AP World History: Unit 2 Overview

Time Period: 1200 to 1450

• Focus on how various states and empires were interconnected through networks of exchange (trade routes).
• These networks facilitated not only economic interaction but also cultural diffusion and technological transfers.

Major Networks of Exchange

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

General Developments (1200-1450)

• Geographical expansion of trade networks.
• Innovations in commercial practices and technology.
• Increased wealth and power of states due to network participation.
• Rise and collapse of powerful states and cities.

Silk Roads

• Traded mainly luxury goods like Chinese silk and porcelain.
• Innovations:
  • Caravanserai: Inns/safe houses for merchants, facilitating trade and cultural exchange.
  • Commercial Practices:
    • Money economies using paper money (e.g. China’s flying money system)
    • New forms of credit (bills of exchange, banking houses)
• Powerful trading cities emerged, e.g., Kashgar.

Indian Ocean Network

• Traded bulk goods (textiles, spices) as well as luxury items.
• Based on understanding of monsoon winds.
• Innovations:
  • Technological:
    • Improvement of the magnetic compass
    • Improved astrolabe for navigation
    • New ship designs like the Chinese junk
  • Commercial Practices: Similar to Silk Roads
• Growth of states, e.g., Swahili city-states on Africa's East Coast.
• Diaspora communities and cultural diffusion (e.g., Swahili language).
• Influence of explorers like Zheng He and spread of Chinese maritime technology.

Trans-Saharan Trade Network

• Expanded due to innovations like improved camel saddles.
• Key state: Mali Empire, known for wealth, conversion to Islam, and leader Mansa Musa.

Effects or Consequences of Connectivity

Cultural Consequences

• Religion and Belief Systems: Spread of Buddhism to China via Silk Roads.
• Artistic and Literary Transfers: Greek/Roman classics translated and commented upon in the Islamic world.
• Scientific and Technological Transfers: Spread of gunpowder from China.
• Rise and Fall of Cities:
  • Rise: Hangzhou, due to location on the Grand Canal.
  • Fall: Baghdad, destroyed by Mongol invasions.
• Notable Travelers: Ibn Battuta's travels and writings.

Environmental Consequences

• Crops: Transfer of Champa rice to China leading to population growth.
• Diseases: Spread of the Bubonic plague via trade routes.

Mongol Empire

• Key role in facilitating trade and cultural exchanges across Eurasia.
• Conquered powerful empires (e.g., Song Dynasty, Abbasid Empire).
• Increased safety and trade along Silk Roads (Pax Mongolica).
• Cultural and technological transfers, e.g., Uyghur script adoption.

Additional Resources

• Check the AP World History Heimler Review Guide for more in-depth study materials, practice questions, and exams.