Unit III Exam Study Guide

The World Shrinks

1. Before 1450 Central Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe were involved in
global trading, but as the world shrunk, the Americas, Africa, all of Europe, and
Southern Asia.

2. Slowly, the culture of Western Europe replaced or destroyed cultures in the

Americas, India, Africa, and later, China.

3. In early years, China was the pioneering nation in the field of exploration, but
after the burning of the Chinese fleets by the Emperor, China slowly withdrew
from the global market. Western Europe, especially the nations of Portugal, Spain,
and later Britain, finally went around the Cape of Good Hope and crossed the
Atlantic Ocean, becoming the world leaders in exploration and naval dominance.

4. The Columbian Exchange was the transfer of products between the New World of
North and South America, and the Old World of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The
Old World got crops such as potatoes and corn. The New world got horses,
diseases, and cows. People were also traded between the nations. The New World
lost most of its population because of the diseases, while the Old World gained a
huge profit.

5. Mercantilism encouraged Mother countries such as Britain to import raw

materials from their colonies, make goods from these materials, then sell the
goods back to the same colonies. Countries such as Britain, France, and Spain
benefited greatly from this exchange. The colonies would not be allowed to trade
with any other countries for any goods.

6. Trade relations between Eastern and Western Europe were severely stunted
because of the Mongol invasion of Russia and other countries in North-Eastern
Europe. These countries also did not experience the Renaissance or the
Enlightenment because of their separation from Italy. They did participate in the
Reformation and most of Eastern Europe is Eastern Orthodox.

7. The Roman Catholic Church tried to convert multiple societies and peoples to
their religion but failed because of the already well established religions of Islam
and Buddhism. The only real success in Asia was in the Philippines, where
Christianity is still the main religion now.

8. The Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance were different in many
ways. The Italian Renaissance concentrated more on Architecture, Art, and
Science. Although the Northern Renaissance also made improvements in these
 areas, it focused more on Religious and Political reform. The Lutheran, Protestant,
and Calvinist churches, as well as the Parliamentary Monarchy were formed
during the Northern Renaissance.

9. Lutheranism made it easier for Christians to get into heaven. Unlike with
Catholicism, Lutherans supposedly can get into heaven just by believing Christ
was your savior. Catholics have to pray and be good to other people while
believing Christ was your savior.

10. Slowly, Science beat back the old beliefs and ways of earlier Europe, including
the belief in healers, witchcraft, and magicians. New scientific schools and books
were set up and printed with government aid to try to educate people. The literacy
rate in Europe went up from about 20 percent to 47 in just a few hundred years.
Witchcraft trials were not allowed in courts anymore and instead of leaving lost
items to magicians, a new “lost and found” section was created in newsletters.
Insurance companies started being used to guard against risk.

11. The Enlightenment was the aftermath of the Scientific Revolution in which
chemists, biologists, and social thinkers, gained new understanding different
aspects of their fields. There were no Galileos or Newtons, but the new
discoveries were spread throughout much of Europe. The most influential
discoveries had to do with applying the new discoveries of the Renaissance to
society.

12. Post-Mongolian Russian economy deteriorated. Trade went down and

manufacturing became limited, thus making Russia a purely agricultural economy
dependant on peasant labor.

13. The expansion on Central Asia was motivated by a desire to push the Mongol
overlords back. Since Russia was mainly plains, there were only a few barriers
blocking them from conquest. The Russians recruited Cossacks, or peasant-
adventurers, to migrate to these lands. Expansion offered the tsars a way to reward
loyal aristocracy by giving them estates in the new land. Their expansion into
central-Asia eliminated the age-old source of nomadic cultures. It also added
many diverse people into Russian culture, making Russia a multicultural empire.

14. Peter’s foreign policy maintained many well-established lines. His biggest policy
was that he believed in westernization. He wanted to make Russia more
respectable in Western eyes. He changed old traditions and westernized them.
Instead of the nobles all having beards, he forced them to cut it off and told them
to start wearing western clothing. He also gave the women more freedom because
it was that way in the west.

