multi-deck ship with at least three or four masts. The forward sails were large rectangular power sails with the last mast usually carrying a lateen sail. These ships were the primary vessels of the Spanish Treasure Fleet and were capable of carrying an enormous volume of cargo. They carried most of the slaves across the Atlantic via the dreaded '''Middle Passage'''. Europeans were the first to mount firearms on their ships, outfitting their caravels and galleons with broadside canon. Thus armed, these ships gave Europeans the capacity to project unprecedented power. 
::*'''Knowledge of Wind and Sea Currents''' Europeans were also aided by their growing familiarity with the global environment and their adaptation to it. The Portuguese learned that the most efficient maritime route between two points is not always a strait line. This could involve fighting the wind and sea currents. Consequently, they developed a strategy known as the '''volta do mar''', or turn of the sea. Often going far out of their way, the Portuguese and other European sailors learned instead to work with the currents. For example, when Vasco da Gama sought a route to the Indian Ocean around Africa, he sailed nearly to the coast of Brazil before he caught the westerlies that took him around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.<ref>''Traditions and Encounters.'' (2006. 3rd ed.) Jerry Bentley, ''et al''., p.604.</ref> Knowledge of such trade winds allowed sailors to be more efficient by using, rather than going against, the grain of nature.

The Bronze Age

2023-01-26T20:16:18Z

Jhenderson:

=Introduction=
A Bronze Age is a description of a time period in a civilization's development when Bronze was the most advanced metal for tools. Typically, the first enduring tools early man used were made of stone. The Paleolithic and Neolithic eras refer to this level of Technology. As man learned to use metals, his tools got better and more efficient. The time between the use of stone tools and the more complex development of iron is generally a civilization's Bronze Age. (See [[The use of Metals in History]].) Although the Bronze Age occurred at different times in various places, many societies began using Bronze around the third millennium B.C.E.

[[File:bronze6.png|thumb|right|These are bronze tools and weapons from the early age of bronze. Image Source: https://museum.wales/media-dams/778c0eb6-9728-329d-a131-599b2f8f3810/large/]]

=Bronze=
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and is superior to both of them individually. It allowed for the casting of better swords, plows, and other tools. The development of Bronze had a significant effect on human societies.

=The Effects of Bronze=
The most important historical consequence of Bronze is that its use created large surpluses of agriculture that allowed many more people to live in an area. It led to the rise of complex societies, cities, urbanization, and increased the social and gender inequalities that first came with the discovery of agriculture. Additionally, as surpluses and population increased so did the specialization of skills and stratification of society. (See [[Neolithic Revolution]]).

=Bronze Art=
Although bronze was first used for tools and weapons, it soon became popular for works of art and decorative objects. The Shang Dynasty of China was one of the first to use bronze like this and excelled in craftsmanship and bronze technology. (See [[River Valley Civilizations: China]].)

[[File:shangbronze.jpg|thumb|left|The Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.E.) in China is especially noted for its advanced bronze working in both tools and elaborate vases and decorative pieces. Image Source:http://www.sunrise-art.com/Shang/Bronze/#.UB3F6WGR3zg]]

The Bronze Age

2023-01-26T20:13:45Z

Jhenderson:

=Introduction=
A Bronze Age is a description of a time period in a civilization's development when Bronze was the most advanced metal for tools. Typically, the first enduring tools early man used were made of stone. The Paleolithic and Neolithic eras refer to this level of Technology. As man learned to use metals, his tools got better and more efficient. The time between the use of stone tools and the more complex development of iron is generally a civilization's Bronze Age. (See [[The use of Metals in History]].) Although the Bronze Age occurred at different times in various places, many societies began using Bronze around the third millennium B.C.E.

[[File:bronze6.jpg|frame|right|These are bronze tools and weapons from the early age of bronze. Image Source: https://museum.wales/media-dams/778c0eb6-9728-329d-a131-599b2f8f3810/large/]]

=Bronze=
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and is superior to both of them individually. It allowed for the casting of better swords, plows, and other tools. The development of Bronze had a significant effect on human societies.

=The Effects of Bronze=
The most important historical consequence of Bronze is that its use created large surpluses of agriculture that allowed many more people to live in an area. It led to the rise of complex societies, cities, urbanization, and increased the social and gender inequalities that first came with the discovery of agriculture. Additionally, as surpluses and population increased so did the specialization of skills and stratification of society. (See [[Neolithic Revolution]]).

=Bronze Art=
Although bronze was first used for tools and weapons, it soon became popular for works of art and decorative objects. The Shang Dynasty of China was one of the first to use bronze like this and excelled in craftsmanship and bronze technology. (See [[River Valley Civilizations: China]].)

[[File:shangbronze.jpg|thumb|left|The Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.E.) in China is especially noted for its advanced bronze working in both tools and elaborate vases and decorative pieces. Image Source:http://www.sunrise-art.com/Shang/Bronze/#.UB3F6WGR3zg]]

The Bronze Age

2023-01-26T20:12:42Z

Jhenderson:

=Introduction=
A Bronze Age is a description of a time period in a civilization's development when Bronze was the most advanced metal for tools. Typically, the first enduring tools early man used were made of stone. The Paleolithic and Neolithic eras refer to this level of Technology. As man learned to use metals, his tools got better and more efficient. The time between the use of stone tools and the more complex development of iron is generally a civilization's Bronze Age. (See [[The use of Metals in History]].) Although the Bronze Age occurred at different times in various places, many societies began using Bronze around the third millennium B.C.E.

[[File:bronze5.jpg|frame|right|These are bronze tools and weapons from the early age of bronze. Image Source: http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~infoarts/links/artsciencelecture/nancy.slides/paleolithicpict.htm]]

=Bronze=
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and is superior to both of them individually. It allowed for the casting of better swords, plows, and other tools. The development of Bronze had a significant effect on human societies.

=The Effects of Bronze=
The most important historical consequence of Bronze is that its use created large surpluses of agriculture that allowed many more people to live in an area. It led to the rise of complex societies, cities, urbanization, and increased the social and gender inequalities that first came with the discovery of agriculture. Additionally, as surpluses and population increased so did the specialization of skills and stratification of society. (See [[Neolithic Revolution]]).

=Bronze Art=
Although bronze was first used for tools and weapons, it soon became popular for works of art and decorative objects. The Shang Dynasty of China was one of the first to use bronze like this and excelled in craftsmanship and bronze technology. (See [[River Valley Civilizations: China]].)

[[File:shangbronze.jpg|thumb|left|The Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.E.) in China is especially noted for its advanced bronze working in both tools and elaborate vases and decorative pieces. Image Source:http://www.sunrise-art.com/Shang/Bronze/#.UB3F6WGR3zg]]

The Bronze Age

2023-01-26T20:10:51Z

Jhenderson:

=Introduction=
A Bronze Age is a description of a time period in a civilization's development when Bronze was the most advanced metal for tools. Typically, the first enduring tools early man used were made of stone. The Paleolithic and Neolithic eras refer to this level of Technology. As man learned to use metals, his tools got better and more efficient. The time between the use of stone tools and the more complex development of iron is generally a civilization's Bronze Age. (See [[The use of Metals in History]].) Although the Bronze Age occurred at different times in various places, many societies began using Bronze around the third millennium B.C.E.

[[File:[Bronze6.png]|frame|right|These are bronze tools and weapons from the early age of bronze. Image Source: https://museum.wales/media-dams/778c0eb6-9728-329d-a131-599b2f8f3810/large/]]

=Bronze=
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and is superior to both of them individually. It allowed for the casting of better swords, plows, and other tools. The development of Bronze had a significant effect on human societies.

=The Effects of Bronze=
The most important historical consequence of Bronze is that its use created large surpluses of agriculture that allowed many more people to live in an area. It led to the rise of complex societies, cities, urbanization, and increased the social and gender inequalities that first came with the discovery of agriculture. Additionally, as surpluses and population increased so did the specialization of skills and stratification of society. (See [[Neolithic Revolution]]).

=Bronze Art=
Although bronze was first used for tools and weapons, it soon became popular for works of art and decorative objects. The Shang Dynasty of China was one of the first to use bronze like this and excelled in craftsmanship and bronze technology. (See [[River Valley Civilizations: China]].)

[[File:shangbronze.jpg|thumb|left|The Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.E.) in China is especially noted for its advanced bronze working in both tools and elaborate vases and decorative pieces. Image Source:http://www.sunrise-art.com/Shang/Bronze/#.UB3F6WGR3zg]]

File:Bronze6.png

2023-01-26T20:09:39Z

Jhenderson:

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:33:37Z

Jhenderson:

[[File:Silkroutes.jpg|right|thumb|Note the Silk Roads connected every classical civilization. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkroutes.jpg]][[File:Jade_Gate_entrance_from_the_east_lo-res.jpg|thumb|right|The Jade Gate. Trade between China and the central Asian nomads took place at this passage in the Great Wall. Photo Credit: [http://http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill John Hill]]]'''The Silk Roads''' were made up of an indirect chain of separate transactions through which goods crossed the entire land area of Eurasia. Rarely did merchants themselves travel the length of these routes; in fact, few of them knew the complexity and breadth of the Silk Roads. Merchants primarily engaged in local instances of "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations."<ref>''Ways of the World: A Global History,'' (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 219.</ref> Because the Silk Roads crossed land it was much more expensive and dangerous to move goods. Consequently, trade focused on luxury items that would bring a nice profit making the greater risks worthwhile. Particularly important were luxury items with a high value to weight ratio. 

::The volume of trade increased dramatically as the classical empires formed. The Romans, Gupta, and Han were centers of production and huge markets for goods. Moreover, the laws and legal systems of these empires provided security for merchants, encouraging them to take more risks. As always, the primary items of trade were luxury goods, and nomadic people continued to play an important role; their movements sometimes served as important connections between segments of trade, buying in one place and selling in another. Some nomads became settled people and made their living off of trade. Nevertheless, the volume of trade on the Silk Roads was connected to the strength of the classical civilizations during this period and declined when they fell into ruin. 

::The Silk Roads had their origins in Asia as nomadic and settled people exchanged goods. In part, it began because of environmental conditions. The soil in China lacks selenium, a deficiency that contributes to muscular weakness, low fertility, and reduced growth in horses.<ref>''Selenium in the Environment,'' (1994), W.T. Frankenberger (ed.), p. 30.</ref> Consequently, Chinese-raised horses were too frail to support a mounted soldier rendering the Chinese military weak in the face of the powerful cavalries of the steppe nomads. <ref>''City of Heavenly Tranquility: Beijing in the History of China,'' (2008), Jasper Becker, p. 18.</ref> Chinese emperors needed the superior horses that pastoral nomads bred on the steppes, and nomads desired things only agricultural societies could produce, such as '''grain''', '''alcohol''' and '''silk'''. Even after the construction of the Great Wall, nomads gathered at the gates of the wall to exchange items. Soldiers sent to guard the wall were often paid in bolts of silk which they traded with the nomads.<ref>''The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents,'' (2012), Xinru Liu, p. 6.</ref> Silk was so wide spread it eventually became a currency of exchange in Central Asia. 

::In the period 1200 to 1450, the Silk Roads continued to focus on luxury items such as silk and other items whose weight to value ratio was low. In the post-classical age, however, the Silk Roads diffused important technologies such as paper-making and gunpowder. Continuing a phenomenon from the classical age, they would also spread disease; the Black Death would spread from Asia to Western Europe along Silk Road and maritime routes eventually killing about one third of the people there. Despite these continuities, the Silk Road network would be transformed by cultural, technological and political developments. By 600 C.E., the classical empires of China, India and Rome had all crashed. Silk Road trade declined with them. The rise of the Islamic '''Abbasid Caliphate''' would invigorate trade along the Silk Roads once again. Sharia law, which gave protection to merchants, was established across the Dar al-Islam. Indian, Armenian, Christian and Jewish merchants alike took advantage of Muslim legal protection.<ref>''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', (3rd ed., 2011), Robert Tignor, et al., p. 375.</ref> Courts and Islamic jurists called qadis presided over legal and trade disputes. All of this enabled trade by decreasing the risks associated with commerce. A more important boost to Silk Road trade in this era was the rise of the '''Mongol Empire'''. The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the vast Pax Mongolica soon placed the majority of the Silk Roads under one administrative empire. Merchants were more likely to experience safe travel.<ref>''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350'', (1989), Janet L. Abu-Lughod , p. 167,177.</ref> The Mongol code of law, known as the Yassa, imposed strict punishments on those disturbing trade.<ref>''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. '', (2004), Jack Weatherford, p. 67.</ref> The rule of the Mongols in central Asia coincided with the peak of Silk Road trade between 1200 and 1450 C.E.. 

::Silk [[File:Pepper091.jpg|left|thumb|Unripe peppercorns on the vine.]][[File:Caravansarai_Karaj.jpg|left|thumb|A caravanserai in Iran.]][[File:Camel saddle.jpg|left|thumb|A caravan making use of camel saddles. (Source: http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/ErmakovCollection/MyCollection.html)]]was not the only luxury good to travel along the roads bearing its name. Spices comprised an essential element of the trade in luxuries. In fact, the spice '''saffron''' actually had a higher value to weight ratio than silk.<ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 12.</ref> But in the world of spices, '''black pepper''' was king. As early as Roman times, pepper from India had become a household possession of the rich. When the Visgoths threatened Rome in 410 one of the ransom items they demanded was 3000 pounds of pepper from India. <ref>''Premodern Trade in World History'', (2008), Robert L. Smith, p. 92.</ref> With the resurgence of large states and markets, the demand for pepper soared. Pepper helped food taste better, but it was also thought to have medicinal and preservative powers. 

::Innovations in transportation networks also led to increased exchanges in luxury items. '''Caravan routes''' crossing central Asia underwent significant changes during this era that enhanced their performance and efficiency. The terrain between China and the western termini of the Silk Roads is some of the most inhospitable on the planet. Sparse water, extreme temperatures, deserts and rugged mountains made this crossing nearly impossible for individual travelers. Moreover, much of this territory was out of the control of most governments. Banditry was rampant. Thus merchants would only trade in lightweight high-profit luxury items that made the risks of the journey worthwhile. Only in caravans travelling familiar routes could a merchant or traveler hope to survive in this environment. 

::As the caravan routes became standardized, nomadic people settled at frequent stopping points to offer services to merchants. For a fee, usually silk, they served as local guides or provided food, water and rest. This practice led to the development of fortified inns for weary travelers called '''caravanserai''' (from the Persia ''karavan sara,'' which means caravan palace). Some people of the Central Asia steppes made their entire livelihood this way, waiting for the next caravan to stop and get refreshed. With the expansion of luxury goods, caravanserai developed into large thriving centers which owed their very existence to caravan traffic. They also expanded their services. "Travelers would also often exchange their beasts of burden, to either obtain fresh, healthy, and rested animals or trade in one type of animal for another more suitable for the next stage of the journey." <ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 11.</ref> 

{{Infobox
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|above = The Camel
| subheader =

|image = <gallery widths=200px heights=150px perrow=1>
File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg|The Dromedary Camel of Arabia
File:2011_Trampeltier_1528.JPG|The Bactrian Camel of Central Asia
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::Caravanserai, large and small, formed on the Silk Roads at intervals of about 100 miles, the average distance a camel could travel without needing water. <ref>''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World'', (2008), William J. Bernstein, p. 58.</ref> This indicates the important role the camel took on as a beast of burden in the harsh environment of Central Asia. Despite its remarkable adaptation to hot arid climates, the camel was useless for trade without a saddle. The humps on a camel's back are soft and non-supportive; one cannot simply throw packs of goods across its back. The "frame and mattress" saddle, probably developed by Arabs, distributed the weight of the cargo evenly across the camel's back allowing a single camel to carry 500 to 1000 pounds of goods. <ref>''Ibid'', p. 56.</ref> The '''camel saddle''', along with new breeding techniques (see infobox on Animal Husbandry), greatly increased the volume of luxury goods moving across Eurasia. 

::Trade in luxury goods was also facilitated by innovations in forms of '''credit''' and '''economic exchange'''. Between 600 and 1450, China devised a relatively safe method to make large payments across a vast distance. Special documents, called "flying money," allowed merchants to pay for goods or taxes without having to transport coins in bulk. <ref>''History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note'', Sergii Moshenskyi, (2008), p. 50.</ref> From Arabs, the practice spread to Western Europe where Italian merchants advanced this method into '''bills of exchange'''. Merchants used '''bills of exchange''' to purchase imported goods without the hazards of carrying an expensive medium of exchange. The bills, which worked like modern checks, required the existence of two established networks, one of bankers and another of merchants. <ref>''Credit and State Theories of Money: The Contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', (2004) L. Randall Wray, p. 197.</ref> A merchant would place his wealth in the safe keeping of a '''banking house''' which would in turn issue a bill of credit that could be used to purchase goods "imported from outside the local economy. The exporter of the goods would then present the bill for payment to his local representative of the banking network." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Of course, all of this had to take place within a framework of laws and courts to reduce the risks involved in such transactions. 

::Silk [[File:oasis.jpg|left|frame|Oasis towns became stepping stones of cultural dissemination.]]and luxury goods were not the only things that moved across the Silk Roads. Merchants became agents of cultural diffusion. The '''oasis towns''' that connected segments of trade became nodes of cultural exchange, especially Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism spread rapidly, leap-frogging from oasis town to oasis town. The process was facilitated by these towns which often built beautiful Buddhist temples to attract Buddhist merchants abroad. Nestorian Christianity also spread across the Silk Roads into China. Not surprisingly, silk took on a sacred meaning in Buddhist and Christian rituals. Merchants also carried disease. The '''disease epidemics''' that devastated the classical civilizations were spread across large ecological zones via the Silk Roads.

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:32:02Z

Jhenderson:

[[File:Silkroutes.jpg|right|thumb|Note the Silk Roads connected every classical civilization. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkroutes.jpg]][[File:Jade_Gate_entrance_from_the_east_lo-res.jpg|thumb|right|The Jade Gate. Trade between China and the central Asian nomads took place at this passage in the Great Wall. Photo Credit: [http://http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill John Hill]]]'''The Silk Roads''' were made up of an indirect chain of separate transactions through which goods crossed the entire land area of Eurasia. Rarely did merchants themselves travel the length of these routes; in fact, few of them knew the complexity and breadth of the Silk Roads. Merchants primarily engaged in local instances of "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations."<ref>''Ways of the World: A Global History,'' (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 219.</ref> Because the Silk Roads crossed land it was much more expensive and dangerous to move goods. Consequently, trade focused on luxury items that would bring a nice profit making the greater risks worthwhile. Particularly important were luxury items with a high value to weight ratio. 

The volume of trade increased dramatically as the classical empires formed. The Romans, Gupta, and Han were centers of production and huge markets for goods. Moreover, the laws and legal systems of these empires provided security for merchants, encouraging them to take more risks. As always, the primary items of trade were luxury goods, and nomadic people continued to play an important role; their movements sometimes served as important connections between segments of trade, buying in one place and selling in another. Some nomads became settled people and made their living off of trade. Nevertheless, the volume of trade on the Silk Roads was connected to the strength of the classical civilizations during this period and declined when they fell into ruin. 

::The Silk Roads had their origins in Asia as nomadic and settled people exchanged goods. In part, it began because of environmental conditions. The soil in China lacks selenium, a deficiency that contributes to muscular weakness, low fertility, and reduced growth in horses.<ref>''Selenium in the Environment,'' (1994), W.T. Frankenberger (ed.), p. 30.</ref> Consequently, Chinese-raised horses were too frail to support a mounted soldier rendering the Chinese military weak in the face of the powerful cavalries of the steppe nomads. <ref>''City of Heavenly Tranquility: Beijing in the History of China,'' (2008), Jasper Becker, p. 18.</ref> Chinese emperors needed the superior horses that pastoral nomads bred on the steppes, and nomads desired things only agricultural societies could produce, such as '''grain''', '''alcohol''' and '''silk'''. Even after the construction of the Great Wall, nomads gathered at the gates of the wall to exchange items. Soldiers sent to guard the wall were often paid in bolts of silk which they traded with the nomads.<ref>''The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents,'' (2012), Xinru Liu, p. 6.</ref> Silk was so wide spread it eventually became a currency of exchange in Central Asia. 

::In the period 1200 to 1450, the Silk Roads continued to focus on luxury items such as silk and other items whose weight to value ratio was low. In the post-classical age, however, the Silk Roads diffused important technologies such as paper-making and gunpowder. Continuing a phenomenon from the classical age, they would also spread disease; the Black Death would spread from Asia to Western Europe along Silk Road and maritime routes eventually killing about one third of the people there. Despite these continuities, the Silk Road network would be transformed by cultural, technological and political developments. By 600 C.E., the classical empires of China, India and Rome had all crashed. Silk Road trade declined with them. The rise of the Islamic '''Abbasid Caliphate''' would invigorate trade along the Silk Roads once again. Sharia law, which gave protection to merchants, was established across the Dar al-Islam. Indian, Armenian, Christian and Jewish merchants alike took advantage of Muslim legal protection.<ref>''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', (3rd ed., 2011), Robert Tignor, et al., p. 375.</ref> Courts and Islamic jurists called qadis presided over legal and trade disputes. All of this enabled trade by decreasing the risks associated with commerce. A more important boost to Silk Road trade in this era was the rise of the '''Mongol Empire'''. The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the vast Pax Mongolica soon placed the majority of the Silk Roads under one administrative empire. Merchants were more likely to experience safe travel.<ref>''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350'', (1989), Janet L. Abu-Lughod , p. 167,177.</ref> The Mongol code of law, known as the Yassa, imposed strict punishments on those disturbing trade.<ref>''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. '', (2004), Jack Weatherford, p. 67.</ref> The rule of the Mongols in central Asia coincided with the peak of Silk Road trade between 1200 and 1450 C.E.. 

::Silk [[File:Pepper091.jpg|left|thumb|Unripe peppercorns on the vine.]][[File:Caravansarai_Karaj.jpg|left|thumb|A caravanserai in Iran.]][[File:Camel saddle.jpg|left|thumb|A caravan making use of camel saddles. (Source: http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/ErmakovCollection/MyCollection.html)]]was not the only luxury good to travel along the roads bearing its name. Spices comprised an essential element of the trade in luxuries. In fact, the spice '''saffron''' actually had a higher value to weight ratio than silk.<ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 12.</ref> But in the world of spices, '''black pepper''' was king. As early as Roman times, pepper from India had become a household possession of the rich. When the Visgoths threatened Rome in 410 one of the ransom items they demanded was 3000 pounds of pepper from India. <ref>''Premodern Trade in World History'', (2008), Robert L. Smith, p. 92.</ref> With the resurgence of large states and markets, the demand for pepper soared. Pepper helped food taste better, but it was also thought to have medicinal and preservative powers. 

::Innovations in transportation networks also led to increased exchanges in luxury items. '''Caravan routes''' crossing central Asia underwent significant changes during this era that enhanced their performance and efficiency. The terrain between China and the western termini of the Silk Roads is some of the most inhospitable on the planet. Sparse water, extreme temperatures, deserts and rugged mountains made this crossing nearly impossible for individual travelers. Moreover, much of this territory was out of the control of most governments. Banditry was rampant. Thus merchants would only trade in lightweight high-profit luxury items that made the risks of the journey worthwhile. Only in caravans travelling familiar routes could a merchant or traveler hope to survive in this environment. 

::As the caravan routes became standardized, nomadic people settled at frequent stopping points to offer services to merchants. For a fee, usually silk, they served as local guides or provided food, water and rest. This practice led to the development of fortified inns for weary travelers called '''caravanserai''' (from the Persia ''karavan sara,'' which means caravan palace). Some people of the Central Asia steppes made their entire livelihood this way, waiting for the next caravan to stop and get refreshed. With the expansion of luxury goods, caravanserai developed into large thriving centers which owed their very existence to caravan traffic. They also expanded their services. "Travelers would also often exchange their beasts of burden, to either obtain fresh, healthy, and rested animals or trade in one type of animal for another more suitable for the next stage of the journey." <ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 11.</ref> 

{{Infobox
|name =
|bodystyle =
|title = '''Animal Husbandry and Trade'''
|abovestyle = background:#cfc;
|above = The Camel
| subheader =

|image = <gallery widths=200px heights=150px perrow=1>
File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg|The Dromedary Camel of Arabia
File:2011_Trampeltier_1528.JPG|The Bactrian Camel of Central Asia
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|header1 = Nature meets human intervention
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|header2 =
|label2 =
|data2 =
|header3 =
|label3 =
|data3 = The camel, a relative of the llama and alpaca, was domesticated between 2500 and 2000 B.C.E.. In North Africa and Arabia, the Dromedary camel emerged. Asia is the origin of the Bactrian camel. As trade connected Eurasia it was inevitable that these two types of camels would interbreed. The result was a hybrid with more stamina, a longer life, and the ability to carry larger loads of cargo, up to half a ton. However, when these "super camels" bred with each other they produced much smaller and inferior animals. This meant breeders had to keep a population of both purebred Bactrian and Dromedary camels for the purpose of cross breeding them. Thus a complex practice of animal husbandry had to be maintained to meet the needs of increased land trade during this era.
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::Caravanserai, large and small, formed on the Silk Roads at intervals of about 100 miles, the average distance a camel could travel without needing water. <ref>''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World'', (2008), William J. Bernstein, p. 58.</ref> This indicates the important role the camel took on as a beast of burden in the harsh environment of Central Asia. Despite its remarkable adaptation to hot arid climates, the camel was useless for trade without a saddle. The humps on a camel's back are soft and non-supportive; one cannot simply throw packs of goods across its back. The "frame and mattress" saddle, probably developed by Arabs, distributed the weight of the cargo evenly across the camel's back allowing a single camel to carry 500 to 1000 pounds of goods. <ref>''Ibid'', p. 56.</ref> The '''camel saddle''', along with new breeding techniques (see infobox on Animal Husbandry), greatly increased the volume of luxury goods moving across Eurasia. 

::Trade in luxury goods was also facilitated by innovations in forms of '''credit''' and '''economic exchange'''. Between 600 and 1450, China devised a relatively safe method to make large payments across a vast distance. Special documents, called "flying money," allowed merchants to pay for goods or taxes without having to transport coins in bulk. <ref>''History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note'', Sergii Moshenskyi, (2008), p. 50.</ref> From Arabs, the practice spread to Western Europe where Italian merchants advanced this method into '''bills of exchange'''. Merchants used '''bills of exchange''' to purchase imported goods without the hazards of carrying an expensive medium of exchange. The bills, which worked like modern checks, required the existence of two established networks, one of bankers and another of merchants. <ref>''Credit and State Theories of Money: The Contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', (2004) L. Randall Wray, p. 197.</ref> A merchant would place his wealth in the safe keeping of a '''banking house''' which would in turn issue a bill of credit that could be used to purchase goods "imported from outside the local economy. The exporter of the goods would then present the bill for payment to his local representative of the banking network." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Of course, all of this had to take place within a framework of laws and courts to reduce the risks involved in such transactions. 

::Silk [[File:oasis.jpg|left|frame|Oasis towns became stepping stones of cultural dissemination.]]and luxury goods were not the only things that moved across the Silk Roads. Merchants became agents of cultural diffusion. The '''oasis towns''' that connected segments of trade became nodes of cultural exchange, especially Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism spread rapidly, leap-frogging from oasis town to oasis town. The process was facilitated by these towns which often built beautiful Buddhist temples to attract Buddhist merchants abroad. Nestorian Christianity also spread across the Silk Roads into China. Not surprisingly, silk took on a sacred meaning in Buddhist and Christian rituals. Merchants also carried disease. The '''disease epidemics''' that devastated the classical civilizations were spread across large ecological zones via the Silk Roads.

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:29:32Z

Jhenderson:

[[File:Silkroutes.jpg|right|thumb|Note the Silk Roads connected every classical civilization. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkroutes.jpg]][[File:Jade_Gate_entrance_from_the_east_lo-res.jpg|thumb|right|The Jade Gate. Trade between China and the central Asian nomads took place at this passage in the Great Wall. Photo Credit: [http://http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill John Hill]]]'''The Silk Roads''' were made up of an indirect chain of separate transactions through which goods crossed the entire land area of Eurasia. Rarely did merchants themselves travel the length of these routes; in fact, few of them knew the complexity and breadth of the Silk Roads. Merchants primarily engaged in local instances of "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations."<ref>''Ways of the World: A Global History,'' (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 219.</ref> Because the Silk Roads crossed land it was much more expensive and dangerous to move goods. Consequently, trade focused on luxury items that would bring a nice profit making the greater risks worthwhile. Particularly important were luxury items with a high value to weight ratio. 

