Chapter 2: Starting with China
EUROPE AND THE GUNPOWDER EPIC
> China was a huge empire ruled by a single sovereign > Europe in 1400 was divided among hundreds of political units, from city-states - this was the result of a the breakup of the Roman Empire by the end of the 6th c.e. and the spread of Islam and spread of Islam in the 8th c.e. > holding a piece of land was the primary objective > by the late 14th c.e., cannons fired by gunpowder were introduced; invented by the Chinese > from 1000 to 1500, the major activity of European states was warfare > Europe was so fragmented politically, no one leader could get or maintain a monopoly on these new weapons and use them to establish an empire in Europe
DAR al-ISLAM, "THE ABODE OF ISLAM"
> Ibn Battuta, young Muslim man, traveled all over Africa and the Middle East; everywhere he traveled in the mid-1300's was dar al-Islam ("the abode of Islam" or places in the world where Islam was practiced and educated people spoke or wrote Arabic) > by 750, a huge new Islamic empire had arisen in the middle of the Eurasian continent > significance of the spread of Islam 1) created a realm of common language and custom covering much of the Old World within which trade, ideas, and culture could develop 2) it cut Europe off from the Indian Ocean for centuries 3) contributed to the withering of trade within Europe and to their self-described "Dark Ages" > central political control over the Islamic empire began breaking up; 3 new Islamic empires arose - Ottoman - Safavids - Mughals > Ottoman empire originated in the late 13th c.e. - Janissaries (slave-based army) conquered Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire, in 1453 - renamed it Istanbul and turned St. Sophia's cathedral into a mosque - fall of Constantinople was a huge blow to Christian Europe - blocked European access to the eastern Mediterranean and hence, the trade circuits to China and the Indian Ocean -> Europeans had to search for alternative routes to gain access to the riches of Asia
INDIA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN
> Indian Ocean was a source of great wealth and access to luxuries, spices, and manufactured goods. > Indian Ocean was arguably was the most important crossroads of trade and generator of merchant wealth. > Chinese entrance into the Indian Ocean divided trade in the Indian Ocean into 3 overlapping trade circuits - within these circuits, great trading cities arose - Malacca linked the eastern and middle circuits; convenient layover spot > during the first 2 periods (650-1500), trade in the Indian Ocean was self-regulating; no force of arms > this changed when the Dutch, English, and French introduced "armed trading" during 1500 to 1750 in order to force their way into trading - were unable to do so until he advent of steamships in the late 1800's > four great centers of civilization and economic power provided the impetus for the Indian Ocean trade > engines of immense global trade were primarily China and India > in the 1400's, China's new and growing demand for silver fueled the domestic economy; China began engaging in foreign trade > India had 3 great textile manufacturing centers - most of their cotton cloth met internal Indian demand but most of it was produced for export > the Indian economy was highly developed and was the source of important select goods (like China) > India was never really politically unified until the mid-1500's - only tentatively because it broke apart again by 1700's - Arabs spread Islamic faith northward while Hinduism was spread in the south; lead to major religious divide > Because the rules or most Indian states supported trade, political and religious disunity did not hinder economic activity
Portuguese Explorations of the Atlantic
> Islamic world blocked European access to the spices and manufactured goods prompting Henry the Navigator (Portuguese) to find other routes in the south > he began his quest in 1415 until 1488 when he reached and rounded the Cape of Good Hope > by 1415, Zheng He had already established Chinese dominance throughout India; if the Chinese had rounded the Cape of Good Hope instead, they might have established a direct water route between Asia and Europe > in 1498, the Portuguese sailed into the Indian Ocean with ease because the Chinese had left
AFRICA
> North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Africa all were part of dar al-Islam > By 500 c.e. great empires had arose in Africa; Ghana was the largest - Ghana was the most strategically located state at the time of the Muslim arrival in North Africa > all of the African empires that traded north across the Sahara converted to Islam between the 10th and 12th c.e. > gold flowed into the capital of Ghana > even more extensive was the Mali empire that replaced it - from the 1200's to the early 1400's, Mali controlled and taxed almost all the trade in West Africa - the height of its wealth and influence came during the reign of Mansa Musa > most of the gold from Africa found its way first to Cairo, then to India, then to western Europe > many leaders did not try to expand their territory into other African states because land was not seen as private property and was not the basis of wealth - control of labor was the source of wealth (slavery)
