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Global Trade Networks 1200-1450 Overview

Apr 30, 2025

AP World History Unit 2 Overview

Time Period: 1200-1450

  • Focus on the connections between states and empires through networks of exchange.
  • Networks facilitated not just economic interaction but also cultural diffusion.

Major Networks of Exchange

  1. Silk Roads

    • Traded primarily luxury goods (e.g., Chinese silk, porcelain).
    • Expansion reflected increased demand for luxury items.
    • Innovations:
      • Caravanserai: Inns for safety and cultural exchange.
      • Money Economies: Development of paper money (e.g., Flying money system in China).
      • New forms of credit: Banking houses, bills of exchange.
    • Rise of trading cities like Kashgar.
  2. Indian Ocean Network

    • Maritime trade expanded scope due to understanding of monsoon winds.
    • Traded bulk goods (textiles, spices) and luxury items.
    • Technological Innovations:
      • Improved magnetic compass.
      • Astrolabe for navigation.
      • Chinese junk ship designs.
    • Growth of Swahili city-states.
    • Diaspora communities: Cultural blending (e.g., Arab, Persian communities in East Africa).
    • Notable figure: Zheng He and his voyages.
  3. Trans-Saharan Trade Network

    • Expansion aided by improved camel saddles.
    • Increased wealth of states like Mali.
    • Maliโ€™s wealth grew under Mansa Musa.

Consequences of Increased Connectivity

Cultural Consequences

  • Spread of Religions: Buddhism spread to China via the Silk Roads.
  • Literary and Artistic Transfers: Translations in Baghdad's House of Wisdom; laid groundwork for European Renaissance.
  • Scientific and Technological Transfers: Spread of Gunpowder from China.
  • Travelers' Accounts: Ibn Battuta's documentation of Dar al-Islam.

Environmental Consequences

  • Crop Transfer: Champa rice in China led to population growth.
  • Disease Transfer: Bubonic plague spread through trade routes.

The Mongol Empire

  • Facilitated connections across the largest land empire.
  • Pax Mongolica: Encouraged and protected trade along Silk Roads.
  • Facilitated communication, cooperation, and technological/cultural transfers.
    • Example: Adoption of Uighur script for Mongol diplomacy.

Conclusion

  • Understanding the networks of exchange is crucial for grasping the global interactions from 1200 to 1450.
  • Mongol Empire played a significant role in facilitating these connections.