Chapter 15 Outline – The West and the Changing World Balance

  1. The Postclassical Era
  1. The West and the Changing World Balance
  1. Overview

-The world was going through a major transition in the 1400s as the areas that had held much power (such as the Muslims) were in decline

  • Western Europeans eventually stepped in to fill the power gap, but it was a long, slow process

-In areas outside the international trade network (such as the Americas and Polynesia),changes were occurring that would make it hard for them to fend off European advances

  1. The Decline of the Old Order

-In 1200, the Byzantines and the Abbasids were major powers in the Middle East and north Africa

  • 1258 =Mongols defeat Abbasid caliphate (Arabs never again united under their own rule)
  • 1453 = Turks defeat the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople, ending postclassical era
  • These events opened a power vacuum in the region
  1. Social and Cultural Decline in the Middle East

-By 1300s, Middle East began becoming much more strict in their Islam (poets, philosophers, and scientists lost influence as secular ideas lost out to religion)

  • Slowly over time the Abbasids were losing power (began in the 1100s) and landlords seized power over the peasants, and Middle Eastern peasants basically became serfs (this hurt agriculture b/c peasants at mercy of landlords and couldn’t produce the needed crops)
  • Arab traders began to lose control over trade as western Europeans were gaining in trade

-The decline of the Islamic caliphate as a dominant power was slow and gradual

  • The Ottoman Turks (who were Muslim) became main power (took over land that had belonged to Abbasids and also the lands of the Byzantine Empire
  1. A Power Vacuum in International Leadership

-Ottoman Empire powerful, but never became leader in the international world like caliphates had (one reason was the Ottomans did not promote trade)

-It seemed the Mongols would fill power vacuum and be chief international power, but the Mongols soon began to decline and again a question of who would be main world leader emerged

  • Fall of Mongols meant land trade routes not protected (sea-born trade routes were focused on)
  1. Chinese Thrust and Withdrawal

-The new Ming Dynasty briefly took role as international leader, but then stopped abruptly

  • 1368 = Mongols driven from China and the Ming Dynasty (with capital at Beijing), was established (it lasted until 1644)
  • Ming expanded quickly, restored China to prominence, and began sponsoring trading expeditions to southern Asia and later to the Middle East and east coast of Africa
  • China soon became the leader in world trade, though only for a very brief time

-Cheng Ho = Chinese Muslim, led Ming trade expeditions from 1405 to 1433

  • Improved compass, great maps, and huge vessels helped Ho make China leader in world trade

-In 1433, the Chinese called off the expeditions and became more isolated

  • Confucian bureaucrats were against trade (too costly and looked down on merchant activity)
  • China’s chance to become the dominant world trading power was lost
  • Instead China focused on its east Asian neighbors (Korea, Vietnam, which it got tribute from)

-With the Arabs slowly losing power, and the Chinese giving up the chance to dominate trade, a power vacuum for international leadership existed that would be filled by western Europeans

  1. The Rise of the West

-The West’s rise in world status in the 1400s was surprising

  • Medieval society was weakening - still behind much of world technologically, the church was under attack, and local aristocrats no longer had militaries (instead national monarchs did)
  • In 1300s, many famines occurred b/c population got too large for production capability
  • Famine reduced disease resistance, and Europeans more vulnerable to bubonic plagues (Black Death from 1348-1375 killed 30 million people, which was 1/3 of population of Europe)
  1. Sources of Dynamism: Medieval Vitality

-Despite the problems, new developments paved way for western Europe to become world leaders

  • Feudal monarchies emerged, providing more stabilized and effective central governments
  • 100 Years’ War stimulated new military innovation (including paying a professional army, not relying of feudal lords, which enhanced central authority)
  • Strong central rulers emerged in parts of Spain and Portugal, and drove out the Muslim rulers
  • Cities in western Europe were growing, and along with that so was trade and capitalist ideas
  • Technology improved, especially ironwork (used for bells, weapons and timekeeping)
  1. Imitation and International Problems

-Mongol rule expanded trade, and western Europe benefitted more than other areas by gainingcontinual access to Asian knowledge and technology (printing, compass, explosive powder)

-After Muslims drove the last crusaders out in 1291, they controlled key access in trade with Asia

  • So, western European city-states (like Venice) went on several conquests to gain ports so they could trade with Asia without having to go through the Muslims in the Middle East
  • Others in western Europe sought sea routes to Asia to bypass the Muslims in the Middle East
  1. Secular Directions in the Italian Renaissance

-Renaissance = Cultural and political movement in western Europe, began in Italy in early 1400s

  • Italian cities wealthy b/c of manufacturing and commerce, so sponsorednew cultural activity
  • Contacts with foreign scholars (especially Byzantines) helped revive Greco-Roman styles
  • Italian city-states competed for international importance, so each emphasized worldly culture
  1. Human Values and Renaissance Culture

-The Renaissance was mostly a cultural movement (art and literature) begun in Florence, Italy

