AP World History Unit 2 Questions
Who spread cotton, sugar, and citrus beyond the Arabian Peninsula?
In addition to cotton, sugar, and citrus, caliphs spread Islam and Arabic beyond the Arabian Peninsula.
Another effect of trade networks was the use of inns known as caravanserai. How were these different than cities and why were they important to travelers?
Once the routes of the Silk Roads were stabilized, inns known as caravanserai began appearing. They were roughly 100 miles apart, which is the distance camels can travel before needing water. Travelers, as well as their animals, could rest at these inns, and sometimes trade animals for new ones.
How in turn did the overuse of land impact places like Great Zimbabwe and the Mayans?
Overuse of farmland in feudal Europe created deforestation and soil erosion, which along with the Little Ice Age greatly reduced agricultural production. Environmental degradation also contributed to the decline of the Mayans.
What trading partners are connected?
Trading partners existed in East Africa, as well as East, Southeast, and South Asia.
What was the Il-Khanate and who was in charge?
A kingdom ruled by Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, in Central Asia that stretched from Byzantium to the Oxus River, called the Amu Darya today.
What was the immediate impact?
A period of peace among the Mongols with religious toleration and abundant trade evaporated when they conquered the Christian region of Russia in Western Europe.
How did the Yuan Dynasty rule?
A policy of religious tolerance was enforced including Muslims, Jews, and Christians, as well as formerly oppressed groups like Buddhists and Daoists. Women also had more independence than women from other territories.
What was the impact of his writing?
After sharing his tales with the Sultan of Morocco, he was asked to dictate an account of the cities he had seen, people he had met, especially the rulers of countries, and interesting events he had remembered. Thus, he wrote a book about all this.
What happened to those who did not surrender to the Mongols?
All of the aristocrats would be killed, along with the craftworkers, and miners. Those with special skills, like knowing how to read and write, were taken back to the Mongol Empire. Some captives were used to do tasks such as carrying looted goods back to the Mongols or as fodder in the front lines of the army.
What was the Black Death?
Also called the bubonic plague, this major epidemic spread to Europe via trading routes and lasted between 1347 and 1351.
What were the long term impacts of Mongol rule there?
Although the Mongols had a long-lasting impact on Russia, causing widespread devastation and death, Russia eventually began to recover. Their military organization improved as they accepted central leadership. Their culture was also able to develop independently from most of Western Europe.
The first 'golden age' of the Silk Roads came to an end after the collapse of classical civilizations like the Roman and Han empires. How were they revived?
Arab merchants from the Abbasid Empire revived the trade route of the Silk Roads and sea trade routes in the Indian Ocean.
How did this impact Southern Asia?
Arabs and Persians settling in East Africa were the first to bring Islam to southern Asia through interrmarriage. As a result, their children were raised under Muslim traditions.
These city-states became extremely wealthy---What evidence do we have of this?
Architectural ruins in Kilwa suggest the wealth and grandeur that had once existed there. Most buildings were constructed from mud and clay, but at the peak of the Indian Ocean trade, many mosques and wealthy merchants' homes were made of stone or coral.
How did traveler's tales become popular?
As exchange networks grew, literature became widely spread because of the advancement of paper and printing. This influenced some travelers within Afro-Eurasia to write about their travels for readers to enjoy.
What was its impact on the world of this time?
As many as 25 million people in Europe may have died from the plague, which caused economic activity to decline in Europe. A shortage of people to work the land had a drastic effect on the feudal system.
Summarize the social implications of labor found in the networks of exchange.
As the demand for products grew, so did the demand for labor. The forms of labor from past periods continued, including free peasant farmers, craft workers, artisans in cottage industries, people working to pay off debts, and slave labor. Large scale projects, such as irrigation canals, military defenses, and great buildings, required thousands of laborers. Kinship also played a significant role in coordinating these major projects.
How did it impact China's migration?
