Geography
- About 4000 islands make up the Japanese archipelago, island group. Southern Japan enjoys a mild climate with plenty of rainfall.
- Only 15% of the land is suitable for farming. Natural resources are in short supply.
- Late summer and early fall strong tropical storms (typhoons) occur. Earthquakes and tidal waves are also threats. Early Japan
- A.D.300, Japan was not a united country; hundreds of clans controlled their own territories.
- People worshiped its own nature gods and honored thousands of local deities. This religion was called Shinto. Shinto had no complex rituals; it was based on respect for the forces of nature.
- Japanese adapt Chinese ideas from trading with Koreans and the migrations.
-Believed system (Buddhism) brought into Japan.
Heian Society (794-1185)
- Among the upper class in Heian, a highly refined court society arose.
- People of the court filled their days with elaborate ritual and artistic pursuits. Everyone at court was expected to write poetry and to paint. People are educated.
Japanese Feudalism
- Fujiwara family held the real power in Japan for most of the Heian period. The middle of the 11th century, the power of central government began to slip because court families grew more interested in luxury then governing.
-Large landowners living away and set up their private armies. Farmers trade land for protections. Therefore, lord gained more power and it’s the beginning of feudal system.
- Each lord surrounded himself with a body guard of loyal warriors called samurai. They were expected to show reckless courage, reverence for the gods and dying an honorable death was judged more important than living a long life.
- During the late 1100s, Minamoto family emerged victorious. Emperor named a Minamoto leader Yoritomo the title of Shogun. They now have the power of military.
- The real Center of power was at the shogun’s military headquarters at Kamakura. The pattern of government in which shoguns ruled through puppet emperors lasted in Japan until 1868.
-The shoguns strengthened their own control by assigning a military governor (Daimyo) to each province.
The Tokugawa Shoguns
- From 1467 to 1568 is the warring state period. Powerful Samurai seized control of old feudal estates.
-Oda Nobunaga defeated rituals and seized the imperial capital Kyoto in 1568. But he was not able to unify Japan.
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi continued to set out to destroy the daimyos that remained hostile. He invaded Korea in 1592, and began a long campaign against the Koreans and their Ming Chinese allies.
-Tokugawa Ieyasu completed the unification of Japan. His victory earned him the loyalty of daimyo throughout Japan and eventually became the sole ruler.
-Ieyasu made alternate attendance policy and other restrictions and he tamed the daimyo. He founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would continue until 1867.
-Under Tokugawa Shogunate, culture continued to thrive and Japan enjoyed more than 2 centuries of stability, prosperity and isolation under the Shoguns.
-Japanese encountered Europeans in 1543 and they accepted Christianity. However, people rebels the Christians and policies eventually eliminated Christianity in Japan.
-The persecution of Christians was part of an attempt to control foreign ideas. Tokugawa shoguns instituted a closed country policy. Only Dutch and Chinese merchants were allowed into the port. They now had a monopoly on foreign trade which still to be profitable.
Japanese Isolationism
- From 1641 to 1853, the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan enforced a policy which it called kaikin. The policy prohibited foreign contact with most outside countries.
-The culture of Japan developed with limited influence from the outside world and had one of the longest stretches of peace in history. During this period, Japan developed thriving cities and castle towns and increasing commodification of agriculture and domestic trade, wage labor, increasing literacy and concomitant print culture, etc.
II. Southeast Asia
Geography
- Southeast Asia lies between the Indian and Pacific oceans and stretches from Asia almost to Australia and it lies with warm, humid tropics. Monsoon winds bring the region long annual rains.
-Southeast Asia never been united, many different people settled the region, and the key to political power often has been control of trade routes and Harbors.
- Indian influence shaped many aspects of the region’s culture, Chinese ideas and culture spread southward in the region through migrations and trade.
The Khmer Empire (Cambodia)
-Remain power on the Southeast Asian mainland. Early Khmer king (Funan) dominated much of the sea trade between India and China. By 800, they expanded their state into an empire.
-Khmer rulers built extensive city and temple complexes such as Angkor Wat.
-Sailendra ruled an agricultural kingdom on the island of Java. It grew wealthy by taxes the trade.
Vietnam
-The people of Southeast Asia least influenced by India were the Vietnamese. Vietnam fell under Chinese domination and remained under for 1,000 years. Therefore, Vietnam absorbed many Chinese cultural influences.
- The Mongols tried to conquer Vietnam and captured Hanoi three times but each time the Vietnamese force them to withdraw.
Korea
- Located on a peninsula that juts out of the Asian mainland toward Japan. A mountainous barrier lies between Korea and its northern neighbor. Korea developed somewhat in isolation from its neighbors.
-In 108 B.C., the Han Empire conquered much of Korea and established a military government there. They also got influenced by Chinese cultures.
-Silla rule had weakened. Rebel officer (Wang Kon) gain control of the country and named his new dynasty Koryu.
-The koryu Dynasty lasted 4 and ½ centuries, from 935 to 1392.
-Koryu society divided with between a landed aristocracy and the rest of the population.
