Announcements - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

DAY 2-4. THE WORLD FROM 1000 CE TO 1500 CE - PART II

1. Announcements

Lecture notes are always ONLINE

Today¡¯s:

July 9 (yesterday¡¯s):

Textbook Correspondence

Today¡¯s material corresponds to Chapters 21-22 in the textbook.

2. Summary

Exploration and Interaction. These two words probably best sums up the world

during 1000 to 1500 CE. As the Mongols swept across the steppes and established

great khanates, even subjugating China for a century, the roots of cross-racial interaction were formed when they intermingled their conquered people together. In

Europe, kingdoms arose and the first sophisticated cities began to form, while explorers set sail for foreign lands. Finally, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, and

Oceania, complex societies began to form and each area developed its unique culture,

as well as expanded in size and technology.

3. Question of the Day

While other parts of the world achieved advances in government and technology,

Africa, the Americas, and Oceania remained rather undeveloped in comparison until

the 16th/17th century. How would you attribute this gap in development? What do

you think were some of the causes that contributed to this gap?

4. Material

4.1. Americas. -Mexica people, established Tenochtitlan (city in the middle of a

lake) in 1345.

-Aztec empire (began around early 1400s, continued until European conquest) advanced society, demands tribute from conquered peoples.

-Warriors-based, women contains little role, priests are powerful

-Religion: ritual-bloodletting, human sacrifice

Date: July 10, 2008.

1

2

DAY 2-4. THE WORLD FROM 1000 CE TO 1500 CE - PART II

-North America: 700 CE - Navajo and Pueblo people - stone and adobe buildings,

1400 CE: five Iroquois nations, Native Americans also built mounds in what is today

the Midwest - ceremonial purposes, no system of writing.

-Inca Empire (started by Pachacuti, 1438) - long empire = depends on taxes,

system of roads (over 25,000 miles), quipu. Cuzco = ceremonial center.

4.2. Oceania. -Agriculture: cultivated taro, yams, sweet potatoes, bananas, breadfruit, coconuts, kept pigs, dogs, and fished for food.

-Polynesians travelled great distances in canoes cross-islands, for trade or exploration.

-Governed by chiefdom system, polytheist culture (gods of war and agriculture)

with priests, didn¡¯t have advanced technology until past the 16th century - although

undertook long ocean journeys and populated Oceania islands.

4.3. The World. -Trade: Silk Road, ocean routes, rise of trading cities, Marco Polo

(1253-1324) visited China 1260-1269, Ibn Battuta (1304-1369, Muslim Moroccan

cleric) - travelled over 73,000 miles and visited the equivalent of 44 modern-day

countries, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

-Sufi missionaries spread Islam, Christians tried to convert - Christianity spread

in China.

-Muslims helped to spread new food crops (citrus, Asian rice), sugarcane, gunpowder

-Bubonic Plague - spread from southwestern China in 1330s, spread to Western

Europe through trade, and 1348 there were epidermics in Europe. Characterized

by black swelling caused y internal hemorrhaging in the lymph nodes (bubonic =

buboes). 60-70 mortality rate. Greatly reduced population throughout Europe and

China. Bypassed India. Disease still survives to present day, but antibiotics counter

the spread of bubonic plague in modern times.

-China: Fall of the Yuan Dynasty - internal disagreements, economic difficulties.

-Emperor Hongwu founded MIng Dynasty (1368-1644), reinstated Confucian examination system, eliminated ministers in fear of treason. Mandarins = emissaries

to ensure rule, eunuchs - favored because they can¡¯t have families.

-Legacies: tried to eliminate Mongol influence, promoted Chinese traditions - Emperor Yongle commissioned encyclopedia = Yongle Encyclopedia ran to 23,000 rolls,

each equal to a book.

-Europe: Italy governed by city-states, France and England as kingdoms. Spain

completed Reconquista. Ivan III in 1480 founded Russia after kicking Mongols out

= called himself tsar (after caesar)

-Renaissance - ¡±rebirth.¡± Rediscovered Roman and Greek cultures/art. da Vinci,

Donatello (sculptor), Brunelleschi (architect). Renaissance humanists = scholars

DAY 2-4. THE WORLD FROM 1000 CE TO 1500 CE - PART II

3

who studied humanities intensely = like Greek and Latin elegance. Taught that it is

possible to lead active life in society while honoring God.

-Exploration: Zheng He (1405-1433) - seven voyages into the South Seas, trade and

established relations, Chinese administration suspended trips after 1433. Portuguese:

Henry the Navigator - encouraged Portuguese naval travel. Bartholomeu Dias - Cape

of Good Hope, 1488. Vasco da Gama, Portugal < ? > India, 1497, controlled Indian

Ocean shipping. 1492 = Christopher Columbus (Italian, but sponsored by Spain),

arrived in San Salvador in the Bahamas - thought he discovered alternate route to

China.

5. Afterthoughts:

1. What were some of the main motivations for exploration during this era?

2. How did the political and economic ambience in Europe sponsor or encourage

the growth of the Renaissance movement during the early 15th century?

3. After Zheng He¡¯s explorations, China ceased the sponsoring of exploration

missions while Portugal/Spain produced explorer after explorer during the same era.

How did these two differing viewpoints about exploration affect China and Portugal¡¯s

respective trade, influence, and economy in the long run?

6. Reading for Next Day

-Barron¡¯s Ch. 10-12 (but finish Ch. 1-9 if you haven¡¯t yet)

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download