15. I HAVE NO IDEA!

16. I HAVE NO IDEA!

17. When the Spanish first came to the Americas, they established many settlements
there. The Spanish control in the Caribbean led to making the indigenous people
there to do the Spanish’s work. Encomiendas, large estates and grants of
American Indian laborers, provided the framework for relations based on
economic dominance. The so-called “serfs” were made to mine gold until that
area’s supply become gone, and then they were made to hop between islands. The
Caribbean became a backwater until the Spanish found out that sugar grows
plentiful there. It then became a place for sugar plantations.

18. Bartolomé de Las Casas, a conquistador turned priest, initiated the struggle for
justice. He wanted the mistreatment and destruction of the American Indians to
end.

19. In 1519, Hernán Cortés led an expedition of 600 men to Mexico. He heard rumor
of a kingdom in Mexico so he began to go inland. He fought many towns subject
to the Aztecs and when he won, he was able to enlist the defeated peoples’ support
against their overlords. With the help of the Indian allies, He reached the island
capital of Tenochtitlan and with luck, he captured and killed Moctezuma II. He
fled to the coast but came back to siege Tenochtitlan. The city fell in 1521 after
the Aztecs put up a still resistance, but disease and starvation ultimately brought it
down. Tenochtitlan was replaced by Mexico City.

20. There were many factors of success of Spanish conquistadors. Horses, firearms,
and more generally steel weapons gave them a great advantage over the stone
technology of the indigenous people. Epidemic disease also proved to be an ally
of the conquistadors. The internal divisions and rivalries within American Indian
empires, and their high levels of centralization made these empires very
vulnerable.

21. The main factor influencing the population in the Americas is the arrival of the
Europeans. Slaving, mistreatment, and disease also brought the population down.
Diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and the measles wrecked havoc because the
people were not immune to it. The conquests also brought a decrease in
population.

22. The impact of the American bullion on the Spanish economy was not as great as
thought. It accounted for only one fourth of the economy, the main part still being
taxes collected from the people. Most of the silver was used to pay for Spain’s
European wars, its debts, and the purchase of manufactured goods. The silver also
contributed to a sharp rise in prices and a general inflation.

23. The discovery of gold led to mixed blessings. It opened the interior to settlement,
once again with disastrous effects on the indigenous population and with the
expansion of slavery. There was also a disruption in agriculture because of the
gold strike.
24. The basis for the social hierarchy in the Americas was made between the
Europeans, Indians, and Africans. It was basically the Europeans on top as
conquerors, the Indians in the middle as the conquered, and the Africans at the
bottom as slaves. This situation also created hierarchies of masters and servants,
and Christians and pagans.

25. I WILL ASK BEN!!! SO DO NOT PRINT OUT YET!

26. Europeans took many slaves from Africa. The slaves were captured by large tribes
on the interior of Africa and forced to march to the coast, where they were put on
display in cages for the European slave traders. A healthy, strong African slave
was called and “Indies piece”. After a slave trader bought them they were taken to
Europe and sold.

27. As the Europeans ventured farther and farther down the Africa Coast, they began
to set up trading posts and forts called “factories”. El Mina was a very important
factory in the gold-producing region. With the permission of local rulers, these
forts were established. The reason the local rulers liked them was that they
brought valuable European mad goods and trade to the area.

28. Before 1450, the slave trade was a central element in Portugal’s trading network.
Slavery had also been an extensive institution in the Roman Empire, but in the
Middle Ages it had slowly declined until it was replaced by serfdom. The trans-
Saharan slave trade brought blacks into the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern
areas throughout the period. Slaves were first brought directly to Portugal from
Africa in 1441, but by 1460, about 500 slaves a year were being brought in.

29. Slaves were captured by large tribes on the interior of Africa, and force- marched
to the coast where they were purchased by Europeans. In the Americas, Natives
were used as slaves, but they were quickly wiped out by European diseases and
African slaves were brought in to replace the lack of labor.