:The volume of trade increased dramatically as the classical empires formed. The Romans, Gupta, and Han were centers of production and huge markets for goods. Moreover, the laws and legal systems of these empires provided security for merchants, encouraging them to take more risks. As always, the primary items of trade were luxury goods, and nomadic people continued to play an important role; their movements sometimes served as important connections between segments of trade, buying in one place and selling in another. Some nomads became settled people and made their living off of trade. Nevertheless, the volume of trade on the Silk Roads was connected to the strength of the classical civilizations during this period and declined when they fell into ruin. 

::The Silk Roads had their origins in Asia as nomadic and settled people exchanged goods. In part, it began because of environmental conditions. The soil in China lacks selenium, a deficiency that contributes to muscular weakness, low fertility, and reduced growth in horses.<ref>''Selenium in the Environment,'' (1994), W.T. Frankenberger (ed.), p. 30.</ref> Consequently, Chinese-raised horses were too frail to support a mounted soldier rendering the Chinese military weak in the face of the powerful cavalries of the steppe nomads. <ref>''City of Heavenly Tranquility: Beijing in the History of China,'' (2008), Jasper Becker, p. 18.</ref> Chinese emperors needed the superior horses that pastoral nomads bred on the steppes, and nomads desired things only agricultural societies could produce, such as '''grain''', '''alcohol''' and '''silk'''. Even after the construction of the Great Wall, nomads gathered at the gates of the wall to exchange items. Soldiers sent to guard the wall were often paid in bolts of silk which they traded with the nomads.<ref>''The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents,'' (2012), Xinru Liu, p. 6.</ref> Silk was so wide spread it eventually became a currency of exchange in Central Asia. 

::In the period 1200 to 1450, the Silk Roads continued to focus on luxury items such as silk and other items whose weight to value ratio was low. In the post-classical age, however, the Silk Roads diffused important technologies such as paper-making and gunpowder. Continuing a phenomenon from the classical age, they would also spread disease; the Black Death would spread from Asia to Western Europe along Silk Road and maritime routes eventually killing about one third of the people there. Despite these continuities, the Silk Road network would be transformed by cultural, technological and political developments. By 600 C.E., the classical empires of China, India and Rome had all crashed. Silk Road trade declined with them. The rise of the Islamic '''Abbasid Caliphate''' would invigorate trade along the Silk Roads once again. Sharia law, which gave protection to merchants, was established across the Dar al-Islam. Indian, Armenian, Christian and Jewish merchants alike took advantage of Muslim legal protection.<ref>''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', (3rd ed., 2011), Robert Tignor, et al., p. 375.</ref> Courts and Islamic jurists called qadis presided over legal and trade disputes. All of this enabled trade by decreasing the risks associated with commerce. A more important boost to Silk Road trade in this era was the rise of the '''Mongol Empire'''. The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the vast Pax Mongolica soon placed the majority of the Silk Roads under one administrative empire. Merchants were more likely to experience safe travel.<ref>''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350'', (1989), Janet L. Abu-Lughod , p. 167,177.</ref> The Mongol code of law, known as the Yassa, imposed strict punishments on those disturbing trade.<ref>''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. '', (2004), Jack Weatherford, p. 67.</ref> The rule of the Mongols in central Asia coincided with the peak of Silk Road trade between 1200 and 1450 C.E.. 

::Silk [[File:Pepper091.jpg|left|thumb|Unripe peppercorns on the vine.]][[File:Caravansarai_Karaj.jpg|left|thumb|A caravanserai in Iran.]][[File:Camel saddle.jpg|left|thumb|A caravan making use of camel saddles. (Source: http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/ErmakovCollection/MyCollection.html)]]was not the only luxury good to travel along the roads bearing its name. Spices comprised an essential element of the trade in luxuries. In fact, the spice '''saffron''' actually had a higher value to weight ratio than silk.<ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 12.</ref> But in the world of spices, '''black pepper''' was king. As early as Roman times, pepper from India had become a household possession of the rich. When the Visgoths threatened Rome in 410 one of the ransom items they demanded was 3000 pounds of pepper from India. <ref>''Premodern Trade in World History'', (2008), Robert L. Smith, p. 92.</ref> With the resurgence of large states and markets, the demand for pepper soared. Pepper helped food taste better, but it was also thought to have medicinal and preservative powers. 

::Innovations in transportation networks also led to increased exchanges in luxury items. '''Caravan routes''' crossing central Asia underwent significant changes during this era that enhanced their performance and efficiency. The terrain between China and the western termini of the Silk Roads is some of the most inhospitable on the planet. Sparse water, extreme temperatures, deserts and rugged mountains made this crossing nearly impossible for individual travelers. Moreover, much of this territory was out of the control of most governments. Banditry was rampant. Thus merchants would only trade in lightweight high-profit luxury items that made the risks of the journey worthwhile. Only in caravans travelling familiar routes could a merchant or traveler hope to survive in this environment. 

::As the caravan routes became standardized, nomadic people settled at frequent stopping points to offer services to merchants. For a fee, usually silk, they served as local guides or provided food, water and rest. This practice led to the development of fortified inns for weary travelers called '''caravanserai''' (from the Persia ''karavan sara,'' which means caravan palace). Some people of the Central Asia steppes made their entire livelihood this way, waiting for the next caravan to stop and get refreshed. With the expansion of luxury goods, caravanserai developed into large thriving centers which owed their very existence to caravan traffic. They also expanded their services. "Travelers would also often exchange their beasts of burden, to either obtain fresh, healthy, and rested animals or trade in one type of animal for another more suitable for the next stage of the journey." <ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 11.</ref> 

{{Infobox
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|bodystyle =
|title = '''Animal Husbandry and Trade'''
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|above = The Camel
| subheader =

|image = <gallery widths=200px heights=150px perrow=1>
File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg|The Dromedary Camel of Arabia
File:2011_Trampeltier_1528.JPG|The Bactrian Camel of Central Asia
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|data5 =

|belowstyle = background:#ccf;
|below = Source:''A Splendid Exchange, William J. Berstein''
}}

::Caravanserai, large and small, formed on the Silk Roads at intervals of about 100 miles, the average distance a camel could travel without needing water. <ref>''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World'', (2008), William J. Bernstein, p. 58.</ref> This indicates the important role the camel took on as a beast of burden in the harsh environment of Central Asia. Despite its remarkable adaptation to hot arid climates, the camel was useless for trade without a saddle. The humps on a camel's back are soft and non-supportive; one cannot simply throw packs of goods across its back. The "frame and mattress" saddle, probably developed by Arabs, distributed the weight of the cargo evenly across the camel's back allowing a single camel to carry 500 to 1000 pounds of goods. <ref>''Ibid'', p. 56.</ref> The '''camel saddle''', along with new breeding techniques (see infobox on Animal Husbandry), greatly increased the volume of luxury goods moving across Eurasia. 

::Trade in luxury goods was also facilitated by innovations in forms of '''credit''' and '''economic exchange'''. Between 600 and 1450, China devised a relatively safe method to make large payments across a vast distance. Special documents, called "flying money," allowed merchants to pay for goods or taxes without having to transport coins in bulk. <ref>''History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note'', Sergii Moshenskyi, (2008), p. 50.</ref> From Arabs, the practice spread to Western Europe where Italian merchants advanced this method into '''bills of exchange'''. Merchants used '''bills of exchange''' to purchase imported goods without the hazards of carrying an expensive medium of exchange. The bills, which worked like modern checks, required the existence of two established networks, one of bankers and another of merchants. <ref>''Credit and State Theories of Money: The Contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', (2004) L. Randall Wray, p. 197.</ref> A merchant would place his wealth in the safe keeping of a '''banking house''' which would in turn issue a bill of credit that could be used to purchase goods "imported from outside the local economy. The exporter of the goods would then present the bill for payment to his local representative of the banking network." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Of course, all of this had to take place within a framework of laws and courts to reduce the risks involved in such transactions. 

::Silk [[File:oasis.jpg|left|frame|Oasis towns became stepping stones of cultural dissemination.]]and luxury goods were not the only things that moved across the Silk Roads. Merchants became agents of cultural diffusion. The '''oasis towns''' that connected segments of trade became nodes of cultural exchange, especially Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism spread rapidly, leap-frogging from oasis town to oasis town. The process was facilitated by these towns which often built beautiful Buddhist temples to attract Buddhist merchants abroad. Nestorian Christianity also spread across the Silk Roads into China. Not surprisingly, silk took on a sacred meaning in Buddhist and Christian rituals. Merchants also carried disease. The '''disease epidemics''' that devastated the classical civilizations were spread across large ecological zones via the Silk Roads.

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:29:03Z

Jhenderson:

[[File:Silkroutes.jpg|right|thumb|Note the Silk Roads connected every classical civilization. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkroutes.jpg]][[File:Jade_Gate_entrance_from_the_east_lo-res.jpg|thumb|right|The Jade Gate. Trade between China and the central Asian nomads took place at this passage in the Great Wall. Photo Credit: [http://http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill John Hill]]]'''The Silk Roads''' were made up of an indirect chain of separate transactions through which goods crossed the entire land area of Eurasia. Rarely did merchants themselves travel the length of these routes; in fact, few of them knew the complexity and breadth of the Silk Roads. Merchants primarily engaged in local instances of "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations."<ref>''Ways of the World: A Global History,'' (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 219.</ref> Because the Silk Roads crossed land it was much more expensive and dangerous to move goods. Consequently, trade focused on luxury items that would bring a nice profit making the greater risks worthwhile. Particularly important were luxury items with a high value to weight ratio. 

The volume of trade increased dramatically as the classical empires formed. The Romans, Gupta, and Han were centers of production and huge markets for goods. Moreover, the laws and legal systems of these empires provided security for merchants, encouraging them to take more risks. As always, the primary items of trade were luxury goods, and nomadic people continued to play an important role; their movements sometimes served as important connections between segments of trade, buying in one place and selling in another. Some nomads became settled people and made their living off of trade. Nevertheless, the volume of trade on the Silk Roads was connected to the strength of the classical civilizations during this period and declined when they fell into ruin. 

The Silk Roads had their origins in Asia as nomadic and settled people exchanged goods. In part, it began because of environmental conditions. The soil in China lacks selenium, a deficiency that contributes to muscular weakness, low fertility, and reduced growth in horses.<ref>''Selenium in the Environment,'' (1994), W.T. Frankenberger (ed.), p. 30.</ref> Consequently, Chinese-raised horses were too frail to support a mounted soldier rendering the Chinese military weak in the face of the powerful cavalries of the steppe nomads. <ref>''City of Heavenly Tranquility: Beijing in the History of China,'' (2008), Jasper Becker, p. 18.</ref> Chinese emperors needed the superior horses that pastoral nomads bred on the steppes, and nomads desired things only agricultural societies could produce, such as '''grain''', '''alcohol''' and '''silk'''. Even after the construction of the Great Wall, nomads gathered at the gates of the wall to exchange items. Soldiers sent to guard the wall were often paid in bolts of silk which they traded with the nomads.<ref>''The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents,'' (2012), Xinru Liu, p. 6.</ref> Silk was so wide spread it eventually became a currency of exchange in Central Asia. 

In the period 1200 to 1450, the Silk Roads continued to focus on luxury items such as silk and other items whose weight to value ratio was low. In the post-classical age, however, the Silk Roads diffused important technologies such as paper-making and gunpowder. Continuing a phenomenon from the classical age, they would also spread disease; the Black Death would spread from Asia to Western Europe along Silk Road and maritime routes eventually killing about one third of the people there. Despite these continuities, the Silk Road network would be transformed by cultural, technological and political developments. By 600 C.E., the classical empires of China, India and Rome had all crashed. Silk Road trade declined with them. The rise of the Islamic '''Abbasid Caliphate''' would invigorate trade along the Silk Roads once again. Sharia law, which gave protection to merchants, was established across the Dar al-Islam. Indian, Armenian, Christian and Jewish merchants alike took advantage of Muslim legal protection.<ref>''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', (3rd ed., 2011), Robert Tignor, et al., p. 375.</ref> Courts and Islamic jurists called qadis presided over legal and trade disputes. All of this enabled trade by decreasing the risks associated with commerce. A more important boost to Silk Road trade in this era was the rise of the '''Mongol Empire'''. The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the vast Pax Mongolica soon placed the majority of the Silk Roads under one administrative empire. Merchants were more likely to experience safe travel.<ref>''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350'', (1989), Janet L. Abu-Lughod , p. 167,177.</ref> The Mongol code of law, known as the Yassa, imposed strict punishments on those disturbing trade.<ref>''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. '', (2004), Jack Weatherford, p. 67.</ref> The rule of the Mongols in central Asia coincided with the peak of Silk Road trade between 1200 and 1450 C.E.. 

Silk [[File:Pepper091.jpg|left|thumb|Unripe peppercorns on the vine.]][[File:Caravansarai_Karaj.jpg|left|thumb|A caravanserai in Iran.]][[File:Camel saddle.jpg|left|thumb|A caravan making use of camel saddles. (Source: http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/ErmakovCollection/MyCollection.html)]]was not the only luxury good to travel along the roads bearing its name. Spices comprised an essential element of the trade in luxuries. In fact, the spice '''saffron''' actually had a higher value to weight ratio than silk.<ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 12.</ref> But in the world of spices, '''black pepper''' was king. As early as Roman times, pepper from India had become a household possession of the rich. When the Visgoths threatened Rome in 410 one of the ransom items they demanded was 3000 pounds of pepper from India. <ref>''Premodern Trade in World History'', (2008), Robert L. Smith, p. 92.</ref> With the resurgence of large states and markets, the demand for pepper soared. Pepper helped food taste better, but it was also thought to have medicinal and preservative powers. 

Innovations in transportation networks also led to increased exchanges in luxury items. '''Caravan routes''' crossing central Asia underwent significant changes during this era that enhanced their performance and efficiency. The terrain between China and the western termini of the Silk Roads is some of the most inhospitable on the planet. Sparse water, extreme temperatures, deserts and rugged mountains made this crossing nearly impossible for individual travelers. Moreover, much of this territory was out of the control of most governments. Banditry was rampant. Thus merchants would only trade in lightweight high-profit luxury items that made the risks of the journey worthwhile. Only in caravans travelling familiar routes could a merchant or traveler hope to survive in this environment. 

As the caravan routes became standardized, nomadic people settled at frequent stopping points to offer services to merchants. For a fee, usually silk, they served as local guides or provided food, water and rest. This practice led to the development of fortified inns for weary travelers called '''caravanserai''' (from the Persia ''karavan sara,'' which means caravan palace). Some people of the Central Asia steppes made their entire livelihood this way, waiting for the next caravan to stop and get refreshed. With the expansion of luxury goods, caravanserai developed into large thriving centers which owed their very existence to caravan traffic. They also expanded their services. "Travelers would also often exchange their beasts of burden, to either obtain fresh, healthy, and rested animals or trade in one type of animal for another more suitable for the next stage of the journey." <ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 11.</ref> 

{{Infobox
|name =
|bodystyle =
|title = '''Animal Husbandry and Trade'''
|abovestyle = background:#cfc;
|above = The Camel
| subheader =

|image = <gallery widths=200px heights=150px perrow=1>
File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg|The Dromedary Camel of Arabia
File:2011_Trampeltier_1528.JPG|The Bactrian Camel of Central Asia
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|header1 = Nature meets human intervention
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|header3 =
|label3 =
|data3 = The camel, a relative of the llama and alpaca, was domesticated between 2500 and 2000 B.C.E.. In North Africa and Arabia, the Dromedary camel emerged. Asia is the origin of the Bactrian camel. As trade connected Eurasia it was inevitable that these two types of camels would interbreed. The result was a hybrid with more stamina, a longer life, and the ability to carry larger loads of cargo, up to half a ton. However, when these "super camels" bred with each other they produced much smaller and inferior animals. This meant breeders had to keep a population of both purebred Bactrian and Dromedary camels for the purpose of cross breeding them. Thus a complex practice of animal husbandry had to be maintained to meet the needs of increased land trade during this era.
|label4 =
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Caravanserai, large and small, formed on the Silk Roads at intervals of about 100 miles, the average distance a camel could travel without needing water. <ref>''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World'', (2008), William J. Bernstein, p. 58.</ref> This indicates the important role the camel took on as a beast of burden in the harsh environment of Central Asia. Despite its remarkable adaptation to hot arid climates, the camel was useless for trade without a saddle. The humps on a camel's back are soft and non-supportive; one cannot simply throw packs of goods across its back. The "frame and mattress" saddle, probably developed by Arabs, distributed the weight of the cargo evenly across the camel's back allowing a single camel to carry 500 to 1000 pounds of goods. <ref>''Ibid'', p. 56.</ref> The '''camel saddle''', along with new breeding techniques (see infobox on Animal Husbandry), greatly increased the volume of luxury goods moving across Eurasia. 

Trade in luxury goods was also facilitated by innovations in forms of '''credit''' and '''economic exchange'''. Between 600 and 1450, China devised a relatively safe method to make large payments across a vast distance. Special documents, called "flying money," allowed merchants to pay for goods or taxes without having to transport coins in bulk. <ref>''History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note'', Sergii Moshenskyi, (2008), p. 50.</ref> From Arabs, the practice spread to Western Europe where Italian merchants advanced this method into '''bills of exchange'''. Merchants used '''bills of exchange''' to purchase imported goods without the hazards of carrying an expensive medium of exchange. The bills, which worked like modern checks, required the existence of two established networks, one of bankers and another of merchants. <ref>''Credit and State Theories of Money: The Contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', (2004) L. Randall Wray, p. 197.</ref> A merchant would place his wealth in the safe keeping of a '''banking house''' which would in turn issue a bill of credit that could be used to purchase goods "imported from outside the local economy. The exporter of the goods would then present the bill for payment to his local representative of the banking network." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Of course, all of this had to take place within a framework of laws and courts to reduce the risks involved in such transactions. 

Silk [[File:oasis.jpg|left|frame|Oasis towns became stepping stones of cultural dissemination.]]and luxury goods were not the only things that moved across the Silk Roads. Merchants became agents of cultural diffusion. The '''oasis towns''' that connected segments of trade became nodes of cultural exchange, especially Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism spread rapidly, leap-frogging from oasis town to oasis town. The process was facilitated by these towns which often built beautiful Buddhist temples to attract Buddhist merchants abroad. Nestorian Christianity also spread across the Silk Roads into China. Not surprisingly, silk took on a sacred meaning in Buddhist and Christian rituals. Merchants also carried disease. The '''disease epidemics''' that devastated the classical civilizations were spread across large ecological zones via the Silk Roads.

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:27:41Z

Jhenderson:

[[File:Silkroutes.jpg|right|thumb|Note the Silk Roads connected every classical civilization. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkroutes.jpg]][[File:Jade_Gate_entrance_from_the_east_lo-res.jpg|thumb|right|The Jade Gate. Trade between China and the central Asian nomads took place at this passage in the Great Wall. Photo Credit: [http://http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill John Hill]]]'''The Silk Roads''' were made up of an indirect chain of separate transactions through which goods crossed the entire land area of Eurasia. Rarely did merchants themselves travel the length of these routes; in fact, few of them knew the complexity and breadth of the Silk Roads. Merchants primarily engaged in local instances of "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations."<ref>''Ways of the World: A Global History,'' (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 219.</ref> Because the Silk Roads crossed land it was much more expensive and dangerous to move goods. Consequently, trade focused on luxury items that would bring a nice profit making the greater risks worthwhile. Particularly important were luxury items with a high value to weight ratio. 

:The volume of trade increased dramatically as the classical empires formed. The Romans, Gupta, and Han were centers of production and huge markets for goods. Moreover, the laws and legal systems of these empires provided security for merchants, encouraging them to take more risks. As always, the primary items of trade were luxury goods, and nomadic people continued to play an important role; their movements sometimes served as important connections between segments of trade, buying in one place and selling in another. Some nomads became settled people and made their living off of trade. Nevertheless, the volume of trade on the Silk Roads was connected to the strength of the classical civilizations during this period and declined when they fell into ruin. 

::The Silk Roads had their origins in Asia as nomadic and settled people exchanged goods. In part, it began because of environmental conditions. The soil in China lacks selenium, a deficiency that contributes to muscular weakness, low fertility, and reduced growth in horses.<ref>''Selenium in the Environment,'' (1994), W.T. Frankenberger (ed.), p. 30.</ref> Consequently, Chinese-raised horses were too frail to support a mounted soldier rendering the Chinese military weak in the face of the powerful cavalries of the steppe nomads. <ref>''City of Heavenly Tranquility: Beijing in the History of China,'' (2008), Jasper Becker, p. 18.</ref> Chinese emperors needed the superior horses that pastoral nomads bred on the steppes, and nomads desired things only agricultural societies could produce, such as '''grain''', '''alcohol''' and '''silk'''. Even after the construction of the Great Wall, nomads gathered at the gates of the wall to exchange items. Soldiers sent to guard the wall were often paid in bolts of silk which they traded with the nomads.<ref>''The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents,'' (2012), Xinru Liu, p. 6.</ref> Silk was so wide spread it eventually became a currency of exchange in Central Asia. 

::In the period 1200 to 1450, the Silk Roads continued to focus on luxury items such as silk and other items whose weight to value ratio was low. In the post-classical age, however, the Silk Roads diffused important technologies such as paper-making and gunpowder. Continuing a phenomenon from the classical age, they would also spread disease; the Black Death would spread from Asia to Western Europe along Silk Road and maritime routes eventually killing about one third of the people there. Despite these continuities, the Silk Road network would be transformed by cultural, technological and political developments. By 600 C.E., the classical empires of China, India and Rome had all crashed. Silk Road trade declined with them. The rise of the Islamic '''Abbasid Caliphate''' would invigorate trade along the Silk Roads once again. Sharia law, which gave protection to merchants, was established across the Dar al-Islam. Indian, Armenian, Christian and Jewish merchants alike took advantage of Muslim legal protection.<ref>''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', (3rd ed., 2011), Robert Tignor, et al., p. 375.</ref> Courts and Islamic jurists called qadis presided over legal and trade disputes. All of this enabled trade by decreasing the risks associated with commerce. A more important boost to Silk Road trade in this era was the rise of the '''Mongol Empire'''. The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the vast Pax Mongolica soon placed the majority of the Silk Roads under one administrative empire. Merchants were more likely to experience safe travel.<ref>''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350'', (1989), Janet L. Abu-Lughod , p. 167,177.</ref> The Mongol code of law, known as the Yassa, imposed strict punishments on those disturbing trade.<ref>''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. '', (2004), Jack Weatherford, p. 67.</ref> The rule of the Mongols in central Asia coincided with the peak of Silk Road trade between 1200 and 1450 C.E.. 

::Silk [[File:Pepper091.jpg|left|thumb|Unripe peppercorns on the vine.]][[File:Caravansarai_Karaj.jpg|left|thumb|A caravanserai in Iran.]][[File:Camel saddle.jpg|left|thumb|A caravan making use of camel saddles. (Source: http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/ErmakovCollection/MyCollection.html)]]was not the only luxury good to travel along the roads bearing its name. Spices comprised an essential element of the trade in luxuries. In fact, the spice '''saffron''' actually had a higher value to weight ratio than silk.<ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 12.</ref> But in the world of spices, '''black pepper''' was king. As early as Roman times, pepper from India had become a household possession of the rich. When the Visgoths threatened Rome in 410 one of the ransom items they demanded was 3000 pounds of pepper from India. <ref>''Premodern Trade in World History'', (2008), Robert L. Smith, p. 92.</ref> With the resurgence of large states and markets, the demand for pepper soared. Pepper helped food taste better, but it was also thought to have medicinal and preservative powers. 

::Innovations in transportation networks also led to increased exchanges in luxury items. '''Caravan routes''' crossing central Asia underwent significant changes during this era that enhanced their performance and efficiency. The terrain between China and the western termini of the Silk Roads is some of the most inhospitable on the planet. Sparse water, extreme temperatures, deserts and rugged mountains made this crossing nearly impossible for individual travelers. Moreover, much of this territory was out of the control of most governments. Banditry was rampant. Thus merchants would only trade in lightweight high-profit luxury items that made the risks of the journey worthwhile. Only in caravans travelling familiar routes could a merchant or traveler hope to survive in this environment. 

::As the caravan routes became standardized, nomadic people settled at frequent stopping points to offer services to merchants. For a fee, usually silk, they served as local guides or provided food, water and rest. This practice led to the development of fortified inns for weary travelers called '''caravanserai''' (from the Persia ''karavan sara,'' which means caravan palace). Some people of the Central Asia steppes made their entire livelihood this way, waiting for the next caravan to stop and get refreshed. With the expansion of luxury goods, caravanserai developed into large thriving centers which owed their very existence to caravan traffic. They also expanded their services. "Travelers would also often exchange their beasts of burden, to either obtain fresh, healthy, and rested animals or trade in one type of animal for another more suitable for the next stage of the journey." <ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 11.</ref> 

{{Infobox
|name =
|bodystyle =
|title = '''Animal Husbandry and Trade'''
|abovestyle = background:#cfc;
|above = The Camel
| subheader =

|image = <gallery widths=200px heights=150px perrow=1>
File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg|The Dromedary Camel of Arabia
File:2011_Trampeltier_1528.JPG|The Bactrian Camel of Central Asia
</gallery>
|imagestyle =
|caption =
|captionstyle =
|headerstyle = background:#ccf;
|labelstyle = background:#ddf;
|datastyle = left

|header1 = Nature meets human intervention
|label1 =
|data1 =
|header2 =
|label2 =
|data2 =
|header3 =
|label3 =
|data3 = The camel, a relative of the llama and alpaca, was domesticated between 2500 and 2000 B.C.E.. In North Africa and Arabia, the Dromedary camel emerged. Asia is the origin of the Bactrian camel. As trade connected Eurasia it was inevitable that these two types of camels would interbreed. The result was a hybrid with more stamina, a longer life, and the ability to carry larger loads of cargo, up to half a ton. However, when these "super camels" bred with each other they produced much smaller and inferior animals. This meant breeders had to keep a population of both purebred Bactrian and Dromedary camels for the purpose of cross breeding them. Thus a complex practice of animal husbandry had to be maintained to meet the needs of increased land trade during this era.
|label4 =
|data4 =
|header5 =
|label5 =
|data5 =

|belowstyle = background:#ccf;
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}}

::Caravanserai, large and small, formed on the Silk Roads at intervals of about 100 miles, the average distance a camel could travel without needing water. <ref>''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World'', (2008), William J. Bernstein, p. 58.</ref> This indicates the important role the camel took on as a beast of burden in the harsh environment of Central Asia. Despite its remarkable adaptation to hot arid climates, the camel was useless for trade without a saddle. The humps on a camel's back are soft and non-supportive; one cannot simply throw packs of goods across its back. The "frame and mattress" saddle, probably developed by Arabs, distributed the weight of the cargo evenly across the camel's back allowing a single camel to carry 500 to 1000 pounds of goods. <ref>''Ibid'', p. 56.</ref> The '''camel saddle''', along with new breeding techniques (see infobox on Animal Husbandry), greatly increased the volume of luxury goods moving across Eurasia. 

::Trade in luxury goods was also facilitated by innovations in forms of '''credit''' and '''economic exchange'''. Between 600 and 1450, China devised a relatively safe method to make large payments across a vast distance. Special documents, called "flying money," allowed merchants to pay for goods or taxes without having to transport coins in bulk. <ref>''History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note'', Sergii Moshenskyi, (2008), p. 50.</ref> From Arabs, the practice spread to Western Europe where Italian merchants advanced this method into '''bills of exchange'''. Merchants used '''bills of exchange''' to purchase imported goods without the hazards of carrying an expensive medium of exchange. The bills, which worked like modern checks, required the existence of two established networks, one of bankers and another of merchants. <ref>''Credit and State Theories of Money: The Contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', (2004) L. Randall Wray, p. 197.</ref> A merchant would place his wealth in the safe keeping of a '''banking house''' which would in turn issue a bill of credit that could be used to purchase goods "imported from outside the local economy. The exporter of the goods would then present the bill for payment to his local representative of the banking network." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Of course, all of this had to take place within a framework of laws and courts to reduce the risks involved in such transactions. 

::Silk [[File:oasis.jpg|left|frame|Oasis towns became stepping stones of cultural dissemination.]]and luxury goods were not the only things that moved across the Silk Roads. Merchants became agents of cultural diffusion. The '''oasis towns''' that connected segments of trade became nodes of cultural exchange, especially Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism spread rapidly, leap-frogging from oasis town to oasis town. The process was facilitated by these towns which often built beautiful Buddhist temples to attract Buddhist merchants abroad. Nestorian Christianity also spread across the Silk Roads into China. Not surprisingly, silk took on a sacred meaning in Buddhist and Christian rituals. Merchants also carried disease. The '''disease epidemics''' that devastated the classical civilizations were spread across large ecological zones via the Silk Roads.

