DBQHansaandtheSwahili
DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION:
TWO TRADING ALLIANCES
Directions
The following question is based on the accompanying documents. (The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise). The question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:
Has relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.
Uses all or all but one of the documents.
Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible and does not simply summarize the documents individually.
Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ points of view.
Essay Prompt
Compare the Hansa and Swahili trading systems and determined what accounted for their differences.
Based on the following documents, discuss Post-Classical interregional trading systems. What types of additional documentation would help explain the differences between the Hansa and the Swahili?
Historical Background
During the Post-Classical era from 1000 to 1450 C.E., cities, which relied heavily on trade, arose and flourished. At the same time, many smaller trading cities formed trading alliances and associations. Two of the most successful and famous were the German Hansa in Northern Europe and the Swahili cities along the coast of East Africa.
Document 1
FOREIGN GOLD & SILVER COINS DISCOVERED AT SWAHILI CITIES:
From Classical and Post-Classical Era Trading Civilizations to 1450 C.E.
Kilwa
Mafia
Zanzibar
Pemba
Kenya
Somalia
Total
Hellenistic
1
2
22
25
Persian
5
5
Roman
2
1
6
9
Byzantine
2
46
48
Umayyad
2
2
Abbasid
7
1
8
Seljuk
1
1
Mameluk
2
4
6
12
Mongol
2
4
1
7
Muslim, misc.
20
3
15
38
Tang China
4
1
5
Sung China
9
185
2
16
212
Ming China
6
6
Ceylon
4
4
Vietnam
4
4
South India
2
2
Kenyan Swahili cities are Mombasa and Lamu; Somalia includes Mogadishu
DOCUMENT 2
The Hansa reply to a
TWO TRADING ALLIANCES
Directions
The following question is based on the accompanying documents. (The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise). The question is designed to test your ability to work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:
Has relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.
Uses all or all but one of the documents.
Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible and does not simply summarize the documents individually.
Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ points of view.
Essay Prompt
Compare the Hansa and Swahili trading systems and determined what accounted for their differences.
Based on the following documents, discuss Post-Classical interregional trading systems. What types of additional documentation would help explain the differences between the Hansa and the Swahili?
Historical Background
During the Post-Classical era from 1000 to 1450 C.E., cities, which relied heavily on trade, arose and flourished. At the same time, many smaller trading cities formed trading alliances and associations. Two of the most successful and famous were the German Hansa in Northern Europe and the Swahili cities along the coast of East Africa.
Document 1
FOREIGN GOLD & SILVER COINS DISCOVERED AT SWAHILI CITIES:
From Classical and Post-Classical Era Trading Civilizations to 1450 C.E.
Kilwa
Mafia
Zanzibar
Pemba
Kenya
Somalia
Total
Hellenistic
1
2
22
25
Persian
5
5
Roman
2
1
6
9
Byzantine
2
46
48
Umayyad
2
2
Abbasid
7
1
8
Seljuk
1
1
Mameluk
2
4
6
12
Mongol
2
4
1
7
Muslim, misc.
20
3
15
38
Tang China
4
1
5
Sung China
9
185
2
16
212
Ming China
6
6
Ceylon
4
4
Vietnam
4
4
South India
2
2
Kenyan Swahili cities are Mombasa and Lamu; Somalia includes Mogadishu
DOCUMENT 2
The Hansa reply to a