Roots of the American People Prehistory 1500 Part II
Trade The Silk Road, one of the great trade routes of ancient times, stretched 5,000 miles from China to Persia. Merchants on the Silk Road brought silk, jade, pottery, spices, and bronze goods from China to Middle Eastern and European markets.
Trade Trade in Africa began with Egypt in 3100 B.C.E. Traders sailed throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea. South of Egypt they traded for ivory, spices, copper, and cattle. In about A.D. 1000, trade centers began to appear in eastern Africa. Zimbabwe became the center of a flourishing empire in the 1400s.
Societies of East Africa
Societies of East Africa Trade brought prosperity to a number of cities along the east coast of Africa. Goods traded by Africans included: pottery gold ivory cloth furs An active slave trade also developed between East Africa and Asia across the Indian Ocean.
Trade Trade networks also linked the Middle East and West Africa. Ghana, the first major trade center in West Africa, grew rich from its trade in gold and salt. War and shifting trade routes eventually weakened Ghana, which was absorbed into the empire of Mali in the 1200s. In the 1400s, Mali weakened, and eventually the empire was replaced by the Songhai Empire.
Societies of West Africa The Kingdom of Ghana Became rich by controlling the busy trade in gold and salt. Ghana s King used the resulting wealth to build an empire which lasted from the 700s to the mid-1000s. The Islamic religion was brought to Ghana by Muslim traders. The Kingdom of Mali By the 1200s Mali became West Africa s most powerful state. In 1312 Mansa Musa became Mali s ruler. He traveled to Mecca on a religious pilgrimage and turned the city of Timbuktu into a center of Islamic learning and trade. The Empire of Songhai By the mid-1400s the Songhai Empire ruled West Africa. Songhai rulers set up an organized system of government. They also expanded trade, set up an efficient tax system, and supported Muslim scholars. The Kingdoms of Hausa, Yoruba, & Benin As the West African empires rose and fell, small city-states arose in other parts of the region. The Hausa states emerged around 1000 and were independent of each other. The Yoruba were mostly farmers but they also had gifted artists. The Kingdom of Benin was also known for its art.
Terms and People feudalism a system in which a ruler grants parts of his land to lords Martin Luther a German monk who sparked the Protestant Reformation in 1517 navigation the science of locating the position and plotting the course of ships Henry the Navigator a Portuguese prince who, in the 1400s, set up a center for exploration to train sailors Vasco de Gama a Portuguese sailor who found a water route around the southern tip of Africa in 1498
Europe In the Middle Ages In A.D. 476, the Roman Empire fell to invaders. The 1,000-year Middle Ages began as Europe fragmented into many small states.
Europe In the Middle Ages The European Middle Ages lasted from the late 400s, when the Western Roman Empire ended, to about the 1400s. To fill the void left by the fall of the Roman Empire, Europeans turned to the political system of. Europeans also developed the manor system in which lords divided their lands into large estates that were farmed mostly by serfs, or landless peasants. In return for the serf s work, the lord of the manor promised to protect them. Lords built heavily fortified castles where people could go in times of danger.
Under the feudal system, everyone had a welldefined place in society. PEASANTS Serfs were bound to the land. They were not slaves, yet they were not free. Serfs made up the majority of the population in medieval society. Life was very harsh. NOBLES Warfare was a way of life. Many trained from boyhood to be knights, or mounted warriors.
The Roman Catholic Church had great power in the Middle Ages and daily life revolved around it. The Catholic Church was the center of learning. Outside of members of the clergy, few people were able to read and write.
Revival of Trade and Towns When the Roman Empire ended, its government institutions and trade networks were destroyed. With no trade people stopped using money. They paid in goods, such as chickens and eggs. This is called the barter system. By the 1000s, brought more stability to society. As noblemen gained more control over their lands, long periods of peace and security followed. Farmers were able to grew more food, merchants felt safe to travel, and populations increased. More people meant more demand for goods, which spurred trade. Towns began to grow and the barter system was slowly replaced by money. As the economy grew, many serfs ran away to towns. Some became craftspeople practicing trades such as shoemaking or tailoring. Other became merchants who sold the goods that craftspeople made. Merchants and craftspeople formed a new middle class. They had fewer riches, rights, and privileges than noblemen, but far more freedom than serfs.
The Rise and Decline of Feudalism In feudalism, nobles offered to protect peasants from invaders. In return, the peasants farmed the noble s lands. Feudalism made people feel safe enough to travel. Trade increased and towns grew. Then many peasants ran away to towns, where they could live more freely. Feudalism declined. Trade continued to grow.
What if the Middle Ages were a reality T.V. show?
