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Interconnected Trade Networks and Their Impact

Dec 17, 2024

AP World History Unit 2 Overview

Time Period: 1200-1450

  • Focus on how states and empires were connected through networks of exchange.
  • Not just trade routes: included exchange of goods, religion, languages, technology, and culture.

Major Networks of Exchange

  1. Silk Roads
  2. Indian Ocean Network
  3. Trans-Saharan Trade

General Developments (1200-1450)

  • Geographic Expansion: All networks expanded geographically.
  • Innovations: Commercial practices and technologies evolved.
  • Economic Impact: States grew wealthy and powerful.
  • Political Impact: Rise of powerful states and cities; fall of others.

Silk Roads

  • Goods Traded: Primarily luxury goods (e.g., Chinese silk and porcelain).
    • High demand led to increased production by artisans in China, India, and Persia.
  • Transportation Innovations: Caravanserai (inns for safety and trade facilitation).
  • Commercial Practices: Introduction of money economies and credit systems.
    • Flying Money System: Paper money for trade; pioneered in China.
    • Banking Houses: Bills of exchange akin to checks.
  • Trading Cities: Kashgar as a key city at strategic crossroads.

Indian Ocean Network

  • Goods Traded: Bulk goods (e.g., textiles, spices), luxury goods.
  • Monsoon Winds: Key to navigation and trade.
  • Technological Innovations:
    • Magnetic Compass
    • Astrolabe
    • Chinese Junk Ships: Large cargo holds for extensive trade.
  • Commercial Innovations: Credit systems similar to Silk Roads.
  • Key City-States: Swahili City States as brokers for African goods.
  • Cultural Impact: Establishment of diasporic communities and spread of Islam.
    • Swahili language developed as a mix of Bantu and Arabic.
    • Zheng He: Expeditions spread Chinese maritime technology.

Trans-Saharan Network

  • Innovations: Improved camel saddles for cargo transport.
  • Key State: Mali Empire grew wealthy through gold trade and taxation.
    • Islamized leadership integrated into the Dar al-Islam trade network.
    • Mansa Musa: Increased wealth and trade monopoly.

Effects of Increased Connectivity

Cultural Consequences

  • Spread of Religions: Buddhism and Islam expanded.
  • Literary and Artistic Transfers: Translations and commentaries from Islamic scholars.
  • Scientific and Technological Transfers: Gunpowder from China spread globally.
  • Rise and Fall of Cities: Hangzhou thrived, Baghdad fell to Mongols.
  • Travel Narratives: Ibn Battuta documented Dar al-Islam travel.

Environmental Consequences

  • Crop Transfers: Champa rice increased food production in China.
  • Disease Spread: Bubonic plague followed trade routes, decimating populations.

Mongol Empire and its Role

  • Empire Expansion: Replaced powerful empires and created Khanates.
  • Facilitated Trade: Enhanced safety and communication; Pax Mongolica.
    • Trade increased along Silk Roads.
    • Persian and Chinese cooperation.
  • Cultural Transfers: Greek/Islamic medical knowledge to Europe, Uyghur script adoption for administration.

This guide encompasses key aspects of AP World History Unit 2, focusing on the interconnectedness through trade and its broader implications. For more detailed study, refer to additional resources.

Full transcript