Unit III Exam Study GuideThe World Shrinks

1. Before 1450 Central Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe were involved in global trading, but as the world shrunk, the Americas, Africa, all of Europe, and Southern Asia.

2. Slowly, the culture of Western Europe replaced or destroyed cultures in the Americas, India, Africa, and later, China.

3. In early years, China was the pioneering nation in the field of exploration, but after the burning of the Chinese fleets by the Emperor, China slowly withdrew from the global market. Western Europe, especially the nations of Portugal, Spain, and later Britain, finally went around the Cape of Good Hope and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the world leaders in exploration and naval dominance.

4. The Columbian Exchange was the transfer of products between the New World of North and South America, and the Old World of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Old World got crops such as potatoes and corn. The New world got horses, diseases, and cows. People were also traded between the nations. The New World lost most of its population because of the diseases, while the Old World gained a huge profit.

5. Mercantilism encouraged Mother countries such as Britain to import raw materials from their colonies, make goods from these materials, then sell the goods back to the same colonies. Countries such as Britain, France, and Spain benefited greatly from this exchange. The colonies would not be allowed to trade with any other countries for any goods.

6. Trade relations between Eastern and Western Europe were severely stunted because of the Mongol invasion of Russia and other countries in North-Eastern Europe. These countries also did not experience the Renaissance or the Enlightenment because of their separation from Italy. They did participate in the Reformation and most of Eastern Europe is Eastern Orthodox.

7. The Roman Catholic Church tried to convert multiple societies and peoples to their religion but failed because of the already well established religions of Islam and Buddhism. The only real success in Asia was in the Philippines, where Christianity is still the main religion now.

8. The Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance were different in many ways. The Italian Renaissance concentrated more on Architecture, Art, and

Science. Although the Northern Renaissance also made improvements in these areas, it focused more on Religious and Political reform. The Lutheran, Protestant, and Calvinist churches, as well as the Parliamentary Monarchy were formed during the Northern Renaissance.

9. Lutheranism made it easier for Christians to get into heaven. Unlike with Catholicism, Lutherans supposedly can get into heaven just by believing Christ was your savior. Catholics have to pray and be good to other people while believing Christ was your savior.

10. Slowly, Science beat back the old beliefs and ways of earlier Europe, including the belief in healers, witchcraft, and magicians. New scientific schools and books were set up and printed with government aid to try to educate people. The literacy rate in Europe went up from about 20 percent to 47 in just a few hundred years. Witchcraft trials were not allowed in courts anymore and instead of leaving lost items to magicians, a new “lost and found” section was created in newsletters. Insurance companies started being used to guard against risk.

11. The Enlightenment was the aftermath of the Scientific Revolution in which chemists, biologists, and social thinkers, gained new understanding different aspects of their fields. There were no Galileos or Newtons, but the new discoveries were spread throughout much of Europe. The most influential discoveries had to do with applying the new discoveries of the Renaissance to society.

12. Post-Mongolian Russian economy deteriorated. Trade went down and manufacturing became limited, thus making Russia a purely agricultural economy dependant on peasant labor.

13. The expansion on Central Asia was motivated by a desire to push the Mongol overlords back. Since Russia was mainly plains, there were only a few barriers blocking them from conquest. The Russians recruited Cossacks, or peasant-adventurers, to migrate to these lands. Expansion offered the tsars a way to reward loyal aristocracy by giving them estates in the new land. Their expansion into central-Asia eliminated the age-old source of nomadic cultures. It also added many diverse people into Russian culture, making Russia a multicultural empire.

14. Peter’s foreign policy maintained many well-established lines. His biggest policy was that he believed in westernization. He wanted to make Russia more respectable in Western eyes. He changed old traditions and westernized them. Instead of the nobles all having beards, he forced them to cut it off and told them to start wearing western clothing. He also gave the women more freedom because it was that way in the west.

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17. When the Spanish first came to the Americas, they established many settlements there. The Spanish control in the Caribbean led to making the indigenous people there to do the Spanish’s work. Encomiendas, large estates and grants of American Indian laborers, provided the framework for relations based on economic dominance. The so-called “serfs” were made to mine gold until that area’s supply become gone, and then they were made to hop between islands. The Caribbean became a backwater until the Spanish found out that sugar grows plentiful there. It then became a place for sugar plantations.

18. Bartolomé de Las Casas, a conquistador turned priest, initiated the struggle for justice. He wanted the mistreatment and destruction of the American Indians to end.

19. In 1519, Hernán Cortés led an expedition of 600 men to Mexico. He heard rumor of a kingdom in Mexico so he began to go inland. He fought many towns subject to the Aztecs and when he won, he was able to enlist the defeated peoples’ support against their overlords. With the help of the Indian allies, He reached the island capital of Tenochtitlan and with luck, he captured and killed Moctezuma II. He fled to the coast but came back to siege Tenochtitlan. The city fell in 1521 after the Aztecs put up a still resistance, but disease and starvation ultimately brought it down. Tenochtitlan was replaced by Mexico City.