- Wealthy nobles built their land holdings into huge estates; however, these problems spurred a serious of rebellions. Korea’s wealthy landlords eventually led to a new round of revolts. In 1392, Koryu Dynasty got overthrew. They then established a new dynasty, called the Choson Dynasty which would rule 518 years.
- During Koryu period, it produced great achievements in Koreans cultures.
III. The Mongol Conquest
Geography
- Very little rain falls. Dry, wind-swept plain supports short, hardy grasses. Temperature changes can be extreme.
Nomads
-Nomadic peoples were pastoralists, people who herded domesticated animals. They were constantly on the move, searching for good pasture to feed their herds. Asian nomads practically lived on horseback as they followed their huge herds over the steppe.
Conflicts with settled societies
- Nomads engaged in peaceful trade. No barrier for protections, extreme environmental challenges and hard to settled down without stable food resources.
Genghis Khan and Conquest
- Genghis khan was a universal ruler of Mongol clans. Genghis lead the Mongols in conquering much of Asia.
-He was a brilliant organizer, nice strategist; adopted new weapons and technologies used by his enemies, and used cruelty as a weapon.
-He died in 1227 from illness.
- There were Four the Khnates: The Great Khan (Mongolia and China), the Khanate of Chagatai (Central Asia), The Ilkhanate (Persia), and the Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia).
- Many of the areas invaded by the Mongols never recovered. Over time, some Mongol rulers adopted aspects of the culture of the people they ruled. The Ilikhans and the Golden Horde became Muslims. The Great Khans made use of Chinese institutions. The growing cultural differences among the Khnates contributed to the eventual splitting up of the empire.
-From mid-1200s to the mid-1300s, the Mongols imposed stability and law and order across much of Eurasia. This period is called Mongol Peace (Pax Mongolica).
IV. The Yuan Dynasty in China
Kublai Khan’s Conquests
- Kublai Khan founded a new dynasty called the Yuan Dynasty. He is considered one of China’s great emperors. However, Kublai Khan tried to conquest Japan but it failed.
Ruling China
-Mongols lived apart from the Chinese and obeyed different laws. They kept the Chinese out of high government offices, although they retained as many Chinese officials as possible to serve on the local level.
-The Mongol rulers gave most of the highest government posts t Mongols and to foreigners. The Mongols believed that foreigners were more trustworthy than the Chinese since the foreigners had no local loyalties.
-Kublai Khan also encouraged foreign trade. He established post roads that linked China to India and Persia and it greatly improved trade.
The end of Yuan Dynasty
- Kublai Khan died in 1294, Mongol rule weakened after his death. Rebellions broke out in many parts of China in the 1300s.
- By the end of the Yuan Dynasty in China, the entire Mongol Empire had disintegrated. V. Spread of Islam
The Caliphs
- Caliphs are supreme political and religious leader in a Muslim government.
- The 4 caliphs were Abu-Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali.
- Many conquered peoples chose to accept Islam. They were attracted by the appeal of the message of Islam, as well as by the economic benefit for Muslims of not having to pay a poll tax.
The Umayyad Caliphate
- A family known as the Umayyad’s came to power. They set up a hereditary system of succession.
- Muslim capital was moved to Damascus, a distant city in the recently conquered province of Syria. This location made controlling conquered territories easier. The Umayyad’s abandoned the simple life of previous caliphs and began to surround themselves with wealth and ceremony similar to that of non- Muslim rulers.
-Shi’a was the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad.
-Sunni was the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad.
-Vigorous religious and political opposition to the Umayyad caliphate led to its downfall. Rebel groups overthrew the Umayyad in the year 750. The most powerful of those groups, the Abbasids took control of the Empire.
Abbasid Caliphate
-Caliph al-Mansur chose the site for his capital on the west ban of the Tigris River, in 762. Extensive planning went into the city’s distinctive circular design, formed by 3 protective walls. Baghdad’s population approached one million at its peak.
-The Abbasids developed a strong bureaucracy to conduct the huge empire’s affairs. A treasury keeps the money flow. A special department managed the business of the army.
-Abbasid caliphate lasted from 750 to 1258. They failed to keep complete control of the immense territory. Muslim state sprang up and local leaders dominated many smaller regions.
-The 2 major sea trading zones linked the Muslim Empire into a world system by trade. To encourage the flow of trade, Muslim money changers set up banks offered letters of credit to merchants. A cultural blending of people fueled a period of immense achievements in arts and sciences. VI. The Muslim Golden Age
Muslim Society
-Throughout the empire, market towns blossomed into cities. Migrants from the countryside and new converts came to cities looking for opportunities.
-Muslim society was made up of four classes. The upper class included those who are Muslims at birth. People who convert to Islam were found in the second class. The third class consisted of the protected people and included Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians. The lowest class was composed of slaves.
- The Qur’an also declares that men and women, as believers, are equal. Muslim women specific legal rights concerning marriage, family, and property. Muslim women had more rights than European women of the same time period.
