Alright buckle up because I'm about to help you cram everything you need to know about AP World History Unit 2 right into your brain folks. So if you're ready to get them brain cows milked, let's get to it. First, let me just drop the big picture on you.
And we're still in the time period 1200 to 1450 and we're still considering many of the same states and empires that we got cozy with in Unit 1. But here in Unit 2, the whole emphasis is on how all these various states were connected to one another through networks of exchange. And I know it would be easier just to call these networks trading routes because that's exactly what they were. But the AP World History overlords aren't interested in making things easy for you. So we call them networks of exchange because not only were merchants carrying goods for sale across these routes, but they also brought their religion and their languages and their technology.
And so the point to remember here is that these networks did not only create the occasion for economic interaction across the world, but just as important, importantly, they facilitated cultural diffusion and transfers as well. Now there are three major networks of exchange that you need to get familiar with. The Silk Roads, the Indian Ocean Network, and the Trans-Saharan Trade.
And before we get into the details of each, you need to know a few general developments that apply to all of them. But hey, before I tell you what they are, I should mention that this video is part of a larger resource called the AP World History Heimler Review Guide, and if you're feeling spicy you should check it out in the link below. It's got whole unit review videos like this one that are not here on YouTube, note guides to follow along, practice questions, practice exams, and answer keys for all of it. It is the fastest way to study for your class and for your exam in May.
So, you know, have a look. And now back to general developments among the major networks of exchange. First, in the period 1200-1450, the geographical range of all these networks expanded. And to be clear, all three of these networks existed for a long time before 1200, but the thing to remember is that during this time, each of these networks increased in geographic scale, and that led to further connections among states in this part of the world.
Second, the range of these networks expanded due to innovations in commercial practices and technological innovations. You might have no idea what those words mean, but put it in your pocket and we'll come back to it. Third, the increased connectivity between these places caused various states to grow wealthy and powerful due to their participation in these networks.
And fourth, the increased interconnectivity caused the rise of powerful states and cities while also causing the collapse of others. Okay, so that's what all the major networks of exchange have in common. So now let's talk about some of the distinct features on each route and I reckon we ought to start with the Silk Road. Now this network stretched across Eurasia and it was mainly luxury goods that were traded along these routes. And the big ones to remember are Chinese silk and porcelain.
Now the reason the Silk Road merchant merchants specialized in trading luxury goods is because it was expensive and arduous to travel from one side of the stinking world to the other, and it didn't make sense to carry more common items that wouldn't sell for a premium. That reality was illustrated by a common proverb among Silk Road merchants, namely, if it don't make the boom boom, I ain't got the room room to carry it on my camel. That's just a rough translation. Anyway, the expansion of these routes during this period reflected the growing demand for these luxury items. And so that increased demand caused an increase in the production of these goods by Chinese, Indian, and Persian artisans.
So for example, the focus on the production of luxury goods for distant markets led peasants in the Yangtze River Delta to scale back on food production in order to produce more luxury goods destined for trade across the Silk Roads. And that was kind of a risky move because, you know, you can't eat eat porcelain, and you can't eat silk, but I'll show you why that didn't matter that much in a moment. Now you're also going to need to know a few of the innovations that facilitated the expansion of these networks, and they fall into two categories. First were innovations in transportation technologies, and you only need to know one of these, namely the Caravanserai.
These were a series of inns and guesthouses that sprang up along the Silk Roads about a day's journey apart. Additionally, the Caravanserai provided safety along the routes. I mean, don't forget that these merchants were mainly hauling luxury goods across these routes, and so that meant they were targets for theft.
Not just as important, Caravanserai brought merchants from all different cultures and backgrounds together and that created the occasion for significant transfers, whether it was cultural or technological. Alright, the second development that caused the expansion of the Silk Roads were innovations of commercial practices and that just means buying and selling things became way easier. And here you need to know two of those practices.
First was the development of money economies. Now what in the fresh heck does that mean? Well, a money economy uses paper money to facilitate exchange, unlike a barter economy which uses goods as currency, and this was first developed in China. And the development of money economies was huge for facilitating trade. I mean, think about it.
