Connections & Elsewhere
Dr. East
Political Map of Europe 1478 AD
Connections Occurred Through Major Trade Patterns, Major Routes 1000 – 1500 AD
• During the 1000s-1500s, major trade routes expanded greatly… People from Europe to the South East Asian trade islands and the southern most tip of Africa were regularly exchanging goods
• The plague in Europe and Asia created labor scarcity, thus allowing common folk to ask more money for their labor and products
• Increased trading exchanges inevitably began secularizing life and caused the cultural diffusion of ideas
The Routes
• Silk Routes across Asia to the Mediterranean basin
• Maritime routes across the Indian Ocean• Trans-Saharan routes across North Africa• Northern European links with the Black Sea• Western European sea and river trade• South China Sea and lands of Southeast Asia
The Goods
• Gold from West Africa• Spices from lands around the Indian Ocean• Textiles from India, China, the Middle East,
and later Europe• Porcelain from China and Persia• Amber from the Baltic region
Technology Spread Around the World
• Paper from China went through the Muslim world to Byzantium and Western Europe
• Printing and paper money from China
• Sugar cane from India• Waterwheels and windmills from
the Middle East• Navigation: Compass from China,
lateen sail from Indian Ocean region
Trading Map of Europe 1478 AD
Trading Map: Showing Overland & River Routes (Late Middle Ages)
Ideas Were Spreading
• Spread of religions across the hemisphere• Buddhism from China to Korea and Japan• Hinduism and Buddhism from India to
Southeast Asia• Islam into West Africa, Central and Southeast
Asia
What happened Elsewhere
• …. While Europe, Southwest, and Central Asia changed as a result of trade?
• Today we study Africa• Thurs. we study Japan and prepare to become
a Museum Tour Guide for Central and South American Civilizations
Elsewhere: Japan
• Mountainous archipelago of four main islands
• Situated East of Sea of Japan or East Sea across from Asian mainland
• Close to both China and Korea (proximity) – China influenced its
cultural development
– Buddhism spread from the Chinese mainland
– China influenced writing– China influenced
architecture
Shintoism Is Unique to Japan• Shintoism is an Animist
Religion • Emphasizes importance of
natural features, forces of nature, and ancestors
• State religion; worship of the emperor
• Coexistence with Buddhism and Daoism
Elsewhere in Africa• African civilizations developed in sub-Saharan west and
east Africa.• Trade brought important economic, cultural, and
religious influences to African civilizations from other parts of the Eastern Hemisphere.
• States and empires flourished in Africa during the medieval period, including:– Ghana, – Mali, – Songhai in west Africa, – Axum in east Africa, and – Zimbabwe in southeastern Africa.