Commerce and Culture 500-1500 AP World History Notes Chapter 8.
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Transcript of Commerce and Culture 500-1500 AP World History Notes Chapter 8.
Commerce and Culture500-1500
AP World History Notes
Chapter 8
Why Trade?
Different ecological zones = natural uneven distribution of goods and resources
Early monopolization of certain goods Silk in China Spices in Southeast Asia
I want what you have! Do you want what I have? Let’s trade!
Trade: 500-1500
Long-distance trade developedThis trade shaped culture and societyTrade = mostly indirect
Chain of separate transactions Goods traveled father than merchants
Significance of Trade: Economic
Altered consumption Ex: West Africans now able to get salt to
flavor and preserve their food
Changed the day-to-day lives of individuals Ex: trade specialization --> led to less self-
sufficiency and more dependency
Significance of Trade:Social
Traders became their own social group Sometimes viewed suspiciously --> why are they
making money without making the goods?
Trade became a means of social mobility Money = land = power and status
Trade used by elite groups to distinguish themselves from commoners Only they could afford luxury goods from far away
like silk or ivory
Significance of Trade:Political
Controlling and taxing trade motivated the creation of states and kingdoms
Wealth from trade sustained these states and kingdoms and facilitated their growth
What Else Was “Traded”?
Religious ideasTechnological innovationsDisease-bearing germsPlants and animals
The Silk Roads
The Silk Roads: Growth
Eurasia = often divided into inner and outer zones with different ecologies
Outer Eurasia = relatively warm and well-watered China, India, Middle East, Mediterranean
Inner Eurasia = harsher, drier climate Eastern Russia, Central Asia
The Silk Roads: GrowthResult = steppe products traded for
agricultural products and manufactured goods from inner Eurasia Birth of the Silk Roads trade network
Hides, furs, livestock, wool, amber, horses,
saddles
The Silk Roads: GrowthConstruction of classical civilizations
and empires added major players to this trade network Persian Empire, Greek Empire, Roman
Empire, Han dynasty, Gupta Empire Result = Silk Roads continued to grow
The Silk Roads: Goods
Most goods traded = luxury goods rather than staple goods
Destined for an elite and wealthy market
Only goods worth transporting with such high transportation costs
The Silk Roads: GoodsSilk = major product in
high demandChina had a silk
monopoly until the 500s --> then others gained knowledge of silk production Increased the supply of
silk along the Silk Roads
Silk Makes the WorldGo ‘Round
Used as currency in Central Asia
Became a symbol of high status in both China and the Byzantine Empire
Used in the expanding religions of Buddhism and Christianity Ex: worn by Buddhist monks Ex: silk altar covers in Christian
churches
The Silk Roads: Goods
Volume of trade = smallBut social and economic impact of trade
= big Ex: peasant in China produced luxury
goods instead of crops Ex: merchants could make enormous
profits
The Silk Roads: Cultures
Major result of trade along the Silk Roads = the spread of Buddhism
From India to Central & East Asia
Spread by Indian traders and Buddhist monks
The Silk Roads: BuddhismSpread to oases cities in
Central Asia Voluntarily converted Buddhism gave these small
cities a link to the larger, wealthy, and prestigious civilization of India
Many of these cities became centers of learning and commerce
Buddhist temple in Dunhuang (an oases
city)
The Silk Roads: Buddhism
Transformation of Buddhism Original faith = shunned
the material world Now Buddhism = filled
with wealthy monks, elaborate and expensive monasteries, and so on
Buddhist monastery in China
The Silk Roads: Buddhism
What type of Buddhism spread? MAHAYANA! Buddha = a deity Many bodhisattvas Emphasis on
compassion
The Silk Roads: Diseases
Long-distance trade = resulted in exposure to unfamiliar diseases
The Silk Roads: Disease
Athens (430-429 BCE) = widespread epidemic; killed 25% of the army
Roman & Han Empires = measles and smallpox devastated both populations
Mediterranean World (534-750 CE) = devastated by bubonic plague from India
The Black Death
Spread due to the Mongol Empire’s unification of most of Eurasia (13th-14th centuries)
Could have been bubonic plague, anthrax, or collection of epidemic diseases
1346-1350 = killed 1/3 of European population
Similar death toll in China & parts of Islamic world