- Non-Muslims became slaves; they most frequently performed household work or fought in the military.
Muslim Scholarship
-Muslim scholars introduced to modern math and science. Muslims translated and studied Greek texts but they did not follow the Greek method of solving problems. Many of the advances in mathematics were related to the study of astronomy.
-Caliph al-Ma ’mum opened in Baghdad a combination library, academy and translation center called the House of Wisdom. Scholars of different cultures and beliefs worked side by side translating texts from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere into Arabic.
-The sciences of mathematics and optics, along with scientific observation, led to major advances in astronomy.
Arts and Sciences
- Muslims learned from the Greek and observed/ invented more advance medicines.
- Even though Muslim did not follow the Greek method to solve problems, they still use logic to see the problems.
-Technology improved as their knowledge improved.
- Muslim literature was a strong tradition in Arabia before Islam. Literary tastes expanded to bucked poems about natured and the pleasures of life and love. As they expanded, the Arabs entered regions that had rich artistic traditions. These traditions continued, with modifications inspired, and sometimes imposed by Islam. VII. The “Gunpowder Empires”
The Ottomans
-The Ottomans were the followers of Osman (the most successful ghazi).
-Ottomans’ military success was largely based on the use of gunpowder. They replaced their archers on horseback with musket tarrying foot soldiers. In 1361, the Ottomans captured Adrianople, the second most important city in te Byzantine Empire. A new Turkish Empire was one the rise.
-Timur the lame interrupted the rise of the Ottoman Empire by a rebellion. Timur conquered both Russia and Persia. He also burned the powerful city of Baghdad in present-day Iraq to the ground. He crushed the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Ankara in 1402. This defeat halted the expansion of their empire.
-Mehmet II achieved the most dramatic feat in Ottoman history. In 1451 he took power and the ancient city of Constantinople had shrunk from a population of a million to a mere 50,000. However, the church belonged to the Muslim sultan and it insisted that it be treated with respect.
-Suleiman came to the throne in 1520 and ruled for 46 years. He conquered many important cities expand the empire.
-Among the Sultan’s slaves were the janissaries. This elite force of 30,000 was drawn from the peoples of conquered Christian territories as part of a police called devshirme. Under this system, the sultan’s army took boys from their families, educated them and trained them as soldiers. Only they can use the gunpowders.
-Art and literature also flourished under Suleiman’s rule. Many cultural blending happened. Suleiman was required to follow Islamic law, which covered most social matters. Even amid his many military campaigns, he found time to study poetry, history, geography and architectures. Many things flourished throughout the Empire.
- Suleiman killed his ablest son and it set the stage for decline. At the same time, corruption as eating away at the government. As the time goes, Ottoman Empire’s power had weakened.
The Safavids
-Cultural blending happened because the interaction and combination of migration, trade, conquest, and pursuit of religious converts or religious freedom.
- The Safavids empire were members of an Islamic religious brotherhood. The Shi’a Safavids were persecuted on religious grounds by the Ottoman Sunni Muslims. To protect themselves from these potential enemies, the Safavids concentrated on building a powerful army.
- Isma’il conquers Persia. He said any citizen who did not convert to Shi’ism was put to death. He destroyed the Sunni population of Baghdad in his confrontation with the Ottomans. His son took up the struggle and he expanded the Safavid Empire and he laid the groundwork for the golden age of the Safavids. They also use Gunpowder as their weapons.
-Shah Abbas took the throne in 1587. He helped create a Safavid culture that drew from the best of the Ottoman, Persian, and Arab worlds. He reformed both military and civilian aspects of life. He order people to rebuild the main city, the decorations beautified the many mosques, palaces, and marketplaces of Abbas’s rebuilt capital city of Isfahan.
-Cultural Blending happens which bring many goods into the empire and it expanded the empire.
-Empire died out as a political power, the culture that it produced endured.
The Mughals
- Mughals were the people who invaded India and they are warlike people.
-Babur was a strong, sensitive leader. He led 12,000 troops to victory against an army of 100,000 commanded by a sultan of Helhi. Babur also defeated a massive Rajput army.
-Akbar was a Muslim, and he firmly defended religious freedom. He governed though a bureaucracy of officials. His land policies had more mixed results. He gave generous land grants to his bureaucrats. However he reclaimed the lands and distributed them as he saw fit.
- Akbar equipped his armies with heavy artillery. Cannons enabled him to crack into walled cities and extend his rule into much of the Deccan plateau. This combination of military power and political wisdom enabled Akbar to unify a land of at least 100 million people.
-As Akbar extended the Mughal Empire, he welcomed influences from the many cultures it included. Cultural blending happened. Literature and Architecture flourished and it spread through trading.
-Jahangir was the son of Akbar, he hold India in a powerful grasp. However, he and his wife achieved to continue made the empire strong and powerful
-Aurangzeb was the third son of Shah Jahan. After Jahan died, Aurangzeb moved first and most decisively to scramble for the throne. He ruled form 1658 to 1707. He was a master at military strategy and an aggressive empire builder. He expanded the Mughal holdings to their greatest size, the power of the empire weakened during his reign.