Metal-based money is heavy, and merchants selling luxury goods would be none too happy about hauling that money all across Asia. But with the introduction of paper money to facilitate trade, a merchant could deposit bills in one location and then withdraw that. same amount in another location, thus increasing the ease of travel and the security of transactions. And if you want a term for this, and I know you do, the Chinese called it the flying money system.
And then another commercial practice that expanded trade was the introduction of new forms of credit. Again, the Chinese pioneered this, but eventually this practice spread all the way to Europe where they introduced banking houses to handle all these exchanges. There a merchant could present a bill of exchange, which had the name of a merchant and the amount of money owed to him. And then he would receive that amount of money from the banking house.
It's kind of like using the check, but now that I'm saying that, I'm realizing that you you Apple paying Venmo using Youngins probably don't even know what a check is. So just, you know, ask your grandparents, they'll tell you all about it. But the point is these commercial innovations make getting paid a lot easier. And that led to an increase in trade along the Silk Road. Okay, now the last thing you need to know about the Silk Roads is that this increase in trade led to the rise of powerful trading cities that grew and flourished precisely because they were located along these routes.
And there are several you could know, but you only need to If you want to know once, let me introduce you to Kashgar. It was located at the convergence of two major routes of the Silk Roads, which before and after passed through exceedingly inhospitable terrain. But Kashgar was built around a river, and its lush valley made it an attractive stop for traveling merchants.
And as trade along the Silk Road expanded, so too did Kashgar grow in power and wealth. Okay, now let's get into the details of the Indian Ocean Network. Just like the Silk Roads, this maritime trade network existed for centuries before 1200, but during this period the scope of these routes expanded significantly. Now what made trade along this network possible was a thorough understanding of monstrosity.
soon winds. And really all you need to know about that here is that Indian Ocean merchants developed an understanding over time that winds predictably blew in one direction or the other depending on the season. Now in contrast with the Silk Roads, a large bulk of what was traded along these routes included more common goods like textiles and spices. And that's because the hull of a ship could hold way more cargo than, you know, the back of a camel. But to be fair, they also traded luxury goods along these routes, but when contrasting these two routes, that's the big difference.
So what caused the expansion of the Indian Ocean network? A fine question, and again, like on the Silk Roads, the answer is technological innovations and innovations in commercial practices. Under technological innovations, I'll give you three that you need to know. First is the improvement of the magnetic compass, which helped merchants know what direction they were going on that giant honking ocean. Second was an improved astrolabe, which was a tool for measuring the stars and then comparing them with star charts, which helped them reckon latitude and longitude, which was not easy on that giant honking ocean.
And then third were new ship designs like the Chinese junk. These were massive ships with enormous cargo holds that could transport metric buttloads of goods across the ocean. But then there were innovations in commercial practices that facilitated trade as well.
And these were essentially the same practices that were introduced on the Silk Roads, practices like various forms of credit. And then just like on the Silk Roads, the expansion of the Indian Ocean Network fostered the growth of states. And there are a lot of examples here, but you only need to know one, so meet the Swahili City States. Now this was a collection of independent city states along Africa's east coast that acted as brokers for goods originating from the African interior, things like gold and ivory and enslaved people. And by playing this role, these city-states grew significantly in power and wealth.
And then, under the influence of Muslim merchants, the Swahili states became Islamic and got connected to the larger trading world of Dar al-Islam, and that only increased their power and economic prosperity. And then another effect of the expansion of these routes was the establishment of diasporic communities. And since I'm guessing you don't throw words like that around in normal conversation, let me define it.
A diasporic community is a settlement of ethnic people in a location other than their home. For example, Arab and Persian communities were established in East Africa, which led to intermarriage with the women there. And I know that sounds really romantic, but it was done to ensure that trading partners in different states were trustworthy.
