Journal #7

• Saga – a Viking story about exploration

• Knight – a mounted soldier

• Noble/Lord – a person who has inherited power and wealth

• Muslim – a follower of Islam

• Endured – put up with

Bonus Questions• What is the theory that Native Americans crossed a

land bridge to North America called?

• What are the three sisters and why were they beneficial to Native Americans?

World History Before 14921.3 and 1.4

The Viking Explorations• The Vikings were from Scandinavia• Denmark, Norway, and Sweden• They developed a new style of ship which they used to

trade and raid• Leif Eriksson

The Vikings

• Described their adventures in sagas• Long, heroic stories that mixed myth and fact• Erik’s Saga tells about Leif Eriksson’s voyage to North America

around 1000 A.D.

• The Vikings are the first Europeans in North America – they call it Vinland

The Middle Ages• The Roman Empire falls due to political and

economic problems around 476

• This is the beginning of The Middle Ages from 500 to 1500 A.D.

Characteristics of the Middle Ages

1. Limited trade and communication

2. People move into the country

3. Feudalism – A social, political, economic and military system based upon security and protection. The King gives land to trusted friends who become lords or nobles, lords then give some land to vassals in exchange for loyalty and protection, vassals then made peasants and serfs farm the land

• Many vassals were mounted knights who protected the manors of the nobles

• Peasants and serfs were the lowest class - farmers, poor

4. Birth determines your place in society

Feudalism

How Feudalism Works• The King gives land to trusted friends who become

lords or nobles, lords then give some land to vassals in exchange for loyalty and protection, vassals then made peasants and serfs farm the land • Many vassals were mounted knights who protected the

manors of the nobles• Peasants and serfs were the lowest class - farmers, poor

• Lords ruled and lived in large houses or castles with moats and high walls for defense, noblewomen took care of the house and were usually religious

• Peasant and serf families lived in a single room, worked all day, and had little chance to move up in life

The Catholic Church• The Church was the center of religious and social

life, all people attended church

• Priests were part of the nobility, churches owned large amounts of land

• Monks and nuns• Some women get an education this way

The Early 1200s

• Nations (Kings) gain more power, nobles rebel• This leads to the Magna Carta in 1215

• Trade increases, leads to the Renaissance• A rebirth of the arts and learning of ancient Greece and Rome

• Increased technology and trade lead to higher populations and by 1500 the middle ages were over

The Magna Carta• In the early 1200s, nobles in England rebelled against

King John

• In 1215 they forced John to agree to the Magna Carta, • A document which limited King John’s rights and protected the

rights of the nobles in 1215, it is one of the first documents protecting the rights of free people and it was an inspiration for the U.S. Constitution

1.4 Trade Across Continents

Muhammad(570-632)

• Born in 570 in Mecca (Arabia)• Orphaned at an early age• Became a successful merchant

(trader)• Unhappy, he goes to a cave and

has a vision• From this vision he creates the

Islamic religion• He begins to spread his religion

throughout the world• He has 13 wives, one whom he

married when she was 7 years old

• He died in 632• Muslims consider him the most

important prophet of God (Jesus is another)

• He is one of the most influential people of all time

Islam• Founded by Muhammad, their book is the

Qur’an

• Islam spreads quickly, and Muslims take over many areas• Jerusalem, Syria, Persia, Egypt, North Africa, Sicily, Spain

• Muslims thought that education and knowledge was very important• “He who has not endured the stress of study will not taste the joy of knowledge”

The Crusades• Muslims stop allowing Christians to visit their longtime

holy land (Jerusalem) in 1077

• In 1095 Pope Urban II called on all Christians to start a holy war

• The next 150 years of fighting between Muslims and Christians are called the Crusades

In Asia

• There are lots of different rulers and dynasties

• Fighting was taking place between China and the Mongols

• Chinese emperors built the Great Wall to keep the Mongolians out• It doesn’t work Genghis Khan and the Mongolians take over part of China around 1200

Gengis Khan(1162-1227)

• Birth name is Temujin• United nomadic tribes of

Northern Asia• He started the Mongol

invasions, which included massacres of civilians

• Became the founder and ruler of the Mongolian Empire which included part of China

• Viewed highly today as the founding father of Mongolia

In Asia• In 1368 the Ming dynasty overthrew the Mongol

Empire in China

• The Chinese build a large fleet and establish new trade, bringing wealth and knowledge to the country

• By the mid 1400s China abandons its command of the seas

African Kingdoms• Africa began to participate in world trade• Arabs begin to trade with African tribes• Islam eventually spreads in Africa

• Because of this trade, several kingdoms become very wealthy and powerful• Aksum• Ghana•Mali – Timbuktu• Songhai

African Kingdoms