- By the end of Aurangzeb’s reign, he had drained the empire of its resources. As the power of the central state weakened, the power of local lords grew. The great Mughal emperors did not feel threatened by the European traders. In 1661, Aurangzeb casually handed them the port of Bombay. He had no idea that he had given India’s next conquerors their first door hold in a future empire. VIII. Africa
Geography of Africa
-Africa is the second largest continent in the world. Most of the continent is in the tropics, but it includes a large range of the earth’s environment. Some parts of Africa suffer from constant drought, while others receive over 400 inches of rain a year.
-Deserts make up about 40% of the continent. During the day, temperatures can reach 136 °F, and if any rain that falls evaporates quickly. Sahara in the north and the Kalahari in the south, the rain forest are hot and humid and receive enormous amounts of rain. Each year, however, the desert takes over more and more of the Sahel. The process of drying of the soil is called desertification. IX. Earliest African Civilizations
The Nok
- West Africa’s earliest known culture was the Nok people. They lived in Nigeria between 500 B.C. and A.D. 200. The Nok were farmers, they were also the first West African people known to smelt iron.
-The Nok developed iron-making technology about 500 B.C.
The kingdom of Aksum
- The kingdom that arose was Aksum and it was located south of Kush on a rugged plateau on the red sea.
-Aksum’s location and expansion into surrounding areas made it an important trading center. Aksumite merchants traded necessities such as salt and luxuries such as rhinoceros horns, tortoise shells, ivory, emeralds, and gold.
-The kingdom of Aksum reached its height between A.D. 325 and 360, when an exceptionally strong ruler, Ezana, occupied the throne. He first conquered the part of the Arabian and then he turned his attention to Kush. In 350, he conquered the Kushites and burned Meroe to the ground.
-The Aksumites, traditionally believed in one god. In A.D. 451, a dispute arose over the nature of Christ.
-Aksumite achievements were architectures, language and the technologies of agricultures.
-Aksum’s culture and technological achievements enabled it to last for 800 years. Under invaders who practiced the religion called Islam. The Islamic invaders went on to conquered vast territories in the Mediterranean world. The conquest of African coast cut Aksum off from the major ports along both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The kingdom declined as an international trading power. Also, the kingdom of Aksum reached tremendous heights and left a lasting legacy in its religion, architecture, and agriculture.
Bantu Migration
-One group of African languages includes over 900 individual languages. The speakers of these related languages belong to many different ethnic groups, but often are referred to collectively as Bantu-speaking peoples.
-Bantu speakers were not one people, but a group of peoples who shared certain cultural characteristics. They were farmers and nomadic herders who developed and passed along the skill of ironworking.
-Anthropologists have proposed a logical explanation; they suggest that once these peoples developed agriculture, they were able to produce more food than they could by hunting and gathering. Population grew and the areas that once had been savanna were undergoing desertification. People migrated southward.
-Cantu speakers spread south into peoples’ land; they also exchanged ideas and intermarried with the people they joined. This intermingling created new cultures with unique customs and traditions. Migration continues to shape the modern world as new factors make living conditions difficult. As a result of these migrations, in Africa today there are at least 60 million people who speak one of the hundreds of Bantu languages. X. Early Civilization of the Americas
Human arrivals in the Americas
-Thousands of years ago, the Americas were connected by a land bridge to Asia. People believed that the first people came to the Americas from Asia over this land bridge (Beringia).
-During the end of the last Ice Age (which lasted from 1.6 million to 10,000 miles), Herd of wild animals migrated across the flat treeless plains of the beringia land bridge. The first Americans arrived well before the Clovis era.
-The first Americas adapted to the variety of environments they inhabited and they carved out unique ways of life.
-Around 7000 B.C., early farmers grew maize (corn) and gradually people started settled down and raised corn and other crops. Over the next several countries, farming methods became increasingly advanced. Population grew as farming became more efficient and productive. With the development of agriculture, society became more complex and sophisticated.
Mesoamerica
-The story of developed civilizations in the Americas begins in a region archaeologist and historians refer to as Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica first known civilization builders were a people known as the Olmec. They often are called Mesoamerica’s “mother culture.”
The Olmec
-The Olmec flourished from 1200 B.C., to 400 B.C. The region was abundant deposits of salt and tar. There was also wood and rubber from the rain forest.
-The Olmec used their abundant resources to build thriving communities. They worshiped the jaguar spirit, numerous Olmec sculptures and carvings depict a half-human. Trade network helped boost the Olmec economy and spread Olmec influence to other parts of Mesoamerica.
-Olmec civilization eventually collapsed, it might due to the invasions or they may have destroyed their own monuments upon the death of their rulers.
The Zapotec
-The Zapotec were developing an advanced society to the southwest and they showed traces of Olmec influences. The Zapotec lived in scattered villages throughout the valley. Around 500 B.C., Zapotec built the first real urban center in the Americas: Monte Alban. This urban area was impressive and for more than thousand years the Zapotec controlled the Oaxaca Valley and the surrounding region. After A.D. 600, Zapotec began to decline. They may have suffered a loss of trade or other economic difficulties.