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:27:03Z

Jhenderson:

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:25:48Z

Jhenderson:

::'''The Silk Roads''' [[File:Silkroutes.jpg|right|thumb|Note the Silk Roads connected every classical civilization. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkroutes.jpg]][[File:Jade_Gate_entrance_from_the_east_lo-res.jpg|thumb|right|The Jade Gate. Trade between China and the central Asian nomads took place at this passage in the Great Wall. Photo Credit: [http://http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill John Hill]]]The Silk Roads were made up of an indirect chain of separate transactions through which goods crossed the entire land area of Eurasia. Rarely did merchants themselves travel the length of these routes; in fact, few of them knew the complexity and breadth of the Silk Roads. Merchants primarily engaged in local instances of "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations."<ref>''Ways of the World: A Global History,'' (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 219.</ref> Because the Silk Roads crossed land it was much more expensive and dangerous to move goods. Consequently, trade focused on luxury items that would bring a nice profit making the greater risks worthwhile. Particularly important were luxury items with a high value to weight ratio. 

::The volume of trade increased dramatically as the classical empires formed. The Romans, Gupta, and Han were centers of production and huge markets for goods. Moreover, the laws and legal systems of these empires provided security for merchants, encouraging them to take more risks. As always, the primary items of trade were luxury goods, and nomadic people continued to play an important role; their movements sometimes served as important connections between segments of trade, buying in one place and selling in another. Some nomads became settled people and made their living off of trade. Nevertheless, the volume of trade on the Silk Roads was connected to the strength of the classical civilizations during this period and declined when they fell into ruin. 

::The Silk Roads had their origins in Asia as nomadic and settled people exchanged goods. In part, it began because of environmental conditions. The soil in China lacks selenium, a deficiency that contributes to muscular weakness, low fertility, and reduced growth in horses.<ref>''Selenium in the Environment,'' (1994), W.T. Frankenberger (ed.), p. 30.</ref> Consequently, Chinese-raised horses were too frail to support a mounted soldier rendering the Chinese military weak in the face of the powerful cavalries of the steppe nomads. <ref>''City of Heavenly Tranquility: Beijing in the History of China,'' (2008), Jasper Becker, p. 18.</ref> Chinese emperors needed the superior horses that pastoral nomads bred on the steppes, and nomads desired things only agricultural societies could produce, such as '''grain''', '''alcohol''' and '''silk'''. Even after the construction of the Great Wall, nomads gathered at the gates of the wall to exchange items. Soldiers sent to guard the wall were often paid in bolts of silk which they traded with the nomads.<ref>''The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents,'' (2012), Xinru Liu, p. 6.</ref> Silk was so wide spread it eventually became a currency of exchange in Central Asia. 

::In the period 1200 to 1450, the Silk Roads continued to focus on luxury items such as silk and other items whose weight to value ratio was low. In the post-classical age, however, the Silk Roads diffused important technologies such as paper-making and gunpowder. Continuing a phenomenon from the classical age, they would also spread disease; the Black Death would spread from Asia to Western Europe along Silk Road and maritime routes eventually killing about one third of the people there. Despite these continuities, the Silk Road network would be transformed by cultural, technological and political developments. By 600 C.E., the classical empires of China, India and Rome had all crashed. Silk Road trade declined with them. The rise of the Islamic '''Abbasid Caliphate''' would invigorate trade along the Silk Roads once again. Sharia law, which gave protection to merchants, was established across the Dar al-Islam. Indian, Armenian, Christian and Jewish merchants alike took advantage of Muslim legal protection.<ref>''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', (3rd ed., 2011), Robert Tignor, et al., p. 375.</ref> Courts and Islamic jurists called qadis presided over legal and trade disputes. All of this enabled trade by decreasing the risks associated with commerce. A more important boost to Silk Road trade in this era was the rise of the '''Mongol Empire'''. The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the vast Pax Mongolica soon placed the majority of the Silk Roads under one administrative empire. Merchants were more likely to experience safe travel.<ref>''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350'', (1989), Janet L. Abu-Lughod , p. 167,177.</ref> The Mongol code of law, known as the Yassa, imposed strict punishments on those disturbing trade.<ref>''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. '', (2004), Jack Weatherford, p. 67.</ref> The rule of the Mongols in central Asia coincided with the peak of Silk Road trade between 1200 and 1450 C.E.. 

::Silk [[File:Pepper091.jpg|left|thumb|Unripe peppercorns on the vine.]][[File:Caravansarai_Karaj.jpg|left|thumb|A caravanserai in Iran.]][[File:Camel saddle.jpg|left|thumb|A caravan making use of camel saddles. (Source: http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/ErmakovCollection/MyCollection.html)]]was not the only luxury good to travel along the roads bearing its name. Spices comprised an essential element of the trade in luxuries. In fact, the spice '''saffron''' actually had a higher value to weight ratio than silk.<ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 12.</ref> But in the world of spices, '''black pepper''' was king. As early as Roman times, pepper from India had become a household possession of the rich. When the Visgoths threatened Rome in 410 one of the ransom items they demanded was 3000 pounds of pepper from India. <ref>''Premodern Trade in World History'', (2008), Robert L. Smith, p. 92.</ref> With the resurgence of large states and markets, the demand for pepper soared. Pepper helped food taste better, but it was also thought to have medicinal and preservative powers. 

::Innovations in transportation networks also led to increased exchanges in luxury items. '''Caravan routes''' crossing central Asia underwent significant changes during this era that enhanced their performance and efficiency. The terrain between China and the western termini of the Silk Roads is some of the most inhospitable on the planet. Sparse water, extreme temperatures, deserts and rugged mountains made this crossing nearly impossible for individual travelers. Moreover, much of this territory was out of the control of most governments. Banditry was rampant. Thus merchants would only trade in lightweight high-profit luxury items that made the risks of the journey worthwhile. Only in caravans travelling familiar routes could a merchant or traveler hope to survive in this environment. 

::As the caravan routes became standardized, nomadic people settled at frequent stopping points to offer services to merchants. For a fee, usually silk, they served as local guides or provided food, water and rest. This practice led to the development of fortified inns for weary travelers called '''caravanserai''' (from the Persia ''karavan sara,'' which means caravan palace). Some people of the Central Asia steppes made their entire livelihood this way, waiting for the next caravan to stop and get refreshed. With the expansion of luxury goods, caravanserai developed into large thriving centers which owed their very existence to caravan traffic. They also expanded their services. "Travelers would also often exchange their beasts of burden, to either obtain fresh, healthy, and rested animals or trade in one type of animal for another more suitable for the next stage of the journey." <ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 11.</ref> 

{{Infobox
|name =
|bodystyle =
|title = '''Animal Husbandry and Trade'''
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|above = The Camel
| subheader =

|image = <gallery widths=200px heights=150px perrow=1>
File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg|The Dromedary Camel of Arabia
File:2011_Trampeltier_1528.JPG|The Bactrian Camel of Central Asia
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|header1 = Nature meets human intervention
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|data2 =
|header3 =
|label3 =
|data3 = The camel, a relative of the llama and alpaca, was domesticated between 2500 and 2000 B.C.E.. In North Africa and Arabia, the Dromedary camel emerged. Asia is the origin of the Bactrian camel. As trade connected Eurasia it was inevitable that these two types of camels would interbreed. The result was a hybrid with more stamina, a longer life, and the ability to carry larger loads of cargo, up to half a ton. However, when these "super camels" bred with each other they produced much smaller and inferior animals. This meant breeders had to keep a population of both purebred Bactrian and Dromedary camels for the purpose of cross breeding them. Thus a complex practice of animal husbandry had to be maintained to meet the needs of increased land trade during this era.
|label4 =
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}}

::Caravanserai, large and small, formed on the Silk Roads at intervals of about 100 miles, the average distance a camel could travel without needing water. <ref>''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World'', (2008), William J. Bernstein, p. 58.</ref> This indicates the important role the camel took on as a beast of burden in the harsh environment of Central Asia. Despite its remarkable adaptation to hot arid climates, the camel was useless for trade without a saddle. The humps on a camel's back are soft and non-supportive; one cannot simply throw packs of goods across its back. The "frame and mattress" saddle, probably developed by Arabs, distributed the weight of the cargo evenly across the camel's back allowing a single camel to carry 500 to 1000 pounds of goods. <ref>''Ibid'', p. 56.</ref> The '''camel saddle''', along with new breeding techniques (see infobox on Animal Husbandry), greatly increased the volume of luxury goods moving across Eurasia. 

::Trade in luxury goods was also facilitated by innovations in forms of '''credit''' and '''economic exchange'''. Between 600 and 1450, China devised a relatively safe method to make large payments across a vast distance. Special documents, called "flying money," allowed merchants to pay for goods or taxes without having to transport coins in bulk. <ref>''History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note'', Sergii Moshenskyi, (2008), p. 50.</ref> From Arabs, the practice spread to Western Europe where Italian merchants advanced this method into '''bills of exchange'''. Merchants used '''bills of exchange''' to purchase imported goods without the hazards of carrying an expensive medium of exchange. The bills, which worked like modern checks, required the existence of two established networks, one of bankers and another of merchants. <ref>''Credit and State Theories of Money: The Contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', (2004) L. Randall Wray, p. 197.</ref> A merchant would place his wealth in the safe keeping of a '''banking house''' which would in turn issue a bill of credit that could be used to purchase goods "imported from outside the local economy. The exporter of the goods would then present the bill for payment to his local representative of the banking network." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Of course, all of this had to take place within a framework of laws and courts to reduce the risks involved in such transactions. 

::Silk [[File:oasis.jpg|left|frame|Oasis towns became stepping stones of cultural dissemination.]]and luxury goods were not the only things that moved across the Silk Roads. Merchants became agents of cultural diffusion. The '''oasis towns''' that connected segments of trade became nodes of cultural exchange, especially Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism spread rapidly, leap-frogging from oasis town to oasis town. The process was facilitated by these towns which often built beautiful Buddhist temples to attract Buddhist merchants abroad. Nestorian Christianity also spread across the Silk Roads into China. Not surprisingly, silk took on a sacred meaning in Buddhist and Christian rituals. Merchants also carried disease. The '''disease epidemics''' that devastated the classical civilizations were spread across large ecological zones via the Silk Roads.

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T13:10:08Z

Jhenderson:

::*'''The Silk Roads''' [[File:Silkroutes.jpg|right|thumb|Note the Silk Roads connected every classical civilization. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silkroutes.jpg]][[File:Jade_Gate_entrance_from_the_east_lo-res.jpg|thumb|right|The Jade Gate. Trade between China and the central Asian nomads took place at this passage in the Great Wall. Photo Credit: [http://http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill John Hill]]]The Silk Roads were made up of an indirect chain of separate transactions through which goods crossed the entire land area of Eurasia. Rarely did merchants themselves travel the length of these routes; in fact, few of them knew the complexity and breadth of the Silk Roads. Merchants primarily engaged in local instances of "relay trade" in which goods changed "hands many times before reaching their final destinations."<ref>''Ways of the World: A Global History,'' (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 219.</ref> Because the Silk Roads crossed land it was much more expensive and dangerous to move goods. Consequently, trade focused on luxury items that would bring a nice profit making the greater risks worthwhile. Particularly important were luxury items with a high value to weight ratio. 

::The volume of trade increased dramatically as the classical empires formed. The Romans, Gupta, and Han were centers of production and huge markets for goods. Moreover, the laws and legal systems of these empires provided security for merchants, encouraging them to take more risks. As always, the primary items of trade were luxury goods, and nomadic people continued to play an important role; their movements sometimes served as important connections between segments of trade, buying in one place and selling in another. Some nomads became settled people and made their living off of trade. Nevertheless, the volume of trade on the Silk Roads was connected to the strength of the classical civilizations during this period and declined when they fell into ruin. 

::The Silk Roads had their origins in Asia as nomadic and settled people exchanged goods. In part, it began because of environmental conditions. The soil in China lacks selenium, a deficiency that contributes to muscular weakness, low fertility, and reduced growth in horses.<ref>''Selenium in the Environment,'' (1994), W.T. Frankenberger (ed.), p. 30.</ref> Consequently, Chinese-raised horses were too frail to support a mounted soldier rendering the Chinese military weak in the face of the powerful cavalries of the steppe nomads. <ref>''City of Heavenly Tranquility: Beijing in the History of China,'' (2008), Jasper Becker, p. 18.</ref> Chinese emperors needed the superior horses that pastoral nomads bred on the steppes, and nomads desired things only agricultural societies could produce, such as '''grain''', '''alcohol''' and '''silk'''. Even after the construction of the Great Wall, nomads gathered at the gates of the wall to exchange items. Soldiers sent to guard the wall were often paid in bolts of silk which they traded with the nomads.<ref>''The Silk Roads: A Brief History with Documents,'' (2012), Xinru Liu, p. 6.</ref> Silk was so wide spread it eventually became a currency of exchange in Central Asia. 

::Silk [[File:oasis.jpg|left|frame|Oasis towns became stepping stones of cultural dissemination.]]and luxury goods were not the only things that moved across the Silk Roads. Merchants became agents of cultural diffusion. The '''oasis towns''' that connected segments of trade became nodes of cultural exchange, especially Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism spread rapidly, leap-frogging from oasis town to oasis town. The process was facilitated by these towns which often built beautiful Buddhist temples to attract Buddhist merchants abroad. Nestorian Christianity also spread across the Silk Roads into China. Not surprisingly, silk took on a sacred meaning in Buddhist and Christian rituals. Merchants also carried disease. The '''disease epidemics''' that devastated the classical civilizations were spread across large ecological zones via the Silk Roads. 

::In the period 1200 to 1450, the Silk Roads continued to focus on luxury items such as silk and other items whose weight to value ratio was low. In the post-classical age, however, the Silk Roads diffused important technologies such as paper-making and gunpowder. Continuing a phenomenon from the classical age, they would also spread disease; the Black Death would spread from Asia to Western Europe along Silk Road and maritime routes eventually killing about one third of the people there. Despite these continuities, the Silk Road network would be transformed by cultural, technological and political developments. By 600 C.E., the classical empires of China, India and Rome had all crashed. Silk Road trade declined with them. The rise of the Islamic '''Abbasid Caliphate''' would invigorate trade along the Silk Roads once again. Sharia law, which gave protection to merchants, was established across the Dar al-Islam. Indian, Armenian, Christian and Jewish merchants alike took advantage of Muslim legal protection.<ref>''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', (3rd ed., 2011), Robert Tignor, et al., p. 375.</ref> Courts and Islamic jurists called qadis presided over legal and trade disputes. All of this enabled trade by decreasing the risks associated with commerce. A more important boost to Silk Road trade in this era was the rise of the '''Mongol Empire'''. The Mongols defeated the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and the vast Pax Mongolica soon placed the majority of the Silk Roads under one administrative empire. Merchants were more likely to experience safe travel.<ref>''Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350'', (1989), Janet L. Abu-Lughod , p. 167,177.</ref> The Mongol code of law, known as the Yassa, imposed strict punishments on those disturbing trade.<ref>''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. '', (2004), Jack Weatherford, p. 67.</ref> The rule of the Mongols in central Asia coincided with the peak of Silk Road trade between 1200 and 1450 C.E.. 

::Silk [[File:Pepper091.jpg|left|thumb|Unripe peppercorns on the vine.]][[File:Caravansarai_Karaj.jpg|left|thumb|A caravanserai in Iran.]][[File:Camel saddle.jpg|left|thumb|A caravan making use of camel saddles. (Source: http://rolfgross.dreamhosters.com/ErmakovCollection/MyCollection.html)]]was not the only luxury good to travel along the roads bearing its name. Spices comprised an essential element of the trade in luxuries. In fact, the spice '''saffron''' actually had a higher value to weight ratio than silk.<ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 12.</ref> But in the world of spices, '''black pepper''' was king. As early as Roman times, pepper from India had become a household possession of the rich. When the Visgoths threatened Rome in 410 one of the ransom items they demanded was 3000 pounds of pepper from India. <ref>''Premodern Trade in World History'', (2008), Robert L. Smith, p. 92.</ref> With the resurgence of large states and markets, the demand for pepper soared. Pepper helped food taste better, but it was also thought to have medicinal and preservative powers. 

::Innovations in transportation networks also led to increased exchanges in luxury items. '''Caravan routes''' crossing central Asia underwent significant changes during this era that enhanced their performance and efficiency. The terrain between China and the western termini of the Silk Roads is some of the most inhospitable on the planet. Sparse water, extreme temperatures, deserts and rugged mountains made this crossing nearly impossible for individual travelers. Moreover, much of this territory was out of the control of most governments. Banditry was rampant. Thus merchants would only trade in lightweight high-profit luxury items that made the risks of the journey worthwhile. Only in caravans travelling familiar routes could a merchant or traveler hope to survive in this environment. 

::As the caravan routes became standardized, nomadic people settled at frequent stopping points to offer services to merchants. For a fee, usually silk, they served as local guides or provided food, water and rest. This practice led to the development of fortified inns for weary travelers called '''caravanserai''' (from the Persia ''karavan sara,'' which means caravan palace). Some people of the Central Asia steppes made their entire livelihood this way, waiting for the next caravan to stop and get refreshed. With the expansion of luxury goods, caravanserai developed into large thriving centers which owed their very existence to caravan traffic. They also expanded their services. "Travelers would also often exchange their beasts of burden, to either obtain fresh, healthy, and rested animals or trade in one type of animal for another more suitable for the next stage of the journey." <ref>''Religions of the Silk Roads: Premodern Patterns of Globalization'', (2010), Richard Foltz, p. 11.</ref> 

{{Infobox
|name =
|bodystyle =
|title = '''Animal Husbandry and Trade'''
|abovestyle = background:#cfc;
|above = The Camel
| subheader =

|image = <gallery widths=200px heights=150px perrow=1>
File:07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg|The Dromedary Camel of Arabia
File:2011_Trampeltier_1528.JPG|The Bactrian Camel of Central Asia
</gallery>
|imagestyle =
|caption =
|captionstyle =
|headerstyle = background:#ccf;
|labelstyle = background:#ddf;
|datastyle = left

|header1 = Nature meets human intervention
|label1 =
|data1 =
|header2 =
|label2 =
|data2 =
|header3 =
|label3 =
|data3 = The camel, a relative of the llama and alpaca, was domesticated between 2500 and 2000 B.C.E.. In North Africa and Arabia, the Dromedary camel emerged. Asia is the origin of the Bactrian camel. As trade connected Eurasia it was inevitable that these two types of camels would interbreed. The result was a hybrid with more stamina, a longer life, and the ability to carry larger loads of cargo, up to half a ton. However, when these "super camels" bred with each other they produced much smaller and inferior animals. This meant breeders had to keep a population of both purebred Bactrian and Dromedary camels for the purpose of cross breeding them. Thus a complex practice of animal husbandry had to be maintained to meet the needs of increased land trade during this era.
|label4 =
|data4 =
|header5 =
|label5 =
|data5 =

|belowstyle = background:#ccf;
|below = Source:''A Splendid Exchange, William J. Berstein''
}}

::Caravanserai, large and small, formed on the Silk Roads at intervals of about 100 miles, the average distance a camel could travel without needing water. <ref>''A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World'', (2008), William J. Bernstein, p. 58.</ref> This indicates the important role the camel took on as a beast of burden in the harsh environment of Central Asia. Despite its remarkable adaptation to hot arid climates, the camel was useless for trade without a saddle. The humps on a camel's back are soft and non-supportive; one cannot simply throw packs of goods across its back. The "frame and mattress" saddle, probably developed by Arabs, distributed the weight of the cargo evenly across the camel's back allowing a single camel to carry 500 to 1000 pounds of goods. <ref>''Ibid'', p. 56.</ref> The '''camel saddle''', along with new breeding techniques (see infobox on Animal Husbandry), greatly increased the volume of luxury goods moving across Eurasia. 

::Trade in luxury goods was also facilitated by innovations in forms of '''credit''' and '''economic exchange'''. Between 600 and 1450, China devised a relatively safe method to make large payments across a vast distance. Special documents, called "flying money," allowed merchants to pay for goods or taxes without having to transport coins in bulk. <ref>''History of the Weksel: Bill of Exchange and Promissory Note'', Sergii Moshenskyi, (2008), p. 50.</ref> From Arabs, the practice spread to Western Europe where Italian merchants advanced this method into '''bills of exchange'''. Merchants used '''bills of exchange''' to purchase imported goods without the hazards of carrying an expensive medium of exchange. The bills, which worked like modern checks, required the existence of two established networks, one of bankers and another of merchants. <ref>''Credit and State Theories of Money: The Contributions of A. Mitchell Innes'', (2004) L. Randall Wray, p. 197.</ref> A merchant would place his wealth in the safe keeping of a '''banking house''' which would in turn issue a bill of credit that could be used to purchase goods "imported from outside the local economy. The exporter of the goods would then present the bill for payment to his local representative of the banking network." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Of course, all of this had to take place within a framework of laws and courts to reduce the risks involved in such transactions.

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T12:52:02Z

Jhenderson:

Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads

2021-09-02T12:49:12Z

Jhenderson:

Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450

2021-09-02T01:46:02Z

Jhenderson:

=Historical Development: Empires, including China's Song Dynasty, practiced continuities, innovations, and diversity in their methods of state building=
[[File:China_-_Song_Dynasty-en.svg|left|thumb]]The success of China’s Song Dynasty was a result of its selective borrowing from China’s imperial past and establishing these continuities with their own innovations. Perhaps the most important political continuity of the Song had its beginning in the aftermath of one of the most chaotic times in China’s history, the tumultuous Period of the Warring States (475–221 BC). 

The Period of Warring States ended when the warrior Qin Shi Huang centralized power and destroyed regional opposition. Although it lasted only 14 years, the Qin Dynasty set in place many important aspects of Chinese civilization. 

[[File:bureaucracy.jpg|frame|right|A bureaucracy is an hierarchical chain of authority that allows a central leader to project power across a large area divided into many administrative regions.]]One of the most important things the Qin did was create a bureaucracy. Bureaucrats are employees of the state whose position in society, unlike nobles or aristocrats, does not rest on an independent source of wealth. Members of the bureaucracy only had positions and power as granted by the emperor. Generally speaking, the bureaucrat's high status and wealth is based on his obedience to his superior. Land owning aristocrats, on the other hand, have large estates and personal fortunes to fall back on; they have a vested interest in influencing the government in their personal favor. Aristocrats also tend to make decisions based on what is best for their location, thus becoming a decentralizing force. By assigning bureaucrats to regions, the Qin bypassed the powerful aristocracy and governed through those whose position depended on loyal obedience to the state. Additionally, the practice of Legalism reinforced the bonds of obligation between bureaucrat and superior. In this manner, the bureaucracy became a tool of centralization for China and placed the entire empire under the leadership of the Qin emperor. 

As soon as the emperor died, the people revolted and slaughtered many of the remaining Qin officials. Unlike previous eras, Chinese civilization did not regress into chaos for long. The Han dynasty came to power and ruled China for about 400 years, roughly 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. The ability of the Han to maintain a strong central government over such a vast area was greatly facilitated by the Qin reforms under Legalism. 

Under the leadership of emperor Han Wudi, the Han Dynasty was responsible for some very important innovations that would have a lasting effect on China: the official adoption of Confucianism and the rise of the civil service examinations. 

The Han adopted Confucianism because it was the most organized educational network from which they could draw people for the bureaucracy. To make certain new recruits were educated well, they began testing them through a rigorous system of civil service examinations; to be in the Han bureaucracy, one had to demonstrate a mastery of Confucian ideas on these tests. One effect of this was that the Han bureaucracy was filled with people profoundly influenced by Confucian thought. They were taught to model good behavior for those under them and to respect and submit to those in authority over them. Thus Confucianism not only became deeply embedded in Chinese culture, it also came to re-enforce the political bureaucracy by advocating obedience and benevolent rule. A synthesis was forged between China's political structure and a belief system.

Another innovation of the Tang Dynasty was its policy of establishing '''tributary states'''. Although earlier Chinese dynasties collected tribute, the practice became more complex and standardized under the Tang. The Chinese tributary system was based on their belief that Chinese civilization was superior to others, but barbarian and non-Chinese people could have access to Chinese ways providing they ceremonially recognized the supremacy of China and paid tribute to the emperor. <ref>''The Ways of the World: A Global History.'', (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 249.</ref> Thus China could "radiate" its superior civilization to barbarian people around it. In reality, the tributary system was a means for China to control conquered lands that often proved difficult to rule. Chinese dynasties had long tried to project their control over the Korean peninsula; indeed, its long costly war with Korea did much to discredit the Sui Dynasty, the Tang's predecessor. The Tang Dynasty gave its support the the Silla family of Korea to ensure their rule over the entire Korean peninsula, but it cost the Silla their independence. The price China demanded for helping the Silla was that they become a tributary state of the Tang emperor. Each year representatives from Korea traveled to the Chinese capital to purchase their rule with payments of tribute. They returned with Chinese customs, fads, Buddhist writings, clothing fashions, and literature. Through this tributary relationship much Chinese influence made its way into Korea.<ref>''Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Vol 1.'' (2012) Patricia Buckley Ebrey, p. 108.</ref> 
::In summary, the recovery of Chinese civilization in the post classical era was made possible by building on classical traditions, such as the Confucian civil service bureaucracy, and fusing them with new administrative practices such as the equal field system and the creation of tributary states. 

=Historical Development: China's Cultural Traditions had a Huge Impact on neighboring States=
Sinification (or, to Sinicize) means the assimilation or spread of Chinese culture. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese civilization became so dynamic and powerful that it influenced, or sinicized, several prominent areas around it. It is important to note not only what aspects of Chinese civilization were absorbed in these areas, but also what the limitations of Sinification were in each location.

'''Korea'''

Korea’s oldest known kingdom was conquered by emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in about 100 B.C.E. beginning the first wave of Sinification. Although the conquest would be short lived, Chinese influence remained. Interestingly, Buddhism became the cultural bridge linking China to Korea, especially as Korean leaders, anticipating Empress Wu, gave state sponsorship to Buddhism. Chinese writing was introduced, despite the difficulties in adapting Chinese characters to the spoken Korean language. One Korean emperor established universities to teach the Confucian classics to Korean youth. Additionally, the Koreans tried to emulate the Chinese style of bureaucracy but they failed to overcome the power of the aristocracy; the land owning nobles were able to thwart the implementation of a bureaucracy they knew would minimize their own power and influence.

[[File:Seokguram_Buddha.JPG|thumb|left]] During the restoration of Chinese civilization, the Sui dynasty attempted unsuccessfully to reconquer Korea. (Their failed campaign in Korea had much to do with their downfall.) Soon afterward the more powerful Tang Dynasty was able to conquer Korea but they found ruling it a much more difficult affair. Their authority in Korea was challenged by constant revolts. Finally the Tang emperor struck a deal with the Silla kingdom of Korea. They agreed to remove all military forces from Korea if the Silla would become vassals of the Tang dynasty and make regular tribute payments. Even with the Chinese as their overlords, the Koreans learned that this relation with China was very much to their benefit. Emissaries traveling to China with tribute payments returned with gains of greater value borrowed directly from the Chinese court.

Impressed by the organization and economic success of Tang China, Korean leaders sought to emulate Chinese culture in their homeland. Indeed, during this tributary relationship with China an open flow of culture was opened from China to Korea and Sinification in Korea would reach its peak. Korean scholars traveled to China to consult with Confucian scholars; they returned with the latest Chinese books and learning. Chinese innovations, fashions, styles and etiquette made their way into Korea. The elite classes of Koreans became schooled in Confucianism. In fact, besides Buddhism—which became popular among the Korean masses—cultural Sinification occurred primarily among the aristocratic classes. Despite these influences, however, the Koreans never established a functioning bureaucracy and, consequently, aristocratic families retained their hold over politics and society. Thus the Koreans were never able to curb, like the Chinese, the power and influence of the nobles over the government.

'''Vietnam'''

Despite its proximity to China, Vietnam has had a distinct social and cultural heritage which instilled within them an independent spirit. As the Han emperors were consolidating their power, the Viets did not wish to have their traditions obliterated by their powerful neighbors to the north. Nevertheless, the Han dynasty conquered Vietnam and pulled them into their bureaucratic structure. Some Sinification occurred despite the tense relations between the two.

During the Tang dynasty the Chinese armies that marched into Vietnam were met with fierce resistance. However, they were soon victorious and set out to assimilate the Viets into Chinese culture. One benefit the Tang derived from their conquest was a quicker ripening form of rice. Once they had adopted this from Vietnam this type of rice became an important feature of the Tangs agricultural and demographic boom.

In contrast to the Koreans, the Viets did not enthusiastically cooperate with their Chinese overlords and scorned many aspects of Chinese civilization. However, they did selectively adopt from the Chinese what they thought could strengthen them. They found the Chinese system of military organization to be very beneficial. The application of Chinese irrigation technology drastically increased agriculture in Vietnam. The population increased.