The Vikings While the term Viking is used in a general way to describe the people of Scandinavia during the medieval period, it's really a name for a profession -- it's like if we called all English or French people Pirates. The Scandinavians, or Norse, were also explorers, farmers, fishermen and merchants -- not just Vikings. The Norse didn't write down their history (except for the occasional rune stone inscription) until they had converted to Christianity. Any history prior to that was passed on through an oral tradition carried on by skalds. Skalds recited epic poems (called sagas) recounting the deeds of famous Viking kings and lords. These poems could be incredibly long and detailed. Some of the sagas were eventually written down in later eras, but most of them are lost to history.
The Viking Long Ship We know what Viking ships looked like because wealthy Norsemen were often buried with their goods and that sometimes included their boats. These wooden long ships were equipped with sails and oars. They reached an average speed of 10 to 11 knots. Each boat could hold 50-60 warriors. The shallow drought of these ships meant they were able to reach far inland by river or stream to strike and move before local forces could assemble. These long ships or warships often had a dragon s head carved on the prow to scare the enemy.
Scandinavians settled Iceland early on in the Age of Vikings. A Norse Saga tells the story of Erik the Red being exiled from Iceland upon his conviction for murder. Hearing tales of land to the west, he set out with a boat full of men and supplies and found Greenland, where a settlement was established. Although the Viking settlements of Greenland didn't exactly thrive, they didn't disappear. The next generation would explore even further.
The Norse Settle in America In Newfoundland, scientists have found the remains of a Norse settlement. According to one Norse Saga, in 1003, a man named Leif Ericsson and 35 other Vikings sailed from a colony in Greenland to Newfoundland.
The Norse Settle in America In the year 1003, Erik the Red s son Leif, usually called Leif Ericsson, headed west from Greenland and found still more land. He arrived on the shores of North America near L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Leif named this new land Vinland. Voyages to the Vinland area were common during the 400-year history of the Greenland settlement. Norse settlers came to Vinland to gather resource material such as timber, to hunt sea mammals, and to generally explore the unknown wilderness. Men made up the majority of the single ship crews of approx. 30, but a small number of women usually took part, providing domestic support at the camp. L'Anse aux Meadows was probably a seasonal base camp.
Vinland, was occupied by Native Americans that the Vikings didn't always get along with. Still, Leif established new colonies and even traded with the natives. Over time the colonies fell into steady decline. Within 100 years the settlements in Leif's Vinland and in Greenland had been abandoned completely. Only the Sagas preserved the knowledge that the Vikings had ever visited North America.
The Crusades In 1096, European Christians launched a series of wars to capture the Holy Land called the. While the Crusaders ultimately failed to keep the Holy Land, the goods they brought back from the Middle East and Asia changed European life. Spices such as pepper and cloves helped disguise the taste of unrefrigerated meat and Italian merchants became very wealthy.
The Crusades The Crusades had important long-term effects: Europeans had closer contact with the more advanced Muslim civilization. Europeans learned about advanced technology used for navigation.
Trade By the 1500s, a global trading network linked the civilizations of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Silk Road became less important when alternative sea routes were discovered.
STRANGE but True Europeans were desperate to get spices, such as pepper and cloves. Before refrigeration, meat often spoiled and spices helped disguise the rotten taste. In the 1500s, just one shipload of spices could make a merchant wealthy for life. The average working person would have to work at least 1,000 years to earn as much as a merchant could earn from one shipment of pepper.
The Renaissance Italy, which was thriving because of trade, became the birthplace of the a time of increased interest in art and learning. Renaissance is a French term meaning rebirth. Lasting from the 1300s to 1600, the Renaissance spread from Italy throughout Europe. In 1455, Johannes Gutenberg invented. This new invention helped to spread Renaissance ideas by allowing books to be mass produced. More people read, and ideas spread quickly.
The Renaissance Changes Art and Learning Changes to Art and Learning Study of humanism Increased study of history, philosophy, and literature More realism in art Rediscovery of classical science and exposure to algebra Printing press, which spread learning
In 1517, a German monk named demanded that the Church reform, but his demands were rejected. Luther rebelled against the Church and led the Protestant Reformation. Over time, the movement split, and many Protestant churches emerged. The Reformation also started a long series of wars between Catholic and Protestant forces in Europe. Protestants Catholics
The Reformation The was a movement to correct problems in the Catholic Church. It ended the domination of the Church and shifted societies focus to the power of reason and the potential of man.
An Age of Exploration Begins
An Age of Exploration Begins In the 1400s, started a school of navigation and sponsored expeditions to explore the Atlantic and the west coast of Africa. There, sailors learned to use the magnetic compass and the astrolabe. He hoped these voyages would help Portugal find a water route to Asia and the spice trade. W N S E The Portuguese also developed an improved ship called a caravel. These ships had triangular and square sails that allowed them to sail in any wind conditions, even into the wind.
An Age of Exploration Begins By 1498, Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama passed the southern tip of Africa on his way to India. His course became an important trade route and helped boost Portuguese wealth and power.