The Andes Region
-Andes is the highest mountain range in the world after Himalayas. Peru was a difficult place to launch a civilization. Between 3600 and 2500 B.C. people began to establish temporary villages along the Pacific codes.
Chavin
- The first influential civilization in South America arose not on the coast but in the mountains. Chavin culture flourished from around 900 B.C. to 200 B.C., Chavin culture spread quickly across much of northern and central Peru. The Chavin are believed to have established certain patterns that helped unify Andean culture and lay the foundation for later civilizations in Peru.
Nazca
-The Nazca culture flourished along the southern coast of Peru from around 200 B.C. to A.D. 600. The Nazca developed extensive irrigation systems in an extremely dry area. Nazca be famous because of the beautiful textiles and pottery, but also feature images of animals and mythological beings.
Moche
-Moche culture lasted from A.D. 100 to A.D. 700; they took advantage of the rivers that flowed from the Andes Mountains. They built impressive irrigation systems to water their wide range of crops. They also had brilliant ceramic artists and they also show fierce soldiers armed with spears. The Moche remains something of a mystery. XI. Africa before 1500 CE
Stateless Societies
- South of Sahara, many African groups developed systems of governing based on lineages. Lineage groups took the place of rulers, these societies known as stateless societies. They did not have a centralized system of power.
-Members of a patrilineal society trace their ancestors through their fathers. In a matrilineal society, children trace their ancestors through their mothers.
-In many African societies, young people form close ties to individuals outside their lineage through the age-set system. Each age set passes together through clearly identified life stages.
Muslim Societies
-As Islam spread, some African rulers converted to Islam. These African Muslim rulers then based their government upon Islamic Laws.
-Two Berber groups, the Almoravids and the Almohads founded empires that united the Maghrib under Muslim rule.
-Muslim reformers founded the Almoravid Dynasty. Its members came from a Berber group livening in the Western Sahara. In the 1050s, Ibn Yasin led the Almoravids in an effort to spread Islam through conquest; he died in battle in 1059. They overran the West African empire of Ghana by 1076. The Almoravids also captured parts of southern Spain.
-In the mid-1100s, the Almohads wrested power from the Almoravids. They began as a militant religious movement in the Atlas Mountains. They followed the teachings of Ibn Tumart. By 1148 the Almohads controlled most of Morocco and ended Almorvid rule. This dynasty gradually declined and broke up into individual Muslim Dynasties. Stronger empires were about to emerge to the south of the Almohad Empire.
West African Empire
- Ghana, Mali and Songhai were 3 gold empires.
Ghana
-The trade routes crossed the savanna through the region farmed by the Soninke people. Soninke rulers of the Kingdom of Ghana were growing rich from taxing the goods that traders carried through their territory.
-The 2 most important trade items were gold and salt. Arab and Berber traders crossed the desert with camel caravan loaded down with salt. The Merchants met in trading cities, royal officials made sure that all traders weighed goods fairly and did business according to law.
-The king of Ghana limited the supply of gold and kept its price from falling. Eventually, Ghana’s rulers converted to Islam. Among the upper class, Islam’s growth encouraged the spread of literacy. In 1076, the Muslim Almoravids invaded Ghana and the war badly disrupted the gold-salt trade and they never gain their power back.
Mali
-Sundiata came to power by crushing a cruel leader. He reestablished the gold-salt trade.
-After he died in 1255, Mansa Musa recreated and reorganized the empire. He was a skilled military leader and he ordered the building of new trading cities. Ibn Battuta was a traveler and historian. He left Mali in 1353 and the powerful empire began to weaken. In addition, the gold trade that was one basis of Mali’s wealth again shifted to eastward as new goldfields was developed.
Songhai
-Sunni Ali built a vast empire by military conquest. He built a professional army. Sunni Ali sealed the takeover of Djenne by marrying its queen.
-Askia Muhammad drove Sunni’s son from power and replaced him. He proved to be an excellent administrator. Under his rule, the well governed empire thrived. The collapse of the Songhai Empire ended a 1000 year period in which powerful kingdoms and empires ruled the central region of West Africa.
Other West African Societies
-Hausa were a group of people named after the language they spoke. The city-states of Hausa people first emerged between the years 1000 and 1200 in the savanna area east of Mali and Songhai. Yoruba were the people who all spoke a common language. Near the Delta was the kingdom of Benin. In the 1480s, Portuguese trading ships began to sail into Benin’s port at Gwatto.
The Swahili Coast
-Persian traders settled in the port cities and the Bantu language create the Swahili language. By 1300, more than 35 trading cities dotted the coast from Mogadishu in the north to Kilwa and Sofala in the south. In 1331, Kilwa grew rich because it was as far south on the coast as a ship from India could sail in one monsoon season. Trade goods from southerly regions had to funnel into Kilwa, so Asian merchants could buy them.