30. African slaves were most highly concentrated in Brazil, getting up to 4 million
slaves, 37% of all slaves exported from Africa. There were also many slaves
imported to the Caribbean because of the amount of labor required for sugar. The
slaves were mostly used to grow and harvest sugar in Brazil, but when sugar
farming began in the Caribbean, more slaves were sent there.

31. The trans-Atlantic slave trade dealt mainly with importing female slaves for use
as concubines and prostitutes. The Atlantic slave trade exported mostly male
slaves to use for forced labor on plantation, however, some female slaves were
sent also.

32. Between 30 and 60 million people were taken out of Africa as slaves. Slaves of
Africans were treated far better than slaves in America.
33. Slaves in the Americas were treated very harshly because it was more profitable
to work them to death and then purchase more slaves than it was to treat them
humanely so they could survive longer. Slave traders packed very many slaves
onto small boats to transport them from Africa to the Americas. Nearly half of
them died on the journey. The traders made about as much money as they would
shipping spices or sugar.

34. With access to European goods like firearms, iron, horses, cloth, and tobacco, the
African kingdoms began to redirect trade toward the coast to expand their
influence. Kingdoms with firearms could overpower their neighbors and capture
more slaves to sell to the Europeans in return for more weapons. This resulted in a
cycle of warfare and disruption of societies as the search for slaves expanded into
the interior.

35. East Africa was the region most directly influenced by the trans-Atlantic slave
trade. Also, the Americas gained very many people from the slave trade. On the
east coast of Africa, the Swahili trading cities had influences from European
trading expeditions, but were unaffected by the slave trade. Asia was completely
unaffected by the Atlantic slave trade.

36. There were three main legs of the Atlantic slave trade. Goods were manufactured
in Europe and shipped to Africa. Then, the goods are sold to the African tribe, in
return for slaves. Then slaves are shipped to the Americas, this is called the
middle passage. Raw materials are then shipped to Europe where they are used to
make more goods. This cycle then continues on and on.

37. The Ottoman naval power was one of the most powerful powers in the
Mediterranean Sea. Ottoman galley fleets made possible the capture of major
island bases on Rhodes, Crete, and Cyprus. The Ottomans drove the Venetians
and the Genoese from much of the Eastern Mediterranean, and threatened
southern Italy. The Ottomans power made them the protectors of Islam, and the
scourge of Christianity.

38. Janissaries were infantry divisions in the Ottoman armies. They were forced into
the army as adolescent boys from conquered areas. Sometimes, the parents
willingly gave their sons because there were opportunities for advancements in
the army. They were legally slaves but they were given a fair amount of schooling
and were always converted to Islam. The Janissaries usually controlled the
artillery and firearms, so they became one of the most powerful components in the
Ottoman army. Because of the growing importance, the need for cavalry declined.
The Janissaries eventually tried to use military service to gain political influence,
just like the mercenary forces of the Caliphs of Baghdad before them.

39. The principle of succession of the Ottomans suffered greatly because they
inherited the Islamic principles. There were many talented claimants to the throne,
 so there was always a fear of civil strife or regicide. The death of the Sultan
usually meant war among the sons and whoever did not become the sultan usually
rallied opposing forces against the new one.

40. The Ottoman artisan organizations, like the Western artisan organizations, were
organized into groups called guilds. The guild officers set craft standards,
arbitrated disputes, and provided financial assistance to members. They also
aroused popular entertainment, often links to religion.

41. The Safavid dynasty arose from the struggles of rival Turkish nomadic groups.
The Safavids housed the Shi’a, while the Ottomans housed the Sunnis. The
Safavids had their origins in a family of Sufi Mystics and preachers, whose shrine
was at Arabil near the Caspian Sea. Sail al-Din, one of the Sufis that gave the
Dynasty its name, began a campaign to purify and reform Islam and spread the
teachings among the Turkish tribes. The red Heads (Safavid followers) grew, but
their enemies also grew. After decades of fierce fighting, Ismail, a Sufi
commander, became Shah. In 1514, the battle at Chaldiran was won by the
Ottomans because of their superior technology. The battle determined that Shi’ism
would be confined to present day Iran, and neighboring areas.

