Commerce and Culture 500 1500 AP World History

Commerce and Culture 500 -1500 AP World History Notes Chapter 5

Why Trade? £Different ecological zones = natural uneven distribution of goods and resources £Early monopolization of certain goods ¤Silk in China ¤Spices in Southeast Asia £I want what you have! Do you want what I have? Let’s trade!

Trade: 500 -1500 £Long-distance trade developed £This trade shaped culture and society £Trade = mostly indirect ¤Chain of separate transactions ¤Goods traveled father than merchants

Significance of Trade: Economic £Altered consumption ¤Ex: West Africans now able to get salt to flavor and preserve their food £Changed the day-to-day lives of individuals ¤Ex: trade specialization --> led to less selfsufficiency and more dependency

Significance of Trade: Social £ Traders became their own social group ¤Sometimes viewed suspiciously --> why are they making money without making the goods? £ Trade became a means of social mobility ¤Money = land = power and status £ Trade used by elite groups to distinguish themselves from commoners ¤Only they could afford luxury goods from far away like silk or ivory

Significance of Trade: Political £Controlling and taxing trade motivated the creation of states and kingdoms £Wealth from trade sustained these states and kingdoms and facilitated their growth

What Else Was “Traded”? £Religious ideas £Technological innovations £Disease-bearing germs £Plants and animals

The Silk Roads

The Silk Roads: Growth £Eurasia = often divided into inner and outer zones with different ecologies £Outer Eurasia = relatively warm and well-watered ¤China, India, Middle East, Mediterranean £Inner Eurasia = harsher, drier climate ¤Eastern Russia, Central Asia

The Silk Roads: Growth £Result = steppe products traded for agricultural products and manufactured goods from inner Eurasia ¤Birth of the Silk Roads trade network Hides, furs, livestock, wool, amber, horses, saddles

The Silk Roads: Growth £Construction of classical civilizations and empires added major players to this trade network ¤Persian Empire, Greek Empire, Roman Empire, Han dynasty, Gupta Empire ¤Result = Silk Roads continued to grow

The Silk Roads: Goods £Most goods traded = luxury goods rather than staple goods £Destined for an elite and wealthy market £Only goods worth transporting with such high transportation costs

The Silk Roads: Goods £Silk = major product in high demand £China had a silk monopoly until the 500 s --> then others gained knowledge of silk production ¤Increased the supply of silk along the Silk Roads

Silk Makes the World Go ‘Round £ Used as currency in Central Asia £ Became a symbol of high status in both China and the Byzantine Empire £ Used in the expanding religions of Buddhism and Christianity ¤Ex: worn by Buddhist monks ¤Ex: silk altar covers in Christian churches

The Silk Roads: Goods £Volume of trade = small £But social and economic impact of trade = big ¤Ex: peasant in China produced luxury goods instead of crops ¤Ex: merchants could make enormous profits

The Silk Roads: Cultures £Major result of trade along the Silk Roads = the spread of Buddhism £From India to Central & East Asia £Spread by Indian traders and Buddhist monks

The Silk Roads: Buddhism £Spread to oases cities in Central Asia Buddhist temple in Dunhuang (an oases city) ¤Voluntarily converted ¤Buddhism gave these small cities a link to the larger, wealthy, and prestigious civilization of India ¤Many of these cities became centers of learning and commerce

The Silk Roads: Buddhism £Transformation of Buddhism ¤Original faith = shunned the material world ¤Now Buddhism = filled with wealthy monks, elaborate and expensive monasteries, and so on Buddhist monastery in China

The Silk Roads: Buddhism £What type of Buddhism spread? MAHAYANA! ¤Buddha = a deity ¤Many bodhisattvas ¤Emphasis on compassion

The Silk Roads: Diseases £Long-distance trade = resulted in exposure to unfamiliar diseases

The Silk Roads: Disease £Athens (430 -429 BCE) = widespread epidemic; killed 25% of the army £Roman & Han Empires = measles and smallpox devastated both populations £Mediterranean World (534 -750 CE) = devastated by bubonic plague from India

The Black Death £ Spread due to the Mongol Empire’s unification of most of Eurasia (13 th-14 th centuries) £ Could have been bubonic plague, anthrax, or collection of epidemic diseases £ 1346 -1350 = killed 1/3 of European population £ Similar death toll in China & parts of Islamic world