Anyway, that cultural intermingling led to the further spread of Islam, and that in turn fostered the growth of the Swahili states in East Africa. And because of that influence, an entirely new language emerged called Swahili, which began as a mixture of native Bantu languages and Arabic words. And finally, one more example of cultural diffusion in the Indian Ocean network came from our boy Jung Ha. Now there's a lot of notable things we could say about Jung Ha. about this guy, not least the ginormous size of his fleet, but you don't need to know any of that.
What you need to know is that Zheng He was sent by China's Ming Dynasty to go throughout the Indian Ocean enrolling states in China's tributary system. And he was pretty successful, but even that is secondary to the technological and cultural transfers that occurred because of his voyages. For example, China's advanced maritime technology, especially navigation tools and shipbuilding methods, were spread to the various places that Zheng He visited.
And then the final major network of connection you need to know is the Trans-Saharan Trade Network over here in Africa. And just like the other major routes, this network expanded during the period 1200-1450, and that was mainly due to innovations in transportation technologies. The big one to know here is the new and improved camel saddle.
And yes, saddles were used for riding camels, but more significantly, saddles were developed for transporting way bigger loads of cargo across the desert. And just like the other routes, participation in this network led to the increasing wealth and power of various states, and here you just need to know the empire of Mali. Now, a big turning point for Mali was the conversion of its leadership to Islam in the 9th century, which again folded the state into the exceedingly prosperous merchant network throughout Dar al-Islam. But by our period, Mali grew stupid rich through the trade of gold and by taxing merchants traveling to basically all parts of West Africa.
And Mali's wealth and influence reached its highest point in the 14th century under the leadership of our boy Mansa Musa, who further monopolized trade between the north and the interior of the continent, both increasing the wealth of Mali and facilitating the growth of existing trade networks. Okay, now that you have a sense of what these individual networks were all about, let's settle in and talk directly about the effects or consequences of all this increasing connection during that time. The consequences basically fall into two. categories, cultural and environmental.
And just for poops and giggles, let's begin with cultural consequences. The first cultural consequence was the transfer of religion or belief systems across these networks. And here we could talk about the spread of Islam, but we've already touched on that.
Or we could talk about Hinduism spreading into Southeast Asia, but since you only need to know one example, let's make it Buddhism. Now recall from Unit 1 that Buddhism originated in South Asia, but here we need to emphasize that this belief system entered China via the Silk Roads carried by merchants and missionaries. Now the second cultural consequence of connectivity included significant literary and artistic transfer.
across the world. For example, Islamic scholars in Baghdad's House of Wisdom translated Greek and Roman classics into Arabic and made extensive commentaries on them, including their own developments in philosophy and medical practices. These works were then later transferred to Europe where they created the ...basis for a cultural awakening known as the Renaissance, which we're going to talk all about in Unit 4. And then third under this heading were the transfer of scientific and technological innovations. And arguably the most significant of these transfers was gunpowder. Now this stuff was invented in China, but through networks of exchange it spread to Muslim empires and then later Eastern European states encountered this explosive powder when the Mongols came knocking on their door trying to take over all their crap.
And once they figured out how to use this stuff to blow other people up, the harnessing of gunpowder would fundamentally alter the balance of power across the world. Okay, now the second consequence of connectivity was the rise and fall of cities, and I'll give you an example of each. A good example of the rise of cities is Hangzhou in China. It was situated at one end of China's Grand Canal, which facilitated all kinds of trade, and as a result, Hangzhou became increasingly wealthy and increasingly urbanized, which is to say, more and more people organized their lives around the city.
But other cities did not fare as well as connections increased, and that's because not only did merchants travel across these networks, but so did militaries. So for example, Baghdad had the unfortunate opportunity to get utterly destroyed in 2012 1258 by Mongol armies, and we'll talk more about them in a moment. And then the last cultural consequence you need to know is that increased interconnectivity facilitated travelers who wrote about their experiences. And here it would be fun to talk about Marco Polo or Marjorie Kemp, but since you only need to know one, let me introduce you to Ibn Battuta.
