Week 3

The chapters for this week covered a time period from 500 CE to 1500 CE. The first chapter I read about this week had to do with connecting the nearby civilizations to each other. By doing this each area could trade what they had while gaining other things that their environment could not produce. I think the most important way of trading during this time period was the creation of the Silk Roads. They called it the “Silk Roads” because silk from China was such an important good. This network of trade was actually a relay system extending across Eurasia going from Arabia to India and then ending up in China. Some goods that were traded from China were Silk, Bamboo, gunpowder, and paper. From Central Asia there were furs, amber, livestock, and horses. India could trade cotton, herbal medicine, and spices. The Middle East had dates, nuts, almonds, dyes, and swords. In the Mediterranean Basin they had gold coins, glassware, artworks, perfume and olive oil. Those are only some of the things that were traded from each area. Another important fact was that when trade among these areas would happen they would sometimes bring with them disease. This would be a big problem for the civilization being exposed to the new sickness because they had little to no immunity towards it.

The Sea Roads were also another way to do trading. Instead of using land they people of this time could trade among the Indian Ocean. This had a big advantage because boats could carry more goods and cargo. Using this trade network opened up East Africa to trade ivory, gold quartz, and also slaves. The monsoon winds dictated how and when the trading would happen. The April through September monsoons would push winds north and north east while the November through February monsoons pushed winds south and south west. The other network of trade also happened in Africa through the Sahara Desert. With the introduction of the Camel to this area trade was possible between the Mediterranean and western part of Africa. The camel could go almost 2 weeks with no water. This animal was a big help in making this trade system possible. Gold was probably the most valuable asset to trade in this system while unfortunately slaves were involved as well. On the other side of the world in the western hemisphere, the Mesoamerican civilization and Andean Civilization were also trading too.  This however did not produce as much trade as in Eurasia and Africa since the environments were much harder to go through. Still, there was trade networks setup from western South America all the way to the North American Mississippi River area.

The next chapter focused on how China had a big influence on the global trade system. From the fall of the Han dynasty China was cut into many different regions. When the Tang and Song Dynasty came to power, China was more organized and urbanized. China had neighbors to the east and south. The country of Korea at that time was being influenced by China with Chinese traditions. Korea did not fully want to confirm to Chinese way of life. For example, Korean culture was much more relaxed towards women. Chinese culture did not want them to even sing and dance late at night. Korea still remained independent from China after 688 CE.

Vietnam was also another area China tried to influence. Like Korea, Vietnam was connected to China by land which made it easier for China to invade. Vietnam was not very willing to confirm to China. The story of the Trung Sisters remains a symbol of independence for Vietnam. Japan was the other area that China wanted to influence as well. Since Japan was separated by about 100 of ocean from China, Japan had the luxury of borrowing what they wanted from Chinese culture without much issue. I feel that China had a lot to offer the world during this period yet also felt that they were pushing their influence onto other areas was over the top. Still they remain an incredible world power even today.

The last chapter for this week covered European Christendom. The fall of the Roman Empire gave way to the Byzantine Empire. This empire tried to recreate and pick up where the Roman Empire left off. It was not a powerful as the Roman Empire yet still covered most of the Mediterranean area. Eastern Orthodoxy was the main religion of this Empire. Byzantine way of life then migrated to what is now Russia. The western part of Europe was also fragmented. There was the Carolingian Empire that had 3 separate kingdoms (Charles the Bald, Louis the German, and Lothar.) This period in Europe also saw the introduction of the Crusades. The Crusades were more of a religious fight to spread Christianity around. Mostly against Muslims in the Middle East, Sicily, and Spain as well as the Eastern Orthodox Christians of the Byzantine Empire. Western Europe was not as developed as the Byzantine Empire and China. Technologically, this area wanted to catch up and one way they did this was using a “heavy-wheeled plow” instead of a “scratch plow”. This tool could handle the environment of Northern Europe much better. Gunpowder was borrowed from China and used in cannons for the first time in Europe. That kind of artillery was not seen by other civilizations before.

Also in the last chapter was the creation of a hierarchy of kings, lords, and peasants.  The peasants would work in areas for a lord. In return the lord would provide protection to the peasants from their rivals. The kings would then oversee the lords and command allegiance from them and all people underneath them socially.