20. There were many factors of success of Spanish conquistadors. Horses, firearms, and more generally steel weapons gave them a great advantage over the stone technology of the indigenous people. Epidemic disease also proved to be an ally of the conquistadors. The internal divisions and rivalries within American Indian empires, and their high levels of centralization made these empires very vulnerable.

21. The main factor influencing the population in the Americas is the arrival of the Europeans. Slaving, mistreatment, and disease also brought the population down. Diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and the measles wrecked havoc because the people were not immune to it. The conquests also brought a decrease in population.

22. The impact of the American bullion on the Spanish economy was not as great as thought. It accounted for only one fourth of the economy, the main part still being taxes collected from the people. Most of the silver was used to pay for Spain’s European wars, its debts, and the purchase of manufactured goods. The silver also contributed to a sharp rise in prices and a general inflation.

23. The discovery of gold led to mixed blessings. It opened the interior to settlement, once again with disastrous effects on the indigenous population and with the

expansion of slavery. There was also a disruption in agriculture because of the gold strike.

24. The basis for the social hierarchy in the Americas was made between the Europeans, Indians, and Africans. It was basically the Europeans on top as conquerors, the Indians in the middle as the conquered, and the Africans at the bottom as slaves. This situation also created hierarchies of masters and servants, and Christians and pagans.

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26. Europeans took many slaves from Africa. The slaves were captured by large tribes on the interior of Africa and forced to march to the coast, where they were put on display in cages for the European slave traders. A healthy, strong African slave was called and “Indies piece”. After a slave trader bought them they were taken to Europe and sold.

27. As the Europeans ventured farther and farther down the Africa Coast, they began to set up trading posts and forts called “factories”. El Mina was a very important factory in the gold-producing region. With the permission of local rulers, these forts were established. The reason the local rulers liked them was that they brought valuable European mad goods and trade to the area.

28. Before 1450, the slave trade was a central element in Portugal’s trading network. Slavery had also been an extensive institution in the Roman Empire, but in the Middle Ages it had slowly declined until it was replaced by serfdom. The trans-Saharan slave trade brought blacks into the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern areas throughout the period. Slaves were first brought directly to Portugal from Africa in 1441, but by 1460, about 500 slaves a year were being brought in.

29. Slaves were captured by large tribes on the interior of Africa, and force- marched to the coast where they were purchased by Europeans. In the Americas, Natives were used as slaves, but they were quickly wiped out by European diseases and African slaves were brought in to replace the lack of labor.

30. African slaves were most highly concentrated in Brazil, getting up to 4 million slaves, 37% of all slaves exported from Africa. There were also many slaves imported to the Caribbean because of the amount of labor required for sugar. The slaves were mostly used to grow and harvest sugar in Brazil, but when sugar farming began in the Caribbean, more slaves were sent there.

31. The trans-Atlantic slave trade dealt mainly with importing female slaves for use as concubines and prostitutes. The Atlantic slave trade exported mostly male slaves to use for forced labor on plantation, however, some female slaves were sent also.

32. Between 30 and 60 million people were taken out of Africa as slaves. Slaves of Africans were treated far better than slaves in America.

33. Slaves in the Americas were treated very harshly because it was more profitable to work them to death and then purchase more slaves than it was to treat them humanely so they could survive longer. Slave traders packed very many slaves onto small boats to transport them from Africa to the Americas. Nearly half of them died on the journey. The traders made about as much money as they would shipping spices or sugar.

34. With access to European goods like firearms, iron, horses, cloth, and tobacco, the African kingdoms began to redirect trade toward the coast to expand their influence. Kingdoms with firearms could overpower their neighbors and capture more slaves to sell to the Europeans in return for more weapons. This resulted in a cycle of warfare and disruption of societies as the search for slaves expanded into the interior.

35. East Africa was the region most directly influenced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Also, the Americas gained very many people from the slave trade. On the east coast of Africa, the Swahili trading cities had influences from European trading expeditions, but were unaffected by the slave trade. Asia was completely unaffected by the Atlantic slave trade.

36. There were three main legs of the Atlantic slave trade. Goods were manufactured in Europe and shipped to Africa. Then, the goods are sold to the African tribe, in return for slaves. Then slaves are shipped to the Americas, this is called the middle passage. Raw materials are then shipped to Europe where they are used to make more goods. This cycle then continues on and on.

37. The Ottoman naval power was one of the most powerful powers in the Mediterranean Sea. Ottoman galley fleets made possible the capture of major island bases on Rhodes, Crete, and Cyprus. The Ottomans drove the Venetians and the Genoese from much of the Eastern Mediterranean, and threatened southern Italy. The Ottomans power made them the protectors of Islam, and the scourge of Christianity.

38. Janissaries were infantry divisions in the Ottoman armies. They were forced into the army as adolescent boys from conquered areas. Sometimes, the parents willingly gave their sons because there were opportunities for advancements in the army. They were legally slaves but they were given a fair amount of schooling and were always converted to Islam. The Janissaries usually controlled the artillery and firearms, so they became one of the most powerful components in the Ottoman army. Because of the growing importance, the need for cavalry declined. The Janissaries eventually tried to use military service to gain political influence, just like the mercenary forces of the Caliphs of Baghdad before them.

