Short Answers

Guidelines

• Seven to ten sentences• Topic sentence– Tell them what you’re going to tell them

• Body-address each topic – Tell them

• Conclusion– Tell them what you told them

Explain the Renaissance in terms of crisis and recovery.

• Crisis: – Bubonic Plaque- Population declined caused

massive labor shortages which in turn generated social unrest. Also known as “Black Death”

– Hundred Years War- 116 year conflict between England and France. Centered around a maze of feudal and commercial claims.

Explain the Renaissance in terms of crisis and recovery

• Recovery:– State Building- Italy, Spain, France, and England

devised techniques of government that vastly enhanced their power. State Building was primarily based on fresh sources of finance and the maintenance of large standing armies.

– Renaissance- “Rebirth” Explosion of artistic and intellectual creativity that took place between the 14th and 15th centuries in western Europe.

(paintings, sculptures, architecture, and Humanists)

Explain the impact of the Silk Roads on economics, disease, and religion.

• Economics– Brought wealth and access to foreign products. – Reduced the cost of long distance trade– Traded silk, spices, horses, jewelry, etc.

Explain the impact of the Silk Roads on economics, disease, and religion.

• Disease: – Bubonic Plaque- During the 1340’s Mongols,

merchants, and other travelers helped to spread the disease along trade routes to points west of China.

– Bubonic Plaque thrived in trading cities, Central Asia, where domestic animals and rodents provided abundant breeding grounds.

– Italian Merchants fled sea ports unwittingly spread the disease to the Mediterranean basin.

– Antonine Plaque- smallpox or measles caused up to 200 deaths a day at Rome. Estimated 5 million total deaths.

Explain the impact of the Silk Roads on economics, disease, and religion.

• Religion:– Buddhism- First established in the oasis towns where

merchants and their caravans stopped for food, rest, lodging, and markets. Dunhuang was one such spot.

– Hinduism- Spread primarily along the sea lanes. This for example is how Hinduism spread from India to Malaya.

– Christianity-Followed the trade routes and expanded east throughout Mesopotamia, Iran, and as far away as India. Its greatest concentration was in the Mediterranean basin.

– Manichaeism- Appeared in all large cities and trading centers of the Roman Empire

Explain the motives for the European explorations.

• Resources- – Portugal was a poor land in need of outside

resources. They found islands in the Atlantic that would support Europe’s demand for sugar production.

Explain the motives for the European explorations.

• Trade-– Europeans wanted more and cheaper Asian

goods, especially spices.– Maritime access to Africa would provide the gold,

ivory, and slaves the Europeans wanted without going through the Muslim merchant .

– Replaced the Silk Roads

Explain the motives for the European explorations.

• Missionary-– To spread Christianity– Some were peaceful while others were violent

such as the Crusades.

Explain the technologies that made the European explorations possible.

• Ships-– Constructed large ships such as the Santa Maria

and small ships such as the Nina and Pinta. – Invented the sternpost rudder which increased

maneuverability.

Explain the technologies that made the European explorations possible.

• Instruments-– Magnetic compasses used to determine direction.– Cross staffs and back staffs allowed mariners to

determine latitude.– Both of these allowed them to produce maps.

Explain the technologies that made the European explorations possible.

• Winds and Currents-– The mariners learned the wind patterns of the

Atlantic and Pacific oceans allowing them to travel home easier. This was known as the volta do mar (“return through the sea”)

– It was a longer but faster, safer, and more reliable way to travel.