As the population grew, the Chinese tended to migrate southward because the primary rice growing region was there, which contributed to the growth of cities.
Why did the Mongols stop expanding into Europe?
Batu planned to attack Italy and Austria, but the Great Khan's successor, Ogodei Khan, had died, so he called off the attacks to attend the funeral. When Batu returned, he had lost interest in his conquest of Western Europe.
Why did many Arab and East African merchants stay in Indian port cities?
Because they married women there.
Who was Genghis Khan? How did he become the leader? How did he earn his reputation as a brutal leader?
Being at first called Temujin, he was named Genghis Khan at the meeting where he was elected khan of the Mongolian kingdom. He gained power by creating alliances with tribes, defeating neighboring groups, appointing talented unrelated people instead of family members, and even killing his own stepbrother, focusing on personal loyalty. Genghis Khan was brutal in warfare as he would kill anyone who resisted him and ordered civilizations to be wiped out after their armies were defeated, causing some leaders to surrender before a brutal Mongol attack.
Why did Muslim merchants travel on camels? Why were they better for travel than horses?
Camels could consume a large amount of water at one time and not need more for a long time, which horses could not do.
What kind of power did Mongols use?
Centralized power
What was its impact?
Cities in Northern Germany and Scandinavia formed this commercial alliance to control trade in the North and Baltic Sea. League ships often traveled to Arab caravans to pick up valuable goods by going through the Atlantic Coast of Western Europe and to the ports of the Mediterranean. Members of these cities drove out many pirates and received timber, grain, leather, salted fish, and other traded goods.
How does sugar impact the 1500s?
Europe's demand for sugar became so high that it was a key factor in the massive use of slaves in the Americas in the 1500s.
Summarize the social and gender structures of the networks of exchange.
Even though the Mongol Empire was a patriarchy, Mongol women had more freedom than women in most other parts of Afro-Eurasia. They refused the burka from the west, foot binding from the east, and could become top advisors to the great khan. In Europe, women worked as farmers and artisans, where they had their own guilds. Southeast Asian women were skilled in the marketplace and operating them as representatives of powerful families. However, women in other major regions experienced much fewer opportunities than men in almost all aspects of life.
What role did Genghis Khan and his soldiers take with the Silk Roads? How did they change them?
Genghis Khan's soldiers protecting the Silk Roads made them safer and introduced the third golden age of the Silk Roads. This allowed new trade channels to be established in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. People who survived the Mongol conquests benefitted from the reinvigoration of trade routes that had not been used much since the days of the Roman and Han Empires.
Certain commodities became famous along these routes. What was the most famous, and what else was traded along this route?
Gold was the most famous commodity traded, acquired from West African merchants from the Senegal River. Other goods that were traded by foreign traders were ivory and slaves, in exchange for salt, textiles, and horses.
Although most in Ghana were farmers cultivating sorghum and rice, other cities grew in prominence. Explain the significance of Timbuktu to Mali.
Great cities like Timbuktu accumulated the most wealth and developed into centers of Muslim life in the region. Timbuktu also became a world-renowned center of Islamic learning, and by the 1500s, books produced and sold in the city had higher prices than many other goods.
How can Zheng He's voyages be used as an example of cultural transfers (diffusion)?
He gave the Chinese an idea of what the rest of the world was like when he returned, and the purpose of his voyages were meant to spread the cultural traditions of the Ming Dynasty.
What was his Point of View?
He had the point of view of a devout Muslim, so he focused on learning as much as he could about Islam, its people, and its accomplishments.
Where was Marco Polo from and where did he travel?
He was from Venice and he traveled to the court of Kublai Khan in China.
What was his Point of View?
He was impressed by the culture, customs, and high levels of urbanization of Chinese cities, and he wrote a book with captivating descriptions of what he saw in 1295. His point of view as a merchant kept him focused on trade-related matters.
What was her Point of View?
Her point of view was that of a firsthand account of a middle-class medieval woman's everyday life.