39. The principle of succession of the Ottomans suffered greatly because they inherited the Islamic principles. There were many talented claimants to the throne, so there was always a fear of civil strife or regicide. The death of the Sultan usually meant war among the sons and whoever did not become the sultan usually rallied opposing forces against the new one.

40. The Ottoman artisan organizations, like the Western artisan organizations, were organized into groups called guilds. The guild officers set craft standards, arbitrated disputes, and provided financial assistance to members. They also aroused popular entertainment, often links to religion.

41. The Safavid dynasty arose from the struggles of rival Turkish nomadic groups. The Safavids housed the Shi’a, while the Ottomans housed the Sunnis. The Safavids had their origins in a family of Sufi Mystics and preachers, whose shrine was at Arabil near the Caspian Sea. Sail al-Din, one of the Sufis that gave the Dynasty its name, began a campaign to purify and reform Islam and spread the teachings among the Turkish tribes. The red Heads (Safavid followers) grew, but their enemies also grew. After decades of fierce fighting, Ismail, a Sufi commander, became Shah. In 1514, the battle at Chaldiran was won by the Ottomans because of their superior technology. The battle determined that Shi’ism would be confined to present day Iran, and neighboring areas.

42. The founder of the Mughal Dynasty was Babur. Unlike most other rulers, he did not conquer territories for religious reasons, but for booty. In 1526, his army of 12 thousand met a force of 100 thousand at Panipat. Using the same tactics as the battle at Chaldiran, he won. He also amassed an army of hundreds of War elephants that helped.

43. Akbar changed the Mughal Dynasty in many ways. He was very educated and made many social reforms. He pursued a policy of reconciliation and cooperation with the Hindu princes and he also encouraged the Mughal aristocracy to marry the Hindu Rajput rulers’ families. He abolished the jizya, a headtax on non-muslims, and let Hindus have some of the highest ranks in government. He also told Muslims to be respectful. He sought to improve the calendar, establish living quarters for the homeless, and regulate the consumption of alcohol. He encouraged widow remarriage and made Suti illegal. He also made special markets for women to provide something fun for them to do.

44. Din-i-Ilahi was a religion created by Akbar to unite his Hindu and Muslim subjects. He thought that if the adherent’s of India’s diverse religions could embrace this common creed, the quarrels and conflicts could be brought to an end, but this religion was never accepted by his subjects.

45. At the beginning of Aurangzeb’s reign, India was threatened by internal decay and the dangers of external armies. The Mughal bureaucracy had grown incompetent and corrupt and the need for administrative, military, and social

reforms had been ignored. The army was equally corrupt and backward in weaponry and tactics, and the peasants and urban workers saw they productivity and living standards fall.

46. Aurangzeb’s religious policy was totally different from Akbar’s. He wanted to rid the Mughal Empire of all Hindu influence. He continued to employ Hindus in imperial service, but there were few and their personal contact with the emperor was limited. He forbade the building of New Hindu temples and Hindu religious festivals were not allowed at court. He also reinstated to jizya.

47. The Mughal Dynasty at the end of Aurangzeb’s reign was far larger than before, but more unstable. Internal rebellions, mostly mounted by the Murattas, put an end to Mughal control over large areas. The rise of new sects, such as the Sikhs, further strained the declining resources. The Sikhs originally tried to bridge the differences between the Hindus and Muslims, but quickly turned into an anti-muslim force because of their persecution. More and more Islamic invaders attacked India. Also, the economy weakened. As the Europeans began to come to India, the Mughul empire began to lose Muslim societies and political systems. They also lost key tax revenues and merchant profits because of the Europeans. The Mughul decline led to the occupation of India by the Europeans, mainly the British.

48. The main motives for European explorations were money and commerce. The Europeans brought goods from Asia back with them to their home countries. They also circulated money, which helped to strengthen both their country’s and the world’s economy.

49. The main sources of European frustration were the Asians and the Asian sea trade. Portugal and other European countries such as Holland failed to take over southern Asia or convert most of Asia. The only Asian area converted massively to Christianity was the Philippines.

50. Portugal attempted to take over the whole of the eastern Asian sea trade. They tried to take key points and either conquer or destroy their enemies. They kept ships in strategic areas to disable rival trading fleets.

51. The sub-zones in Asian trading network were important because they gave the main zones raw materials.

52. There were two main weaknesses in the Asian sea trading network. One was the lack of protection or a police force for trading fleets. The other was the fact that each fleet was separate, and the individuals lacked the unity of the West.

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54. In Ming China, the Jesuits were held in mixed opinion. They won over converts in the courts, but were viewed by many others as barbaric, causing opposing views on European Christians.

55. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO IT, I WILL SEND YOU A REVISED VERSION TOMORROW…I HAVE BIBLE STUDY NOW!

56. The Japanese emperor Hideyoshi persecuted Christians and regulated exports in an attempt to keep Japan culturally intact.