In spite of these gains, the Viets resisted total Sinification. Of course, mountains and other geographical barriers made it more difficult for the Chinese to maintain a tight control over Vietnam. But the people themselves became the greatest barrier to Sinification. They resented the distain Chinese bureaucrats had for their traditions. Moreover, the peasants never adopted Chinese culture (except for Buddhism) and were quick to rouse against local Chinese rulers. Perhaps the most visible incongruency between Vietnamese culture and Sinification was Confucian patriarchy. Women in Vietnam had higher positions in society relative to many other civilizations and were allowed to freely engage in trade and other independent activities. Thus they chafed at foreign Confucian teachings which would confine them to their homes and total submission to their husbands. This aversion to patriarchy is one reason the Viets were attracted to Buddhism more than any other belief system coming in from China. At any rate, women played a prominent role in revolting against the Chinese on several occasions.

When the Tang dynasty fell into decline, the Viets mounted a massive revolt and won their independence from China. Future Chinese dynasties, as well as the Mongols, would attempt to conquer the Viets, but to no avail. Vietnam would retain its independence until the 19th century when the French incorporated it, at Indo-China, into its colonial empire.

Despite inability of China to hold on to Vietnam, there was a permanent exchange of culture and technology between the two areas. China borrowed the fast ripening rice from the Viets. In return, Buddhism became an enduring and powerful feature of the religious landscape of Vietnam. The irrigation and agricultural practices the Viets borrowed from the Chinese were a benefit as well. And the military technology and practices they learned from the Chinese helped the Viets drive south and extend their control over their adversaries beneath them (into present day Cambodia).

'''Japan'''

[[File:Kamakura_Budda_Daibutsu_front_1885.jpg|right|thumb]]Of these three areas Japan was unique in that it consciously and intentionally chose to emulate Chinese civilization. Japan was never conquered by the Chinese, but the success of China under the Tang dynasties motivated Japanese emperors to important elements of Chinese civilization for their own gain.

In 646 C.E. the Japanese government embarked upon the Taika reforms, an attempt to reconstruct the Japanese imperial government upon Chinese models. Japanese scholars struggled to master Chinese script and Confucian classics. The Japanese also sought to create a professional bureaucracy with an army made up of peasant soldiers loyal ultimately to the emperor. They introduced the equal-field system of agriculture. Court etiquette mimicked that of the Tang capital. At the popular level, the lower classes converted the Buddhism and combined Mahayana deities with those of their native nature spirits. Chinese influence in Japan was never as profound as it was during the Nara era.

As a result of Sinification Buddhism became so popular that aristocrats feared the power of Buddhists over the government. Their fears were justified when they uncovered a plot by Buddhists to take over the imperial government. A Buddhist had worked his way into he inner social circle of the Emperor’s wife, planned to marry her, depose her husband, and assume control of Japan. Shocked by this foiled plot, the Emperor decided to uproot the Japanese capital at Nara, a haven of Buddhist temples and power, and move it to Heian 28 miles away. The Taika reforms were abandoned and Japan’s great aristocratic families were returned to power in the various provinces.

During the Heian era Japanese courtly life reached a pinnacle of aristocratic and social sophistication. The details of this life are captured in Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji, considered by many to be the first novel in the world. In Genji’s world every day was a pursuit of romantic affairs and artistic entertainments; the drama of social life was attended by elaborate ceremonies and social conventions, each with their proper attire and etiquette. Aristocratic conversation consisted in reciting Japanese verse pertinent to the occasion. According to the novel, one’s social class could be determined by the color of one’s robe, manners, even with the timbre of one’s sneeze. Regardless of one’s place in the complex hierarchy of aristocratic levels, all abhorred the dress, manners and pastimes of the common people. Louis XIV’s court at Versailles would have nothing against the aristocratic refinements and ceremonies of Heian China.

While imperial elites were obsessing about social decorum and romantic intrigue, aristocratic families were busy wrestling control from the imperial bureaucracy. In fact, until the 16th century the emperor and his family would merely be a facade of social pageantry while real power fell in the hands of powerful aristocratic families. The best known of these was the Fujiwara family. By using their wealth and influence over the imperial family (one Fujiwara father saw four of his daughters married to emperors) they basically ruled Japan through their influence at the capital city of Heian. As these families increased their power—often allied with local Buddhism monasteries—they began to deny the resources of their regions to the emperor. With the decrease of imperial control, banditry and crime increased and people began to look to the local families for support rather than the emperor. Powerful families carved out regional kingdoms and political power fragmented in Japan. The Japanese, seeing the Chinese Tang model was no longer relevant to them, abandoned the civil service examinations, the bureaucracy, and the equal field system.

Constant warring between these powerful families led to the establishing of the Shogun, a military dictator who ruled from the imperial capital through the use of local warrior leaders called bushi. By the 15th century, rival claims to the Shogunate let to full scale civil war in Japan. In the fighting, the imperial capital of Heian (Kyoto) was destroyed and the Shogunate was dismantled. Central authority in Japan had now completely fallen and feudalism became the order of the day. Nearly 300 feudal kingdoms emerged protected by samurai loyal to local warlords now called daimyos. Under these leaders, the samurai code of honor (bushido) was increasingly disregarded; warriors turned to sneak attacks, betrayals and less honorable forms of war. 

In summary, Japan was the only area around China to intentionally implement aspects of Chinese civilization. Chinese script, bureaucracy, equal field system were all purposely borrowed. Buddhism made its way into Japan as well. The concept of a centralized imperial government, although weakened during this period, would re-emerge later in Japanese history.

=Historical Development: China's Song Dynasty Continued to be Highly Commercialized=
 

During this period (600-1450 C.E.) interregional trade in '''luxury goods''' began to recover from its decline after the fall of Eurasian classical civilizations. Indeed, the exchange of luxury goods in the post-classical period surpassed that of the Roman/Han era. Luxury goods have important symbolic meanings in societies. As markers of status, they testify to expenditures arising out of surpluses far beyond necessity. <ref>''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History,'' vol. 2, ed. Joel Mokyr, p. 401.</ref> Manufactured primarily for external markets, luxury goods bear an association with all things exotic and foreign." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Most have rather mundane uses: silver plates and porcelain vases, silk clothing, and spices to enhance food. In these domestic settings luxury goods are "perceived as expressions of taste and civility." 

The significant increase in luxury trade was the result of several factors. The creation of Mongol Khanates and the Islamic Caliphates along with the reconstitution of the powerful centralized state in China were certainly major factors. [[File:Song_Dynasty_Porcelain.jpg|left|thumb|Chinese porcelain of the Song Dynasty.]] (The contributions of state formation to the revival in trade is explained in [[Key_Concept_3.2_Continuity_and_Innovation_of_State_Forms_and_Their_Interactions|Key Concept 3.2]].) In most areas, improved techniques of production, innovations in transportation, and new commercial practices impacted the surge in luxury goods during this period. 

During China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) the government standardized the production of '''porcelain''' which led to higher quality work and increased quantities. The later Song Dynasty directly benefitted from this. <ref>http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/porcelain-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279-dynasties.</ref> They perfected glazing techniques and mastered the process of regulating, with precise accuracy, the extremely high kiln temperatures necessary for the production of superior porcelain. <ref>''China: A New Cultural History'', (2013), Zhuoyun Xu.</ref> Production spread from northern China to the south as high quality kaolin clay was discovered there. Japan and Korea would copy Chinese silk production techniques, but no one could match the quality of Chinese porcelain in this period. 

One of the most coveted luxury goods in this period was '''silk'''. Although its methods would be duplicated and it would lose its exclusive monopoly of production, China's silk remained the standard of quality throughout this era. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the state directly oversaw the production of silk and attempted to keep it a state secret. Tang emperors employed silk in the service of the state. They forbade the finest silk from being worn by anyone except the scholar bureaucrats in their administration. The color and pattern of the silk denoted rank and distinguished the bureaucrats from local aristocrats whose influence the government wanted to curb. Only the emperor and his family could wear yellow (for the Byzantines the royal color was purple.) <ref>''The Silk Roads: A History with Documents'', (2012), Xinru Liu, pp. 23-24.</ref> The quantity of silk produced in China, as well as in the Byzantine Empire and other states in Asia, increased tremendously. On the Silk Roads the precious fabric took on symbolic importance, especially in Buddhist monasteries whose interiors were draped with multi-colored silk tapestries donated by patrons. Silk became a ''de facto'' currency connecting otherwise disparate civilizations. Below are the basic steps of Chinese silk production: 

<center>'''The Steps in Chinese Silk Production'''</center> 

<gallery mode="packed" widths=150px heights=150px perrow=5>
File:silk1.jpg|<div align="left">One Chinese secret to fine silk was the diet of the silk worms. The silk strands were much stronger if the worms were fed a diet of mulberry leaves. It also allowed for lighter colored silk that could be dyed many colors. </div>
File:Silk2.jpg|<div align="left">"Nests" specifically created for the worms to create their cocoons. The life cycle of a silk worm is one year, and the Chinese found that cocoons harvested in the Spring were of higher quality. </div>
File:silk3.jpg|<div align="left">Another Chinese practice was to steam the cocoon. This killed the pupa inside and gently loosened the silk strands so it would unravel easily and produce superior silk. Half of the cocoons were steamed for silk and the other half was allowed to hatch to produce worms for the following year. </div>
File:silk4.jpg|<div align="left">Because the pupa was killed before it could begin to hatch from the cocoon, Chinese silk was stronger and easier to load into a loom. A single cocoon could have up to one mile of silk but several stands were combined to make each thread. </div>
File:silk5.jpg|<div align="left">The finished product could be sold as raw silk textiles or dyed into beautiful material or garments. Silk was a luxury item that was in high demand for those who could afford it. </div>
</gallery>

Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450

2021-09-02T01:44:25Z

Jhenderson:

=Historical Development: Empires, including China's Song Dynasty, practiced continuities, innovations, and diversity in their methods of state building=
[[File:China_-_Song_Dynasty-en.svg|left|thumb]]The success of China’s Song Dynasty was a result of its selective borrowing from China’s imperial past and establishing these continuities with their own innovations. Perhaps the most important political continuity of the Song had its beginning in the aftermath of one of the most chaotic times in China’s history, the tumultuous Period of the Warring States (475–221 BC). 

The Period of Warring States ended when the warrior Qin Shi Huang centralized power and destroyed regional opposition. Although it lasted only 14 years, the Qin Dynasty set in place many important aspects of Chinese civilization. 

[[File:bureaucracy.jpg|frame|right|A bureaucracy is an hierarchical chain of authority that allows a central leader to project power across a large area divided into many administrative regions.]]One of the most important things the Qin did was create a bureaucracy. Bureaucrats are employees of the state whose position in society, unlike nobles or aristocrats, does not rest on an independent source of wealth. Members of the bureaucracy only had positions and power as granted by the emperor. Generally speaking, the bureaucrat's high status and wealth is based on his obedience to his superior. Land owning aristocrats, on the other hand, have large estates and personal fortunes to fall back on; they have a vested interest in influencing the government in their personal favor. Aristocrats also tend to make decisions based on what is best for their location, thus becoming a decentralizing force. By assigning bureaucrats to regions, the Qin bypassed the powerful aristocracy and governed through those whose position depended on loyal obedience to the state. Additionally, the practice of Legalism reinforced the bonds of obligation between bureaucrat and superior. In this manner, the bureaucracy became a tool of centralization for China and placed the entire empire under the leadership of the Qin emperor. 

As soon as the emperor died, the people revolted and slaughtered many of the remaining Qin officials. Unlike previous eras, Chinese civilization did not regress into chaos for long. The Han dynasty came to power and ruled China for about 400 years, roughly 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. The ability of the Han to maintain a strong central government over such a vast area was greatly facilitated by the Qin reforms under Legalism. 

Under the leadership of emperor Han Wudi, the Han Dynasty was responsible for some very important innovations that would have a lasting effect on China: the official adoption of Confucianism and the rise of the civil service examinations. 

The Han adopted Confucianism because it was the most organized educational network from which they could draw people for the bureaucracy. To make certain new recruits were educated well, they began testing them through a rigorous system of civil service examinations; to be in the Han bureaucracy, one had to demonstrate a mastery of Confucian ideas on these tests. One effect of this was that the Han bureaucracy was filled with people profoundly influenced by Confucian thought. They were taught to model good behavior for those under them and to respect and submit to those in authority over them. Thus Confucianism not only became deeply embedded in Chinese culture, it also came to re-enforce the political bureaucracy by advocating obedience and benevolent rule. A synthesis was forged between China's political structure and a belief system.

Another innovation of the Tang Dynasty was its policy of establishing '''tributary states'''. Although earlier Chinese dynasties collected tribute, the practice became more complex and standardized under the Tang. The Chinese tributary system was based on their belief that Chinese civilization was superior to others, but barbarian and non-Chinese people could have access to Chinese ways providing they ceremonially recognized the supremacy of China and paid tribute to the emperor. <ref>''The Ways of the World: A Global History.'', (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 249.</ref> Thus China could "radiate" its superior civilization to barbarian people around it. In reality, the tributary system was a means for China to control conquered lands that often proved difficult to rule. Chinese dynasties had long tried to project their control over the Korean peninsula; indeed, its long costly war with Korea did much to discredit the Sui Dynasty, the Tang's predecessor. The Tang Dynasty gave its support the the Silla family of Korea to ensure their rule over the entire Korean peninsula, but it cost the Silla their independence. The price China demanded for helping the Silla was that they become a tributary state of the Tang emperor. Each year representatives from Korea traveled to the Chinese capital to purchase their rule with payments of tribute. They returned with Chinese customs, fads, Buddhist writings, clothing fashions, and literature. Through this tributary relationship much Chinese influence made its way into Korea.<ref>''Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Vol 1.'' (2012) Patricia Buckley Ebrey, p. 108.</ref> 
::In summary, the recovery of Chinese civilization in the post classical era was made possible by building on classical traditions, such as the Confucian civil service bureaucracy, and fusing them with new administrative practices such as the equal field system and the creation of tributary states. 

=Historical Development: China's Cultural Traditions had a Huge Impact on neighboring States=
Sinification (or, to Sinicize) means the assimilation or spread of Chinese culture. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese civilization became so dynamic and powerful that it influenced, or sinicized, several prominent areas around it. It is important to note not only what aspects of Chinese civilization were absorbed in these areas, but also what the limitations of Sinification were in each location.

'''Korea'''

Korea’s oldest known kingdom was conquered by emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in about 100 B.C.E. beginning the first wave of Sinification. Although the conquest would be short lived, Chinese influence remained. Interestingly, Buddhism became the cultural bridge linking China to Korea, especially as Korean leaders, anticipating Empress Wu, gave state sponsorship to Buddhism. Chinese writing was introduced, despite the difficulties in adapting Chinese characters to the spoken Korean language. One Korean emperor established universities to teach the Confucian classics to Korean youth. Additionally, the Koreans tried to emulate the Chinese style of bureaucracy but they failed to overcome the power of the aristocracy; the land owning nobles were able to thwart the implementation of a bureaucracy they knew would minimize their own power and influence.

[[File:Seokguram_Buddha.JPG|thumb|left]] During the restoration of Chinese civilization, the Sui dynasty attempted unsuccessfully to reconquer Korea. (Their failed campaign in Korea had much to do with their downfall.) Soon afterward the more powerful Tang Dynasty was able to conquer Korea but they found ruling it a much more difficult affair. Their authority in Korea was challenged by constant revolts. Finally the Tang emperor struck a deal with the Silla kingdom of Korea. They agreed to remove all military forces from Korea if the Silla would become vassals of the Tang dynasty and make regular tribute payments. Even with the Chinese as their overlords, the Koreans learned that this relation with China was very much to their benefit. Emissaries traveling to China with tribute payments returned with gains of greater value borrowed directly from the Chinese court.

Impressed by the organization and economic success of Tang China, Korean leaders sought to emulate Chinese culture in their homeland. Indeed, during this tributary relationship with China an open flow of culture was opened from China to Korea and Sinification in Korea would reach its peak. Korean scholars traveled to China to consult with Confucian scholars; they returned with the latest Chinese books and learning. Chinese innovations, fashions, styles and etiquette made their way into Korea. The elite classes of Koreans became schooled in Confucianism. In fact, besides Buddhism—which became popular among the Korean masses—cultural Sinification occurred primarily among the aristocratic classes. Despite these influences, however, the Koreans never established a functioning bureaucracy and, consequently, aristocratic families retained their hold over politics and society. Thus the Koreans were never able to curb, like the Chinese, the power and influence of the nobles over the government.

'''Vietnam'''

Despite its proximity to China, Vietnam has had a distinct social and cultural heritage which instilled within them an independent spirit. As the Han emperors were consolidating their power, the Viets did not wish to have their traditions obliterated by their powerful neighbors to the north. Nevertheless, the Han dynasty conquered Vietnam and pulled them into their bureaucratic structure. Some Sinification occurred despite the tense relations between the two.

During the Tang dynasty the Chinese armies that marched into Vietnam were met with fierce resistance. However, they were soon victorious and set out to assimilate the Viets into Chinese culture. One benefit the Tang derived from their conquest was a quicker ripening form of rice. Once they had adopted this from Vietnam this type of rice became an important feature of the Tangs agricultural and demographic boom.

In contrast to the Koreans, the Viets did not enthusiastically cooperate with their Chinese overlords and scorned many aspects of Chinese civilization. However, they did selectively adopt from the Chinese what they thought could strengthen them. They found the Chinese system of military organization to be very beneficial. The application of Chinese irrigation technology drastically increased agriculture in Vietnam. The population increased.

In spite of these gains, the Viets resisted total Sinification. Of course, mountains and other geographical barriers made it more difficult for the Chinese to maintain a tight control over Vietnam. But the people themselves became the greatest barrier to Sinification. They resented the distain Chinese bureaucrats had for their traditions. Moreover, the peasants never adopted Chinese culture (except for Buddhism) and were quick to rouse against local Chinese rulers. Perhaps the most visible incongruency between Vietnamese culture and Sinification was Confucian patriarchy. Women in Vietnam had higher positions in society relative to many other civilizations and were allowed to freely engage in trade and other independent activities. Thus they chafed at foreign Confucian teachings which would confine them to their homes and total submission to their husbands. This aversion to patriarchy is one reason the Viets were attracted to Buddhism more than any other belief system coming in from China. At any rate, women played a prominent role in revolting against the Chinese on several occasions.

When the Tang dynasty fell into decline, the Viets mounted a massive revolt and won their independence from China. Future Chinese dynasties, as well as the Mongols, would attempt to conquer the Viets, but to no avail. Vietnam would retain its independence until the 19th century when the French incorporated it, at Indo-China, into its colonial empire.

Despite inability of China to hold on to Vietnam, there was a permanent exchange of culture and technology between the two areas. China borrowed the fast ripening rice from the Viets. In return, Buddhism became an enduring and powerful feature of the religious landscape of Vietnam. The irrigation and agricultural practices the Viets borrowed from the Chinese were a benefit as well. And the military technology and practices they learned from the Chinese helped the Viets drive south and extend their control over their adversaries beneath them (into present day Cambodia).

'''Japan'''

[[File:Kamakura_Budda_Daibutsu_front_1885.jpg|right|thumb]]Of these three areas Japan was unique in that it consciously and intentionally chose to emulate Chinese civilization. Japan was never conquered by the Chinese, but the success of China under the Tang dynasties motivated Japanese emperors to important elements of Chinese civilization for their own gain.

In 646 C.E. the Japanese government embarked upon the Taika reforms, an attempt to reconstruct the Japanese imperial government upon Chinese models. Japanese scholars struggled to master Chinese script and Confucian classics. The Japanese also sought to create a professional bureaucracy with an army made up of peasant soldiers loyal ultimately to the emperor. They introduced the equal-field system of agriculture. Court etiquette mimicked that of the Tang capital. At the popular level, the lower classes converted the Buddhism and combined Mahayana deities with those of their native nature spirits. Chinese influence in Japan was never as profound as it was during the Nara era.

As a result of Sinification Buddhism became so popular that aristocrats feared the power of Buddhists over the government. Their fears were justified when they uncovered a plot by Buddhists to take over the imperial government. A Buddhist had worked his way into he inner social circle of the Emperor’s wife, planned to marry her, depose her husband, and assume control of Japan. Shocked by this foiled plot, the Emperor decided to uproot the Japanese capital at Nara, a haven of Buddhist temples and power, and move it to Heian 28 miles away. The Taika reforms were abandoned and Japan’s great aristocratic families were returned to power in the various provinces.

During the Heian era Japanese courtly life reached a pinnacle of aristocratic and social sophistication. The details of this life are captured in Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji, considered by many to be the first novel in the world. In Genji’s world every day was a pursuit of romantic affairs and artistic entertainments; the drama of social life was attended by elaborate ceremonies and social conventions, each with their proper attire and etiquette. Aristocratic conversation consisted in reciting Japanese verse pertinent to the occasion. According to the novel, one’s social class could be determined by the color of one’s robe, manners, even with the timbre of one’s sneeze. Regardless of one’s place in the complex hierarchy of aristocratic levels, all abhorred the dress, manners and pastimes of the common people. Louis XIV’s court at Versailles would have nothing against the aristocratic refinements and ceremonies of Heian China.

While imperial elites were obsessing about social decorum and romantic intrigue, aristocratic families were busy wrestling control from the imperial bureaucracy. In fact, until the 16th century the emperor and his family would merely be a facade of social pageantry while real power fell in the hands of powerful aristocratic families. The best known of these was the Fujiwara family. By using their wealth and influence over the imperial family (one Fujiwara father saw four of his daughters married to emperors) they basically ruled Japan through their influence at the capital city of Heian. As these families increased their power—often allied with local Buddhism monasteries—they began to deny the resources of their regions to the emperor. With the decrease of imperial control, banditry and crime increased and people began to look to the local families for support rather than the emperor. Powerful families carved out regional kingdoms and political power fragmented in Japan. The Japanese, seeing the Chinese Tang model was no longer relevant to them, abandoned the civil service examinations, the bureaucracy, and the equal field system.

Constant warring between these powerful families led to the establishing of the Shogun, a military dictator who ruled from the imperial capital through the use of local warrior leaders called bushi. By the 15th century, rival claims to the Shogunate let to full scale civil war in Japan. In the fighting, the imperial capital of Heian (Kyoto) was destroyed and the Shogunate was dismantled. Central authority in Japan had now completely fallen and feudalism became the order of the day. Nearly 300 feudal kingdoms emerged protected by samurai loyal to local warlords now called daimyos. Under these leaders, the samurai code of honor (bushido) was increasingly disregarded; warriors turned to sneak attacks, betrayals and less honorable forms of war.

In summary, Japan was the only area around China to intentionally implement aspects of Chinese civilization. Chinese script, bureaucracy, equal field system were all purposely borrowed. Buddhism made its way into Japan as well. The concept of a centralized imperial government, although weakened during this period, would re-emerge later in Japanese history.

=Historical Development: China's Song Dynasty Continued to be Highly Commercialized=
 

During this period (600-1450 C.E.) interregional trade in '''luxury goods''' began to recover from its decline after the fall of Eurasian classical civilizations. Indeed, the exchange of luxury goods in the post-classical period surpassed that of the Roman/Han era. Luxury goods have important symbolic meanings in societies. As markers of status, they testify to expenditures arising out of surpluses far beyond necessity. <ref>''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History,'' vol. 2, ed. Joel Mokyr, p. 401.</ref> Manufactured primarily for external markets, luxury goods bear an association with all things exotic and foreign." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Most have rather mundane uses: silver plates and porcelain vases, silk clothing, and spices to enhance food. In these domestic settings luxury goods are "perceived as expressions of taste and civility." 

The significant increase in luxury trade was the result of several factors. The creation of Mongol Khanates and the Islamic Caliphates along with the reconstitution of the powerful centralized state in China were certainly major factors. [[File:Song_Dynasty_Porcelain.jpg|left|thumb|Chinese porcelain of the Song Dynasty.]] (The contributions of state formation to the revival in trade is explained in [[Key_Concept_3.2_Continuity_and_Innovation_of_State_Forms_and_Their_Interactions|Key Concept 3.2]].) In most areas, improved techniques of production, innovations in transportation, and new commercial practices impacted the surge in luxury goods during this period. 

During China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) the government standardized the production of '''porcelain''' which led to higher quality work and increased quantities. The later Song Dynasty directly benefitted from this. <ref>http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/porcelain-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279-dynasties.</ref> They perfected glazing techniques and mastered the process of regulating, with precise accuracy, the extremely high kiln temperatures necessary for the production of superior porcelain. <ref>''China: A New Cultural History'', (2013), Zhuoyun Xu.</ref> Production spread from northern China to the south as high quality kaolin clay was discovered there. Japan and Korea would copy Chinese silk production techniques, but no one could match the quality of Chinese porcelain in this period. 

One of the most coveted luxury goods in this period was '''silk'''. Although its methods would be duplicated and it would lose its exclusive monopoly of production, China's silk remained the standard of quality throughout this era. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the state directly oversaw the production of silk and attempted to keep it a state secret. Tang emperors employed silk in the service of the state. They forbade the finest silk from being worn by anyone except the scholar bureaucrats in their administration. The color and pattern of the silk denoted rank and distinguished the bureaucrats from local aristocrats whose influence the government wanted to curb. Only the emperor and his family could wear yellow (for the Byzantines the royal color was purple.) <ref>''The Silk Roads: A History with Documents'', (2012), Xinru Liu, pp. 23-24.</ref> The quantity of silk produced in China, as well as in the Byzantine Empire and other states in Asia, increased tremendously. On the Silk Roads the precious fabric took on symbolic importance, especially in Buddhist monasteries whose interiors were draped with multi-colored silk tapestries donated by patrons. Silk became a ''de facto'' currency connecting otherwise disparate civilizations. Below are the basic steps of Chinese silk production: 

<center>'''The Steps in Chinese Silk Production'''</center> 

<gallery mode="packed" widths=150px heights=150px perrow=5>
File:silk1.jpg|<div align="left">One Chinese secret to fine silk was the diet of the silk worms. The silk strands were much stronger if the worms were fed a diet of mulberry leaves. It also allowed for lighter colored silk that could be dyed many colors. </div>
File:Silk2.jpg|<div align="left">"Nests" specifically created for the worms to create their cocoons. The life cycle of a silk worm is one year, and the Chinese found that cocoons harvested in the Spring were of higher quality. </div>
File:silk3.jpg|<div align="left">Another Chinese practice was to steam the cocoon. This killed the pupa inside and gently loosened the silk strands so it would unravel easily and produce superior silk. Half of the cocoons were steamed for silk and the other half was allowed to hatch to produce worms for the following year. </div>
File:silk4.jpg|<div align="left">Because the pupa was killed before it could begin to hatch from the cocoon, Chinese silk was stronger and easier to load into a loom. A single cocoon could have up to one mile of silk but several stands were combined to make each thread. </div>
File:silk5.jpg|<div align="left">The finished product could be sold as raw silk textiles or dyed into beautiful material or garments. Silk was a luxury item that was in high demand for those who could afford it. </div>
</gallery>

Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450

2021-09-02T01:43:01Z

Jhenderson:

=Historical Development: Empires, including China's Song Dynasty, practiced continuities, innovations, and diversity in their methods of state building=
[[File:China_-_Song_Dynasty-en.svg|left|thumb]]The success of China’s Song Dynasty was a result of its selective borrowing from China’s imperial past and establishing these continuities with their own innovations. Perhaps the most important political continuity of the Song had its beginning in the aftermath of one of the most chaotic times in China’s history, the tumultuous Period of the Warring States (475–221 BC). 

The Period of Warring States ended when the warrior Qin Shi Huang centralized power and destroyed regional opposition. Although it lasted only 14 years, the Qin Dynasty set in place many important aspects of Chinese civilization. 

[[File:bureaucracy.jpg|frame|right|A bureaucracy is an hierarchical chain of authority that allows a central leader to project power across a large area divided into many administrative regions.]]One of the most important things the Qin did was create a bureaucracy. Bureaucrats are employees of the state whose position in society, unlike nobles or aristocrats, does not rest on an independent source of wealth. Members of the bureaucracy only had positions and power as granted by the emperor. Generally speaking, the bureaucrat's high status and wealth is based on his obedience to his superior. Land owning aristocrats, on the other hand, have large estates and personal fortunes to fall back on; they have a vested interest in influencing the government in their personal favor. Aristocrats also tend to make decisions based on what is best for their location, thus becoming a decentralizing force. By assigning bureaucrats to regions, the Qin bypassed the powerful aristocracy and governed through those whose position depended on loyal obedience to the state. Additionally, the practice of Legalism reinforced the bonds of obligation between bureaucrat and superior. In this manner, the bureaucracy became a tool of centralization for China and placed the entire empire under the leadership of the Qin emperor. 

As soon as the emperor died, the people revolted and slaughtered many of the remaining Qin officials. Unlike previous eras, Chinese civilization did not regress into chaos for long. The Han dynasty came to power and ruled China for about 400 years, roughly 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. The ability of the Han to maintain a strong central government over such a vast area was greatly facilitated by the Qin reforms under Legalism. 