  • Francesco Petrarch = Italian author and leading literary figure of the Renaissance
  • Art became focused on nature and people, including cityscapes and portraits of the rich
  • Architecture went away from Gothic to a classicism derived from styles of Rome and Greece
  • Vivid realistic statues were built at new palaces and public buildings

-Early on, the Renaissance impacted only the wealthy (not pop culture), and only in the art (there was little focus on science, and it was not a full break from medieval culture)

-The Renaissance began in 1400, but it would have major impact shortly down the line

  • Italian shipping and commerce helped lead push for exploration, city-states pushed for new trade routes, and urban leaders had desire for personal glory in exploration (like Columbus)
  1. The Iberian Spirit of Christian Mission

-Along with Italian city-states, the other area pushing for change and innovation was the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal)

  • Castile and Aragon = major regional monarchies in Spain that drove out Muslim rule, and then united in 1469 with the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella

-Even before the uniting, Spain and Portugal rulers had a vigorous military and religious agenda

  • Both built strong armies and promoted Christianity by converting or expelling Arabs and Jews
  • In 1400s, they reestablished courts of the Inquisition of Spain (to enforce religious orthodoxy)
  1. Western Expansion: The Experimental Phase
  1. Early Explorations

-Vivaldis = 2 Italian brothers who disappeared in 1291 while seeking a western route to the “Indies” (spice producing areas of south and southeast Asia), but there mission inspired more exploration by Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese

-Up until 1430, a lack of technology prevented seafaring explorations from going much beyond west coast of Africa

  • The compass and astrolabe (gotten through contact with Arabs, who had gotten them from the Chinese) solved this technological barrier
  • Vasco de Gama = Portuguese explorer who sailed for India in 1497, establishing Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean
  1. Colonial Patterns

-Henry the Navigator = Portuguese prince responsible for many expeditions along African coast in 1400s, led to Portugal being 1st western European nation to have an overseas empire

  • Portugal set up colony in the Azores (1439), and, along with Spain, set up more colonies
  • European settlers moved to these colonies and set up cash crops to be sold in Europe (slaves brought in from NW Africa to grow crops)

-Portugal and Spain only had a few colonies early on, but they motivated more attempts to establish colonies across the Atlantic and down the coast of Africa

  1. Outside the World Network

-People outside of the international network (the Americas and in Polynesia) were not affected at the by the events occurring during the postclassical era, but were experiencing problems that left would leave them vulnerable to an outside attack

  1. Political Issues in the Americas

-Aztec and Inca had major difficulties in 1400s

  • Aztec exploiting of people for tribute, slaves, and sacrifice caused resentment against them
  • Incas also had problems with political divisions within their large empire
  • Other native groups were emerging to compete for power, but Europeans soon showed up and the nativeswere defeated
  1. Expansion, Migration, and Conquest in Polynesia

-Polynesia, isolated from rest of world during the postclassical era, experienced major changes

  • Society Islands = the 3 islands where Polynesians lived (Tahiti, Samoa, and Fiji)
  • 600 – 1300 = Polynesianswere expanding beyond just the Society Islands

-Polynesians settled the Hawaiian islands up until 1400, when migration to Hawaii stopped (from 1400 until 1778, Hawaii was cut off from all societies, including Polynesia)

  • Hawaiians used local vegetation, weaving fabrics, and making fishing nets from grass
  • Politically, Hawaii divided into regional kingdoms, which were highly warlike
  • Caste system established, with priests and nobles at top, and commoners were viewed almost as separate people and barred from doing many activities

-With outdated technology and no written language the Hawaiians still created a complex culture

  1. Isolated Achievements by the Maoris

-Polynesians also migrated from the Society Islands in the early 700s to what today is New Zealand

  • Polynesians in New Zealand, called Maoris, successfully adapted to the much colder climate
  • Maoris produced the most elaborate Polynesian art and population kept expanding
  • Like in Hawaii, tribal military leaders and priests held great power
  • Each tribe had group of slaves gotten from prisoners of war and their descendants

-Polynesian society not only spread during postclassical period, it increased in complexity

  • Maoris produced a rich oral tradition andwere good at woodworking
  • Polynesians didn’t have metal, but had vigorous economy by combining imported crops and animals with vegetation native to their new settlements
  • Polynesians developed all this in total isolation of outside world, and after 1400 in isolation from each other islands
  • When they finally had encounters with the outside world (Europeans), they were weaker and vulnerable, like the Americas were
  1. Conclusion: Adding Up the Changes

-In 1400s, major changes took place in the world, and with the balance of power in the world

-Western Europe began emerging as a world power, almost by accident

  • Other areas losing power, and China, which had chance to become the next world power, decided to stop becoming one
  • Technology helped (some European discoveries, but also b/c of opportunity to copy Asia)

-Overall result of the rise of the West affected all societies, even Africa

  • Sub-Saharan Africa was not going through political or cultural shifts around 1400s (Mali had fallen, but another Muslim kingdom, Songhay emerged, flourishing b/t 1464 and 1591)
  • But decline of Arabs, which was Africa’s key international contact, hurt Africa (Africa not apart of the Mongol trade network)

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