Chapter 22:Reaching Out:Cross Cultural Interactions

Patterns of Long-Distance Trade

• Silk roads• Sea lanes of Indian Ocean basin• Trans-Saharan caravan routes• Development of trading cities,

emporia• Nomadic invasions cause local

devastation but expand trade network– E.g. Mongols in China, 13th c.

Marco Polo (1253-1324)• Example of long-distance travel• Traveled to China with merchant father,

uncle• Enters service of Mongol Khubilai Khan• Returns to Venice after 17-year absence• Experiences recorded by fellow prisoner

in Venice-Genoa conflict• Great influence on European

engagement with far east

Travel and trade from the twelfth to the fourteenth century

Political and Diplomatic Travel

• Trade requires diplomatic relations after 1000 CE

• Mongols, Christians recognize Muslims as common enemy, 13th century

• Pope Innocent IV invites Mongols to convert to Christianity–Mongols counter-offer: Christians accept

Mongol rule or face destruction

Diplomatic Travelers• Rabban Sauma– Nestorian Christian Priest sent to Pope by

Mongols in Persia, 1287, regarding proposed attack on Jerusalem

– Did not win European support– 1295 new leader of Persia accepts Islam

• Ibn Battuta (1304-1369)– Islamic scholar, worked in governments on

extensive travel– Strict punishment meted out according to sharia

Missionary Travelers• Sufi missionaries travel throughout

new Muslim territories, 1000-1500 AD• Christian missionaries accompany,

follow Crusaders– Roman Catholic priests travel east to

serve expatriate communities– John of Montecorvino travels to China in

1291• Translates Biblical texts, builds Churches

Cultural Exchanges• Songs and Stories – troubadours• European scientists consulted with

Muslim and Jewish counterparts on understanding of natural world

• The magnetic compass from China

Spread of Crops• Citrus fruits, Asian rice, cotton• Sugarcane–Muslims introduce crystallized sugar to

Europeans– Demand increases rapidly– Europeans use Muslim precedent of

having large populations of slaves work on sugarcane plantations

Gunpowder Technologies• Muslims, Mongols spread gunpowder• Technology reaches Europe by 1258

A Mongol bomb thrown against a charging Japanese samurai during the Mongol invasions of Japan after founding the Yuan

Dynasty, 1281.

Bubonic Plague• The Little Ice Age, c. 1300 AD– Decline of agricultural output leads to

widespread famine, specifically in 1315-1317 resulting in the death of millions

–Warm summers stopped being dependable in N. Europe

– Bubonic Plague spreads from south-west China• Carried by fleas on rodents• Mongol campaigns spread disease to Chinese

The Black Death

Yersinia pestis (Bubonic Plague) seen at 2000x

magnification.

Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411).

From the Dance of Death by

Hans Holbein the Younger

(1491).

Results of the Black Plague• Trade declines• Shortage of workers• Decline of people lowered the prices of food• Rent replaces labor as payment to landlords• Feudalism officially ends• The Church cannot explain the plague

which leads many to question the authority of the Church

• Anti-Semitism once again rises

The alleged ritual murder of a boy by the Jews,

1475, wood engraving

Spread of Plague• Mongols, merchants, travelers spread

disease west• 1346 Black Sea ports• 1347 Mediterranean ports• 1348 Western Europe

Symptoms of the Black Plague

• Inflamed and discolored lymph nodes in neck, armpits, groin area– Buboes, hence Bubonic

• 60-70% mortality rate, within days of onset of symptoms

• Extreme northern climates less affected–Winter hard on flea population

• India, sub-Saharan areas unaffected– Reasons unknown

Buboes

Population Decline (millions)

0

25

50

75

100

1300 AD 1400 AD 1500 AD

ChinaEuropeNorth

Social and Economic Effects• Massive labor shortage• Demand for higher wages• Population movements• Governments attempt to freeze wages,

stop serf movements– Riots result

Recovery in China: The Ming Dynasty

• Yuan dynasty collapses 1368, Mongols depart

• Impoverished orphan raised by Buddhist monks, works through military ranks, becomes Emperor Hongwu

• Proclaims new Ming (“Brilliant”) dynasty, 1368-1644

Ming Centralization• Reestablishment of Confucian

educational system• Execution of minister suspected of

treason, begins tradition of direct rule by Emperor

• Reliance on emissaries called Mandarins

• Heavy reliance on eunuchs

Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644Golden Age of Chinese Art

– Moderation– Softness– Gracefulness

Landscape paintings, porcelain jars, silks, poetry, fiction, drama, music & dance flourished.

Hundreds of thousands ofworkers constructed theForbidden City.

The Forbidden City: China’s New Capital

Ming Porcelain / Ceramics, 17 c.

Ming Vases, 17 c.

Ming Painting and Calligraphy, early 16c

Ming Painting – “Birds and Flowers”, 16c

Ming Cultural Revolution Printing & Literacy

Cheap, popular books:woodblock printing.cheap paper.

Examination system. Leads to explosion in

literacy. Leads to further

popularization of the commercial market.

Culture & Art Increased literacy

leads to increased interest in cultural expressions, ideas, and things:Literature.Painting.Ceramics.Opera.

Ming Silver MarketTriangle route:

Philippines to China to Japan. Silver floods Chinese Market:

Reduces price of Chinese goods in Europe

Increases interest in Chinese culture & ideas in Europe.

Helps fund conquest of New World Encourages Europeans in conquest &

trade.

Economic Recovery• Conscripted labor to repair, rebuild

irrigation systems• Promoted manufacturing of porcelain,

silk• Cultural revival– Attempt to eradicate Mongol legacy by

promoting traditional Chinese culture– Emperor Yongle commissions 23,000-roll

Encyclopedia, one of the earliest in the world and compiled from 7,000 books

Recovery in Western Europe: State Building

• China: centralized Empire• Europe: regional states• Europe develops new taxes– Italian states: bonds– France: salt tax, sales tax– England: hearth tax, head tax, plow tax

• Establish large standing armies– French Louis XI (1461-1483) had army of

15,000

Spain• Fernando of Aragon marries Isabel of

Castile, 1469• Major political and economic alliance• Completes reconquista, expanded

beyond Iberian peninsula to Italy• Funded Columbus’ quest for China

Wedding portrait of King Ferdinand II of Aragón and Queen Isabella of Castile.