List the items that India offers.
High-quality fabrics, such as cotton, as well as woven carpets, high-carbon steel, tanned leather, artisan-crafted stonework, and pepper.
List the items that Southwest Asia exported.
Horses, figs, and dates.
What were the long term impacts of Mongol rule there?
Hulegu and most other Mongols living in the Il-Khanate converted to Islam. Prior to this, the Mongols had tolerated all religions in Persia, but after it, they supported massacres of Jews and Christians.
Where was Ibn Battuta from and where did he travel?
Ibn Batutta was a Muslim scholar from Morocco who went out to see the world that he had read about.
Explain the significance of astrolabes.
Improved by Muslim navigators in the 12th century, this showed sailors how far north or south they were from the equator.
The end of his voyages marked strict isolation by the Ming Dynasty. What evidence do we have of this?
In addition to ending Zheng He's voyages, Zhu Gaozhi discouraged all Chinese from sailing away from China, making the act of building a ship with more than two masts a punishable offense.
What was the impact of her writing?
In her book, The Book of Margery Kempe, she mainly speaks about her pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, Germany, and Spain. In addition to saying she was so captivated by the sight of Jerusalem that she nearly fell off her donkey, Kempe conveys the intense spiritual visions, feelings of mystical experiences, and the trials of life for a woman with 14 children.
What evidence do we have that Buddhism had a strong influence?
In the Sinhala dynasties, Buddhist priests often advised monarchs on matters of government.
Who introduced the banana crop to Sub-Saharan Africa?
Indonesian seafarers introduced bananas to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Why did they need it?
Instead of using coins for money, which became too unwieldy to transport, a merchant could deposit paper money under his name in one location and then withdraw the same amount at another place.
What was revitalized during Pax Mongolica?
Interregional trade between Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
Explain the significance of stern rudders.
Invented by Chinese sailors during the classical period, it gave ships more stability and provided easier maneuvering.
How did Buddhism spread to China?
It came from India via the Silk Roads to China.
How did the expansion of Islam expand the Indian Ocean Trade network?
It connected more cities than ever before.
How did the Yuan Dynasty decline?
It failed to conquer Japan, Indochina, Burma, and Java, which led to the White Lotus Society secretly organizing a revolt that was successful in 1368.
Describe how the technological advancement of the magnetic compass led to the expansion of trade networks.
It helped in sea navigation and ship control
Describe how the technological advancement of the rudder led to the expansion of trade networks.
It helped in sea navigation and ship control.
How did increases in population impact the environment?
It put extreme pressure on resources, as overgrazing outside of Great Zimbabwe forced the people to abandon the city in the late 1400s.
Generally, in what ways did cultural diffusion in c. 1200-1450 affect places?
It sometimes unified people and provided justification for a kingdom's leadership. It often influenced the literary and artistic culture of areas that it spread to, where themes, subjects, and styles were inspired. In some places, the new religion coexisted or fused with the native religion.
Explain the importance of monsoon winds.
It was essential for merchants in the Indian Ocean trade because a certain season could provide favorable winds, but they sometimes had to wait for months in the same port city to get them.
Explain the significance of Kashgar and why it was important to travelers.
Kashgar is located between the Taklamakan Desert and the Tian Shan Mountains, watered by the Kashgar River. This created an abundance of wheat, rice, fruits, and cotton, while artisans produced items such as textiles, rugs, leather goods, and pottery, all sold in a bustling market that many travelers along the Silk Roads visited.
Describe the role of environmental factors (geography, monsoon winds, etc.) in expanding trade networks.
