By the 15th century C.E., most of the world was still in recovery mode from natural disasters all across the globe. Things became worse soon after thanks to devastating pandemic known as the Black Death. The plague killed millions across China, Mongolia, Central Asia to the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, Western Europe, and finally to Scandinavia and Ireland. Although the plague (Black Death) and starvation due to a slow recovery from the natural disasters diminished travelers, missionaries, and trader’s numbers, it didn’t stop the communication between regions. The region that was the wealthiest and most advanced due to cultural, economic, and political readiness to join the global commercial …show more content…
The Ottoman empire began in the 1300’s in what is now called western Turkey. By the 1400’s, it reached across North Africa, present day Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Europe, and southern Spain by expanding it’s political, religious, and economic power through conquests. The Safavid Empire was discovered by a mystical Islamic religious order’s military campaign to reunite the Persian Empire. The Empire also, housed present day Iran and a lot of Afghanistan. An it included a cultural and trading center. The last Empire was the Mughul Empire of northern India, known for its gunpowder just like the other two empires. They’re also known for their huge trade caravans and almost obliterating the Indian Ocean and South China Sea trade lines. The merchants of Mughul were the main source for carpets, fine cloth, pepper, and sugar. They were also one of the main sources of sugar throughout the world, before development by Europeans of its sugar colonies in Brazil and the West …show more content…
The negative ways it affected East Asia is when emperor Yongle in 1421, suspended voyages for a while by the Ming fleet. Then in 1433, after a seventh voyage was allowed, emperor Xuande decided that East Asia doesn’t desire goods from other regions. Just three years later emperor Zhu Qizhen ordered the fleet and shipbuilding plans to be destroyed. The positive ways the global commercial trade network affected East is when the Black Death plague came and helped East Asia get an upper hand in global commercial trade. Their population rebounded to before the plague, composing of 23 percent of the world’s people. Allowing travelers, merchants, and missionaries to journey further across regional, cultural, economic, and political lines to barter food for handcrafts or goods that couldn’t be created at
During the Middle Ages, trade flourished across Europe. Thousands of people would gather at various ports to wait for ships to return from foreign places carrying an assortment of exotic foods and goods. “In October 1347, trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea” (Roos, 41). Greeters and spectators, who were waiting anxiously for exotic goods, discovered something horrid instead. A majority of the sailors on board were deceased and the small remainder who had survived the trip were quickly dying as well. The ships brought back more than just goods and food items from China. They hosted flea-infested rats, which is the primary source of the bubonic plague. The bubonic plague, or ‘The Black Death’ forever altered the course of European history. The horrific plague encited a sequence of social, religious, and economic devastation, and ultimately killed over a third of Europe’s population.
Two of the most powerful powers in the post-classical period were the Arabian and Byzantine empires. Each had different political, religious, and economic differences that defined their respective cultures, and managing to create vast empires that greatly rivaled each other.
As shown contextually in document 5, Asia was replacing their barter and tax payment from goods and services to silver. Such a change requires and very large supply and circulation of said precious metal. China was willing to pay a lot for said metal as its new economic system depended on it. In order to cash in on this potential gold rush, for lack of a better word, european nations sought elsewhere for a supply of silver they could control, ultimately leading to the colonization of the Americas and military conquests of isles like the Phillipines and Indonesia. The pattern of the silver trade shifted as Europeans now expanded it to reach more of the western hemisphere by establishing mines in Brazil and other areas. Documents 1 and 3 showcase in detail how connected the west and east now became because of the silver trade, which previously resided in Asia predominantly. Silver went from the mines in the east (Japan) and sometimes isles (Philippines), to the colonies, and ultimately China after the chinese merchant ships would travel to said colonies and pick up the silver. Such an increased connected between the west and east is seen again post-Renaissance. As Europe is going through a revival, it seeks wealth elsewhere, like european nations in the later centuries. Europe begins expeditions and forges relationships with eastern nations
The Black Death struck Europe in a time of great despair. "Although a `Great Famine' struck northern Europe between 1315 and 1322, nothing prepared Europeans for the horrendous onslaught of the Black Death" (Aberth, 2). The famine had caused a massive hunger shortage from which Europe had yet to recove...