Under the leadership of emperor Han Wudi, the Han Dynasty was responsible for some very important innovations that would have a lasting effect on China: the official adoption of Confucianism and the rise of the civil service examinations. 

The Han adopted Confucianism because it was the most organized educational network from which they could draw people for the bureaucracy. To make certain new recruits were educated well, they began testing them through a rigorous system of civil service examinations; to be in the Han bureaucracy, one had to demonstrate a mastery of Confucian ideas on these tests. One effect of this was that the Han bureaucracy was filled with people profoundly influenced by Confucian thought. They were taught to model good behavior for those under them and to respect and submit to those in authority over them. Thus Confucianism not only became deeply embedded in Chinese culture, it also came to re-enforce the political bureaucracy by advocating obedience and benevolent rule. A synthesis was forged between China's political structure and a belief system.

Another continuity of China in this era was its policy of establishing '''tributary states'''. Although earlier Chinese dynasties collected tribute, the practice became more complex and standardized under the Tang and Song. The Chinese tributary system was based on their belief that Chinese civilization was superior to others, but barbarian and non-Chinese people could have access to Chinese ways providing they ceremonially recognized the supremacy of China and paid tribute to the emperor. <ref>''The Ways of the World: A Global History.'', (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 249.</ref> Thus China could "radiate" its superior civilization to barbarian people around it. In reality, the tributary system was a means for China to control conquered lands that often proved difficult to rule. Chinese dynasties had long tried to project their control over the Korean peninsula; indeed, its long costly war with Korea did much to discredit the Sui Dynasty, the Tang's predecessor. The Tang Dynasty gave its support the the Silla family of Korea to ensure their rule over the entire Korean peninsula, but it cost the Silla their independence. The price China demanded for helping the Silla was that they become a tributary state of the Tang emperor. Each year representatives from Korea traveled to the Chinese capital to purchase their rule with payments of tribute. They returned with Chinese customs, fads, Buddhist writings, clothing fashions, and literature. Through this tributary relationship much Chinese influence made its way into Korea.<ref>''Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Vol 1.'' (2012) Patricia Buckley Ebrey, p. 108.</ref> 
::In summary, the recovery of Chinese civilization in the post classical era was made possible by building on classical traditions, such as the Confucian civil service bureaucracy, and fusing them with new administrative practices such as the equal field system and the creation of tributary states. 

=Historical Development: China's Cultural Traditions had a Huge Impact on neighboring States=
Sinification (or, to Sinicize) means the assimilation or spread of Chinese culture. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese civilization became so dynamic and powerful that it influenced, or sinicized, several prominent areas around it. It is important to note not only what aspects of Chinese civilization were absorbed in these areas, but also what the limitations of Sinification were in each location.

'''Korea'''

Korea’s oldest known kingdom was conquered by emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in about 100 B.C.E. beginning the first wave of Sinification. Although the conquest would be short lived, Chinese influence remained. Interestingly, Buddhism became the cultural bridge linking China to Korea, especially as Korean leaders, anticipating Empress Wu, gave state sponsorship to Buddhism. Chinese writing was introduced, despite the difficulties in adapting Chinese characters to the spoken Korean language. One Korean emperor established universities to teach the Confucian classics to Korean youth. Additionally, the Koreans tried to emulate the Chinese style of bureaucracy but they failed to overcome the power of the aristocracy; the land owning nobles were able to thwart the implementation of a bureaucracy they knew would minimize their own power and influence.

[[File:Seokguram_Buddha.JPG|thumb|left]] During the restoration of Chinese civilization, the Sui dynasty attempted unsuccessfully to reconquer Korea. (Their failed campaign in Korea had much to do with their downfall.) Soon afterward the more powerful Tang Dynasty was able to conquer Korea but they found ruling it a much more difficult affair. Their authority in Korea was challenged by constant revolts. Finally the Tang emperor struck a deal with the Silla kingdom of Korea. They agreed to remove all military forces from Korea if the Silla would become vassals of the Tang dynasty and make regular tribute payments. Even with the Chinese as their overlords, the Koreans learned that this relation with China was very much to their benefit. Emissaries traveling to China with tribute payments returned with gains of greater value borrowed directly from the Chinese court.

Impressed by the organization and economic success of Tang China, Korean leaders sought to emulate Chinese culture in their homeland. Indeed, during this tributary relationship with China an open flow of culture was opened from China to Korea and Sinification in Korea would reach its peak. Korean scholars traveled to China to consult with Confucian scholars; they returned with the latest Chinese books and learning. Chinese innovations, fashions, styles and etiquette made their way into Korea. The elite classes of Koreans became schooled in Confucianism. In fact, besides Buddhism—which became popular among the Korean masses—cultural Sinification occurred primarily among the aristocratic classes. Despite these influences, however, the Koreans never established a functioning bureaucracy and, consequently, aristocratic families retained their hold over politics and society. Thus the Koreans were never able to curb, like the Chinese, the power and influence of the nobles over the government.

'''Vietnam'''

Despite its proximity to China, Vietnam has had a distinct social and cultural heritage which instilled within them an independent spirit. As the Han emperors were consolidating their power, the Viets did not wish to have their traditions obliterated by their powerful neighbors to the north. Nevertheless, the Han dynasty conquered Vietnam and pulled them into their bureaucratic structure. Some Sinification occurred despite the tense relations between the two.

During the Tang dynasty the Chinese armies that marched into Vietnam were met with fierce resistance. However, they were soon victorious and set out to assimilate the Viets into Chinese culture. One benefit the Tang derived from their conquest was a quicker ripening form of rice. Once they had adopted this from Vietnam this type of rice became an important feature of the Tangs agricultural and demographic boom.

In contrast to the Koreans, the Viets did not enthusiastically cooperate with their Chinese overlords and scorned many aspects of Chinese civilization. However, they did selectively adopt from the Chinese what they thought could strengthen them. They found the Chinese system of military organization to be very beneficial. The application of Chinese irrigation technology drastically increased agriculture in Vietnam. The population increased.

In spite of these gains, the Viets resisted total Sinification. Of course, mountains and other geographical barriers made it more difficult for the Chinese to maintain a tight control over Vietnam. But the people themselves became the greatest barrier to Sinification. They resented the distain Chinese bureaucrats had for their traditions. Moreover, the peasants never adopted Chinese culture (except for Buddhism) and were quick to rouse against local Chinese rulers. Perhaps the most visible incongruency between Vietnamese culture and Sinification was Confucian patriarchy. Women in Vietnam had higher positions in society relative to many other civilizations and were allowed to freely engage in trade and other independent activities. Thus they chafed at foreign Confucian teachings which would confine them to their homes and total submission to their husbands. This aversion to patriarchy is one reason the Viets were attracted to Buddhism more than any other belief system coming in from China. At any rate, women played a prominent role in revolting against the Chinese on several occasions.

When the Tang dynasty fell into decline, the Viets mounted a massive revolt and won their independence from China. Future Chinese dynasties, as well as the Mongols, would attempt to conquer the Viets, but to no avail. Vietnam would retain its independence until the 19th century when the French incorporated it, at Indo-China, into its colonial empire.

Despite inability of China to hold on to Vietnam, there was a permanent exchange of culture and technology between the two areas. China borrowed the fast ripening rice from the Viets. In return, Buddhism became an enduring and powerful feature of the religious landscape of Vietnam. The irrigation and agricultural practices the Viets borrowed from the Chinese were a benefit as well. And the military technology and practices they learned from the Chinese helped the Viets drive south and extend their control over their adversaries beneath them (into present day Cambodia).

'''Japan'''

[[File:Kamakura_Budda_Daibutsu_front_1885.jpg|right|thumb]]Of these three areas Japan was unique in that it consciously and intentionally chose to emulate Chinese civilization. Japan was never conquered by the Chinese, but the success of China under the Tang dynasties motivated Japanese emperors to important elements of Chinese civilization for their own gain.

In 646 C.E. the Japanese government embarked upon the Taika reforms, an attempt to reconstruct the Japanese imperial government upon Chinese models. Japanese scholars struggled to master Chinese script and Confucian classics. The Japanese also sought to create a professional bureaucracy with an army made up of peasant soldiers loyal ultimately to the emperor. They introduced the equal-field system of agriculture. Court etiquette mimicked that of the Tang capital. At the popular level, the lower classes converted the Buddhism and combined Mahayana deities with those of their native nature spirits. Chinese influence in Japan was never as profound as it was during the Nara era.

As a result of Sinification Buddhism became so popular that aristocrats feared the power of Buddhists over the government. Their fears were justified when they uncovered a plot by Buddhists to take over the imperial government. A Buddhist had worked his way into he inner social circle of the Emperor’s wife, planned to marry her, depose her husband, and assume control of Japan. Shocked by this foiled plot, the Emperor decided to uproot the Japanese capital at Nara, a haven of Buddhist temples and power, and move it to Heian 28 miles away. The Taika reforms were abandoned and Japan’s great aristocratic families were returned to power in the various provinces.

During the Heian era Japanese courtly life reached a pinnacle of aristocratic and social sophistication. The details of this life are captured in Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji, considered by many to be the first novel in the world. In Genji’s world every day was a pursuit of romantic affairs and artistic entertainments; the drama of social life was attended by elaborate ceremonies and social conventions, each with their proper attire and etiquette. Aristocratic conversation consisted in reciting Japanese verse pertinent to the occasion. According to the novel, one’s social class could be determined by the color of one’s robe, manners, even with the timbre of one’s sneeze. Regardless of one’s place in the complex hierarchy of aristocratic levels, all abhorred the dress, manners and pastimes of the common people. Louis XIV’s court at Versailles would have nothing against the aristocratic refinements and ceremonies of Heian China.

While imperial elites were obsessing about social decorum and romantic intrigue, aristocratic families were busy wrestling control from the imperial bureaucracy. In fact, until the 16th century the emperor and his family would merely be a facade of social pageantry while real power fell in the hands of powerful aristocratic families. The best known of these was the Fujiwara family. By using their wealth and influence over the imperial family (one Fujiwara father saw four of his daughters married to emperors) they basically ruled Japan through their influence at the capital city of Heian. As these families increased their power—often allied with local Buddhism monasteries—they began to deny the resources of their regions to the emperor. With the decrease of imperial control, banditry and crime increased and people began to look to the local families for support rather than the emperor. Powerful families carved out regional kingdoms and political power fragmented in Japan. The Japanese, seeing the Chinese Tang model was no longer relevant to them, abandoned the civil service examinations, the bureaucracy, and the equal field system.

Constant warring between these powerful families led to the establishing of the Shogun, a military dictator who ruled from the imperial capital through the use of local warrior leaders called bushi. By the 15th century, rival claims to the Shogunate let to full scale civil war in Japan. In the fighting, the imperial capital of Heian (Kyoto) was destroyed and the Shogunate was dismantled. Central authority in Japan had now completely fallen and feudalism became the order of the day. Nearly 300 feudal kingdoms emerged protected by samurai loyal to local warlords now called daimyos. Under these leaders, the samurai code of honor (bushido) was increasingly disregarded; warriors turned to sneak attacks, betrayals and less honorable forms of war.

In summary, Japan was the only area around China to intentionally implement aspects of Chinese civilization. Chinese script, bureaucracy, equal field system were all purposely borrowed. Buddhism made its way into Japan as well. The concept of a centralized imperial government, although weakened during this period, would re-emerge later in Japanese history.

=Historical Development: China's Song Dynasty Continued to be Highly Commercialized=
 

During this period (600-1450 C.E.) interregional trade in '''luxury goods''' began to recover from its decline after the fall of Eurasian classical civilizations. Indeed, the exchange of luxury goods in the post-classical period surpassed that of the Roman/Han era. Luxury goods have important symbolic meanings in societies. As markers of status, they testify to expenditures arising out of surpluses far beyond necessity. <ref>''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History,'' vol. 2, ed. Joel Mokyr, p. 401.</ref> Manufactured primarily for external markets, luxury goods bear an association with all things exotic and foreign." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Most have rather mundane uses: silver plates and porcelain vases, silk clothing, and spices to enhance food. In these domestic settings luxury goods are "perceived as expressions of taste and civility." 

The significant increase in luxury trade was the result of several factors. The creation of Mongol Khanates and the Islamic Caliphates along with the reconstitution of the powerful centralized state in China were certainly major factors. [[File:Song_Dynasty_Porcelain.jpg|left|thumb|Chinese porcelain of the Song Dynasty.]] (The contributions of state formation to the revival in trade is explained in [[Key_Concept_3.2_Continuity_and_Innovation_of_State_Forms_and_Their_Interactions|Key Concept 3.2]].) In most areas, improved techniques of production, innovations in transportation, and new commercial practices impacted the surge in luxury goods during this period. 

During China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) the government standardized the production of '''porcelain''' which led to higher quality work and increased quantities. The later Song Dynasty directly benefitted from this. <ref>http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/porcelain-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279-dynasties.</ref> They perfected glazing techniques and mastered the process of regulating, with precise accuracy, the extremely high kiln temperatures necessary for the production of superior porcelain. <ref>''China: A New Cultural History'', (2013), Zhuoyun Xu.</ref> Production spread from northern China to the south as high quality kaolin clay was discovered there. Japan and Korea would copy Chinese silk production techniques, but no one could match the quality of Chinese porcelain in this period. 

One of the most coveted luxury goods in this period was '''silk'''. Although its methods would be duplicated and it would lose its exclusive monopoly of production, China's silk remained the standard of quality throughout this era. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the state directly oversaw the production of silk and attempted to keep it a state secret. Tang emperors employed silk in the service of the state. They forbade the finest silk from being worn by anyone except the scholar bureaucrats in their administration. The color and pattern of the silk denoted rank and distinguished the bureaucrats from local aristocrats whose influence the government wanted to curb. Only the emperor and his family could wear yellow (for the Byzantines the royal color was purple.) <ref>''The Silk Roads: A History with Documents'', (2012), Xinru Liu, pp. 23-24.</ref> The quantity of silk produced in China, as well as in the Byzantine Empire and other states in Asia, increased tremendously. On the Silk Roads the precious fabric took on symbolic importance, especially in Buddhist monasteries whose interiors were draped with multi-colored silk tapestries donated by patrons. Silk became a ''de facto'' currency connecting otherwise disparate civilizations. Below are the basic steps of Chinese silk production: 

<center>'''The Steps in Chinese Silk Production'''</center> 

<gallery mode="packed" widths=150px heights=150px perrow=5>
File:silk1.jpg|<div align="left">One Chinese secret to fine silk was the diet of the silk worms. The silk strands were much stronger if the worms were fed a diet of mulberry leaves. It also allowed for lighter colored silk that could be dyed many colors. </div>
File:Silk2.jpg|<div align="left">"Nests" specifically created for the worms to create their cocoons. The life cycle of a silk worm is one year, and the Chinese found that cocoons harvested in the Spring were of higher quality. </div>
File:silk3.jpg|<div align="left">Another Chinese practice was to steam the cocoon. This killed the pupa inside and gently loosened the silk strands so it would unravel easily and produce superior silk. Half of the cocoons were steamed for silk and the other half was allowed to hatch to produce worms for the following year. </div>
File:silk4.jpg|<div align="left">Because the pupa was killed before it could begin to hatch from the cocoon, Chinese silk was stronger and easier to load into a loom. A single cocoon could have up to one mile of silk but several stands were combined to make each thread. </div>
File:silk5.jpg|<div align="left">The finished product could be sold as raw silk textiles or dyed into beautiful material or garments. Silk was a luxury item that was in high demand for those who could afford it. </div>
</gallery>

Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas

2021-09-02T01:19:29Z

Jhenderson:

The period 1200 to 1450 saw impressive continuities in terms of culture and state-building in the Americas. Societies in Mesoamerican and the Andes region forged large complex civilizations. The most successful to arise during this period were the '''Mayan''', the '''Aztecs''', and the '''Incas'''. These civilizations, as with their counterparts on the other side of the world, were made possible by massive agricultural [[File:Meso empires.png|left|300px]]surpluses that supported hierarchical and complex societies. In Mesoamerica, the most important crop was maize. In the Andes it was potatoes. All three had to develop highly sophisticated irrigation and agricultural techniques to farm the harsh forests, lowlands, and mountains of their terrain. So critical was the need to manage water in these civilizations that one prominent historian has labeled them "hydraulic" civilizations. <ref>The scholar was Karl Wittfogel, cited in ''The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures'', (2007), Marshall C. Eakin, pp. 31-32.</ref> They did all this without the benefit of wheeled vehicles, metal tools, or large pack animals. Notwithstanding these limitations, each developed complex hierarchical societies, advanced knowledge of astronomy and calendars, and formulated religious ideologies of military conquest. 

::'''The Mayan'''
::Borrowing heavily from their parent civilization, the '''Olmecs''', the Mayans reached their first peak of civilization between 250 to 900 C.E., then again between 1200 and 1450 C.E. One of the most impressive aspects about their ascendancy is how they overcame "extraordinary ecological challenges to create a very sophisticated and productive agriculture that was the key to their development." <ref>''The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures'', (2007), Marshall C. Eakin, pp. 31-32.</ref> They learned to trap rich river silt with terraces to replenish the fertility of the thin, poorly drained topsoil of southern Mexico. <ref>''Traditions and Encounters'', 5th ed., (2007), Jerry Bentley, p. 111.</ref> The increased agriculture allowed the Mayan civilization to greatly expand, driving them to find increasingly creative means of collecting and storing water during the dry seasons and as insurance against unpredictable summer rains. <ref>''Panorama: A World History'', (2015), Ross E. Dunn and Laura J Mitchell, p. 230.</ref> Politically, the Mayan were not a centralized empire, but rather were organized into over fifty small '''city-kingdoms''' often competing against each other. As in ancient Greece, cities sometimes formed opposing military alliances which shifted and reformed as circumstances changed. '''Tikal''', the most powerful of these city-kingdoms, lasted eight centuries. About fifty years before the Spanish showed up in the Americas, the Mayan civilization fell apart, probably due to civil wars between the city-states. 

::'''The Aztecs'''
::After [[File:Human_sacrifice_(Codex_Laud,_f.8).png|right|thumb|The Aztec are best known for their perpetual human sacrifices which they believed prevented the end of the world.]]the demise of the Toltec empire around 1200 C.E., an ethnic group called the '''Mexica''' migrated southeast and eventually settled on an island in the marshy areas of '''Lake Texcoco'''. There they built the settlement that would later become the great Aztec capital '''Tenochtitlan''' (the Mexica people came to be called Aztecs, a reference to the home of their ancestors.) By raking the muck of the lake into small islands above the surface of the water (called '''chinampas'''), they were able to produce abundant agriculture to support a thriving civilization. By the early 1400s the Mexica had defeated their neighbors and demanded tribute from them. Thus was born the Aztec empire. At times, the empire was actually a triple alliance of three major cities who combined to project their rule over most of Mesoamerica, about 12 million people. <ref>''Traditions and Encounters'', 5th ed., Bentley, p. 418.</ref> The Aztec Empire was a loose collection of conquered areas from which the core at Tenochtitlan collected heavy tribute. Every year Aztec rulers demanded massive amounts of clothing, jewelry, food, animals, and other materials from locations across their vast domain. Throughout the empire there was a significant market for craft goods and most all cities and villages had thriving markets. The expansion of the empire was motivated in part by its religious belief. The Aztec believed that their gods were engaged in an ongoing struggle against the stars. The keep the fight going, and keep the sun moving across the sky, the gods needed human blood that was provided by an elaborate ritual of mass human sacrifice. 

::'''The Inca'''
::
[[File:Inca Expansion.svg|right|thumb]]
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Incas built the most centralized empire in the Americas during this time. Building on the base of the Chavin and Moche civilizations, they spread their civilization along the 2500 mile spine of the Andes Mountains on the western side of South America. Extensive terracing allowed them to practice agriculture in these high altitude and mountainous regions where they grew potatoes, maize, beans and peppers. There was a small merchant class, but trade was controlled by the government. Unlike the diverse societies of the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, the Incas practiced cultural imperialism, forcing their language and religion on conquered people. The Incas centralized their rule through a complex bureaucracy and an extensive network of roads and bridges. <ref>''The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures'', (2007), Marshall C. Eakin, p. 37.</ref> Their ruler (originally called the "Inca") was believed to be a god. A large professional army was supported by peasants who owed compulsory labor to the state.

Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450

2021-09-01T12:53:14Z

Jhenderson:

=Historical Development: Empires, including China's Song Dynasty, practiced continuities, innovations, and diversity in their methods of state building=
[[File:China_-_Song_Dynasty-en.svg|left|thumb]]The success of China’s Song Dynasty was a result of its selective borrowing from China’s imperial past and establishing these continuities with their own innovations. Perhaps the most important political continuity of the Song had its beginning in the aftermath of one of the most chaotic times in China’s history, the tumultuous Period of the Warring States (475–221 BC). 

The Period of Warring States ended when the warrior Qin Shi Huang centralized power and destroyed regional opposition. Although it lasted only 14 years, the Qin Dynasty set in place many important aspects of Chinese civilization. 

[[File:bureaucracy.jpg|frame|right|A bureaucracy is an hierarchical chain of authority that allows a central leader to project power across a large area divided into many administrative regions.]]One of the most important things the Qin did was create a bureaucracy. Bureaucrats are employees of the state whose position in society, unlike nobles or aristocrats, does not rest on an independent source of wealth. Members of the bureaucracy only had positions and power as granted by the emperor. Generally speaking, the bureaucrat's high status and wealth is based on his obedience to his superior. Land owning aristocrats, on the other hand, have large estates and personal fortunes to fall back on; they have a vested interest in influencing the government in their personal favor. Aristocrats also tend to make decisions based on what is best for their location, thus becoming a decentralizing force. By assigning bureaucrats to regions, the Qin bypassed the powerful aristocracy and governed through those whose position depended on loyal obedience to the state. Additionally, the practice of Legalism reinforced the bonds of obligation between bureaucrat and superior. In this manner, the bureaucracy became a tool of centralization for China and placed the entire empire under the leadership of the Qin emperor. 

As soon as the emperor died, the people revolted and slaughtered many of the remaining Qin officials. Unlike previous eras, Chinese civilization did not regress into chaos for long. The Han dynasty came to power and ruled China for about 400 years, roughly 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. The ability of the Han to maintain a strong central government over such a vast area was greatly facilitated by the Qin reforms under Legalism. 

Under the leadership of emperor Han Wudi, the Han Dynasty was responsible for some very important innovations that would have a lasting effect on China: the official adoption of Confucianism and the rise of the civil service examinations. 

The Han adopted Confucianism because it was the most organized educational network from which they could draw people for the bureaucracy. To make certain new recruits were educated well, they began testing them through a rigorous system of civil service examinations; to be in the Han bureaucracy, one had to demonstrate a mastery of Confucian ideas on these tests. One effect of this was that the Han bureaucracy was filled with people profoundly influenced by Confucian thought. They were taught to model good behavior for those under them and to respect and submit to those in authority over them. Thus Confucianism not only became deeply embedded in Chinese culture, it also came to re-enforce the political bureaucracy by advocating obedience and benevolent rule. A synthesis was forged between China's political structure and a belief system.

Another innovation of the Tang Dynasty was its policy of establishing '''tributary states'''. Although earlier Chinese dynasties collected tribute, the practice became more complex and standardized under the Tang. The Chinese tributary system was based on their belief that Chinese civilization was superior to others, but barbarian and non-Chinese people could have access to Chinese ways providing they ceremonially recognized the supremacy of China and paid tribute to the emperor. <ref>''The Ways of the World: A Global History.'', (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 249.</ref> Thus China could "radiate" its superior civilization to barbarian people around it. In reality, the tributary system was a means for China to control conquered lands that often proved difficult to rule. Chinese dynasties had long tried to project their control over the Korean peninsula; indeed, its long costly war with Korea did much to discredit the Sui Dynasty, the Tang's predecessor. The Tang Dynasty gave its support the the Silla family of Korea to ensure their rule over the entire Korean peninsula, but it cost the Silla their independence. The price China demanded for helping the Silla was that they become a tributary state of the Tang emperor. Each year representatives from Korea traveled to the Chinese capital to purchase their rule with payments of tribute. They returned with Chinese customs, fads, Buddhist writings, clothing fashions, and literature. Through this tributary relationship much Chinese influence made its way into Korea.<ref>''Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Vol 1.'' (2012) Patricia Buckley Ebrey, p. 108.</ref> 
::In summary, the recovery of Chinese civilization in the post classical era was made possible by building on classical traditions, such as the Confucian civil service bureaucracy, and fusing them with new administrative practices such as the equal field system and the creation of tributary states. 

=Historical Development: China's Cultural Traditions had a Huge Impact on neighboring States=
Sinification (or, to Sinicize) means the assimilation or spread of Chinese culture. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese civilization became so dynamic and powerful that it influenced, or sinicized, several prominent areas around it. It is important to note not only what aspects of Chinese civilization were absorbed in these areas, but also what the limitations of Sinification were in each location.

'''Korea'''

Korea’s oldest known kingdom was conquered by emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in about 100 B.C.E. beginning the first wave of Sinification. Although the conquest would be short lived, Chinese influence remained. Interestingly, Buddhism became the cultural bridge linking China to Korea, especially as Korean leaders, anticipating Empress Wu, gave state sponsorship to Buddhism. Chinese writing was introduced, despite the difficulties in adapting Chinese characters to the spoken Korean language. One Korean emperor established universities to teach the Confucian classics to Korean youth. Additionally, the Koreans tried to emulate the Chinese style of bureaucracy but they failed to overcome the power of the aristocracy; the land owning nobles were able to thwart the implementation of a bureaucracy they knew would minimize their own power and influence.

[[File:Seokguram_Buddha.JPG|thumb|left]] During the restoration of Chinese civilization, the Sui dynasty attempted unsuccessfully to reconquer Korea. (Their failed campaign in Korea had much to do with their downfall.) Soon afterward the more powerful Tang Dynasty was able to conquer Korea but they found ruling it a much more difficult affair. Their authority in Korea was challenged by constant revolts. Finally the Tang emperor struck a deal with the Silla kingdom of Korea. They agreed to remove all military forces from Korea if the Silla would become vassals of the Tang dynasty and make regular tribute payments. Even with the Chinese as their overlords, the Koreans learned that this relation with China was very much to their benefit. Emissaries traveling to China with tribute payments returned with gains of greater value borrowed directly from the Chinese court.

Impressed by the organization and economic success of Tang China, Korean leaders sought to emulate Chinese culture in their homeland. Indeed, during this tributary relationship with China an open flow of culture was opened from China to Korea and Sinification in Korea would reach its peak. Korean scholars traveled to China to consult with Confucian scholars; they returned with the latest Chinese books and learning. Chinese innovations, fashions, styles and etiquette made their way into Korea. The elite classes of Koreans became schooled in Confucianism. In fact, besides Buddhism—which became popular among the Korean masses—cultural Sinification occurred primarily among the aristocratic classes. Despite these influences, however, the Koreans never established a functioning bureaucracy and, consequently, aristocratic families retained their hold over politics and society. Thus the Koreans were never able to curb, like the Chinese, the power and influence of the nobles over the government.

'''Vietnam'''

Despite its proximity to China, Vietnam has had a distinct social and cultural heritage which instilled within them an independent spirit. As the Han emperors were consolidating their power, the Viets did not wish to have their traditions obliterated by their powerful neighbors to the north. Nevertheless, the Han dynasty conquered Vietnam and pulled them into their bureaucratic structure. Some Sinification occurred despite the tense relations between the two.

During the Tang dynasty the Chinese armies that marched into Vietnam were met with fierce resistance. However, they were soon victorious and set out to assimilate the Viets into Chinese culture. One benefit the Tang derived from their conquest was a quicker ripening form of rice. Once they had adopted this from Vietnam this type of rice became an important feature of the Tangs agricultural and demographic boom.

In contrast to the Koreans, the Viets did not enthusiastically cooperate with their Chinese overlords and scorned many aspects of Chinese civilization. However, they did selectively adopt from the Chinese what they thought could strengthen them. They found the Chinese system of military organization to be very beneficial. The application of Chinese irrigation technology drastically increased agriculture in Vietnam. The population increased.

In spite of these gains, the Viets resisted total Sinification. Of course, mountains and other geographical barriers made it more difficult for the Chinese to maintain a tight control over Vietnam. But the people themselves became the greatest barrier to Sinification. They resented the distain Chinese bureaucrats had for their traditions. Moreover, the peasants never adopted Chinese culture (except for Buddhism) and were quick to rouse against local Chinese rulers. Perhaps the most visible incongruency between Vietnamese culture and Sinification was Confucian patriarchy. Women in Vietnam had higher positions in society relative to many other civilizations and were allowed to freely engage in trade and other independent activities. Thus they chafed at foreign Confucian teachings which would confine them to their homes and total submission to their husbands. This aversion to patriarchy is one reason the Viets were attracted to Buddhism more than any other belief system coming in from China. At any rate, women played a prominent role in revolting against the Chinese on several occasions.

