Chapter 15
The World in 1450: Changing Balance of World Power
OutlineI. Key Changes in the Middle East
II. The Rise of the West
III. Western Expansion: The Experimental Phase
IV. Outside the World Network
Timeline
Main Ideas and Chapter Focus1. 1400 forward was a time of profound transformation
1. Shifting balance of power in civilizations in Asia, Africa, and Europe2. Changed nature of international contact
2. Began with decrease of Arab strength (fall in1258)1. Opened up new opportunities in Afro-Eurasian network established during
postclassical age
3. Various candidates1. Briefly the Ming2. Opened up to Europe…why?
4. Western Europe- 1. conditions propelled western civilizations into new positions around 14002. Accompanied by changes in Western Europe itself (Portugal, Spain)
5. Changes in societies outside international network-response to Europeans
1. Americas2. Polynesia
Focus continued…
6. Framework1. Why these societies reacted differently to key forces2. Wider impact than the classical period
7. Continuity1. Importance of level of contacts that developed through formation of
transcontinental network2. Dependence on far-flung trade- if one collapsed (decline of Mongol
security on SRS-another system moved into place)3. Trade continued-exchanges of technology and ideas continued to
mark Afro-Eurasia relationships
The Compass• Chinese invention- Tang Dynasty, by 1100, pursue
spices and teas• Arab merchants in IO soon followed and then the
Europeans by 1187• Fundamentally changed the nature of ocean
voyages i.e. Columbus• Changes to international relations and shift in
power– Europeans took to the seas– Mongol movements in Asia and Europe– Decline of Arab dominance
Eurasia in 1200
Trade and Disease in 14th Century
Key Changes in Middle East
• Decline of Old Order:In 1200 –dominated by Byzantine and Islamic
CaliphateBy 1400- in disarray
– Constantinople falls in 1453 to Ottoman Turks– Abbasid falls in 1258– Division in ME and Arab peoples
Social and Cultural Change in ME1. New religious influence due to Islam and Sufism
– Religious leaders win prominence over poets, philosophers, and scientists
– Arab rationalist philosopher more influential in Iberia among Muslims
– Focus on religious and legal traditions– Sufis continue to emphasize mystical connection with God
• RESULT– agricultural productivity fell– Tax revenues decreases – ME merchants lost ground to European competitors (gradual decline)– Arabs REMAIN active in Indian Ocean – Beginning of rise of Ottoman Turks
Power Vacuum in International Leadership
1. Rise of Ottoman DID NOT restore Islam’s international vigor
2. Mongols TEMPORARLIY created alternative global framework uniting Eurasia, BUT decline lessened international contacts and commerce
RESULT seaborne trade became increasingly active as land routes became dangerous, insecure for travel and trade
Chinese Push and then Withdrawal
1. Ming dynasty (1368-1644) replace Yuan and pushed to regain former Chinese borders (post Mongol rule)
2. Established Influence in Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet3. State-sponsored trading expeditions to India, ME, and eastern
Africa– Chinese Muslim admiral Zheng he – Halted in 1433 due to high costs and opposition by Confucian bureaucrats– Return to accustomed inward-looking policies, ending unusual experiment– Internal economics boomed=no need for foreign products and expansion
• RESULTS– Chinese merchants remain active in SE Asian waters– Establish settlements in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia– LOST CHANCE to become dominant world trading power-opened up way for
Europeans
Ming Dynasty
Ming Vase
Zheng He vs. Columbus
The Rise of the West• During 14th and 15th centuries- small states of West
still backward• Catholic church still under attack• Philosophy passed a highly creative phase• Warrior aristocrats lost useful role court life• Economic activities of ordinary Europeans were in
disarray• Growing population outstripped food supplies
famines common after 1300• Black Death= loss of 1/3 population=scarce labor,
more land and food
Europe, c. 950-1300
By 1500…
Medieval VitalityRemained a dynamic society
– Stronger monarchs provided effective gov’ts centralized states
– Hundred Years’ War stimulated military innovation– Spain and Portugal drove back Muslims– Urban economic growth=commerce– Church accepted capitalistic principles– Technology continues to progress- timekeeping and
ironworking
Imitation and Commerce Problems
• World market entrance not without problems– Rise of Mongol empire access to Asian knowledge and
technology– Western elites demand for Asian luxury goods=unfavorable
trade balance (gold supplements raw materials traded)– Gold shortage=threatening economic collapse– Rise of Ottoman Empire and other Muslim successes=
threat to Europe’s balance of trade with Asia• RESULT expansion into Adriatic Sea by Venice and
beginnings of explorations to bypass Muslim dominated routes to Asia
Secular Directions in the Italian Renaissance
• Internal change– Cultural and political movement grounded in urban
vitality and expanding commerce– Began in Italy during the 14th century– Literary and artistic themes friendly to secular world
than previous religiously oriented outlook– More concerned with personal reputation than
glory=HUMANISM– Commerce merchants seek new markets– Promote learning, find man
Human Values and Renaissance Culture
• Started in Italy during the 13th century– Why Italy?
• Urban Growth & Wealth• Merchant Class Values• Classical Heritage
• Main Idea: humanism– Study of human beings and human
potential• Celebration of human life
– Many different approaches to humanism
Raphael’s School of Athens
Impact of Renaissance
• Little impact outside Italy• Did not fully break Medieval tendencies and
superstitions• Developing scope of Italian:
– commerce and shipping– Revenue seeking city-states– Passion for innovation – Confidence– Set stage for future expansion
Iberian Spirit of Religious Mission
• Iberian peninsula key center for change• Centuries of pushing back Muslims• Merging of Castile and Aragon kingdoms after
1400• Religious and military agenda- reconquest• MissionExpel Muslim and Jews• Link between church and state
Western Expansion: Experimental Phase
• European efforts to expand into Atlantic began in 1300s
• Early exploration of Genoese and Spanish explorers sailed south to West Africa
• Technological barriers hindered further exploration until 1430 borrowed from Arabs and Chinese (compass, better ships,, astrolabe)
• Mapmaking increased
World Trade
Exploration
Colonial Patterns
• Portugal and Spanish began to exploit islands in Atlantic
• Prince Henry the Navigator (Port.) motivate by intellectual curiosity, religious fervor, financial gain facilitates innovation in exploration
• Exchange of animals, plants, foodstuffs, and diseases
• Sets stage for later pattern of European imperialism
• Slaves, cash crops (sugar, cotton, tobacco)
1400-1600
By 1900…
Question…
• Respond to the statement that the relative rise of the West after the 14th century was not so much the result of Western innovation as was the decline of civilizations in the Middle East and Asia.
Answer• ME the end of the Abbasids, the rise of the Seljuk
Turks, and disruption of the Mongol empires did not cause total decline
• Ottomans rise and build empire-Muslim trade empire disintegrated, Ottomans less interested in commerce opened door for the West
• China-no political disruption of traditional centralization under Ming; brief effort to expand into Asia-halted in 1433=opened to West
• Western advances-perceived weakness: unfavorable balance of trade, fear of Ottomans expansion exploration and trade routes
Outside the Network
• Polynesia and Americas not part of new international exchange
• Problems:– Aztecs faced rebellion and revolt due to political
policies weakening and vulnerable to outside contacts
– Inca political tension between central and local leadership; imperial overextension
– European invasion-disease