Armed Trading in the Indian Ocean
> after rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1498, Vasco da Gama set sail for Calicut > the Portuguese had introduced armed trading into the Indian Ocean which quickly ended the peaceful navigation > by 1515, Portuguese had taken by force several trading cities, including Malacca and Hormuz > for most of the 16th c.e., the Portuguese ruled the roost in the Indian Ocean > some Asian rulers responded by walling their territories and purchasing their own canons and guns
The Voyages of Zheng He, 1405-1433
> in 1405, Prince of Yan ordered fleet of ships to Calicut, a major trading city in India > objectives of this voyage: 1) to find the former grandson emperor 2) wanted to show off his flag and empress the foreign countries 3) wanted to encourage overseas trading > China's monetary system, paper money, had collapsed so China just printed large amounts of money -> resulting in inflation and loss of public confidence in the currency - gov't abandoned paper money and switched to silver coins which lead to a huge demand for silver in China > China wanted to explore opportunities in the "Western Ocean" or Indian Ocean - lead to a lot of ship building between 1404 and 1407 - the fourth voyage established diplomatic relations with the Islamic world; also established formal relations with 20 more realms - powerful Chinese presence established in Indian Ocean in 1435 > due to political struggles within China, the Chinese court abandoned the Indian Ocean in 1435 after the emperor's death - new Chinese state focused on nomads and the rebuilding and lengthening of the Great Wall
Slavery
> slaves were used in virtually every society - Europe, the Islamic empires, China, and India > slaves status had nothing to with skin color > Slavs gave us the word for slave > there was a world market for slaves; European and Muslim traders were eager to supply it > Africans also had slaves - land was not a commodity so elite Africans owned labor e.g. slaves > important things about Africa 1) African people had constructed large and successful empires, extensive internal trading networks, and productive agriculture and industry before Europeans arrived in the 15th c.e. 2) Africa was already an integral part of the world system, supplying gold and slaves and purchasing in return for manufactured goods > Africa was not an engine propelling the global economy, unlike India or China, neither was Europe
INTRO
> the Indian Ocean can be seen as the most important crossroads for global exchanges of goods, ideas, and culture > China, India, and the Islamic Near and Middle East had major roles > Europe was marginal and desperately wanted to gain access to sources of wealth in Asia
CHINA
> the founding emperor of China's Ming dynasty died in 1398; his grandson succeeded him > former emperor's 5th son, Prince of Yan, was not happy about this - led to a civil war from 1399 - 1402; Prince of Yan captures the throne and grandson emperor flees - Prince of Yan seeks to extend China's power > he moved the capital from Nanjing ("Southern Capital") on the Yangzi River to Beijing ("Northern Capital")
Armed Trading on the Mediterranean
> the reason for much of this warfare was the attainment, maintenance, and enhancement of wealth and power > many 15th c.e. Europeans was that their part of the world was relatively poor > Venice and Genoa competed for access to Asian goods (especially spices) that could be traded within Europe - Venice was able to gain the upper hand by 1400 - by the 1400's, only one route to Asia existed for Europeans -> the Venetian connection through Egypt
CONCLUSION
> with the exception of the Americas, southernmost Africa, and most of Oceania, the world's societies in the 15th c.e. had extensive and systematic interactions and linkages forged by trade > this was made possible by 3 factors: 1) some parts of the world, specifically China and India, had a technological advantage over others and were able to produce goods cheaper and faster 2) climatic and geographic constraints limited some natural products to one or a few places on earth 3) consumer tastes and social conventions shaped demand for luxury items > trade linkages emerged as an outcome of the combination of these three factors > linkages between countries for the most part were mutually agreeable and peaceful > the world was polycentric, with three major regions centered around China, India, and the Islamic world > Europeans were handicapped by the fact that they had little to trade with the rest of the world