The continent was divided linguistically, politically and economically. Just like the other two worlds, they also practiced gender division of labor. However, this was the only region in which women played and almost entirely submissive role; men dominated in every aspect, from society to religion to politics. In the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Europeans were slowly recovering from Black Death which has affected them in the fourteenth century killing a third of the population. The leaders took the chaos form Black Death as an advantage to consolidate power. Along with this political revolution, technological and economic changes helped shaped the societies. European explorers and colonizers, especially Roman Catholics, sought to spread Christianity and this was used as a motive to increase the nation’s wealth through the establishment of direct trade with the other worlds (Africa and America). Sailors gained knowledge of navigation, wind and currents by first sailing in the Mediterranean Atlantic. The knowledge acquired helped them establish plantation economies and beneficial trading post in West Africa. They learnt that they could successfully transplant crops and livestock in new
During the postclassical period, the expansion of trade had different interpretations around the world. Varying societies all reacted to trade in different ways due to how they viewed the situation. It had caused conflict in few areas around the world and also created peace as well as harm. Some communities had pros and cons to trade, like everything else. Some reasons for the positive or negative feedback on trade was due to religion, and or the philosophical system. Religion and the philosophical system was both pros or cons for trade in different civilizations. Religion helped with the spread of different ideas and religions across a mass area. Yet it had a negative input because then people fought, thinking their religion was more
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
Many changes were witnessed in the economic structures of different regions as trade flourished within the Eurasian trade routes. Trade routes allowed for sedentary civilizations to connect with more nomadic groups, and this allowed for many to exchange goods with drastically different groups outside of their own regions. Different goods appeared out of regions such as
No other epidemic reaches the level of the Black Death which took place from 1348 to 1350. The epidemic, better regarded as a pandemic, shook Europe, Asia, and North Africa; therefore it deems as the one of the most devastating events in world history. In The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, John Aberth, compiles primary sources in order to examine the origins and outcomes of this deadly disease. The author, a history professor and associate academic dean at Vermont’s Castleton State College, specializes in medieval history and the Black Death. He wrote the book in order to provide multiple perspectives of the plague’s impact. Primarily, pathogens started the whole phenomenon; however, geological, economic, and social conditions
The Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
I am here today to talk to you about the Persian Empire. One of the reasons I chose this topic is that I am Persian myself. Another reason for me choosing this topic is that there is a large Persian community in Lower Mainland.
The Safavid Empire, a prominent theocracy, prospered in the early modern period. With the glorious capital of Isfahan, the Safavid Empire left a legacy full of trade, art and wealth. However, the empire braved a rough decline due to the government's oppressive actions, the lack of structure and external forces. While there were many attempts to rebuild, the reign of the Safavid Empire ended in 1722. The Safavid Empire faced a harsh decline due to religious differences, lack of substantial leadership and external pressures.
In this case of the Ming Dynasty, it was a peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang and his rebel army that successfully developed a strong Dynasty for 300 years. Zhu along with his army overthrew the last emperor of the Mongols in 1368. Over the years, the Ming Dynasty took control of Korea, Mongolia and certain areas of Central and Southeast Asia (Wineburg 510). The Safavid Dynasty also dated around the same time. This Dynasty was founded by a religious group named the Safavids in the 1500’s. In the 15th century the religious group strengthened their military. The mindset of the group changed as it became more military based. When the Islamic holy war occurred, the uprising caused the Safavids to proclaim freedom and independence. The Safavid Dynasty lasted nearly 220 years (BBC Web).
The Black Death plagues had disastrous consequences for Europe in the 14th century. After the initial outbreak in Europe, 1347, it continued for around five years and then mysteriously disappeared. However it broke out again in the 1360s and every few decades thereafter till around 1700. The European epidemic was an outbreak of the bubonic plague, which began in Asia and spread across trade routes. When it reached Europe, a path of destruction began to emerge. Medieval society was tossed into disarray, economies were fractured, the face of culture and religion changed forever. However the plagues devastation was not all chaotic, there were benefits too, such as modern labour movements, improvements in medicine and a new outlook on life. Therefore in order to analyse the impact the Black Death had on societies in the 14th century, this essay will consider the social, economic, cultural and religious factors in order to reach an overall conclusion.
We can see this dating all the way back to foraging societies to even the Viking invasions of the ninth and tenth centuries. Because of this, from land to sea, interconnected roads can be found all throughout Afro-Eurasia. Roads, especially the Silk Road, helped Mongols, Vikings, and Europeans participate in regular trade and transportation. When people began to expand out across continents, sickness and disease came with them, one crisis in particular was the Black Death. Many may argue that it was disastrous to humans, indeed it was, but it was essential to the human population. As bad as it sounds, it was a quick way the gene pool of the human population became stronger, which helps out tremendously today. The Black Death took a toll on Afro-Eurasia, especially Europe. It’s estimated that Europe experienced a decline in population from nearly 30% to 60%. When people began to travel, rodents, especially rats, came with them. Rats carried disease, almost as if they were a postal