wh unit 13

The Great Famine

A terrible famine in 1315-1322 that hit much of Europe after a period of climate change. cannibalism also ensued

Pax Mongolia

Also known as the mongol peace. A time when global trade expanded due to the political stability provided by mongol rulers.

Why was Spain the first country to reach the Americas in the 15th century?

Columbus' voyage that was supposed to go to China

What steps did the heads of state in Europe and Egypt in order to stabilize their economy after the plague had killed so many of their subjects?

Europe: freed serfs, meaning a larger percentage of the population had income to spend on luxury items, led to nationalism as opposed to a system with regional lords Egypt: put land up for sale (rather than renting to upper class members like before), hoping military members would buy and they'd have more military control (middle class bought the land instead

Who was Freydis?

Leif Erikson's half-sister; saved her half-brother's settlement of Vinland from the Eskimos; first woman known in North American history

What were the symptoms and qualities of the plague, according to the primary sources?

coughing of blood. Most witnesses describe the appearance of "buboes" on the body. Buboes are large lumps of pus that would occur at the site of a lymph node: on the neck, under the arms, or on the upper legs near the groin. Blood could not circulate to the tissue that covered the bubo, causing the skin to become necrotic and dark. Most sources report that after a person began coughing blood, they usually died within a day. After the appearance of a bubo, an individual reportedly died within three to four days, although this form of the illness does not seem to have been as deadly. There are reports of patients who survived after contracting this manifestation of the plague.

From information provided within the primary sources described in the e-book, what can we conclude about the plague with near-certainty?

fatality rates were high people died quickly after contraction

What factors gave the countries of Europe the political and economic means to fund a journey to the Americas?

more taxes available to kings rather than regional lords, richer middle class

What factors motivated Spain to attempt to find a western route to the source of the Silk Roads?

profit circumvent ottomans avoid ottoman tariffs

self-flagellation

the action or practicing of whipping oneself to show contrition to god

How did the bubonic plague travel to the Mediterranean?

the port of Kaffa in the Black Sea on the Crimean Peninsula Several sources survive that discuss the Venetian merchants who raised anchor and evacuated Kaffa when the inhabitants fell ill, only to transport the plague to various ports in the Italian Peninsula. It is not entirely impossible that the plague originated in the port of Kaffa. However, this city was the gateway between the Mediterranean and Black Sea maritime trade routes and the Trans Eurasian Silk Roads. Given that there were so many merchants from all over Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East traveling through this trading post, the source of the pathogen might have been just about anywhere.

Why did most of the countries in Europe not have the opportunity to launch a trans-Atlantic maritime expedition?

they did not have an Atlantic-facing coast

According to The Vinland Saga, why did the Vikings abandon their settlement in North America?

they made enemies with the natives

What were some of the ways that people in Europe and the Mediterranean attempted to prevent the plague from spreading?

washing the afflicted individuals in vinegar and rose water, avoiding foods with a strong smell, or "bleeding" the patient to balance their humors. "Plague quarantine