Great Zimbabwe
-In southeastern Africa the Shona people established a city called Great Zimbabwe. By 1000, the Shona people had claimed the fertile. The area was well suited to farming and cattle rising and its location has advantages for trading.
-Mutota left Great Zimbabwe about 1420 to find a new source salt. Mutota used his army to dominate the northern Shona people and Mutapa Empire formed. The Mutapa Empire was about to mine gold deposited in nearby rivers and streams. XII. Americas Before 1500 CE
Mesoamerica
-Mesoamerica is the middle between North and South America.
The Maya
-The homeland of the Maya stretched from southern Mexico into northern Central America. The Maya culture had burst forth in a flourishing civilization.
-The period from A.D. 250 to 900 is known as the Classic Period of Mayan civilization. Manyan cities featured giant pyramids, temples dedicated to the gods and rulers.
-Mayan featured a ball court and they played a game that had religious and political significance. The Maya believed the playing of this game would maintain the cycles of the sun and moon and bring life-giving rains.
-Mayan farmers found a way to produce large amounts of food to be traded in the cities. Successful farming methods led to the accumulation of wealth and development of a dynasty.
-The Maya prayed and made offerings of food; they also pierced their bodies with sharp needles and offered their blood. They also carried out human sacrifice. Therefore, religion had shaped the life of Mayans.
-Mayan writing consisted of about 800 hieroglyphic symbols, or glyphs. They also used their writing system to record important historical events, carving their glyphs recording them in a bark paper book known as a codex.
-Mayan civilization weakened maybe over farming and warfare.
The Aztecs
-The first major civilization of central Mexico was Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan eventually became the center of a thriving trade network that extended far into Central America.
-After the fall of Teotihuacan, Toltec rose to power. They were extremely war like people, through trade and conquest, Toltec power spread as far as the Yucatan.
-The Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico around A.D. 1200. The Aztecs gradually increased their power by joining Texoco and Tlacopan and form the Triple Alliance.
-Military leaders held great power in Aztec society. They secured the trade. The Aztecs controlled an extensive trade network, which brought many products from faraway regions to the capital at Tenochtitlan. Trade eventually brings wealth to the Aztecs.
-Aztec carried out human sacrifice on a massive scale to nourish the sun god by humans’ blood.
-In 1502 a new ruler, Montezuma II weakened Aztec empire. He tried to reduce pressure on the provinces caused by great demands for tribute payment.
The Inca
-Inca settled on fertile lands in the Valley of Cuzco and established their own small kingdom.
-Pachacuti took the throne and under his leadership the Inca expanded quickly by conquering neighboring lands.
-The Inca were also extraordinary organizers and administrators. The Inca built many cities in conquered areas. The Incan system of government was based on age-old patterns of community cooperation. Small groups of people known as ayllu worked together for the common good, building irrigation canals and agricultural terraces on steep hillsides.
-Mita was the labor tribute and they labor on state farmlands, produce goods for the cities.
-The road system symbolized the power of the Incan state. The road system also allowed the easy movement of troops to bring control to zones where trouble might be brewing.
-Government controlled most of the power and they record the histories.
-Religion was important to the Inca and helped reinforce the power of the state. Incan priests led the sun worship services assisted by young women and drafted for lifetime religious service and sacrifice animals and human. XIII. Late Medieval Europe.
Impact of the Crusades
-Farmers started to use horsepower for farming. Villagers began to organize their land differently. Under three-field system, farmers could grow crops on 2/3 of their land each year, not just on half of it. Food production increased.
-Trade routes were opened to Asia, I part by the Crusades. Most trade took place in towns and everything was no longer produced on self-sufficient manor. A guild controlled all wages and prices in their craft. As towns grew, trade increased and its finance increased.
-By the middle ages, trade was flourishing in the new towns. People were no longer content with their old feudal existence. They challenged the traditional ways of feudal society and towns grew rapidly. Many people chose to move to new towns to look for economic and social opportunities they offered. As towns and trade grows, people get interest in learning. Middle Class formed by skilled workers, businesspeople and wealthy farmers.
Growth of National Monarchies
-William the Conqueror claimed the English crown and invaded England with a Norman army. He declared all England his personal property and he laid the foundation for centralized government.
-Henry II wanted to hold and add on to their French lands and they wanted to strengthen their own power over the nobles and the Church. He collected taxes, settled lawsuits, and punished crimes. Over centuries the rulings of England’s royal judges formed a unified body of law that became known as common law.
-Magna Carta was a document that guaranteed certain basic political rights. It also guaranteed what are now considered basic legal rights in many countries.
-Hugh Capet ruled a small territory, but at the heart of Paris. He began the Capetian dynasty of French kings that ruled France from 987 to 1328.
-Hugh Capet’s son and grandson were weak rulers. The power of the king gradually spread outward from Paris. Philip II wanted more land, and a stronger central government. He established royal officials called bailiffs. France government was made even stronger during the reign of Philip’s grandson, Louis IX. He created a French appeals court.