Knowledge of the monsoon winds was essential for merchants trading in the Indian Ocean. In the winter months, the wind blew from the northeast, while in the spring and summer, it blew from the southwest. Therefore, merchants had to time their voyages carefully in order to achieve preferable wind direction. As a result of this, merchants sometimes just stayed in the port cities permanently because they married women from there, which created diasporic communities, where their new culture was introduced. The growth of states, such as Malacca, helped to institutionalize the revenue from trade by building a navy and imposing fees on passing ships, which increased the state's wealth. The Sultan of Malacca became so powerful in the 1400s that he expanded the state into Sumatra and the southern Malay Peninsula, prospering from trade rather than agriculture, mining, or manufacturing.
What was the Yuan Dynasty and who was in charge?
Kublai Khan finally defeated China in 1271, establishing the Yuan Dynasty, which still upheld Chinese traditions.
What was the immediate impact?
Kublai Khan was skilled at governing a large and diverse territory. Most Chinese initially enjoyed his rule by promoting cultural exchanges and trade with other countries.
What was the Songhai Kingdom, and how did it become more powerful than Mali?
Less than 100 years after Mansa Musa's death, the Mali Kingdom was declining, and the Songhai kingdom had fully replaced it by the late 1400s. By following the processes Mali did, the Songhai kingdom became larger and richer than Mali. However, Mansa Musa's strengthening of Islam in West Africa is still present today in the area.
Explain the significance of Samarkand and why it was important to travelers.
Located in present day Uzbekistan in the Zeravshan River valley, this city was a common stopping point along the Silk Roads between China and the Mediterranean Sea. Not only was it a center of trade, but of cultural exchange as well, as archaeological remains show the presence of Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam. It also included Islamic learning centers and highly decorated mosques.
Explain how Malacca is an example of this.
Malacca became wealthy by building a navy and imposing fees on ships that passed through the Strait of Malacca, a narrow inlet that the majority of ship captains used to travel between Indian and Chinese ports.
Why did Mali become more prosperous than Ghana ever had been?
Mali became more prosperous than Ghana because of the gold trade they were involved in and the taxation of nearly all other trade entering West Africa.
Who was Mansa Musa and why was he important?
Mansa Musa was Sundiata's grand-nephew, who was known for his religious leadership as a devout Muslim. In 1324, he began a pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's holiest city, which displayed Mali's wealth to the outside world.
What was the impact of his writing?
Many Europeans did not believe Polo's descriptions were true until they followed his route to China, where they were intrigued by how prosperous and innovative China truly was.
Where was Margery Kempe from and where did she travel?
Margery Kempe was an English mystic who was in charge of writing one of the first autobiographies in English.
Name two Swahili coastal cities.
Mombasa and Mogadishu
How were Mongol women treated within the empire?
Mongol women experienced more independence than women in other countries at the time. Mongol women often tended flocks of sheep and goats, raised the children, and provided meals for the family. They also were allowed to ride horses, remarry if widowed, and force divorces.
How did the Mongol empire significantly impact the expansion of trade?
Mongols conquered the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258, and China gained control as well. The rulers in charge of the Silk Roads became unified into a system with authority that respected merchants and enforced laws. The Mongols improved the roads and punished bandits, making the route safer, and new trade channels were established in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
How did the Mongols use siege weapons and the pony express to their advantage?
Mongols incorporated the weapons and technology from engineers of significant territories they had captured, which led to them producing siege weapons, such as portable towers to attack walled fortifications and catapults. Genghis Khan created a pony express that carried riders with oral messages.
What was the immediate impact?
Mongols ruled in this kingdom, but Persians served as ministers and officials, which allowed for maximum tax collection.
How did the Mongols rule Russia?
Mongols ruled northern Russia through existing Russian rulers, who sent regular tributes. They chose to rule this way because they didn't want to live in the forests.
Why is Calicut an important example of a bustling port city?
Muslim and Chinese merchants often visited Calicut to exchange goods from the West and East, who were welcomed by local rulers because it increased the city's wealth and prominence.
Why did it end?
National governments gained enough power to protect their merchants, so the Hanseatic League fell in the mid-17th century.
How was Neo-Confucianism significant to East Asia?
