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Chapter 22:Reaching Out:Cross Cultural Interactions
Patterns of Long-Distance Trade
• Silk roads• Sea lanes of Indian Ocean basin• Trans-Saharan caravan routes• Development of trading cities,
emporia• Nomadic invasions cause local
devastation but expand trade network– E.g. Mongols in China, 13th c.
Marco Polo (1253-1324)• Example of long-distance travel• Traveled to China with merchant father,
uncle• Enters service of Mongol Khubilai Khan• Returns to Venice after 17-year absence• Experiences recorded by fellow prisoner
in Venice-Genoa conflict• Great influence on European
engagement with far east
Travel and trade from the twelfth to the fourteenth century
Political and Diplomatic Travel
• Trade requires diplomatic relations after 1000 CE
• Mongols, Christians recognize Muslims as common enemy, 13th century
• Pope Innocent IV invites Mongols to convert to Christianity–Mongols counter-offer: Christians accept
Mongol rule or face destruction
Diplomatic Travelers• Rabban Sauma– Nestorian Christian Priest sent to Pope by
Mongols in Persia, 1287, regarding proposed attack on Jerusalem
– Did not win European support– 1295 new leader of Persia accepts Islam
• Ibn Battuta (1304-1369)– Islamic scholar, worked in governments on
extensive travel– Strict punishment meted out according to sharia
Missionary Travelers• Sufi missionaries travel throughout
new Muslim territories, 1000-1500 AD• Christian missionaries accompany,
follow Crusaders– Roman Catholic priests travel east to
serve expatriate communities– John of Montecorvino travels to China in
1291• Translates Biblical texts, builds Churches
Cultural Exchanges• Songs and Stories – troubadours• European scientists consulted with
Muslim and Jewish counterparts on understanding of natural world
• The magnetic compass from China
Spread of Crops• Citrus fruits, Asian rice, cotton• Sugarcane–Muslims introduce crystallized sugar to
Europeans– Demand increases rapidly– Europeans use Muslim precedent of
having large populations of slaves work on sugarcane plantations
Gunpowder Technologies• Muslims, Mongols spread gunpowder• Technology reaches Europe by 1258
A Mongol bomb thrown against a charging Japanese samurai during the Mongol invasions of Japan after founding the Yuan
Dynasty, 1281.
Bubonic Plague• The Little Ice Age, c. 1300 AD– Decline of agricultural output leads to
widespread famine, specifically in 1315-1317 resulting in the death of millions
–Warm summers stopped being dependable in N. Europe
– Bubonic Plague spreads from south-west China• Carried by fleas on rodents• Mongol campaigns spread disease to Chinese
The Black Death
Yersinia pestis (Bubonic Plague) seen at 2000x
magnification.
Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411).
From the Dance of Death by
Hans Holbein the Younger
(1491).
Results of the Black Plague• Trade declines• Shortage of workers• Decline of people lowered the prices of food• Rent replaces labor as payment to landlords• Feudalism officially ends• The Church cannot explain the plague
which leads many to question the authority of the Church
• Anti-Semitism once again rises
The alleged ritual murder of a boy by the Jews,
1475, wood engraving
Spread of Plague• Mongols, merchants, travelers spread
disease west• 1346 Black Sea ports• 1347 Mediterranean ports• 1348 Western Europe
Symptoms of the Black Plague
• Inflamed and discolored lymph nodes in neck, armpits, groin area– Buboes, hence Bubonic
• 60-70% mortality rate, within days of onset of symptoms
• Extreme northern climates less affected–Winter hard on flea population
• India, sub-Saharan areas unaffected– Reasons unknown
Buboes
Population Decline (millions)
0
25
50
75
100
1300 AD 1400 AD 1500 AD
ChinaEuropeNorth
Social and Economic Effects• Massive labor shortage• Demand for higher wages• Population movements• Governments attempt to freeze wages,
stop serf movements– Riots result
Recovery in China: The Ming Dynasty
• Yuan dynasty collapses 1368, Mongols depart
• Impoverished orphan raised by Buddhist monks, works through military ranks, becomes Emperor Hongwu
• Proclaims new Ming (“Brilliant”) dynasty, 1368-1644
Ming Centralization• Reestablishment of Confucian
educational system• Execution of minister suspected of
treason, begins tradition of direct rule by Emperor
• Reliance on emissaries called Mandarins
• Heavy reliance on eunuchs
Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644Golden Age of Chinese Art
– Moderation– Softness– Gracefulness
Landscape paintings, porcelain jars, silks, poetry, fiction, drama, music & dance flourished.
Hundreds of thousands ofworkers constructed theForbidden City.
The Forbidden City: China’s New Capital
Ming Porcelain / Ceramics, 17 c.
Ming Vases, 17 c.
Ming Painting and Calligraphy, early 16c
Ming Painting – “Birds and Flowers”, 16c
Ming Cultural Revolution Printing & Literacy
Cheap, popular books:woodblock printing.cheap paper.
Examination system. Leads to explosion in
literacy. Leads to further
popularization of the commercial market.
Culture & Art Increased literacy
leads to increased interest in cultural expressions, ideas, and things:Literature.Painting.Ceramics.Opera.
Ming Silver MarketTriangle route:
Philippines to China to Japan. Silver floods Chinese Market:
Reduces price of Chinese goods in Europe
Increases interest in Chinese culture & ideas in Europe.
Helps fund conquest of New World Encourages Europeans in conquest &
trade.
Economic Recovery• Conscripted labor to repair, rebuild
irrigation systems• Promoted manufacturing of porcelain,
silk• Cultural revival– Attempt to eradicate Mongol legacy by
promoting traditional Chinese culture– Emperor Yongle commissions 23,000-roll
Encyclopedia, one of the earliest in the world and compiled from 7,000 books
Recovery in Western Europe: State Building
• China: centralized Empire• Europe: regional states• Europe develops new taxes– Italian states: bonds– France: salt tax, sales tax– England: hearth tax, head tax, plow tax
• Establish large standing armies– French Louis XI (1461-1483) had army of
15,000