42. The founder of the Mughal Dynasty was Babur. Unlike most other rulers, he did
not conquer territories for religious reasons, but for booty. In 1526, his army of 12
thousand met a force of 100 thousand at Panipat. Using the same tactics as the
battle at Chaldiran, he won. He also amassed an army of hundreds of War
elephants that helped.

43. Akbar changed the Mughal Dynasty in many ways. He was very educated and
made many social reforms. He pursued a policy of reconciliation and cooperation
with the Hindu princes and he also encouraged the Mughal aristocracy to marry
the Hindu Rajput rulers’ families. He abolished the jizya, a headtax on non-
muslims, and let Hindus have some of the highest ranks in government. He also
told Muslims to be respectful. He sought to improve the calendar, establish living
quarters for the homeless, and regulate the consumption of alcohol. He
encouraged widow remarriage and made Suti illegal. He also made special
markets for women to provide something fun for them to do.

44. Din-i-Ilahi was a religion created by Akbar to unite his Hindu and Muslim
subjects. He thought that if the adherent’s of India’s diverse religions could
embrace this common creed, the quarrels and conflicts could be brought to an
end, but this religion was never accepted by his subjects.

45. At the beginning of Aurangzeb’s reign, India was threatened by internal decay and
the dangers of external armies. The Mughal bureaucracy had grown incompetent
and corrupt and the need for administrative, military, and social reforms had been
ignored. The army was equally corrupt and backward in weaponry and tactics,
 and the peasants and urban workers saw they productivity and living standards
fall.

46. Aurangzeb’s religious policy was totally different from Akbar’s. He wanted to rid
the Mughal Empire of all Hindu influence. He continued to employ Hindus in
imperial service, but there were few and their personal contact with the emperor
was limited. He forbade the building of New Hindu temples and Hindu religious
festivals were not allowed at court. He also reinstated to jizya.

47. The Mughal Dynasty at the end of Aurangzeb’s reign was far larger than before,
but more unstable. Internal rebellions, mostly mounted by the Murattas, put an
end to Mughal control over large areas. The rise of new sects, such as the Sikhs,
further strained the declining resources. The Sikhs originally tried to bridge the
differences between the Hindus and Muslims, but quickly turned into an anti-
muslim force because of their persecution. More and more Islamic invaders
attacked India. Also, the economy weakened. As the Europeans began to come to
India, the Mughul empire began to lose Muslim societies and political systems.
They also lost key tax revenues and merchant profits because of the Europeans.
The Mughul decline led to the occupation of India by the Europeans, mainly the
British.

48. The main motives for European explorations were money and commerce. The
Europeans brought goods from Asia back with them to their home countries.
They also circulated money, which helped to strengthen both their country’s and
the world’s economy.

49. The main sources of European frustration were the Asians and the Asian sea trade.
Portugal and other European countries such as Holland failed to take over
southern Asia or convert most of Asia. The only Asian area converted massively
to Christianity was the Philippines.

50. Portugal attempted to take over the whole of the eastern Asian sea trade. They
tried to take key points and either conquer or destroy their enemies. They kept
ships in strategic areas to disable rival trading fleets.

51. The sub-zones in Asian trading network were important because they gave the
main zones raw materials.

52. There were two main weaknesses in the Asian sea trading network. One was the
lack of protection or a police force for trading fleets. The other was the fact that
each fleet was separate, and the individuals lacked the unity of the West.

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54. In Ming China, the Jesuits were held in mixed opinion. They won over converts
in the courts, but were viewed by many others as barbaric, causing opposing
views on European Christians.

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56. The Japanese emperor Hideyoshi persecuted Christians and regulated exports in
an attempt to keep Japan culturally intact.