Neo-Confucianism was formed by the combination of rational thought and the abstract ideas of Daoism and Buddhism, which became widespread in Japan and Vietnam.
In general, what was the impact of new crops (the good and the bad)?
New crops often had a large impact on land use, population growth, and distribution. In some areas, people successfully sustained abundant food production, but in others, overuse of the land caused environmental degradation.
What was Pax Mongolica? What important developments or social policies emerged from it?
Pax Mongolica is the time of Mongolian peace between the 13th and 14th centuries. Genghis Khan created social policies that were liberal, instituting a policy of religious toleration, and protected the Silk Roads. Additionally, a captured scribe was directed to translate the Uyghur alphabet into Mongol, and although it failed to be established, it is still used today in Mongolia.
What factors contributed to the decline of cities like Constantinople and Kashgar?
Political instability and invasions, disease, and decline of agricultural productivity.
What factors contribute to the growth of cities?
Political stability and decline of invasions, safe and reliable transportation, rise of commerce, plentiful labor supply, and increased agricultural output.
How did the growth of trade and wealth give rise to an expanding role of states?
Rulers needed to establish a currency that was widely understood in Mali and protect the trade routes and areas where their trade resources and currency were produced. To do so, some empires expanded into resource-rich areas, using horses and iron weapons bought with tax dollars. People were drawn to the empire's economy and trade networks, creating contact with distant cultures.
What cultural exchanges occurred as a result of the Mongols?
Scientific knowledge from Islam to China, paper from China to the world, and the Mongols' Greco-Islamic medical knowledge and Arabic numbering system spread to Western Europe.
What is diaspora?
Settlements of people living away from their homeland.
List the items that China exported
Silk and porcelain.
Describe how the technological advancement of junk ships led to the expansion of trade networks.
Similar to the Southwest Asian dhow, it had multiple sails and was around 400 feet long. The hull was divided into compartments to store goods, with strong walls that prevented sinking during rough voyages.
List the items that Swahili coastal cities offer.
Slaves, ivory, and gold.
Where do we think Champa Rice originated? How did it get to China?
Some scholars believe that it originated from India, and it got to China as tribute from Vietnam.
Who was Sundiata and why was he important?
Sundiata's father ruled in a small society in West Africa until invaders killed most of the royal family, sparing Sundiata because he was crippled. However, he learned to fight and became a fearsome warrior, driving out his enemies from the kingdom of his birth in 1235. After he had taken back the throne, he was not only a popular but also a capable ruler, establishing trade relationships and cultivating the gold trade in Mali.
What was China's role in bringing about the 'second gold age' of the Silk Roads?
Tang China introduced the compass, paper, and gunpowder to the new global trade network. China exported porcelain, tea, and silk, while importing cotton, precious stones, pomegranates, dates, horses, and grapes.
Where else did the Black Death make an appearance? How did South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa avoid the Black Death?
The Black Death also affected North Africa, China, and Central Asia, with around 25 million Asians dying. South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa avoided the plague because there weren't many trading ports there.
What were the positive and negative impacts of the plague on Europe?
The Black Death killed about a third of Europe's population in a few years, which caused further agricultural decline. However, a smaller amount of workers led to a new relationship with other workers and those they worked for. As a result, labor became more valuable, so workers could justify deserving to receive higher wages. This laid the groundwork for economic changes as feudalism declined.
What did Mongol conquests spread and where did they spread it?
The Black Plague from China to the West.
The growth of trade networks also led to the creation of the Hanseatic League. Why did it form?
The Crusades urged Europeans to obtain luxury goods from Asia.
What was life and trade like in the Sahara Desert prior to the early 1200s?
The East African Coast was greatly populated well before the arrival of Islam, but the Sahara Desert was not very inhabited because of its arid climate.
How did the Mongol decline in China echo the decline of the overall empire?