He was a young Muslim scholar from Morocco who, over the course of about 30 years, traveled all over Dar al-Islam and wrote detailed notes about the places that he visited, and the people and rulers that he met, and the cultures that hosted him. And all of his expansive travels were made possible because of trade routes. Now to be fair, there were a lot of people that traveled around.
around the known world during this period, but what makes Ibn Battuta important is that he actually wrote about his travels, which gave later scholars a first-hand account of life all over Dar al-Islam. Okay, now the second category of consequences of connectivity is environmental. And here we'll talk about crops that were transferred and diseases that were transferred.
And an example of the transfer of crops over networks of exchange was Champa rice. Now remember that this new strain of rice was introduced to China via the Champa Kingdom, who offered it to China as part of the tribute system. And when the Chinese harnessed this new grain, it produced way more food for their growing population than was possible before.
before and that led to even more population growth. So never forget, more food equals more babies. And then second, disease was transferred due to increasing connectivity and the granddaddy of all of them was the Bubonic Plague.
This nasty disease first erupted in China in 1331 and though people didn't know it at the time, it was carried by rats and fleas. Those fleas unceremoniously attached themselves to camels and merchants traveling along the Silk Roads and those rats found hidden corners in merchant ships traveling along the Indian Ocean. When you look at the spread of this disease, it is almost entirely in line with trading rights. When it first came up, it was a deadly as heck and killed giant swaths of the population in the Middle East and Europe. All because of connectivity.
Or maybe we could say all because of the Mongols, and that leads us to our final section for the unit. So let's talk about the Mongol Empire. But wait, if you're paying attention, it's a little weird that we're talking about the Mongol Empire in a unit that's all about connectivity through trade networks.
Like, shouldn't we have talked about the Mongols in Unit 1 when we were getting all cozy with the various states around the world? Well, here's where I tell you that of all the juicy things we could talk about with respect to the Mongols, the most important and juiciest of them is that their giant stinking empire facilitated all these connections that we've been talking about, and they did it big time. So you really only need to know three things about the Mongols. First, as they established the largest land-based empire of all time, it replaced powerful empires across Eurasia.
The Song Dynasty fell to the Mongols, the Abbasid Empire in the Middle East fell to the Mongols, and by the second half of the 14th century, Mongols ruled this entire area through four khanates, which is the term that describes states ruled by the Khans. Khan. And the second thing you need to know is that under Mongol rule, networks of exchange increased significantly.
For example, throughout history, the Silk Roads flourished the most when large empires controlled the routes because they could provide safety and continuity along them. And so when basically the entire territory over which the Silk Roads fell under Mongol control, that is exactly what happened. I mean, the Mongols themselves produced no sellable goods, nor did they participate in long-distance trade. But as the entire Eurasian world came under their domination, they vigorously encouraged international trade and extracted great wealth as facilitators of commerce on the Silk Roads.
For example, Mongols paid high prices for goods from other countries which encouraged trade, and they took pains to increase the safety of merchants making the long treks across those trading routes. And because of this, the Mongols also facilitated an unprecedented increase in communication and cooperation across their empire. For example, Persian and Chinese courts often worked together and sent emissaries and artisans to each other. Because of these connections, trade increased between both sides of the Mongol Empire, and they both got plenty wealthy as a result.
This big interconnected hugfest was made possible because of Mongol rule, and that's why they call it the Pax Mongolica. or the peace of the Mongols. And then the final thing you need to know about the Mongols is that they facilitated significant technological and cultural transfers. On the technological side, Mongols created the conditions for the transfer of Greek and Islamic medical knowledge to Western Europe.
On the cultural side was the Mongol adoption of the Uyghur script. Now in the beginning, the Mongols didn't have a written language, but as they started conquering literate societies, they decided to adopt the Uyghur script from one of the Turkic Muslim groups they conquered in Central Asia. This written language became common among all parts of their empire as the language of policy and diplomacy and exchange. Okay, click here if you want to get my my AP World Heimler Review Guide which has everything you need to get an A in your class and a 5 on your exam in May.
And click here to watch all my other videos for Unit 2 if you need more help on any particular topic. And I'll catch you on the flip-flop. Heimler out.