Transcript The West and the Changing Balance of World Power

The West and the Changing
Balance of World Power
Introduction
 Period of political transition
 As Mongols conquered Arab Empires and the killed
the Abbasid caliphate in 1258 new power
opportunities were created.
 China for a short time and Western Europe would be
the ones to take advantage of this new power
vacuum
Introduction/ Compass
 Many innovations and discoveries were not
attributed properly to the people who invented or
discovered them due to prejudices
 For example, the compass was developed by the
Chinese during the Tang dynasty. The Chinese
introduced it to the Indians, Arabs, and then the
Arabs to the Europeans. This technology allowed for
greater navigation to lands for trade. Due to trade
routes established by the Mongols, Europeans were
introduced to many new products and ideas which
would dramatically shape European culture like the
compass
Decline
 1200 Byzantine and Islamic empire/ caliphate
dominated the Middle East
 However by 1400 both the Byzantine and much of
the Islamic empire had fallen
 This created a power vacuum and gave a chance
for others to move into positions of power. The
Mongols originally took up this position, but quickly
fell from power. The Chinese were the next to
partially take up this vacuum, but decidedly turned
their toward internal interest which allowed for a
more weaken western Europe to expand!
Social and Cultural Change:
Middle East
 New piety: Sufi movement
 Literature: Focus on religious ideas
 Philosophy: Rationalistic idea like those of Ibn Rushd
came under attack in favor of religious devotion
 Agriculture: As power of the caliph declined
landlords seized control of peasant and turned them
into serfs. Overall productivity declined and no new
agriculture technologies were developed
 Trade: Merchants lost some ground due to lower tax
revenues, but still were very important in
international trade
Power Vacuum
 Ottoman Empire did not unite all Arab lands nor
was it the center of international trade
 Mongols created a stable, profitable overland
trade. When the Mongols declined suddenly
overland trade was no longer safe and people
began turning towards sea routes for trade
purposes.
Chinese Thrust and
Withdrawal
 1368: rebellious Chinese drive out the Mongols
 Ju Yuanzhang (the peasant leader) becomes the
leader of the next dynasty, Ming. It ruled China until
1644!
 By 1400 the Chinese had regained tribute payments
(under the Tang) and started to sponsor state
trading expeditions in the Indian Ocean –to Africa
Chinese Thrust and
Withdrawal
 Zhenghe led these expeditions. He was a eunuch who was
castrated for his services to the royal court. He led 2700
coastal ships, 400 armed naval ships, 400 long distance
ships, and 9 treasure ships. By 1433 the emperor had called
and end to these expeditions. Confucian scholars who
competed with Zhenghe for the attention of the emperor
convinced the emperor it was not fiscal to spend such
money on expeditions and that they should concentrate
on internal affairs. The Chinese did not need foreign
products…they had plenty of internal products! (Textile
and porcelain )
 Think what would have happened had the Chinese not
stopped they surly would have easily conquered European
vessels!
A map of Ming dynasty China, showing the
surrounding kingdoms and peoples.
Chinese Withdrawal
 This shift in Chinese foreign policy would
allow way for a less organized civilization
to increase their international powers
 China retreated and the Arab powers
now were eclipsed…giving way to the
powers of western Europe.
Rise of the West
 Church was now under attack
 Bubonic Plague spread throughout Europe
decimating the population. The plague most likely
was spread via Mongols to Asia, the Middle East, and
Europe. Around 30 million Europeans died from the
plague
 1348-1378 Plague hit hardest in Europe
 1300’s famines due to food shortages!