The Golden Horde lost all its land by 1369 and Central Asian territories were conquered by Tamerlane, also known as Timur the Lame, during this time as well.
How did Hinduism and Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia?
The Indian religions of Hinduism and Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia through trade.
How was it governed?
The Mongols destroyed Baghdad, and pushed west towards the Middle East, but were defeated because of a temporary alliance between the Muslim Mamluks and Chrsitian Crusaders in Palestine.
What was life like for the Mongols north of the Gobi Desert? How did their environment impact their culture?
The Mongols lived in clans of pastoral nomads, they herded goats and sheep, and were hunter-foragers. The harsh and arid environment of the Asian steppes helped shape their culture.
How did the Mongols and caravanserai help spread the plague?
The Mongols' conquests transmitted the fleas that carried the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, from southern China to Central Asia, and then to Southeast Asia and Europe. Some historians believe the caravanserai also spread the disease because the animals that they housed there likely carried infected fleas.
Who did the Mongols surpass to become the largest continuous land empire in history?
The Romans
What are Malaysia and Indonesia called and why?
The Spice Islands because of the fragrant spices they frequently traded.
What was the Golden Horde and who was in charge?
The army under the khan Batu, one of Genghis Khan's grandsons.
As the Mongolian Empire expanded people were surprised by his leadership? Why?
The assumption that Genghis Khan would govern the way he made war was proven wrong by the time of peace in the Mongolian kingdom.
How did printing impact Buddhism in China? How was literature itself impacted?
The development of printing made Buddhist scriptures more available to the scholar gentry class, and Buddhist writers influenced Chinese literature by writing in the vernacular rather than in the formal language of Confucian scholars, which became more commonly used.
In Korea, who studied which religion and why?
The educated elite studied Confucian classics, while Buddhist doctrines were read by peasants, because that type of literature fit them best at their education level.
Summarize how the Silk Roads, Trans-Sahara Route, and Indian Ocean trade are different in the context of the goods exchanged, technologies they inspired, and the religions they spread.
The goods traded along the Silk Roads were silk, tea, spices, dyes, porcelain, rice, paper, gunpowder, horses, saddles, fruit, domestic animals, honey, and textiles. Those traded along the Indian Ocean were gold, ivory, quartz, animal skins, citrus, fruits, dates, books, textiles, peppers, and pearls. Goods traded across the Trans-Saharan trade route included horses, books, salt, gold, ivory, cloth, and slaves. The Silk Roads inspired the technology of saddles and caravanserai, the Indian Ocean trade inspired the creation of the stern rudder, lateen sail, astrolabe, and magnetic compass, and the Trans-Saharan trade led to the use of saddles that increased load bearing. The religions the Silk Roads spread were Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, and Islam. The Indian Ocean trade spread Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity. The Trans-Saharan trade route spread Islam.
Explain how the expansion of empires influenced trade and communication over time, particularly with the Trans-Sahara trade route.
The government of Mali benefited from trading gold and taxing it in West Africa, which made it more prosperous than Ghana had ever been. The need for rulers to make a currency widely understood by Mali and protect where it was created encouraged them to expand into other territories with the resources they wanted, which brought more people in touch with other cultures. Sundiata was believed to be a Muslim and he used his connections with other Muslims to establish trade relationships with North African and Arab merchants. Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca helped to display Mecca's wealth and emphasis on Islamic traditions to the outside world.
How did the increase in demand for luxury goods impact places like China?
The growing demand for luxury goods in Afro-Eurasia, China, Persia, and India caused an increase in the supply of those goods through expanded production. Craftworkers produced more silk, porcelain, and other textiles to be transported. In China, there was an expansion of iron and steel production, leading to its proto-industrialization period.
Why did cities become thriving centers of trade during the growth of exchange networks?
The land including the Silk Roads was hot and arid, with little water. Therefore, cities that were supported by rivers became thriving centers of trade.
Explain how cities like Samarkand were also involved in the spread of these items.