When the Tang dynasty fell into decline, the Viets mounted a massive revolt and won their independence from China. Future Chinese dynasties, as well as the Mongols, would attempt to conquer the Viets, but to no avail. Vietnam would retain its independence until the 19th century when the French incorporated it, at Indo-China, into its colonial empire.

Despite inability of China to hold on to Vietnam, there was a permanent exchange of culture and technology between the two areas. China borrowed the fast ripening rice from the Viets. In return, Buddhism became an enduring and powerful feature of the religious landscape of Vietnam. The irrigation and agricultural practices the Viets borrowed from the Chinese were a benefit as well. And the military technology and practices they learned from the Chinese helped the Viets drive south and extend their control over their adversaries beneath them (into present day Cambodia).

'''Japan'''

[[File:Kamakura_Budda_Daibutsu_front_1885.jpg|right|thumb]]Of these three areas Japan was unique in that it consciously and intentionally chose to emulate Chinese civilization. Japan was never conquered by the Chinese, but the success of China under the Tang dynasties motivated Japanese emperors to important elements of Chinese civilization for their own gain.

In 646 C.E. the Japanese government embarked upon the Taika reforms, an attempt to reconstruct the Japanese imperial government upon Chinese models. Japanese scholars struggled to master Chinese script and Confucian classics. The Japanese also sought to create a professional bureaucracy with an army made up of peasant soldiers loyal ultimately to the emperor. They introduced the equal-field system of agriculture. Court etiquette mimicked that of the Tang capital. At the popular level, the lower classes converted the Buddhism and combined Mahayana deities with those of their native nature spirits. Chinese influence in Japan was never as profound as it was during the Nara era.

As a result of Sinification Buddhism became so popular that aristocrats feared the power of Buddhists over the government. Their fears were justified when they uncovered a plot by Buddhists to take over the imperial government. A Buddhist had worked his way into he inner social circle of the Emperor’s wife, planned to marry her, depose her husband, and assume control of Japan. Shocked by this foiled plot, the Emperor decided to uproot the Japanese capital at Nara, a haven of Buddhist temples and power, and move it to Heian 28 miles away. The Taika reforms were abandoned and Japan’s great aristocratic families were returned to power in the various provinces.

During the Heian era Japanese courtly life reached a pinnacle of aristocratic and social sophistication. The details of this life are captured in Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji, considered by many to be the first novel in the world. In Genji’s world every day was a pursuit of romantic affairs and artistic entertainments; the drama of social life was attended by elaborate ceremonies and social conventions, each with their proper attire and etiquette. Aristocratic conversation consisted in reciting Japanese verse pertinent to the occasion. According to the novel, one’s social class could be determined by the color of one’s robe, manners, even with the timbre of one’s sneeze. Regardless of one’s place in the complex hierarchy of aristocratic levels, all abhorred the dress, manners and pastimes of the common people. Louis XIV’s court at Versailles would have nothing against the aristocratic refinements and ceremonies of Heian China.

While imperial elites were obsessing about social decorum and romantic intrigue, aristocratic families were busy wrestling control from the imperial bureaucracy. In fact, until the 16th century the emperor and his family would merely be a facade of social pageantry while real power fell in the hands of powerful aristocratic families. The best known of these was the Fujiwara family. By using their wealth and influence over the imperial family (one Fujiwara father saw four of his daughters married to emperors) they basically ruled Japan through their influence at the capital city of Heian. As these families increased their power—often allied with local Buddhism monasteries—they began to deny the resources of their regions to the emperor. With the decrease of imperial control, banditry and crime increased and people began to look to the local families for support rather than the emperor. Powerful families carved out regional kingdoms and political power fragmented in Japan. The Japanese, seeing the Chinese Tang model was no longer relevant to them, abandoned the civil service examinations, the bureaucracy, and the equal field system.

Constant warring between these powerful families led to the establishing of the Shogun, a military dictator who ruled from the imperial capital through the use of local warrior leaders called bushi. By the 15th century, rival claims to the Shogunate let to full scale civil war in Japan. In the fighting, the imperial capital of Heian (Kyoto) was destroyed and the Shogunate was dismantled. Central authority in Japan had now completely fallen and feudalism became the order of the day. Nearly 300 feudal kingdoms emerged protected by samurai loyal to local warlords now called daimyos. Under these leaders, the samurai code of honor (bushido) was increasingly disregarded; warriors turned to sneak attacks, betrayals and less honorable forms of war.

In summary, Japan was the only area around China to intentionally implement aspects of Chinese civilization. Chinese script, bureaucracy, equal field system were all purposely borrowed. Buddhism made its way into Japan as well. The concept of a centralized imperial government, although weakened during this period, would re-emerge later in Japanese history.

=Historical Development: China's Song Dynasty Continued to be Highly Commercialized=
 

During this period (600-1450 C.E.) interregional trade in '''luxury goods''' began to recover from its decline after the fall of Eurasian classical civilizations. Indeed, the exchange of luxury goods in the post-classical period surpassed that of the Roman/Han era. Luxury goods have important symbolic meanings in societies. As markers of status, they testify to expenditures arising out of surpluses far beyond necessity. <ref>''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History,'' vol. 2, ed. Joel Mokyr, p. 401.</ref> Manufactured primarily for external markets, luxury goods bear an association with all things exotic and foreign." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Most have rather mundane uses: silver plates and porcelain vases, silk clothing, and spices to enhance food. In these domestic settings luxury goods are "perceived as expressions of taste and civility." 

The significant increase in luxury trade was the result of several factors. The creation of Mongol Khanates and the Islamic Caliphates along with the reconstitution of the powerful centralized state in China were certainly major factors. [[File:Song_Dynasty_Porcelain.jpg|left|thumb|Chinese porcelain of the Song Dynasty.]] (The contributions of state formation to the revival in trade is explained in [[Key_Concept_3.2_Continuity_and_Innovation_of_State_Forms_and_Their_Interactions|Key Concept 3.2]].) In most areas, improved techniques of production, innovations in transportation, and new commercial practices impacted the surge in luxury goods during this period. 

During China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) the government standardized the production of '''porcelain''' which led to higher quality work and increased quantities. The later Song Dynasty directly benefitted from this. <ref>http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/porcelain-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279-dynasties.</ref> They perfected glazing techniques and mastered the process of regulating, with precise accuracy, the extremely high kiln temperatures necessary for the production of superior porcelain. <ref>''China: A New Cultural History'', (2013), Zhuoyun Xu.</ref> Production spread from northern China to the south as high quality kaolin clay was discovered there. Japan and Korea would copy Chinese silk production techniques, but no one could match the quality of Chinese porcelain in this period. 

One of the most coveted luxury goods in this period was '''silk'''. Although its methods would be duplicated and it would lose its exclusive monopoly of production, China's silk remained the standard of quality throughout this era. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the state directly oversaw the production of silk and attempted to keep it a state secret. Tang emperors employed silk in the service of the state. They forbade the finest silk from being worn by anyone except the scholar bureaucrats in their administration. The color and pattern of the silk denoted rank and distinguished the bureaucrats from local aristocrats whose influence the government wanted to curb. Only the emperor and his family could wear yellow (for the Byzantines the royal color was purple.) <ref>''The Silk Roads: A History with Documents'', (2012), Xinru Liu, pp. 23-24.</ref> The quantity of silk produced in China, as well as in the Byzantine Empire and other states in Asia, increased tremendously. On the Silk Roads the precious fabric took on symbolic importance, especially in Buddhist monasteries whose interiors were draped with multi-colored silk tapestries donated by patrons. Silk became a ''de facto'' currency connecting otherwise disparate civilizations. Below are the basic steps of Chinese silk production: 

<center>'''The Steps in Chinese Silk Production'''</center> 

<gallery mode="packed" widths=150px heights=150px perrow=5>
File:silk1.jpg|<div align="left">One Chinese secret to fine silk was the diet of the silk worms. The silk strands were much stronger if the worms were fed a diet of mulberry leaves. It also allowed for lighter colored silk that could be dyed many colors. </div>
File:Silk2.jpg|<div align="left">"Nests" specifically created for the worms to create their cocoons. The life cycle of a silk worm is one year, and the Chinese found that cocoons harvested in the Spring were of higher quality. </div>
File:silk3.jpg|<div align="left">Another Chinese practice was to steam the cocoon. This killed the pupa inside and gently loosened the silk strands so it would unravel easily and produce superior silk. Half of the cocoons were steamed for silk and the other half was allowed to hatch to produce worms for the following year. </div>
File:silk4.jpg|<div align="left">Because the pupa was killed before it could begin to hatch from the cocoon, Chinese silk was stronger and easier to load into a loom. A single cocoon could have up to one mile of silk but several stands were combined to make each thread. </div>
File:silk5.jpg|<div align="left">The finished product could be sold as raw silk textiles or dyed into beautiful material or garments. Silk was a luxury item that was in high demand for those who could afford it. </div>
</gallery>

Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450

2021-09-01T12:47:31Z

Jhenderson:

=Historical Development: Empires, including China's Song Dynasty, practiced continuities, innovations, and diversity in their methods of state building=
[[File:China_-_Song_Dynasty-en.svg|left|thumb]]The success of China’s Song Dynasty was a result of its selective borrowing from China’s imperial past and establishing these continuities with their own innovations. Perhaps the most important political continuity of the Song had its beginning in the aftermath of one of the most chaotic times in China’s history, the tumultuous Period of the Warring States (475–221 BC). 

The Period of Warring States ended when the warrior Qin Shi Huang centralized power and destroyed regional opposition. Although it lasted only 14 years, the Qin Dynasty set in place many important aspects of Chinese civilization. 

[[File:bureaucracy.jpg|frame|right|A bureaucracy is an hierarchical chain of authority that allows a central leader to project power across a large area divided into many administrative regions.]]One of the most important things the Qin did was create a bureaucracy. Bureaucrats are employees of the state whose position in society, unlike nobles or aristocrats, does not rest on an independent source of wealth. Members of the bureaucracy only had positions and power as granted by the emperor. Generally speaking, the bureaucrat's high status and wealth is based on his obedience to his superior. Land owning aristocrats, on the other hand, have large estates and personal fortunes to fall back on; they have a vested interest in influencing the government in their personal favor. Aristocrats also tend to make decisions based on what is best for their location, thus becoming a decentralizing force. By assigning bureaucrats to regions, the Qin bypassed the powerful aristocracy and governed through those whose position depended on loyal obedience to the state. Additionally, the practice of Legalism reinforced the bonds of obligation between bureaucrat and superior. In this manner, the bureaucracy became a tool of centralization for China and placed the entire empire under the leadership of the Qin emperor. 

As soon as the emperor died, the people revolted and slaughtered many of the remaining Qin officials. Unlike previous eras, Chinese civilization did not regress into chaos for long. The Han dynasty came to power and ruled China for about 400 years, roughly 200 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. The ability of the Han to maintain a strong central government over such a vast area was greatly facilitated by the Qin reforms under Legalism. 

Under the leadership of emperor Han Wudi, the Han Dynasty was responsible for some very important innovations that would have a lasting effect on China: the official adoption of Confucianism and the rise of the civil service examinations. 

The Han adopted Confucianism because it was the most organized educational network from which they could draw people for the bureaucracy. To make certain new recruits were educated well, they began testing them through a rigorous system of civil service examinations; to be in the Han bureaucracy, one had to demonstrate a mastery of Confucian ideas on these tests. One effect of this was that the Han bureaucracy was filled with people profoundly influenced by Confucian thought. They were taught to model good behavior for those under them and to respect and submit to those in authority over them. Thus Confucianism not only became deeply embedded in Chinese culture, it also came to re-enforce the political bureaucracy by advocating obedience and benevolent rule. A synthesis was forged between China's political structure and a belief system.

Another innovation of the Tang Dynasty was its policy of establishing '''tributary states'''. Although earlier Chinese dynasties collected tribute, the practice became more complex and standardized under the Tang. The Chinese tributary system was based on their belief that Chinese civilization was superior to others, but barbarian and non-Chinese people could have access to Chinese ways providing they ceremonially recognized the supremacy of China and paid tribute to the emperor. <ref>''The Ways of the World: A Global History.'', (2009), Robert W. Strayer, p. 249.</ref> Thus China could "radiate" its superior civilization to barbarian people around it. In reality, the tributary system was a means for China to control conquered lands that often proved difficult to rule. Chinese dynasties had long tried to project their control over the Korean peninsula; indeed, its long costly war with Korea did much to discredit the Sui Dynasty, the Tang's predecessor. The Tang Dynasty gave its support the the Silla family of Korea to ensure their rule over the entire Korean peninsula, but it cost the Silla their independence. The price China demanded for helping the Silla was that they become a tributary state of the Tang emperor. Each year representatives from Korea traveled to the Chinese capital to purchase their rule with payments of tribute. They returned with Chinese customs, fads, Buddhist writings, clothing fashions, and literature. Through this tributary relationship much Chinese influence made its way into Korea.<ref>''Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Vol 1.'' (2012) Patricia Buckley Ebrey, p. 108.</ref> 
::In summary, the recovery of Chinese civilization in the post classical era was made possible by building on classical traditions, such as the Confucian civil service bureaucracy, and fusing them with new administrative practices such as the equal field system and the creation of tributary states. 

=Historical Development: China's Cultural Traditions had a Huge Impact on neighboring States=
Sinification (or, to Sinicize) means the assimilation or spread of Chinese culture. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese civilization became so dynamic and powerful that it influenced, or sinicized, several prominent areas around it. It is important to note not only what aspects of Chinese civilization were absorbed in these areas, but also what the limitations of Sinification were in each location.

'''Korea'''

Korea’s oldest known kingdom was conquered by emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in about 100 B.C.E. beginning the first wave of Sinification. Although the conquest would be short lived, Chinese influence remained. Interestingly, Buddhism became the cultural bridge linking China to Korea, especially as Korean leaders, anticipating Empress Wu, gave state sponsorship to Buddhism. Chinese writing was introduced, despite the difficulties in adapting Chinese characters to the spoken Korean language. One Korean emperor established universities to teach the Confucian classics to Korean youth. Additionally, the Koreans tried to emulate the Chinese style of bureaucracy but they failed to overcome the power of the aristocracy; the land owning nobles were able to thwart the implementation of a bureaucracy they knew would minimize their own power and influence.

[[File:Seokguram_Buddha.JPG|thumb|left]] During the restoration of Chinese civilization, the Sui dynasty attempted unsuccessfully to reconquer Korea. (Their failed campaign in Korea had much to do with their downfall.) Soon afterward the more powerful Tang Dynasty was able to conquer Korea but they found ruling it a much more difficult affair. Their authority in Korea was challenged by constant revolts. Finally the Tang emperor struck a deal with the Silla kingdom of Korea. They agreed to remove all military forces from Korea if the Silla would become vassals of the Tang dynasty and make regular tribute payments. Even with the Chinese as their overlords, the Koreans learned that this relation with China was very much to their benefit. Emissaries traveling to China with tribute payments returned with gains of greater value borrowed directly from the Chinese court.

Impressed by the organization and economic success of Tang China, Korean leaders sought to emulate Chinese culture in their homeland. Indeed, during this tributary relationship with China an open flow of culture was opened from China to Korea and Sinification in Korea would reach its peak. Korean scholars traveled to China to consult with Confucian scholars; they returned with the latest Chinese books and learning. Chinese innovations, fashions, styles and etiquette made their way into Korea. The elite classes of Koreans became schooled in Confucianism. In fact, besides Buddhism—which became popular among the Korean masses—cultural Sinification occurred primarily among the aristocratic classes. Despite these influences, however, the Koreans never established a functioning bureaucracy and, consequently, aristocratic families retained their hold over politics and society. Thus the Koreans were never able to curb, like the Chinese, the power and influence of the nobles over the government.

'''Vietnam'''

Despite its proximity to China, Vietnam has had a distinct social and cultural heritage which instilled within them an independent spirit. As the Han emperors were consolidating their power, the Viets did not wish to have their traditions obliterated by their powerful neighbors to the north. Nevertheless, the Han dynasty conquered Vietnam and pulled them into their bureaucratic structure. Some Sinification occurred despite the tense relations between the two.

During the Tang dynasty the Chinese armies that marched into Vietnam were met with fierce resistance. However, they were soon victorious and set out to assimilate the Viets into Chinese culture. One benefit the Tang derived from their conquest was a quicker ripening form of rice. Once they had adopted this from Vietnam this type of rice became an important feature of the Tangs agricultural and demographic boom.

In contrast to the Koreans, the Viets did not enthusiastically cooperate with their Chinese overlords and scorned many aspects of Chinese civilization. However, they did selectively adopt from the Chinese what they thought could strengthen them. They found the Chinese system of military organization to be very beneficial. The application of Chinese irrigation technology drastically increased agriculture in Vietnam. The population increased.

In spite of these gains, the Viets resisted total Sinification. Of course, mountains and other geographical barriers made it more difficult for the Chinese to maintain a tight control over Vietnam. But the people themselves became the greatest barrier to Sinification. They resented the distain Chinese bureaucrats had for their traditions. Moreover, the peasants never adopted Chinese culture (except for Buddhism) and were quick to rouse against local Chinese rulers. Perhaps the most visible incongruency between Vietnamese culture and Sinification was Confucian patriarchy. Women in Vietnam had higher positions in society relative to many other civilizations and were allowed to freely engage in trade and other independent activities. Thus they chafed at foreign Confucian teachings which would confine them to their homes and total submission to their husbands. This aversion to patriarchy is one reason the Viets were attracted to Buddhism more than any other belief system coming in from China. At any rate, women played a prominent role in revolting against the Chinese on several occasions.

When the Tang dynasty fell into decline, the Viets mounted a massive revolt and won their independence from China. Future Chinese dynasties, as well as the Mongols, would attempt to conquer the Viets, but to no avail. Vietnam would retain its independence until the 19th century when the French incorporated it, at Indo-China, into its colonial empire.

Despite inability of China to hold on to Vietnam, there was a permanent exchange of culture and technology between the two areas. China borrowed the fast ripening rice from the Viets. In return, Buddhism became an enduring and powerful feature of the religious landscape of Vietnam. The irrigation and agricultural practices the Viets borrowed from the Chinese were a benefit as well. And the military technology and practices they learned from the Chinese helped the Viets drive south and extend their control over their adversaries beneath them (into present day Cambodia).

'''Japan'''

[[File:Kamakura_Budda_Daibutsu_front_1885.jpg|right|thumb]]Of these three areas Japan was unique in that it consciously and intentionally chose to emulate Chinese civilization. Japan was never conquered by the Chinese, but the success of China under the Tang dynasties motivated Japanese emperors to important elements of Chinese civilization for their own gain.

In 646 C.E. the Japanese government embarked upon the Taika reforms, an attempt to reconstruct the Japanese imperial government upon Chinese models. Japanese scholars struggled to master Chinese script and Confucian classics. The Japanese also sought to create a professional bureaucracy with an army made up of peasant soldiers loyal ultimately to the emperor. They introduced the equal-field system of agriculture. Court etiquette mimicked that of the Tang capital. At the popular level, the lower classes converted the Buddhism and combined Mahayana deities with those of their native nature spirits. Chinese influence in Japan was never as profound as it was during the Nara era.

As a result of Sinification Buddhism became so popular that aristocrats feared the power of Buddhists over the government. Their fears were justified when they uncovered a plot by Buddhists to take over the imperial government. A Buddhist had worked his way into he inner social circle of the Emperor’s wife, planned to marry her, depose her husband, and assume control of Japan. Shocked by this foiled plot, the Emperor decided to uproot the Japanese capital at Nara, a haven of Buddhist temples and power, and move it to Heian 28 miles away. The Taika reforms were abandoned and Japan’s great aristocratic families were returned to power in the various provinces.

During the Heian era Japanese courtly life reached a pinnacle of aristocratic and social sophistication. The details of this life are captured in Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji, considered by many to be the first novel in the world. In Genji’s world every day was a pursuit of romantic affairs and artistic entertainments; the drama of social life was attended by elaborate ceremonies and social conventions, each with their proper attire and etiquette. Aristocratic conversation consisted in reciting Japanese verse pertinent to the occasion. According to the novel, one’s social class could be determined by the color of one’s robe, manners, even with the timbre of one’s sneeze. Regardless of one’s place in the complex hierarchy of aristocratic levels, all abhorred the dress, manners and pastimes of the common people. Louis XIV’s court at Versailles would have nothing against the aristocratic refinements and ceremonies of Heian China.

While imperial elites were obsessing about social decorum and romantic intrigue, aristocratic families were busy wrestling control from the imperial bureaucracy. In fact, until the 16th century the emperor and his family would merely be a facade of social pageantry while real power fell in the hands of powerful aristocratic families. The best known of these was the Fujiwara family. By using their wealth and influence over the imperial family (one Fujiwara father saw four of his daughters married to emperors) they basically ruled Japan through their influence at the capital city of Heian. As these families increased their power—often allied with local Buddhism monasteries—they began to deny the resources of their regions to the emperor. With the decrease of imperial control, banditry and crime increased and people began to look to the local families for support rather than the emperor. Powerful families carved out regional kingdoms and political power fragmented in Japan. The Japanese, seeing the Chinese Tang model was no longer relevant to them, abandoned the civil service examinations, the bureaucracy, and the equal field system.

Constant warring between these powerful families led to the establishing of the Shogun, a military dictator who ruled from the imperial capital through the use of local warrior leaders called bushi. By the 15th century, rival claims to the Shogunate let to full scale civil war in Japan. In the fighting, the imperial capital of Heian (Kyoto) was destroyed and the Shogunate was dismantled. Central authority in Japan had now completely fallen and feudalism became the order of the day. Nearly 300 feudal kingdoms emerged protected by samurai loyal to local warlords now called daimyos. Under these leaders, the samurai code of honor (bushido) was increasingly disregarded; warriors turned to sneak attacks, betrayals and less honorable forms of war.

In summary, Japan was the only area around China to intentionally implement aspects of Chinese civilization. Chinese script, bureaucracy, equal field system were all purposely borrowed. Buddhism made its way into Japan as well. The concept of a centralized imperial government, although weakened during this period, would re-emerge later in Japanese history.

::C. During this period (600-1450 C.E.) interregional trade in '''luxury goods''' began to recover from its decline after the fall of Eurasian classical civilizations. Indeed, the exchange of luxury goods in the post-classical period surpassed that of the Roman/Han era. Luxury goods have important symbolic meanings in societies. As markers of status, they testify to expenditures arising out of surpluses far beyond necessity. <ref>''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History,'' vol. 2, ed. Joel Mokyr, p. 401.</ref> Manufactured primarily for external markets, luxury goods bear an association with all things exotic and foreign." <ref>''Ibid.''</ref> Most have rather mundane uses: silver plates and porcelain vases, silk clothing, and spices to enhance food. In these domestic settings luxury goods are "perceived as expressions of taste and civility." 

::The significant increase in luxury trade was the result of several factors. The creation of Mongol Khanates and the Islamic Caliphates along with the reconstitution of a powerful centralized state in China were certainly major factors. [[File:Song_Dynasty_Porcelain.jpg|left|thumb|Chinese porcelain of the Song Dynasty.]] (The contributions of state formation to the revival in trade is explained in [[Key_Concept_3.2_Continuity_and_Innovation_of_State_Forms_and_Their_Interactions|Key Concept 3.2]].) In most areas, improved techniques of production, innovations in transportation, and new commercial practices impacted the surge in luxury goods during this period. 

::During China's Tang Dynasty (618-907) the government standardized the production of '''porcelain''' which led to higher quality work and increased quantities. <ref>http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/background-information/porcelain-tang-618%E2%80%93906-and-song-960%E2%80%931279-dynasties.</ref> They greatly perfected glazing techniques and mastered the process of regulating, with precise accuracy, the extremely high kiln temperatures necessary for the production of superior porcelain. <ref>''China: A New Cultural History'', (2013), Zhuoyun Xu.</ref> Production spread from northern China to the south as high quality kaolin clay was discovered there. Japan and Korea would copy Chinese silk production techniques, but no one could match the quality of Chinese porcelain in this period. 

::One of the most coveted luxury goods in this period was '''silk'''. Although its methods would be duplicated and it would lose its exclusive monopoly of production, China's silk remained the standard of quality throughout this era. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the state directly oversaw the production of silk and attempted to keep it a state secret. Tang emperors employed silk in the service of the state. They forbade the finest silk from being worn by anyone except the scholar bureaucrats in their administration. The color and pattern of the silk denoted rank and distinguished the bureaucrats from local aristocrats whose influence the government wanted to curb. Only the emperor and his family could wear yellow (for the Byzantines the royal color was purple.) <ref>''The Silk Roads: A History with Documents'', (2012), Xinru Liu, pp. 23-24.</ref> The quantity of silk produced in China, as well as in the Byzantine Empire and other states in Asia, increased tremendously. On the Silk Roads the precious fabric took on symbolic importance, especially in Buddhist monasteries whose interiors were draped with multi-colored silk tapestries donated by patrons. Silk became a ''de facto'' currency connecting otherwise disparate civilizations. Below are the basic steps of Chinese silk production: 

<center>'''The Steps in Chinese Silk Production'''</center> 

<gallery mode="packed" widths=150px heights=150px perrow=5>
File:silk1.jpg|<div align="left">One Chinese secret to fine silk was the diet of the silk worms. The silk strands were much stronger if the worms were fed a diet of mulberry leaves. It also allowed for lighter colored silk that could be dyed many colors. </div>
File:Silk2.jpg|<div align="left">"Nests" specifically created for the worms to create their cocoons. The life cycle of a silk worm is one year, and the Chinese found that cocoons harvested in the Spring were of higher quality. </div>
File:silk3.jpg|<div align="left">Another Chinese practice was to steam the cocoon. This killed the pupa inside and gently loosened the silk strands so it would unravel easily and produce superior silk. Half of the cocoons were steamed for silk and the other half was allowed to hatch to produce worms for the following year. </div>
File:silk4.jpg|<div align="left">Because the pupa was killed before it could begin to hatch from the cocoon, Chinese silk was stronger and easier to load into a loom. A single cocoon could have up to one mile of silk but several stands were combined to make each thread. </div>
File:silk5.jpg|<div align="left">The finished product could be sold as raw silk textiles or dyed into beautiful material or garments. Silk was a luxury item that was in high demand for those who could afford it. </div>
</gallery>

Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads

2021-01-28T01:23:44Z

Jhenderson:

The Industrial Revolution occurred exclusively in Britain for about 50 years, but it eventually spread to other countries in Europe, the United States, Russia, and Japan. British entrepreneurs and government officials forbade the export of machinery, manufacturing techniques, and skilled workers to other countries but the technologies spread by luring British experts with lucrative offers, and even smuggling secrets into other countries. By the mid-19th century industrialization had spread to France, Germany, Belgium, and the United States. 
The earliest center of industrial production in continental Europe was Belgium, where coal, iron, textile, glass, and armaments production flourished. By 1830 French firms had employed many skilled British workers to help establish the textile industry, and railroad lines began to appear across Western Europe. Germany was a little later in developing industry, mainly because no centralized government existed there yet. After German political unification in 1871, the new empire soon rivaled England in terms of industrial production.
Industrialization in the United States was delayed until the country had enough laborers and money to invest in business. Both came from Europe, where overpopulation and political revolutions sent immigrants to the United States to seek their fortunes. The American Civil War (1861-1865) delayed further immigration until the 1870s. The United States had abundant natural resources; land, water, coal and iron ore; and after the great wave of immigration from Europe and Asia in the late 19th century; it also had the labor.
During the late 1800s, industrialization spread to Russia and Japan, in both cases by government initiatives.

Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads

2021-01-28T01:22:41Z

Jhenderson:

The Industrial Revolution occurred exclusively in Britain for about 50 years, but it eventually spread to other countries in Europe, the United States, Russia, and Japan. British entrepreneurs and government officials forbade the export of machinery, manufacturing techniques, and skilled workers to other countries but the technologies spread by luring British experts with lucrative offers, and even smuggling secrets into other countries. By the mid-19th century industrialization had spread to France, Germany, Belgium, and the United States. 
::The earliest center of industrial production in continental Europe was Belgium, where coal, iron, textile, glass, and armaments production flourished. By 1830 French firms had employed many skilled British workers to help establish the textile industry, and railroad lines began to appear across Western Europe. Germany was a little later in developing industry, mainly because no centralized government existed there yet. After German political unification in 1871, the new empire soon rivaled England in terms of industrial production.
Industrialization in the United States was delayed until the country had enough laborers and money to invest in business. Both came from Europe, where overpopulation and political revolutions sent immigrants to the United States to seek their fortunes. The American Civil War (1861-1865) delayed further immigration until the 1870s. The United States had abundant natural resources; land, water, coal and iron ore; and after the great wave of immigration from Europe and Asia in the late 19th century; it also had the labor.
During the late 1800s, industrialization spread to Russia and Japan, in both cases by government initiatives.

Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads

2021-01-28T01:22:29Z

Jhenderson: Created page with " ::D. The Industrial Revolution occurred exclusively in Britain for about 50 years, but it eventually spread to other countries in Europe, the United States, Russia, and Japan..."

::D. The Industrial Revolution occurred exclusively in Britain for about 50 years, but it eventually spread to other countries in Europe, the United States, Russia, and Japan. British entrepreneurs and government officials forbade the export of machinery, manufacturing techniques, and skilled workers to other countries but the technologies spread by luring British experts with lucrative offers, and even smuggling secrets into other countries. By the mid-19th century industrialization had spread to France, Germany, Belgium, and the United States. 
::The earliest center of industrial production in continental Europe was Belgium, where coal, iron, textile, glass, and armaments production flourished. By 1830 French firms had employed many skilled British workers to help establish the textile industry, and railroad lines began to appear across Western Europe. Germany was a little later in developing industry, mainly because no centralized government existed there yet. After German political unification in 1871, the new empire soon rivaled England in terms of industrial production.
Industrialization in the United States was delayed until the country had enough laborers and money to invest in business. Both came from Europe, where overpopulation and political revolutions sent immigrants to the United States to seek their fortunes. The American Civil War (1861-1865) delayed further immigration until the 1870s. The United States had abundant natural resources; land, water, coal and iron ore; and after the great wave of immigration from Europe and Asia in the late 19th century; it also had the labor.
During the late 1800s, industrialization spread to Russia and Japan, in both cases by government initiatives.

Topic 5.5 Technology of the Industrial Age

2021-01-28T01:21:56Z

Jhenderson: Created page with "The first factories emerged near rivers and streams for water power, but with the discovery of the energy stored in fossil fuels such as coal and oil, location on rivers was n..."

The first factories emerged near rivers and streams for water power, but with the discovery of the energy stored in fossil fuels such as coal and oil, location on rivers was not as important. Coal transformed power by allowing for steam engines. During the Second Industrial revolution gas engines and electricity emerged.

[[File:textile.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Women and children were among the laborers in the textile industry during the early Industrial Revolution]]The earliest transformation of the Industrial Revolution was Britain's textile industry. In 1750 Britain already exported wool, linen, and cotton cloth, and the profits of cloth merchants were boosted by speeding up the process by which spinners and weavers made cloth. One invention led to another since none were useful if any part of the process was slower than the others. Some key inventions were:
*The flying shuttle - John Kay's invention carried threads of yarn back and forth when the weaver pulled a handle, greatly increasing the weavers' productivity.
*The spinning jenny - James Hargreaves' invention allowed one spinner to work eight threads at a time, increasing the output of spinners, allowing them to keep up with the weavers. Hargreaves named the machine for his daughter.
*The water frame - Richard Arkwright's invention replaced the hand-driven spinning jenny with one powered by water power, increasing spinning productivity even more.
*The spinning mule - In 1779, Samuel Crompton combined features of the spinning jenny and the water frame to produce the spinning mule. It made thread that was stronger, finer, and more consistent than that made by earlier machines. He followed this invention with the power loom that sped up the weaving process to match the new spinners.
[[File:spinningjenny.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The Spinning Jenny was a transitional invention between the spinning wheel and larger steam-driven machines.]]

Topic 5.3 Industrial Revolution Begins

2021-01-28T01:19:01Z

Jhenderson: Created page with "Like the [http://historyhaven.com/APWorldipedia/index.php?title=Key_Concept_1.2_The_Neolithic_Revolution_and_Early_Agricultural_Societies Neolithic Revolution] that occurred 1..."

Like the [http://historyhaven.com/APWorldipedia/index.php?title=Key_Concept_1.2_The_Neolithic_Revolution_and_Early_Agricultural_Societies Neolithic Revolution] that occurred 10,000 years before it, the Industrial Revolution dramatically transformed the way humans lived their lives to a degree that is hard to exaggerate. It is not difficult to define industrialization; it is simply the use of machines to make human labor more efficient and produce things much faster. As simple as this sounds, however, it brought about such sweeping changes that it virtually transformed the world, even areas in which industrialization did not occur. The change was so basic that it could not help but affect all areas of people's lives in every part of the globe.

See Crash Course video on the Industrial Revolution [http://watchdocumentary.org/watch/crash-course-world-history-episode-32-coal-steam-and-the-industrial-revolution-video_3713ebb75.html HERE].

The Industrial Revolution began in England in the late 18th century, and spread during the 19th century to Belgium, Germany, Northern France, the United States, and Japan. Almost all areas of the world felt the effects of the Industrial Revolution because it divided the world into "have" and "have not" countries, with many of the latter being controlled by the former. England's lead in the Industrial Revolution translated into economic prowess and political power that allowed colonization of other lands, eventually building a worldwide British Empire. See short [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Efq-aNBkvc VIDEO here.] 
----

:'''I. Industrialization fundamentally changed how goods were produced.'''[[File:industrialization.jpg|frame|right]]

::A. A variety of factors led to the rise of industrial production

*Geography - Europe’s location on the Atlantic, with its numerous harbors and ports, gave it access to natural resources and markets outside its borders. Industrial production occurred at such a dramatic rate—machines require massive amounts of raw materials and produce huge quantities of products—that access to foreign resources and markets was a necessity for industrial growth.
*Natural resources - Britain had large and accessible supplies of coal and iron - two of the most important raw materials used to produce the goods for the early Industrial Revolution. Also available was water power to fuel the new machines, harbors for its merchant ships, and rivers for inland transportation. Industrial growth also depended on an abundant supply of navigable rivers and canals, especially in the early stages before the railroads came.
*Social Changes – Factories require large investments of money (capital), so a thriving bourgeois class with wealth to invest was a basis for industrialization. The hereditary wealth of the aristocracy was less relevant. In fact, societies without a solid bourgeoisie had to rely on foreign investment to industrialize (think of the British investing in Ottoman and Russia industrial development). Because factories concentrate labor into small areas, urbanization was a requirement for industrialization.
*Large agricultural surpluses - The Industrial Revolution would not have been possible without a series of improvements in agriculture first in England, then spreading to other areas. Beginning in the early1700s, wealthy landowners began to enlarge their farms through enclosure, or fencing or hedging large blocks of land for experiments with new techniques of farming. These scientific farmers improved crop rotation methods, which carefully controlled nutrients in the soil. The larger the farms and the better the production the fewer farmers were needed. Farmers pushed out of their jobs by enclosure either became tenant farmers or they moved to cities. Better nutrition boosted England's population, creating the first necessary component for the Industrial Revolution: labor.
*Advanced financial practices - During the previous era, Britain had already built many of the economic practices and structures necessary for economic expansion, as well as a middle class (the bourgeoisie) that had experience with trading and manufacturing goods. Banks were well established, and they provided loans for businessmen to invest in new machinery and expand their operations.
*A cooperative government – In Western Europe, particularly Britain, governments supported the interests of the business class and developing industries (think of England’s support of the East India Company). They gave legal protection for contracts and private property, a move that took some of the risk out of investing capital. Political stability also allowed for industrial growth. Britain's political development during this period was fairly stable, with no major internal upheavals occurring, and industrialization only occurred in earnest in the United States until after the turmoil of the Civil War. Even then, the government facilitated immigration to need to need for industrial labor in the U.S. 

The transformation of labor, power, and machines
In a factory, the entire production process took place under one roof. Whereas agricultural societies worked together as families around the place they lived, industrial workers had to leave home to go to work each day. In agricultural settings, a person had to learn many different things and performed a variety of tasks year round. In factories jobs became specialized and a worker usually did the same repetitive thing all day in front of a machine. Labor no longer revolved around the rising and setting of the sun or seasons, but was ordered by the clock. Days became organized mathematically.

The first factories emerged near rivers and streams for water power, but with the discovery of the energy stored in fossil fuels such as coal and oil, location on rivers was not as important. Coal transformed power by allowing for steam engines. During the Second Industrial revolution gas engines and electricity emerged.

Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750

2021-01-27T12:45:55Z

Jhenderson:

The most significant change in global trade between 1450 and 1750 was the rise and involvement of the Europeans. Beginning with Portugal and Spain, European countries would commission the exploration, charting, and colonization of a huge portion of the world. The advancements that enabled them to do this, however, did not originate in a vacuum. Europeans adapted, improved, and synthesized the use of technologies and knowledge that came to them from elsewhere. European technological developments in cartography and navigation built on previous knowledge developed in the classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds. 
::*'''Navigation Technologies''' [[File:Mariner's astrolabe.jpg|right|thumb|A mariner's astrolabe.]]Islamic civilization had long possessed the need for astronomical and geographic knowledge. Muslims schools were expected to pronounce daily prayer times, calculate the exact time of the holy month of Ramadan, and provide the faithful with the direction of Mecca for the purpose of prayer. To address these religious matters they developed the '''astrolabe''' which enabled them to solve "300 types of problems in astronomy, geography, and trigonometry." <ref>''Science and Technology in World History'' (2006, 2nd ed.) James E. McClellan III and Harold Dorn, p.107.</ref> Through Muslim Spain, the astrolabe entered Christian Europe. Borrowing the basic principles of the Islamic astrolabe, the Portuguese created the '''mariner's astrolabe''', an instrument whose functions were limited to and designed specifically for the purpose of navigation. At sea, the mariner's astrolabe helped ships determine their latitude by aligning the instrument with the sun or a known star. 
::*'''Cartography''' The sea voyages of the Europeans in this era could not have taken place without a revolution in the craft of cartography, or map making. European maps in the Middle Ages, called '''T-O maps''' because of their shape, were not intended as tools for navigation. These maps often placed Jerusalem in the center of the world and divided the world into the domains of Noah's three sons. [[File:T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472.jpg|left|thumb|A typical T-O Map dividing the world into the provinces of the sons of Noah from the Bible.]]Hence they were ''qualitative'' maps intended to make a religious statement about the world from a Christian point of view. They declared what was religiously important but were useless in bringing sailors back to port. <ref>''The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559.'' (1994) Eugene F. Rice, Jr. and Anthony Grafton, pp.126-27.</ref> 
::This changed with European contacts with Byzantine and Islamic influences that had been increasing over the previous few centuries. Although writings of the Greek cartographer '''Ptolemy''' (90-168 C.E.) had been making their way into Europe in the previous period, few Europeans read Greek. With the increase of available classical authors and their translation into Latin, a new interest in Ptolemy's work emerged. <ref>''Renaissance Thought and its Sources.'' (1979) Paul Oskar Kristeller, p.121.</ref> Combined with the growing desire for trade, navigation and cartography attracted some of the best academic minds of the 15th century who began to view the world, like Ptolemy, in a ''quantitative'' way.<ref>''The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know his World and Himself.'' (1993) Daniel Boorstin, pp.146-156.</ref> They believed mathematics corresponded with the actual way the world was.<ref>''The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science.'' (1997) John Henry, p.15.</ref> A change in [[File:Caravel Boa Esperanca Portugal.jpg|right|thumb|The Portuguese caravel.]][[File:Galleon-spanish.jpg|right|thumb|The Spanish Galleon.]]mentality meant that the world was now conceived in a mathematical and rational way. Cartography was concerned with making maps that resemble the features of geography as they actually existed rather than making a theological statement about the world. Merchants could now use maps to plot new routes to and from desired locations and their experiences and information was in turn applied to the latest maps. The craft of this new quantitative method of map-making and the training required for the new instruments of navigation were taught in the city of '''Lisbon''', Portugal. 
::*'''Innovations in Ship Design''' Another European advancement based on previous technologies was the '''caravel''', a light, fast, and maneuverable ship first devised by the Portuguese. (Columbus constantly praised his favorite ship, the ''Niña'' which along with the ''Pinta'' seemed to be a caravel.<ref> "The Niña, the Santa Cruz, and Other Caravels as Described in the Livro de armadas and Other Spanish Records." Lyon, E., ''The American Neptune''. (1993) 53.4:239-46</ref>) Lighter, requiring a smaller crew, and able to carry more cargo than the typical oar-driven Mediterranean ships, <ref>''Science and Technology in World History,'' McClellan, p.198.</ref> the caravel adopted the '''lateen sail''' first pioneered by Arab merchants in the India Ocean. This gave these ships the ability to tack into the face of the wind. The caravel was able to carry a large cargo with an inordinately small crew, thus decreasing the cost of shipping and increasing profits. Developing about a century after the caravel was [[File:Henrican navigation routes.gif|left|thumb|Note the indirect route (in red) of the return to Portugal from the western coast of Africa. The westerlies made this the more efficient route.]]the '''Spanish galleon''', a large multi-deck ship with at least three or four masts. The forward sails were large rectangular power sails with the last mast usually carrying a lateen sail. These ships were the primary vessels of the Spanish Treasure Fleet and were capable of carrying an enormous volume of cargo. They carried most of the slaves across the Atlantic via the dreaded '''Middle Passage'''. Europeans were the first to mount firearms on their ships, outfitting their caravels and galleons with broadside canon. Thus armed, these ships gave Europeans the capacity to project unprecedented power. 
::*'''Knowledge of Wind and Sea Currents''' Europeans were also aided by their growing familiarity with the global environment and their adaptation to it. The Portuguese learned that the most efficient maritime route between two points is not always a strait line. This could involve fighting the wind and sea currents. Consequently, they developed a strategy known as the '''volta do mar''', or turn of the sea. Often going far out of their way, the Portuguese and other European sailors learned instead to work with the currents. For example, when Vasco da Gama sought a route to the Indian Ocean around Africa, he sailed nearly to the coast of Brazil before he caught the westerlies that took him around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.<ref>''Traditions and Encounters.'' (2006. 3rd ed.) Jerry Bentley, ''et al''., p.604.</ref> Knowledge of such trade winds allowed sailors to be more efficient by using, rather than going against, the grain of nature.

Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750

2021-01-27T12:45:09Z

Jhenderson:

The most significant change in global trade between 1450 and 1750 was the rise and involvement of the Europeans. Beginning with Portugal and Spain, European countries would commission the exploration, charting, and colonization of a huge portion of the world. The advancements that enabled them to do this, however, did not originate in a vacuum. Europeans adapted, improved, and synthesized the use of technologies and knowledge that came to them from elsewhere. European technological developments in cartography and navigation built on previous knowledge developed in the classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds. 
::*'''Navigation Technologies''' [[File:Mariner's astrolabe.jpg|right|thumb|A mariner's astrolabe.]]Islamic civilization had long possessed the need for astronomical and geographic knowledge. Muslims schools were expected to pronounce daily prayer times, calculate the exact time of the holy month of Ramadan, and provide the faithful with the direction of Mecca for the purpose of prayer. To address these religious matters they developed the '''astrolabe''' which enabled them to solve "300 types of problems in astronomy, geography, and trigonometry." <ref>''Science and Technology in World History'' (2006, 2nd ed.) James E. McClellan III and Harold Dorn, p.107.</ref> Through Muslim Spain, the astrolabe entered Christian Europe. Borrowing the basic principles of the Islamic astrolabe, the Portuguese created the '''mariner's astrolabe''', an instrument whose functions were limited to and designed specifically for the purpose of navigation. At sea, the mariner's astrolabe helped ships determine their latitude by aligning the instrument with the sun or a known star. 
::*'''Cartography''' The sea voyages of the Europeans in this era could not have taken place without a revolution in the craft of cartography, or map making. European maps in the Middle Ages, called '''T-O maps''' because of their shape, were not intended as tools for navigation. These maps often placed Jerusalem in the center of the world and divided the world into the domains of Noah's three sons. [[File:T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472.jpg|left|thumb|A typical T-O Map dividing the world into the provinces of the sons of Noah from the Bible.]]Hence they were ''qualitative'' maps intended to make a religious statement about the world from a Christian point of view. They declared what was religiously important but were useless in bringing sailors back to port. <ref>''The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559.'' (1994) Eugene F. Rice, Jr. and Anthony Grafton, pp.126-27.</ref> 
::This changed with European contacts with Byzantine and Islamic influences that had been increasing over the previous few centuries. Although writings of the Greek cartographer '''Ptolemy''' (90-168 C.E.) had been making their way into Europe in the previous period, few Europeans read Greek. With the increase of available classical authors and their translation into Latin, a new interest in Ptolemy's work emerged. <ref>''Renaissance Thought and its Sources.'' (1979) Paul Oskar Kristeller, p.121.</ref> Combined with the growing desire for trade, navigation and cartography attracted some of the best academic minds of the 15th century who began to view the world, like Ptolemy, in a ''quantitative'' way.<ref>''The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know his World and Himself.'' (1993) Daniel Boorstin, pp.146-156.</ref> They believed mathematics corresponded with the actual way the world was.<ref>''The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science.'' (1997) John Henry, p.15.</ref> A change in [[File:Caravel Boa Esperanca Portugal.jpg|right|thumb|The Portuguese caravel.]][[File:Galleon-spanish.jpg|right|thumb|The Spanish Galleon.]]mentality meant that the world was now conceived in a mathematical and rational way. Cartography was concerned with making maps that resemble the features of geography as they actually existed rather than making a theological statement about the world. Merchants could now use maps to plot new routes to and from desired locations and their experiences and information was in turn applied to the latest maps. The craft of this new quantitative method of map-making and the training required for the new instruments of navigation were taught in the city of '''Lisbon''', Portugal. 
::*'''Innovations in Ship Design''' Another European advancement based on previous technologies was the '''caravel''', a light, fast, and maneuverable ship first devised by the Portuguese. (Columbus constantly praised his favorite ship, the ''Niña'' which along with the ''Pinta'' seemed to be a caravel.<ref> "The Niña, the Santa Cruz, and Other Caravels as Described in the Livro de armadas and Other Spanish Records." Lyon, E., ''The American Neptune''. (1993) 53.4:239-46</ref>) Lighter, requiring a smaller crew, and able to carry more cargo than the typical oar-driven Mediterranean ships, <ref>''Science and Technology in World History,'' McClellan, p.198.</ref> the caravel adopted the '''lateen sail''' first pioneered by Arab merchants in the India Ocean. This gave these ships the ability to tack into the face of the wind. The caravel was able to carry a large cargo with an inordinately small crew, thus decreasing the cost of shipping and increasing profits. Developing about a century after the caravel was [[File:Henrican navigation routes.gif|left|thumb|Note the indirect route (in red) of the return to Portugal from the western coast of Africa. The westerlies made this the more efficient route.]]the '''Spanish galleon''', a large multi-deck ship with at least three or four masts. The forward sails were large rectangular power sails with the last mast usually carrying a lateen sail. These ships were the primary vessels of the Spanish Treasure Fleet and were capable of carrying an enormous volume of cargo. They carried most of the slaves across the Atlantic via the dreaded '''Middle Passage'''. Europeans were the first to mount firearms on their ships, outfitting their caravels and galleons with broadside canon. Thus armed, these ships gave Europeans the capacity to project unprecedented power. 
::*'''Knowledge of Wind and Sea Currents''' Europeans were also aided by their growing familiarity with the global environment and their adaptation to it. The Portuguese learned that the most efficient maritime route between two points is not always a straight line. This could involve fighting the wind and sea currents. Consequently, they developed a strategy known as the '''volta do mar''', or turn of the sea. Often going far out of their way, the Portuguese and other European sailors learned instead to work with the currents. For example, when Vasco da Gama sought a route to the Indian Ocean around Africa, he sailed nearly to the coast of Brazil before he caught the westerlies that took him around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.<ref>''Traditions and Encounters.'' (2006. 3rd ed.) Jerry Bentley, ''et al''., p.604.</ref> Knowledge of such trade winds allowed sailors to be more efficient by using, rather than going against, the grain of nature.

Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment

2021-01-05T15:31:39Z

Jhenderson:

In the late eighteenth century many people changed their mind about what made authority legitimate. Rather than basing political authority on divine right, some advocated new ideas about how the right to rule was bestowed. Many Enlightenment thinkers wanted broader participation in government and leaders who were more responsive to their people. This led to rebellions and independence movements against existing governments and the formation of new nations around the world. No longer content to be subjects of a king, new forms of group identity were formed around concepts such as culture, religion, shared history and race. Colonized people developed identities separate from the European societies from which they emerged. 
----
:''' The rise and diffusion of Enlightenment thought that questioned established traditions in all areas of life often preceded the revolutions and rebellions against existing governments. ''' 
::A. During [[File:Delacroix - La liberte.jpg|right|400px]]the previous era (1450-1750) Europeans grew more willing to challenge established authorities on matters of culture, science and religion. Borrowing the methods of science, the new ways of understanding the world began with one's direct observations or experience, organizing the data of that experience, and only then evaluating political and social life. In a movement known as the '''Enlightenment''', European intellectuals applied these methods to human relationships around them. They did not hesitate to question assumptions about government and society that had gone unquestioned for centuries. Dismissing all inherited beliefs about social class and religion, they began from direct experience and asked why things had to be the way they were. 

::Since the middle ages, religion formed the basis of most every aspect of life in Europe. The Church sanctioned a hierarchical class system, supported the divine right of kings, and claimed to be the supreme authority on all knowledge claims. It did so by claiming to be the custodians of divine revelations which formed the basis of all that was true and were taken without question. During the Enlightenment, thinkers doubted the church's claim to possess a source of divinely revealed absolute truth. They instead emphasized the capacity of human reason and experience to arrive at knowledge. They despised all dogma--the belief in propositions given by authorities which are not open to be challenged or examined for one's self--and waged war against intolerance. In this regard, the most prominent figure is the French philosopher '''Voltaire'''. After wars of religion and the intolerance Catholics and Protestants demonstrated toward each other, Voltaire sought to destroy dogma and struggle against the power of the Catholic Church in European society. 

::The most profound influence of the Enlightenment was in political thought. New and radical ideas emanated from philosophers that challenged accepted notions of power. The English philosopher '''John Locke''' believed that all knowledge arises through experience, a belief that implies that experience rather than birth makes individuals who they are, thus calling into question the basis for the class system of Europe. He went on to argue that every individual has inalienable [[File:Rousseau.jpg|left|thumb|Rousseau]]rights--rights that cannot be taken away without a grievous violation of natural law. For Locke, the most fundamental inalienable rights were life, liberty, and the right to own property. The French philosopher '''Rousseau''' argued that the relationship between a government and its people was similar to a contract. This assumes that both parties are on equal footing and either side could violate the contract. Another English philosopher named '''Thomas Hobbes''' said that the only legitimate role of a government was to protect people from each other and anything beyond that was oppressive. The French philosopher '''Montesquieu''' also argued for a limited government. He believed the best way to limit the power of a government was to divide its most fundamental powers--the power to make laws, execute laws, and interpret laws in specific instances-- into three distinct and separate locations of the government. This had a strong influence on the American system of dividing government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government with checks and balances between them. The net effect of all these philosophers was to deny the legitimacy of a government with absolute power supported by religion rather than the general will of the people. The philosophers of the Enlightenment used the same assumptions about knowledge as the Scientific Revolution but used the methods to change how life was lived. 

::The philosophies of the Enlightenment influenced several important political documents that were used to challenged traditional forms of political authority and call for radical changes in society and independence from political regimes. 

::* '''The Declaration of Independence''' [[File:Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789.jpg|thumb|The ''Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen'' of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights]]Written by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence set forth a justification for the independence of Britain's colonies in North America by claiming the actions of the English government violated the inalienable rights of the colonists as British subjects. It evoked John Locke's ideas of the contractual relation between a government and its people and made the case that King George III had overstepped his legitimate political power thus giving the colonists the right to separate from England. See the text of the Declaration of Independence [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html HERE] 

::* '''The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen''' The Declaration of the Rights of Man was a product of the French Revolution. It was drafted by Lafayette, who was instrumental in the American Independence movement. This document proclaims the rights of all humans, regardless of social status. It effectively tore down the rights and privileges of the feudal class system and claimed that its concept of social equality and liberty were true of all people at all times and in all places. As an abstract declaration of rights for all people it claimed universal and abstract liberty and was a permanent gain of the French Revolution. See the text of the Declaration of the Rights of Man [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp HERE.] 

::* '''Letter From Jamaica''' This is another document motivated by the political ideas of the Enlightenment. Written by Simon Bolivar in 1815, it justifies Spanish America's independence from Spain. The document outlines the grievance the colonies have against Spain and speculate about the future of Latin America. Bolivar repeats his conviction that unity, rather than a US style confederation, is necessary for the states of northern South America. See English translation of the text [http://excerpts.indepthinfo.com/simon-bolivars-jamaica-letter HERE]. 

::All of these Enlightenment-inspired documents imply a radically different arrangement of society than what was practiced at the time. For most of human history, varying levels of rights and privileges were assigned to groups in a society rather than to individuals. Such groups were differentiated hierarchically by caste, race, religion, ownership of land, or some other criteria, and laws were different for each of them; inequality between groups was taken as a given. Enlightenment thought explicitly contradicted these assumptions. Lifting group designations completely, at least in theory, society was viewed as a collection of individuals who deserved to be treated in a uniform fashion. This new concept of individuality and universal rights initiated struggles to bring equality to women, dissolve feudal class systems, emancipate slaves, and expand suffrage to a wider range of people. But social reform was not without challenges. The mulattoes in Haiti who claimed equality with the creoles did not think for a moment that those same rights belonged to slaves; landowning planters fought the emancipation of serfs and other groups of coerced laborers; and in Europe Pope Pious IX referred to universal suffrage as a "horrible plague which affected human society." <ref>''The Secularization of the European Mind in the 19th Century'' (1975) Owen Chadwick, p.113.</ref>

Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions

2020-12-26T05:40:14Z

Jhenderson: Created page with "Beginning in the eighteenth century, peoples around the world developed a new sense of commonality based on language, religion, social customs and territory. These newly imagi..."

Beginning in the eighteenth century, peoples around the world developed a new sense of commonality based on language, religion, social customs and territory. These newly imagined national communities linked this identity with the borders of the state, while governments used this idea to unite diverse populations.

Since the dawn of human societies, people have inclined to identify themselves as part of a group, whether it be tribe or clan, Caliphate or kingdom. Enlightenment ideas, particularly those emanating from the French Revolution, created a modern way of establishing group identity. Previous identities usually centered around the leader who possessed some kind of mandate--religious or otherwise--to exercise authority over the people. Before the revolution in France, for example, people thought of themselves as subjects of the king who ruled by divine right. When they went to war, they marched for the monarch. However, after the French demoted--and then executed--their king during the Revolution, this concept of identity necessarily ended. They were no longer subjects of the king, but citizens of the nation of France. Nations are human constructs based on commonalities, usually language, ethnicity, territorial claims, religious bonds or a shared history, whether real or imagined. This cohesive force is called nationalism, and most nations seek to be politically autonomous on a specific territory (a nation-state). Thus it can be deadly to empires as it encourages different ethnic or religious groups to break away to form independent states. As a powerful force in uniting and motivating people, politicians can exploit nationalist feelings for their own objectives. At its worst, nationalism marginalizes groups of people who do not fit the ethnic or religious identity of the nation, which can lead to persecution and violence.

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-26T05:39:12Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}

=1750 to 1900=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Imgbin french-revolution.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 5 Revolutions''' 
[[Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment]] [[Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions]] [[Topic 5.3 Industrial Revolution Begins]] [[Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads]] [[Topic 5.5 Technology of the Industrial Age]] [[Topic 5.6 Industrialization: Government’s Role]] [[Topic 5.7 Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age]] [[Topic 5.8 Reactions to the Industrial Economy]] [[Topic 5.9 Society and the Industrial Age]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 6 Consequences of Industrialization''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750

2020-12-26T05:37:53Z

Jhenderson: Created page with "Shivarji, who welded together the Maratha confederacy that weakened the Mughal Empire. The centralization of power in S..."

[[File:Shivaji and the Marathas.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Shivarji, who welded together the Maratha confederacy that weakened the Mughal Empire.]] The centralization of power in South Asia intensified already strained relations between subjects and the imperial powers who ruled over them. The Mughal Empire, which had ruled South Asia since 1526, was weakened by the rise of the '''Marathas''' on the western border of the subcontinent. The Marathas were a collection of farming, landowning and warrior [[File:India_Maharashtra_locator_map.svg|left|thumb|The portion of India where the Maratha Empire emerged.]] castes united by a single language. <ref>''http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/363851/Maratha</ref> Their strict adherence to Hinduism further set them apart from their Islamic Mughal overlords. 
Emperor Akbar (1542-1605) inaugurated a period of peace and prosperity in the Mughal Empire by tolerating other faiths. Shortly after his death, conservative leaders returned the dynasty to its policy of favoring Islam above other religions. The Hindu majority once again had to pay the hated Islamic tax on non-Muslims, alcohol was forbidden, and Hindu temples were permitted to go into disrepair. <ref>''India'' (2001) Stanley Wolpert, p. 43.</ref> These measures galvanized the Hindu Marathas against the Islamic Mughals. A leader named Shivaji (1627-1680) forged a powerful Marathan confederacy which launched major revolts against the Mughals. By the early 1700s the Mughals were in an advanced state of decline. Divided by religion and doctrine, plagued by suspicion and accumulated grievances, India was vulnerable: Afghans conquered part of the Punjab in the north, despite staunch opposition from Mughal viceroys, the Marathas had gained the right to collect taxes in six Mughal provinces, <ref>''Advanced Study in the History of Modern India, 1707-1813'' (2005) Jaswant Lal Mehta, p. 92.</ref> and the East India Company gained de facto control over large areas of India. After defeating the Maratha Empire in 1818, the East India Company briefly became the protectors of the Mughal Empire. By 1858 the British had colonized them outright.

Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900

2020-12-26T05:33:44Z

Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment

2020-12-26T05:31:01Z

Jhenderson: Created page with "In the late eighteenth century many people changed their mind about what made authority legitimate. Rather than basing political authority on divine right, some advocated new..."

In the late eighteenth century many people changed their mind about what made authority legitimate. Rather than basing political authority on divine right, some advocated new ideas about how the right to rule was bestowed. Many Enlightenment thinkers wanted broader participation in government and leaders who were more responsive to their people. This led to rebellions and independence movements against existing governments and the formation of new nations around the world. No longer content to be subjects of a king, new forms of group identity were formed around concepts such as culture, religion, shared history and race. Colonized people developed identities separate from the European societies from which they emerged. 
----
:''' The rise and diffusion of Enlightenment thought that questioned established traditions in all areas of life often preceded the revolutions and rebellions against existing governments. ''' 
::A. During [[File:Delacroix - La liberte.jpg|right|400px]]the previous era (1450-1750) Europeans grew less reluctant challenging established authorities on matters of culture, science and religion. Borrowing the methods of science, the new ways of understanding the world began with one's direct observations or experience, organizing the data of that experience, and only then evaluating political and social life. In a movement known as the '''Enlightenment''', European intellectuals applied these methods to human relationships around them. They did not hesitate to question assumptions about government and society that had gone unquestioned for centuries. Dismissing all inherited beliefs about social class and religion, they began from direct experience and asked why things had to be the way they were. 

::Since the middle ages, religion formed the basis of most every aspect of life in Europe. The Church sanctioned a hierarchical class system, supported the divine right of kings, and claimed to be the supreme authority on all knowledge claims. It did so by claiming to be the custodians of divine revelations which formed the basis of all that was true and were taken without question. During the Enlightenment, thinkers doubted the church's claim to possess a source of divinely revealed absolute truth. They instead emphasized the capacity of human reason and experience to arrive at knowledge. They despised all dogma--the belief in propositions given by authorities which are not open to be challenged or examined for one's self--and waged war against intolerance. In this regard, the most prominent figure is the French philosopher '''Voltaire'''. After wars of religion and the intolerance Catholics and Protestants demonstrated toward each other, Voltaire sought to destroy dogma and struggle against the power of the Catholic Church in European society. 

::The most profound influence of the Enlightenment was in political thought. New and radical ideas emanated from philosophers that challenged accepted notions of power. The English philosopher '''John Locke''' believed that all knowledge arises through experience, a belief that implies that experience rather than birth makes individuals who they are, thus calling into question the basis for the class system of Europe. He went on to argue that every individual has inalienable [[File:Rousseau.jpg|left|thumb|Rousseau]]rights--rights that cannot be taken away without a grievous violation of natural law. For Locke, the most fundamental inalienable rights were life, liberty, and the right to own property. The French philosopher '''Rousseau''' argued that the relationship between a government and its people was similar to a contract. This assumes that both parties are on equal footing and either side could violate the contract. Another English philosopher named '''Thomas Hobbes''' said that the only legitimate role of a government was to protect people from each other and anything beyond that was oppressive. The French philosopher '''Montesquieu''' also argued for a limited government. He believed the best way to limit the power of a government was to divide its most fundamental powers--the power to make laws, execute laws, and interpret laws in specific instances-- into three distinct and separate locations of the government. This had a strong influence on the American system of dividing government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government with checks and balances between them. The net effect of all these philosophers was to deny the legitimacy of a government with absolute power supported by religion rather than the general will of the people. The philosophers of the Enlightenment used the same assumptions about knowledge as the Scientific Revolution but used the methods to change how life was lived. 

::The philosophies of the Enlightenment influenced several important political documents that were used to challenged traditional forms of political authority and call for radical changes in society and independence from political regimes. 

::* '''The Declaration of Independence''' [[File:Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789.jpg|thumb|The ''Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen'' of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights]]Written by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence set forth a justification for the independence of Britain's colonies in North America by claiming the actions of the English government violated the inalienable rights of the colonists as British subjects. It evoked John Locke's ideas of the contractual relation between a government and its people and made the case that King George III had overstepped his legitimate political power thus giving the colonists the right to separate from England. See the text of the Declaration of Independence [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html HERE] 

::* '''The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen''' The Declaration of the Rights of Man was a product of the French Revolution. It was drafted by Lafayette, who was instrumental in the American Independence movement. This document proclaims the rights of all humans, regardless of social status. It effectively tore down the rights and privileges of the feudal class system and claimed that its concept of social equality and liberty were true of all people at all times and in all places. As an abstract declaration of rights for all people it claimed universal and abstract liberty and was a permanent gain of the French Revolution. See the text of the Declaration of the Rights of Man [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp HERE.] 

::* '''Letter From Jamaica''' This is another document motivated by the political ideas of the Enlightenment. Written by Simon Bolivar in 1815, it justifies Spanish America's independence from Spain. The document outlines the grievance the colonies have against Spain and speculate about the future of Latin America. Bolivar repeats his conviction that unity, rather than a US style confederation, is necessary for the states of northern South America. See English translation of the text [http://excerpts.indepthinfo.com/simon-bolivars-jamaica-letter HERE]. 

::All of these Enlightenment-inspired documents imply a radically different arrangement of society than what was practiced at the time. For most of human history, varying levels of rights and privileges were assigned to groups in a society rather than to individuals. Such groups were differentiated hierarchically by caste, race, religion, ownership of land, or some other criteria, and laws were different for each of them; inequality between groups was taken as a given. Enlightenment thought explicitly contradicted these assumptions. Lifting group designations completely, at least in theory, society was viewed as a collection of individuals who deserved to be treated in a uniform fashion. This new concept of individuality and universal rights initiated struggles to bring equality to women, dissolve feudal class systems, emancipate slaves, and expand suffrage to a wider range of people. But social reform was not without challenges. The mulattoes in Haiti who claimed equality with the creoles did not think for a moment that those same rights belonged to slaves; landowning planters fought the emancipation of serfs and other groups of coerced laborers; and in Europe Pope Pious IX referred to universal suffrage as a "horrible plague which affected human society." <ref>''The Secularization of the European Mind in the 19th Century'' (1975) Owen Chadwick, p.113.</ref>

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-26T05:26:30Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}

=1750 to 1900=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Imgbin french-revolution.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 5 Revolutions''' 
[[Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment]] [[Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900]] [[Topic 5.3 Industrial Revolution Begins]] [[Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads in the Period from 1750 to 1900]] [[Topic 5.5 Technology of the Industrial Age]] [[Topic 5.6 Industrialization: Government’s Role]] [[Topic 5.7 Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age]] [[Topic 5.8 Reactions to the Industrial Economy]] [[Topic 5.9 Society and the Industrial Age]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 6 Consequences of Industrialization''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-26T05:24:37Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}

=1750 to 1900=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Imgbin french-revolution.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 5 Revolutions''' 
[[Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment]] [[Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900]] [[Topic 5.3 Industrial Revolution Begins]] [[Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads in the Period from 1750 to 1900]] [[Topic 5.5 Technology of the Industrial Age]] [[Topic 5.6 Industrialization: Government’s Role]] [[Topic 5.7 Economic Developments and Innovations in the Industrial Age]] [[Topic 5.8 Reactions to the Industrial Economy]] [[Topic 5.9 Society and the Industrial Age]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 6 Consequences of Industrialization''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-26T05:20:56Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}

=1750 to 1900=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Imgbin french-revolution.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 5 Revolutions''' 
[[Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment]] [[Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900]] [[Topic 5.3 Industrial Revolution Begins]] [[Topic 5.4 Industrialization Spreads in the Period from 1750 to 1900]] [[Topic 5.5 Technology of the Industrial Age]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 6 Consequences of Industrialization''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-26T05:17:13Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}

=1750 to 1900=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Imgbin french-revolution.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Revolutions''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 6 Consequences of Industrialization''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-26T05:16:20Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=1750 to 1900=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Imgbin french-revolution.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Revolutions''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 6 Consequences of Industrialization''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

File:Imgbin french-revolution.png

2020-12-26T05:15:03Z

Jhenderson:

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-26T05:11:09Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=1750 to 1900=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Revolutions''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 6 Consequences of Industrialization''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa

2020-12-06T03:47:47Z

Jhenderson:

Before the period 1200 to 1450, Sub-Saharan Africa was extremely diversified. Unlike parts of Europe , Asia , and north Africa, it was never united under a universal religion or empire/state.

Some African societies were stateless, organized around kinship and family obligation with no centralized authority. Government in these societies was never a full time occupation; there were no large armies, no large-scale political organization, no large building projects, nor were there conditions to conduct long-distant trade with other people.

What similarities there were resulted from the earlier migration of the '''Bantu''' people. Their root language created common structure and vocabularies across African languages and dialects; this allowed some mutual understanding among various tribes.

Most African tribes also had similarities in their belief systems. They were animistic, believing in a world controlled by spiritual forces and gods. These forces had to be dealt with through a specialist who would proscribe rituals, sacrifices, or some other form of religious practice to affect events. These beliefs created a view of how the universe worked and how one should ethically relate oneself to it. Their dead ancestors, the first settlers of the land, were the true owners of the land, and had a role in harvests and fertility. Thus land was more than just a source of agriculture; it took on religious significance.

As far as the economies of Africa are concerned, the north was fully integrated with the Mediterranean and Arab worlds of trade. The Sub-Saharan was a completely different. Its economies were primarily local and regional and varied so much that it is impossible to generalize about them.

The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia and Ethiopia
[[File:Lalibela, san giorgio, esterno 24.jpg|thumb|right]]As Islam spread across north Africa, there remained “islands” of Christianity in the midst of its civilizations. Christianity came to Africa before Islam. Nubia and Ethiopia (originally known as Axum or Aksum ) had had Christian communities for several centuries before the Muslims came. Originally tied to Byzantine Christianity, they eventually split from them and developed their own unique Christian practices (known as Coptic). When the Muslims came, they tolerated the Coptic communities and gave them some limited rights.

The most important Christian community in Africa was Ethiopia. Surrounded by Muslims and others, they took to the highland areas and became self-sufficient. They famously carved churches out of the mountain rock (see picture to the right). In the 16th century, the Ethiopian Christians were threatened by a neighboring Muslim state. The Portuguese arrived and drove the Muslims back and in return attempted to convert the Ethiopians to Roman Catholicism. This failed and Ethiopia remained an isolated, Christian, and fiercely independent civilization.

In the early 1200s the chief of the Malinke people challenged the authority of the ruling Soninke family. The king Sundiata triumphed over the Soninke people and established the most legendary West African empire of all, Mali . The story of Sundiata, also called the Lion Prince, is the most famous epic from Africa , forming a rich literary tradition in the same way that Homer did for the Greeks and the legend of King Author did for the English. (A reference to the epic of Sundiata can be found in the opening of chapter 19 in your textbook.) This story forms a good example for the syncretic nature of African religion: Sundiata is described as a devout Muslim but is still concerned with pleasing the traditional spirits as well.

The empire of Mali stretched for thousands of miles from the west Atlantic coast of Africa across the sub-Saharan savanna. The empire was more developed and oversaw much more extensive agriculture than Ghana did.

It was ruled by kings called Mansas. Ibn Battuta, a famous Muslim traveler, visited Mali ’s capital in 1352, and described the rule of these Mansas thus:

::''The Negroes possess some admirable qualities. They are seldom unjust and have a greater abhorrence of injustice than other people. Their Mansa shows no mercy to anyone least guilty of the act of injustice. There is complete security in their country. Neither traveler nor inhabitant has anything to fear from robbers or men of violence.''

The most famous Mansa of the empire of Mali was '''Mansa Musa'''. In 1324-1325 he made his famous hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca ) which became very famous for the display of extravagance shown en route. He took 100 camels just to carry gold which he gave out as gifts along the way. He was served by 500 slaves. In Cairo ( Egypt ) he gave away so much gold that the resulting surplus caused its devaluation there. This famous pilgrimage was significant for 2 reasons. First of all, it put Mali “on the map” of the medieval world. Word of his wealth and extravagance spread quickly and brought attention to Mali . Secondly, it shows the more serious role of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. This display of devotion certainly denotes a more serious attitude toward Islam than the mere toleration shown by many of Ghana ’s kings.

'
[[File:Barth 1858 Timbuktu from terrace.jpg|thumb|left]]''Timbuktu''' became an important trading and scholarly center in sub-Saharan Africa during the Mail and Songhai empires. It is located on the northern bend of the Niger River , the southern edge of the Sahara desert. Here is a first hand account of Timbuktu by a Leo Africanus when he visited the city in the early 1500s.

::''There are many shops of craftsmen and merchants, especially of those who weave cotton and cloth. To this place merchants bring cloth from Europe . All the women of this area, except maidservants, go with their faces covered and sell all necessary kinds of food. The inhabitants of this area are very rich, so much so that the king has married both of his daughters to two rich merchants. The rich king has many articles of gold and keeps a magnificent and well-furnished court. When he travels anywhere he rides a camel that is lead by some of his noblemen. He travels likewise when he goes into war, and his warriors ride upon horses. Attending him he always has 3000 horsemen and a great number of foot soldiers armed with poisonous arrows. Here there are many doctors, judges, priests and other educated men that are well maintained at the kings cost. Many manuscripts and books can be bought here and are sold here for more money than any other merchandise.''

In its heyday, Timbuktu was an important trading hub for two of Africa's most important items of commerce: salt and gold. The wealth of the city is evident from the quotation above. But Timbuktu also became an important city for Islamic scholarship. Its Mosque contained a library and a university where scholars, theologians, and Muslim jurists studied. Thus the most important trade in Timbuktu was in books.

Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa

2020-12-06T03:46:16Z

Jhenderson:

Before the period 1200 to 1450, Sub-Saharan Africa was extremely diversified. Unlike parts of Europe , Asia , and north Africa, it was never united under a universal religion or empire/state.

Some African societies were stateless, organized around kinship and family obligation with no centralized authority. Government in these societies was never a full time occupation; there were no large armies, no large-scale political organization, no large building projects, nor were there conditions to conduct long-distant trade with other people.

What similarities there were resulted from the earlier migration of the '''Bantu''' people. Their root language created common structure and vocabularies across African languages and dialects; this allowed some mutual understanding among various tribes.

Most African tribes also had similarities in their belief systems. They were animistic, believing in a world controlled by spiritual forces and gods. These forces had to be dealt with through a specialist who would proscribe rituals, sacrifices, or some other form of religious practice to affect events. These beliefs created a view of how the universe worked and how one should ethically relate oneself to it. Their dead ancestors, the first settlers of the land, were the true owners of the land, and had a role in harvests and fertility. Thus land was more than just a source of agriculture; it took on religious significance.

As far as the economies of Africa are concerned, the north was fully integrated with the Mediterranean and Arab worlds of trade. The Sub-Saharan was a completely different. Its economies were primarily local and regional and varied so much that it is impossible to generalize about them.

The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia and Ethiopia
[[File:Lalibela, san giorgio, esterno 24.jpg|thumb|right]]As Islam spread across north Africa, there remained “islands” of Christianity in the midst of its civilizations. Christianity came to Africa before Islam. Nubia and Ethiopia (originally known as Axum or Aksum ) had had Christian communities for several centuries before the Muslims came. Originally tied to Byzantine Christianity, they eventually split from them and developed their own unique Christian practices (known as Coptic). When the Muslims came, they tolerated the Coptic communities and gave them some limited rights.

The most important Christian community in Africa was Ethiopia. Surrounded by Muslims and others, they took to the highland areas and became self-sufficient. They famously carved churches out of the mountain rock (see picture to the right). In the 16th century, the Ethiopian Christians were threatened by a neighboring Muslim state. The Portuguese arrived and drove the Muslims back and in return attempted to convert the Ethiopians to Roman Catholicism. This failed and Ethiopia remained an isolated, Christian, and fiercely independent civilization.

In the early 1200s the chief of the Malinke people challenged the authority of the ruling Soninke family. The king Sundiata triumphed over the Soninke people and established the most legendary West African empire of all, Mali . The story of Sundiata, also called the Lion Prince, is the most famous epic from Africa , forming a rich literary tradition in the same way that Homer did for the Greeks and the legend of King Author did for the English. (A reference to the epic of Sundiata can be found in the opening of chapter 19 in your textbook.) This story forms a good example for the syncretic nature of African religion: Sundiata is described as a devout Muslim but is still concerned with pleasing the traditional spirits as well.

The empire of Mali stretched for thousands of miles from the west Atlantic coast of Africa across the sub-Saharan savanna. The empire was more developed and oversaw much more extensive agriculture than Ghana did.

It was ruled by kings called Mansas. Ibn Battuta, a famous Muslim traveler, visited Mali ’s capital in 1352, and described the rule of these Mansas thus:

::''The Negroes possess some admirable qualities. They are seldom unjust and have a greater abhorrence of injustice than other people. Their Mansa shows no mercy to anyone least guilty of the act of injustice. There is complete security in their country. Neither traveler nor inhabitant has anything to fear from robbers or men of violence.''

The most famous Mansa of the empire of Mali was '''Mansa Musa'''. In 1324-1325 he made his famous hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca ) which became very famous for the display of extravagance shown en route. He took 100 camels just to carry gold which he gave out as gifts along the way. He was served by 500 slaves. In Cairo ( Egypt ) he gave away so much gold that the resulting surplus caused its devaluation there. This famous pilgrimage was significant for 2 reasons. First of all, it put Mali “on the map” of the medieval world. Word of his wealth and extravagance spread quickly and brought attention to Mali . Secondly, it shows the more serious role of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. This display of devotion certainly denotes a more serious attitude toward Islam than the mere toleration shown by many of Ghana ’s kings.

'''Timbuktu''' became an important trading and scholarly center in sub-Saharan Africa during the Mail and Songhai empires. It is located on the northern bend of the Niger River , the southern edge of the Sahara desert. Here is a first hand account of Timbuktu by a Leo Africanus when he visited the city in the early 1500s.

::''There are many shops of craftsmen and merchants, especially of those who weave cotton and cloth. To this place merchants bring cloth from Europe . All the women of this area, except maidservants, go with their faces covered and sell all necessary kinds of food. The inhabitants of this area are very rich, so much so that the king has married both of his daughters to two rich merchants. The rich king has many articles of gold and keeps a magnificent and well-furnished court. When he travels anywhere he rides a camel that is lead by some of his noblemen. He travels likewise when he goes into war, and his warriors ride upon horses. Attending him he always has 3000 horsemen and a great number of foot soldiers armed with poisonous arrows. Here there are many doctors, judges, priests and other educated men that are well maintained at the kings cost. Many manuscripts and books can be bought here and are sold here for more money than any other merchandise.''

In its heyday, Timbuktu was an important trading hub for two of Africa's most important items of commerce: salt and gold. The wealth of the city is evident from the quotation above. But Timbuktu also became an important city for Islamic scholarship. Its Mosque contained a library and a university where scholars, theologians, and Muslim jurists studied. Thus the most important trade in Timbuktu was in books.

Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa

2020-12-06T03:43:34Z

Jhenderson:

Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa

2020-12-06T03:11:43Z

Jhenderson: Created page with "Before the period 1200 to 1450, Sub-Saharan Africa was extremely diversified. Unlike parts of Europe , Asia , and north Africa, it was never united under a universal religion..."

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-06T03:04:17Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] [[Topic 1.5 State Building in Africa]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.

Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas

2020-12-06T03:03:00Z

Jhenderson: Created page with "The period 1200 to 1450 saw impressive continuities in terms of culture and state-building in the Americas. Societies in Mesoamerican and the Andes region forged large complex..."

The period 1200 to 1450 saw impressive continuities in terms of culture and state-building in the Americas. Societies in Mesoamerican and the Andes region forged large complex civilizations. The most successful to arise during this period were the '''Mayan''', the '''Aztecs''', and the '''Incas'''. These civilizations, as with their counterparts on the other side of the world, were made possible by massive agricultural [[File:Meso empires.png|left|300px]]surpluses that supported hierarchical and complex societies. In Mesoamerica, the most important crop was maize. In the Andes it was potatoes. All three had to develop highly sophisticated irrigation and agricultural techniques to farm the harsh forests, lowlands, and mountains of their terrain. So critical was the need to manage water in these civilizations that one prominent historian has labeled them "hydraulic" civilizations. <ref>The scholar was Karl Wittfogel, cited in ''The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures'', (2007), Marshall C. Eakin, pp. 31-32.</ref> They did all this without the benefit of wheeled vehicles, metal tools, or large pack animals. Notwithstanding these limitations, each developed complex hierarchical societies, advanced knowledge of astronomy and calendars, and formulated religious ideologies of military conquest. 

::'''The Mayan'''
::Borrowing heavily from their parent civilization, the '''Olmecs''', the Mayans reached their first peak of civilization between 250 to 900 C.E., then again between 1200 and 1450 C.E. One of the most impressive aspects about their ascendancy is how they overcame "extraordinary ecological challenges to create a very sophisticated and productive agriculture that was the key to their development." <ref>''The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures'', (2007), Marshall C. Eakin, pp. 31-32.</ref> They learned to trap rich river silt with terraces to replenish the fertility of the thin, poorly drained topsoil of southern Mexico. <ref>''Traditions and Encounters'', 5th ed., (2007), Jerry Bentley, p. 111.</ref> The increased agriculture allowed the Mayan civilization to greatly expand, driving them to find increasingly creative means of collecting and storing water during the dry seasons and as insurance against unpredictable summer rains. <ref>''Panorama: A World History'', (2015), Ross E. Dunn and Laura J Mitchell, p. 230.</ref> Politically, the Mayan were not a centralized empire, but rather were organized into over fifty small '''city-kingdoms''' often competing against each other. As in ancient Greece, cities sometimes formed opposing military alliances which shifted and reformed as circumstances changed. '''Tikal''', the most powerful of these city-kingdoms, lasted eight centuries. About fifty years before the Spanish showed up in the Americas, the Mayan civilization fell apart, probably due to civil wars between the city-states. 

::'''The Aztecs'''
::After [[File:Human_sacrifice_(Codex_Laud,_f.8).png|right|thumb|The Aztec are best known for their perpetual human sacrifices which they believed prevented the end of the world.]]the demise of the Toltec empire around 1200 C.E., an ethnic group called the '''Mexica''' migrated southeast and eventually settled on an island in the marshy areas of '''Lake Texcoco'''. There they built the settlement that would later become the great Aztec capital '''Tenochtitlan''' (the Mexica people came to be called Aztecs, a reference to the home of their ancestors.) By raking the muck of the lake into small islands above the surface of the water (called '''chinampas'''), they were able to produce abundant agriculture to support a thriving civilization. By the early 1400s the Mexica had defeated their neighbors and demanded tribute from them. Thus was born the Aztec empire. At times, the empire was actually a triple alliance of three major cities who combined to project their rule over most of Mesoamerica, about 12 million people. <ref>''Traditions and Encounters'', 5th ed., Bentley, p. 418.</ref> The Aztec Empire was a loose collection of conquered areas from which the core at Tenochtitlan collected heavy tribute. Every year Aztec rulers demanded massive amounts of clothing, jewelry, food, animals, and other materials from locations across their vast domain. Throughout the empire there was a significant market for craft goods and most all cities and villages had thriving markets. The expansion of the empire was motivated in part by its religious belief. The Aztec believed that their gods were engaged in an ongoing struggle against the stars. The keep the fight going, and keep the sun moving across the sky, the gods needed human blood that was provided by an elaborate ritual of mass human sacrifice. 

::'''The Inca'''
::In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Incas built the most centralized empire in the Americas during this time. Building on the base of the Chavin and Moche civilizations, they spread their civilization along the 2500 mile spine of the Andes Mountains on the western side of South America. Extensive terracing allowed them to practice agriculture in these high altitude and mountainous regions where they grew potatoes, maize, beans and peppers. There was a small merchant class, but trade was controlled by the government. Unlike the diverse societies of the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, the Incas practiced cultural imperialism, forcing their language and religion on conquered people. The Incas centralized their rule through a complex bureaucracy and an extensive network of roads and bridges. <ref>''The History of Latin America: Collision of Cultures'', (2007), Marshall C. Eakin, p. 37.</ref> Their ruler (originally called the "Inca") was believed to be a god. A large professional army was supported by peasants who owed compulsory labor to the state.

AP Worldipedia

2020-12-06T02:59:36Z

Jhenderson:

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__



Welcome to AP Worldipedia, the free encyclopedia covering the content for Advanced Placement World History. Below are the topics on which this course is based. Each has been filled out into a narrative text with illustrative media. Although they do not necessarily follow the chronological order in which the content will be taught in class, they should be useful in summarizing the basics of the course. All questions on the AP World History test in May are built on the topics you see listed on this website.

=AP World History: Modern: Course Content=

=1200 to 1450=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPGlobe.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 1 The Global Tapestry''' 
[[Topic 1.1 Developments in East Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia 1200 to 1450]] [[Topic 1.4 State Building in the Americas]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcamel.png|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 2 Networks of Exchange''' 
[[Topic 2.1 The Silk Roads]] [[Topic 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World]] [[Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean]] [[Topic 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes]] 
|}

=1450 to 1750=
</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-medium;"
| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcannon.png|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]] 
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 3 Land-Based Empires''' 
[[Topic 3.1 Empires Expand]] [[Topic 3.2 Empires: Administration]] [[Topic 3.3 Empires: Belief Systems]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:APWPcaravel.png|80px|Art, literatures, language, music]] 
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Unit 4 Transoceonic Interconnections''' 
[[Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.3 The Columbian Exchange]] [[Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established]] [[Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed]] [[Topic 4.6 Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750]] [[Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies 1450 to 1750]] 

|}
 

=The Legacy (old) Course =

</div>
{| width=100% style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"
| width=1%| [[Image:Pyramid_2.jpg|50px|Scienze matematiche, fisiche e naturali]]
| width=46% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 1: 8000 BCE to 600 BCE''' 
[[Key Concept 1.1 Big Geography and the Peopling of the Earth]] [[Key Concept 1.2 The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies]] [[Key Concept 1.3 The Development and Interaction of Early Agricultural, Pastoral and Urban Societies]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Canon 2.jpg|50px|Art, literatures, language, music]]
| width=48% style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 4: 1450 to 1750''' 
[[Key Concept 4.1 Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange]] [[Key Concept 4.2 New Forms of Social Organization and Modes of Production]] [[Key Concept 4.3 State Consolidation and Imperial Expansion]] 
|-
| [[Image:Coli_1.jpg|50px|Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 2: 600 CE to 600 CE''' 
[[Key Concept 2.1 The Development and Codification of Religious and Cultural Traditions]] [[Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires]] [[Key Concept 2.3 Emergence of Transregional Networks of Communication and Exchange]] 

| [[Image:Factory 1.jpg|50px|Hobby, leisure, and media]]
| style="border-bottom: 1px dashed #AAAAAA;" | '''Period 5: 1750 to 1900''' 
[[Key Concept 5.1 Industrialization and Global Capitalism]] [[Key Concept 5.2 Imperialism and Nation-State Formation]] [[Key Concept 5.3 Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform]] [[Key Concept 5.4 Global Migration]] 
|-
| [[Image:Lateen_2.jpg|50px|Technology and applied sciences]]
| '''Period 3: 600 to 1450''' 
[[Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and Intensification of Communication and Exchange Networks]] [[Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and Innovation of State Forms and Their Interactions]] [[Key Concept 3.3 Increased Economic Productive Capacity and its Consequences]] 

| width=1%| [[Image:Nuvola_filesystems_www.png|50px|Contents]]
| width=48%| '''Period 6: 1900 to Present''' 
[[Key Concept 6.1 Science and the Environment]] [[Key Concept 6.2 Global Conflicts and Their Consequences]]
 [[Key Concept 6.3 New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture]] 
|}
 

=How to Write Articles=
[[How to Write in WikiText]]

[[How to put an Image in your Article]]

[[Grading Rubric for Writing Articles]]

'''Note''': the designations "AP" and "Advanced Placement are property of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Board College Board] which does not endorse this website or have any connection to it.