Sources of Dynamism:
Medieval Vitality
 Feudal monarchies strengthened in Europe and their
powers became more consolidated and centralized
 Innovations occurred in military organization-state
soldiers paid directly by governments
 Muslims of Spain were driven out thanks to the
Reconquista
 Cities and towns grew as well as commerce
 Technology improved
Imitation and
International Problems
 Mongol empire and their trade routes established new access
to Asian knowledge like the compass, printing, and gunpowder
 Trade problems between Europe and Asia: Europe had an
uneven exchange with Asia. They traded wool, tin, cooper,
honey, and salt for luxury goods of spices (cinnamon and
nutmeg), silks, sugar, perfumes, and jewels. Of course the
Europeans had to supplement their exchange with gold. Soon
the economies of Europe were drained of their gold and they
required a new source in order to keep getting the luxury good
from Asia
 The Europeans also feared the Muslims and therefore were
seeking alternative trade routes to Asia to by pass the Muslims
and unstable lands of the Silk Roads to get their Asian luxury
goods
Secular Directions
in the Italian Renaissance
Human Values
and Renaissance culture
 Renaissance –rebirth of culture and scholarship in
Europe. Focus of activity within aristocracy. 1350-1550
 Used classical models for inspiration: Greece and
Rome
 Started in Italy (geography, trade, root of Roman
Empire)
 Franceso Petrarch-father of humanism
 Innovations flourished and exploration and conquest
reflected the glory and nature of man
Renaissance
 Rebirth
 Scholars use the term Renaissance to describe the
cultural achievements of the 14th –16th centuries
 Italy led the way due to the commercial revival of
the area that started in the 11th century-Crusades
 Italy distinguished from the rest of Europe by its
urbanization
 Italy had more major and minor cities than
anywhere else: geography key
Renaissance
 Amounts of disposable wealth went up after
plague-luxury items increased
 Life was hard for the young and especially the
poor: children sent to work: boys at age of 10
became apprentices and girls domestic servants
Renaissance Art
 The art of the Renaissance owed much to the social system in
which artists lived
 Wealth of cities permitted for public works of art, which was
commissioned by corporate sources to show their power.
Later it was used on individual level to show rich (newly)
 Disposable wealth (non critical personal funds) led to interest
in portraiture
 Art was also a product of the educational system: principles of
the craft and guild
 Renaissance artists had to solve problem of perspective and
three-dimensionality. They returned to classical ideas, realism,
nude figures, and expression in the face
 The artist was considered a free intellectual worker and was
respected and rewarded.
Crucifixion 1335
Example of
Middle Ages Art
Museo ThyssenBornemisza, Madrid
The Engagement
of Virgin Mary)
Example of
Renaissance Art
Raphael
1504
Great Renaissance Artists
Michelangelo (sculpture)
David, Sistine Chapel, Pieta
Leonardo da Vinci (painting) Mona Lisa, Last Supper
Sandro Botticeli (painting)
Birth of Venus, Spring
Brunelleschi (architecture)
Florence Cathedral
Donatello (sculpture)
Judith Slaying Holofernes
Masaccio (painting)
Expulsion of Adam and Eve
Raphael (painting)
The Engagement of Virgin
Mary)
Works
 Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1474 )- On the Family: classic
study of new urban values-thrift and prudence
 Baldesar Castiglione (1478-1529)-The Courtier: an
etiquette book that prescribed every detail of the
education necessary for the ideal state servant
 Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374): important figure in
literary humanism
 Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527): The Prince: blueprint to
realistic, modern power politics. Explores how a ruler
should gain, maintain, and increase power. It is better to
be feared than loved. A ruler should also be concerned
with the way things are NOW not the way things ought to
be. Machiavellian: entered the language as a synonym
for politically devious, corrupt, and crafty.
Intellectual Hallmarks
 Individualism: stressed personality, uniqueness, genius,
and full development of one’s capabilities and talents.
Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1474) “Men can do all things if
they will”
 Humanism: revival of antiquity (Greece/Rome). Humanists
studied the Latin classics to learn what they reveal about
human nature. Humanism emphasized human beings,
their achievements, interests, and capabilities.