The 14th Century
-Clement V, the selected pope, shortly moved from Rome to the city of Avignon. It badly weakened the Church. Reformers tried to move the papacy back to Rome but the result was even worse. Robert of Geneva took the name Clement VII, now there were 2 popes.
-One pope lived in Avignon and the other lived in Rome. Great Schism was the division of the Church. In 1414, there were total 3 popes; council forced all 3 popes to resign.
-Scholarly challenge to Church authorities. They preached Jesus and offended by the worldliness and wealth many clergy displayed which started the corruption of clergy. The Church excommunicated people who go against the Church. However, Jan Hus were seized and tried as a heretic, burned at the stake in 1415.
-1/3 of the population of Europe died of the Black Death (bubonic plague). The plague began in Asia, traveling the trade lanes and it infected most of Asia and the Muslim world. The plague returned every few years, it affect the economic. Population fell; trade decline and price of foods grew. Farmland was abandoned or used to pasture sheep.
-England’s Edward III claimed the right to the French throne as grandson of Philip IV. The war that Edward III launched for that throne continued on and off from 1337 to 1453. It became known as the Hundred Years’ War. Finally, between 1421 and 1453, the French rallied and drove the English out of France entirely. XIV. Renaissance in Europe
Renaissance
-Renaissance is the rebirth of art and learning.
-Renaissance began in northern Italy around 1300 and later spread north. Artists and scholars drew inspiration from the ruins of Rome that surround them. Renaissance scholars looked down on the art and literature of the Middle Ages and wanted to return to the learning of the Greeks and Romans.
-The study of classical texts led to Humanism. Humanism focused on human potential and achievements. Humanists influenced artists and architects to carry on classical traditions.
-The basic spirit of Renaissance society was secular (worldly and concerned with the here and now).Even though Church leaders became worldlier; they lived in beautiful mansions, threw lavish banquets, and wore expensive clothes.
-Renaissance popes beautified Rome by spending huge amounts of money for art. They became PATRONS of the arts by financially supporting artists. Merchants also were patrons of the arts. The wealthy demonstrated their importance.
-Renaissance art rediscovered the technique of perspective, which indicates 3 dimensions. Renaissance writers change literatures by writing about their daily life, their views and human.
The Northern Renaissance
-England and France were unified but Italy was divided into city-states. Northern Renaissance developed its own character. The renaissance ideal of human dignity inspired some northern humanists to develop plans for social reform based on Christian values.
-The Northern Arts were more realistic, it gives a sense of life and feeling. The Northern Literatures give people a deep understanding of human beings. The revealed the souls of men and women through scenes of dramatic conflicts.
-The printing press helps to spread new ideas. However, it also gives people chance to read and learn. The availability of book encouraged people to learn to read and so caused a rise in literacy. XV. The Reformation
Causes of the reformation
-Problems in the Church, such as corruptions, indulgences were some of the causes of the reformation. People were able to read and make info after printing press had invented. However, pluralism were holding more than one position and not doing what they should do, people started the reformation because they expect higher standards of conduct from priests and church leaders.
Martin Luther
- Martin Luther became a monk in 1505; he decided to take a public stand against the actions of a friar named Tetzel. He sells indulgences to people, so they could buy their way into heaven.
-Luther was troubled by Tetzel’s tactics. He wrote 95 Theses attacking the pardon-merchants. He posted these on the door of the castle church. His actions began the Reformation, a movement for religious reform and it led to the founding of Christian churches that did not accept the pope’s authority.
-Martin Luther faced excommunication. Many of his ideas were already being put into practice.
First reactions
-Pope Leo excommunicated Luther when he disagreed to take back his statements.
-Emperor opposed Luther’s teaching; he summoned Luther to the town of Worms in 1521 to stand trial to tell to recant or take back his statements. However, Luther refused. Luther translated the New Testament into German and he formed a separate religious group, called Lutherans.
-Some people began to apply Luther’s revolutionary ideas to society. The revolt horrified Luther; they massacred as many as 10,000 people. Many peasants rejected his religious leadership. XVI. Spread of Reformation
Henry VIII and the Anglican Church
-Henry VIII was the king of England and he was a devout Catholic. He wants a son to continue his lineage; however, his wife gave him daughter. He wanted to divorce her and take a younger queen, but church did not allow divorce. He solves the problem himself and made himself the head of the Church of England.
-Elizabeth restores Protestantism. Parliament declared that Elizabeth was head of the Church of England, or Anglican Church. She decided to establish a state church that moderate Catholics and moderate Protestants might both accept.
John Calvin
-John Calvin published a book called Institutes of the Christian Religion. He believed that God has known since the beginning of time that will be saved. This doctrine is called predestination.
-Calvin believed that the ideal government was a theocracy, a government controlled by religious leaders.
Other Reform Churches
-Presbyterians was the followers of a small group of laymen. They also deposed their Catholic queen in favor of her infant son.
-A group baptized only those persons who were old enough to decide to be Christian. These believers were called Anabaptists. They also taught that church and state should be separate and they refused to fight in wars. Their teaching influenced the later Quakers and Baptists, who split from the Anglican Church. XVII. The Counter Reformation
The Council of Trent
-2 popes lead in reforming the Catholic Church. They decided to call a great council of Church leaders to meet in Trent.