The markets of Samarkand introduced new fruits and vegetables, as well as rice and citrus from Southwest Asia, to Europe.
How does the Khmer Empire (Angkor Wat) evidence religious diffusion?
The monuments at Angkor Thom display the Hindu and Buddhist cultural influences on Southeast Asia. Hindu artwork and sculptures adorned the city, and when the Khmer rulers had converted to Buddhism, Buddhist sculptures and artwork were added, while keeping the Hindu artwork.
What was the major impact of bananas in this region?
The nutrition-rich characteristic of bananas led to an increase in the population. Many Indonesians settled on the island of Madagascar, and bananas allowed Bantu-speaking peoples to use their metallurgy skills and farming techniques to migrate to places where yams were not easy to grow. Additionally, to grow bananas, land had to increase for cultivation, which enriched people's diets.
How did Russia rebel against Mongol rule?
The rulers of Moscow began setting aside their own tributes to create an army that could fight back against the Mongols, which they accumulated over several Russian city-states. They successfully led a revolt against the Golden Horde in 1380 at the Battle of Kulikovo.
Which saddle had the greatest impact on trade and why?
The saddle that had the greatest impact on trade was developed by Somalis in East Africa, and it could carry up to 600 pounds of goods to be traded.
What do "significant cultural transfers" mean?
The spread of belief systems, such as Buddhism and Islam, as well as ideas/innovations.
China developed a new financial system, although it was already considered a money economy. What was this system?
The system of credit that was developed for everyday transactions was the flying cash system.
How did trading these items impact West Africa, particularly Ghana and Mali?
The trans-Saharan trade brought considerable wealth and Islam to societies of West Africa, especially the kingdoms of Ghana and Mali.
What did Mongol fighting techniques lead to the end of in Western Europe?
The use of knights in armor.
What did Mongol cannon and siege tactics lead to the end of in Europe?
The use of walls around cities.
How did impact China's population?
The wide distribution of Champa rice in China met the needs of the growing population and allowed it to increase further.
How many trade routes were there across the Sahara Desert? What was their significance?
There were seven north-south trade routes and two east-west routes across the Sahara Desert. They enabled the people to be in contact with an increasing number of cultures and trading partners.
What was the role of these city-states and what did they trade/bring to the network?
These city-states sold ivory, gold, slaves, tortoise shells, peacock feathers, and rhinoceros horns in return for porcelain, cotton, and iron from Arab trading partners.
How did it impact European cities in the 1300s?
These locations for exchanging flying cash laid the groundwork for banks in the modern era, such as the banking houses that would be built in Europe in the 1300s.
Explain the significance of lateen sails.
These were popular among sailors because the triangular shape of the sail could catch winds from several different directions.
Summarize how the Silk Roads, Trans-Sahara Route, and Indian Ocean trade are similar in the context of origins, purpose, effects.
They are similar in the context of origins because agrarian cultures settled into stable settlements well after interregional trade began, so the trade routes that flourished between c.1200 and c.1450 were first traced by these early traders and conquerors. The trading networks shared the same main purpose of economic growth by exchanging their own goods for those of other countries, but also shared ways of life through missionaries and diplomats. The trading networks also have in common the effects they experienced because they all gave rise to trading cities as well as centralization, inspired by the desire for standardized currency.
Describe how the technological advancement of saddles led to the expansion of trade networks.
They increased the amount of weight that camels could carry.
What strategies did they commonly use?
They often deployed a force smaller than that of their enemy. When they would retreat, the opposing forces would commonly chase after them, and then a larger Mongol army would outflank them and confuse the enemy.
List the items that Malaysia and Indonesia offer.
They traded their nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.
How was Hangzhou similar to Timbuktu/Calicut in being a center of trade?
They were all large cities that prospered from exchanging goods.
What does it mean that Japan and Korea were "countries in China's orbit?" Why would they adopt Confucianism and Buddhism at this time?