 Humanists placed importance on grammar, rhetoric,
moral philosophy, and history. Focused on 2 major
philosophers-Plato and Aristotle. Philology or the study of
the origins of words was central to a humanist like Lorenzo
Valla who proved the Donation of Constantine was a
forgery
 Secularism: involves a basic concern with the material
world instead of with the eternal world of the spirit
Iberian Spirit
 Reconquista-pushed Muslims and Jews back. Jewish
converters to Christianity: conversos
 1469 Castile and Aragon united =Spain with marriage
of Ferdinand and Isabella
 Reconquista –religious and military unification of
Spain
 Religion and spreading the message of the Catholic
Church was soon sponsored by Spain to expand to
other lands
Early Explorations
 1200 –Vivaldis (Italian) brothers sailed passed the
Straits of Gibraltar seeking a new route to Asia, but
they were never heard from again!
 Until the 1430’s technological barriers kept Europe
from exploring and navigation far beyond the
Mediterranean. Soon Chinese technologies via Arab
merchants (compass and astrolabe) and better
ships allowed for voyages.
 1498 Vasco da Gama of Portugal was the first
European to reach the Indies by sea
Colonial Patterns
 Spanish and Portuguese began to take advantage of
new lands they discovered. Prince Henry of Portugal
known as Henry the Navigator sponsored many voyages
of Portugal prior to his death in 1460. He also took
advantage of these lands economically, sending
colonists to them as well as the message of course of
Christianity. The colonists would set up large agricultural
estates and grow cash crops that would be sold back in
European markets. Cash crops like sugar were grown.
Europeans also grew tobacco and cotton. Slaves from
Africa were used to farm these agricultural products.
 These ventures were successful enough to launch more
voyages beyond the Atlantic islands
Americas
 In the 1400 the Aztec and Inca empires ran into
problems. The Aztec empire created many enemies
with their tribute, need for slaves, and need for
human sacrifice while the Incas had a problem in
regards to claims to the position of emperor and
had broken out into a civil war!
 When the Spanish conquistadors landed in the
1500’s, the Aztecs and Incas were divided and
already weakened. The Spanish just arrived at an
opportune time
Expansion, Migration, and
Conquest in Polynesia
 7th-1400’s developed in relative isolation like the Americas
 Postclassical era known for expansion, migration, and conquest
 Spread to Society Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, and Fiji! Fiji regional
kingdoms and tribes would fight each other…cannibals
 reached the uninhabited Hawaiian islands in 7th century by
way of war canoes! Remained in contact with Society Islands
and was cut off until European explores arrived in 1778
 Hawaii organized into regional kingdoms and were highly
warlike, hierarchy established, and had a complex culture
living with Neolithic technologies!
Isolated Achievements
by Maori
 New Zealand. The Polynesians migrated to New Zealand
as early as the 8th century. They lived primary in the
northern island of New Zealand. The people were called
the Maori.
 New Zealand is colder so the Maori had to adapt to this
environment. They created great art and were organized
into tribes with military and priests who held power. The
tribe also included slaves who were POW’s and their
descendants. Their traditional dance includes eye bulging
to scare off enemies!
 They were totally isolated until the 18th century.
 Some Polynesians such as the Maori were totally isolated.
Adding Up to Changes
 Complex coincidences led to changes
 Independent developments in Americas, China,
technological developments by Asia, improvement
of ships, and goals of leaders like Prince Henry the
Navigator.
 Sub-Saharan Africa had continuity. Mali fell, but
Songhay arose to power from 1464-1591
 Decline of Arabs meant the decline of African trade
networks. They also were kept from major
advantage of Mongol trade networks
1450 and the World
 Postclassical period full of continuities and changes.
Changes came in empires that contacted other
empires like Muslims and Mongols.
 Connection between Asia and Europe
 China active role for a short time in Indian Ocean
trade
 Shift from overland trade to sea routes
 Continuity: interest in trade and contacts. Value of
Afro-Eurasian contacts