-The Church’s interpretation of the Bible was final. Any Christian who substituted his or her own interpretation was a heretic.
-Christians need faith and good works for salvation. They were not saved by faith alone, as Luther argued.
-The Bible and Church tradition were equally powerful authorities for guiding Christian Life.
-Indulgences were valid expressions of faith. (But the false selling of indulgences was banned).
-Protestant Churches flourished, despite religious wars and persecutions.
-The zeal of the Jesuits overcame the drift toward Protestantism in Poland and southern Germany. XVIII. Impact of the Reformation
Religious divisions of Europe
-Religion no longer united Europe, Church’s power declined and individual monarchs and states gained power.
Religious Wars
-Reformers fought for their religious, despite religious wars and persecutions, protestant churches flourished.
Renewed Strength of Catholic Church
-Popes call council of Church leaders to meet in Trent and Catholic bishops and cardinals agreed on several doctrines.
Religious Tolerance
-The reformation changed the social, Economic and political of Europe. It tied to each other’s. XIX. Age of Exploration
China (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644)
-Hongwu, the son of a peasant, commanded the rebel that drove the Mongols out of China in 1368. He became the emperor of Ming Dynasty. His son Yonglo emerged victorious from struggle. He launched the first of 7 voyages of exploration and it was led by Zheng He.
Zheng He
-Yonglo hoped to impress the world with the power and splendor of Ming China and also hoped to expand China’s tribute system. Zheng He’s voyages accomplished these goals. Everywhere Zheng He went, he distributed gifts to show Chinese superiority. More than 16 countries sent tribute to the Ming court. China withdrew into its self-sufficient isolation after the 7th voyages.
European
-The desire for new sources of wealth was the main reason for European exploration. Through the exploration, merchant and traders hoped ultimately to benefit from what had become a profitable business in Europe.
-Europeans also improved their navigational techniques. Explorers were also able to more accurately track their direction by using a magnetic compass invented by the Chinese.
Role of Portugal
-Portuguese ships began creeping down the western coast of Africa. They trade with Africans for such profitable items as gold and ivory. Portuguese explorers plotted their next daring move. They would find a sea route to Asia.
Columbus
-Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic in search of an alternate trade routes to Asia. However, he was wrong. He was interested in gold and he explored other islands throughout the Caribbean. XX. The Columbian Exchange
Impact of Columbus’ voyages
-Disease was just as much a part of the Columbian exchange as goods and food. The diseases Europeans brought with them, which included smallpox and measles, led to the death of millions of Native Americans.
Treaty of Tordesillas
-The Treaty of Tordesillas was intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus.
The Trade Routes
-The Europeans trading on the sea which brought lots diseases and cause many people died. XXI. The Atlantic Economy
Triangle Trade
-African transported to the Americas was part of a transatlantic trading network. Over one trade route, Europeans transported manufactured goods to the west coast of Africa There; traders exchanged these goods for captured Africans. The Africans were then transported across the Atlantic Ocean and sold in the West Indies and sold them for sugar and molasses. They then sold these goods to tum producers in New England.
Salve Trade
-People sell the salves who survived their ocean voyages. And they had a difficult life of bondage in the Americas.
Wealth of European Nations
-European gain wealth from the triangle trade, and trading gold with the Africans. XXII. Absolutism
Absolutism
-A king or a queen has total power.
Goals
-To centralized and maintain all the government power in person. Absolute Monarchs believed in Devine right, the idea that God created the monarchy and that the monarch acted as God’s representative on earth.
Rulers
-Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584 Russia)
-Louis XIV of France (1638-1715)
-James I of England (1566-1625)
-Maria Theresa of Austria (717-1780) XXIII. English Responses to Absolutism
Elizabeth I
-Elizabeth I (7 September 1533- 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Elizabeth set out to rule by good counsel, and she depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers led by William Cecil, Baron Burghley.
Stewart Dynasty
-James I inherited the unsettled issues of Elizabeth Reign. He offended the Puritan members of Parliament. Puritans hoped he would enact reforms to purify the English church of Catholic practices. However, James resented being told what to do. He refused to make Puritan reforms.
-Charles I took the throne. He always needed money, several times when Parliament refused to give him funds, he dissolved it. By 1628, Charles was forced to call Parliament again. They refused to give him money until he sign th Petition of Right.
-Oliver Cromwell found Charles I was guilty and brought him to trial for treason.
Restored Stewart Dynasty
-Charles II restored the monarchy, and he began the restoration. Parliament passed an important guarantee of freedom, Habeas corpus. In addition, Parliament debated who should inherit Charles’s throne.
-James II became king. He dissolved the Parliament protest. 7 members of Parliament invited William and Mary to overthrow James for the sake of Protestantism. James II is called the Glorious Revolution. Glorious Revolution was the bloodless overthrow of the English King Jams II and his replacement by William and Mary.
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