They were countries close to China, and China was a very large and influential country at this time, so they were able to spread their belief systems, such as Confucianism and Buddhism, to these other places that didn't already have a firm religious belief system.
What made Mongolian soldiers so efficient?
They were highly disciplined, were great horse riders, and also skilled with the short bow. A communication system was formed where a messenger force would ride for days without stopping. After they had mapped the terrain, they were prepared for attacks and knew the best route to attack their enemies, which helped them to surprise their enemy.
Who were the Muslim Persians and Arabs, and what was their role?
They were known as skilled seafarers and their role was carrying goods to port cities across the Indian Ocean.
What were the Swahili City-States? What were they referred to as in Arabic?
They were thriving centers of trade along the East coast of Africa. They were known in Arabic as the Zanj Coast traders.
How did the voyages impact China and the Chinese government?
They won prestige for the Chinese government and opened new markets for Chinese goods. Zheng He brought exotic treasures, like giraffes, and gave the people a new understanding of what the outside world was like. This encouraged some to immigrate to ports in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
How was Gujarat an example of this?
This western Indian Rajput kingdom became the go-between for trade between the East and West. The revenue from customs there was much more than the entire worth of some European states.
How was the Mongol Empire divided after Genghis Khan died?
Three grandsons of Genghis Khan set up their own khanates, working to expand the empire into Asia and Europe. As a result, new people became absorbed into the economy and networks of exchange.
Summarize the slave trade prior to the West/Central African slave trade in the 1500s.
Through routes over land or the Indian Ocean, slaves from East Africa were sold to buyers in northern Africa, the Middle East, and India, then many were sent to the islands on the southeast coast of Africa. Slaves in the Indian Ocean trade were more likely to provide forced labor in seaports or be household servants, some working as sailors or soldiers. They had a better chance of developing communities than slaves sent to the Americas, and those in Islamic societies were allowed to marry.
How did it impact China's land use?
Through terraced farming in the uplands and paddies in the lowlands, Champa rice was able to grow in parts of land in China where it was once unusable for growing rice.
How did increased demand lead to the increased role of the state?
To respond to the rising demand of goods, some states increased the role of their government in order to oversee more production of iron, textiles, and crops, as well as money through customs, taxes on imported goods, and fees for seaport use.
How did the growth of states lead to further growth of trade?
Trade networks in the Indian Ocean fostered the growth of states to help institutionalize revenue from trade.
Describe how the technological advancement of caravans led to the expansion of trade networks.
Traveling with other merchants in caravans was much safer than traveling alone.
Why did Ghana decline? What took over?
Wars with neighboring places greatly weakened the Ghana kingdom, leading to other new trading societies taking over, the most powerful being Mali.
How did Mansa Musa impact Mali through Islam?
When he returned, he established religious schools in Timbuktu, built mosques in Muslim trading cities, and supported those who wanted to continue their religious efforts elsewhere. Although most West Africans continued to have their traditional beliefs, Mansa Musa greatly spread Islam in Mali.
What was Zen Buddhism and why was it popular?
Zen Buddhism or Chan Buddhism was the fusion of Buddhist and Daoist principles. It became popular to ordinary Chinese citizens, but also the scholar gentry, who had easy access to Buddhist scriptures because of the printing press.
Who was Zheng He? What was the purpose of his voyages?
Zheng He was a Muslim admiral who was sent by the Ming emporer on seven great voyages, starting in 1405. The voyages were meant to display the might of the Ming Dynasty to the rest of the world and receive tribute from people.
Why did his voyages end?
Zheng He's voyages were ended by Emperor Yongle's successor, Zhu Gaozhi. This was because Confucianism promoted a stable, agrarian lifestyle, and scholars worried that more interaction and trade with foreign cultures put China's social organization at risk. Some who disagreed with the voyages had looked down upon other cultures that didn't follow Chinese culture, while others thought they were too expensive.