Demographic and environmental changes

600 C.E.–1450

1. Demographic and environmental changes
   1. Impact of nomadic migrations on Afro-Eurasia and the Americas
      1. Aztecs
         1. Established tribute empire
            1. Military seized prisoners of war for sacrifices
      2. Mongols
         1. Effects on Afro-Eurasia
            1. Facilitation of trade
               1. Exchange of products
                  1. Brought wealth to merchants
                  2. Enriched exchange of ideas from east to west
                  3. Developed uniform economic and trade policies
                  4. Paper money (Chinese invention) used in parts
               2. New trading posts
                  1. Men on horseback – station to station
               3. Encouraged Europeans to pursue voyages of exploration
            2. Pax Mongolica
               1. For about a century, two continents united
               2. Adapted legal conventions from some of conquered people
               3. Mongols convert to/adopt local religions
            3. Spread of bubonic plague
               1. Flea/plague infested rats eating off Mongol grain feedsacks
               2. Followed trade routes
               3. 25 million in China, 1/3 of Europe
                  1. Dealt final blow to manorialism
               4. Plague devastated areas took 100 years to return population/economic vigor
      3. Turks
      4. Vikings
         1. Nordic peoples from Scandinavia
            1. Skilled invaders, explorers, traders, colonists
            2. Small, maneuverable boats
               1. Raided/terrorized coastal communities
               2. Maritime skill took them to the new world – briefly colonized N. America
                  1. Newfoundland – Leif Ericsson
            3. Favorite targets – monasteries – burned/plundered
            4. Eventually evolved from plunderers to traders
            5. Established communities in Scotland, France, Eastern Europe
               1. Settlements known as Norman “Northmen”
               2. ***1066 Norman lord – William invaded England
                  1. Defeated Saxons – established Norman power/Britain
            6. Over time Christianized and absorbed into larger European feudal order
         2. Culture
            1. Warrior-centered worldview – afterlife for fighters
            2. Polytheistic religion – anthropomorphic nature gods – Thor thunder god
            3. Economy based on plunder/agriculture
            4. Legal assemblies – “tings” – doubled as councils and courts
            5. “runic” written language with magical attributes
            6. skilled metal castings and well-made knitwear
         3. Effects on Europe
            1. Raided/conquered most of coastal Europe – down to Mediterranean
               1. expert sailors/fierce warriors – didn’t need coast to navigate
            2. Settled Iceland, Greenland, England, Scotland, Ireland, France
            3. Established trade routes
            4. By forcing nations to defend from attacks
               1. Eventually led to the centralizing of authority
            5. Normans on England
               1. Henry II – greatest early Norman king
                  1. Jury trials
                  2. Royal circuit judges to settle disputes
                  3. Married Eleanor of Aquitaine – previous queen of France
                     1. Parts of France absorbed by England
                  4. Era of expansion
                  5. Handled nobles
               2. Successors drained royal coffers while protecting lands
                  1. Last of sons King John forced to sign Magna Carta
                     1. British tradition of shared powers
                     2. Centuries later – nobles become parliament
                     3. Golden Age of Pericles reestablished in Medieval Times
      5. Arabs
         1. Effects on Africa
            1. Trade contacts
               1. Swahili Coast
               2. Part of Indian Ocean Trade network
               3. Already had ties from Roman times
               4. African goods could reach China
                  1. Chinese vessels even made African coast
            2. Slavery – capturing Africans, forcing into bondage
            3. Brought religion to sub-Saharan and east coast
               1. In comparison to North Africa, effect not nearly as extensive
               2. Leaders adopted to validate rule
               3. Traders adopted to secure trade contacts
               4. Majority of lower classes didn’t adopt, maintained old views
   2. Migration of agricultural peoples
      1. Bantu migrations
         1. Overview
            1. Few common threads shared by many peoples of sub-Saharan Africa
            2. 1000 BCE began to move from homeland of west central Africa
            3. by 1000 CE had settled in almost all parts of continent South of Africa
            4. played greatest roll in shaping cultural, ethnic and linguistic character
            5. Changed population – increased from hunter-gatherer to agricultural based
         2. Culture
            1. Religion
               1. Religion animistic – belief in spirits of the natural world
            2. Language
               1. Over time, each group developed own language/cultural tradition
               2. mixed with Arabic to form Swahili
               3. did not have written language
                  i. oral tradition preserved by griots
         3. Social
            1. Women
               1. omen respected
                  i. child bearers ii. shared agricultural work
            2. Class
               1. centered around age grade
                  1. cohort group
                     1. people of same age shared responsibilities, experiences
         4. Economics
            1. Farming/pastoralism
               1. Spread knowledge of agricultural techniques
               2. Followed course of Congo river, farming fertile land
               3. Taught foragers techniques of cattle-raising
               4. Required additional source of nutrition with banana from Malay sailors
                  1. Spread through reverse pattern of Bantu migration
            2. Spread knowledge of iron-working
               1. Not sure if they got iron-working from Kush or independently
               2. Facilitated crop cultivation
            3. property held communally
               1. wealth determined by number of slaves, not quantity of land
         5. Politics
            1. Stateless societies – primary political organization
               1. Organized around family/kinship groups
               2. Led by respected family member
      2. European peoples to east/central Europe
         1. Great Migration of Germanic and Asiatic
            1. Some settled permanently
            2. Kingdoms tended to be unsophisticated/short-lived
            3. As Barbarian tribes became less nomadic, played key roles
         2. 200 to 1000 CE – Great Age of Migrations
            1. Goths, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Lombards, and Vikings
               1. Initially seen as a threat
               2. Eventually settled
                  1. Played key role in developing ethnicities/cultures
   3. Consequences of plague pandemics in the fourteenth century
      1. Black Death – Bubunic Plague
         1. Carried from Asia on ships
         2. Effects
            1. Loss in faith
            2. Localized mob violence against lepers/Jews
            3. Wages skyrocketed – supply and demand
            4. Preoccupation with death art
            5. Medieval doctors lost prestige
            6. Certain saints venerated as able to stop plague
            7. Landowners raised rents to make up for cost
               1. Led to peasant revolts
            8. Widespread fear/social upheaval
            9. If plague didn’t kill you, irrational choices would
   4. Growth and role of cities
      1. Growth of cities
         1. As populations grew, people needed to spread out
            1. Made more crowded conditions on manor/in cities
         2. Creation of guilds – labor groups that maintain monopoly
            1. Restricted membership, established prices/quality standards
         3. Cities become larger, more opportunities
            1. Pulled more from the countryside
            2. Cities also grew because they were established as centers of civilization
               1. Constantinople – built to be city center
            3. Capitals created to create aura of rising empire
               1. Islamic Empire moves to Baghdad
               2. Japan moves to Heian
               3. Mongols built Smarkand
            4. Location of universities
            5. Leads to more cultural diffusion
               1. People who would have never interacted, now interact
         4. Encouraged specialization of labor
            1. shopkeepers, artisans, tradespeople, laborers
         5. Pilgrimages – constantly on move
            1. Rome/Constantinople attracted to huge cathedrals
            2. Islamic trip to Mecca most significant
               1. From vast reaches of Islamic empire to Mecca
               2. Think of Mansa Musa
         6. Growth of cities due to increased trade
            1. Towns located near rivers/waterways
            2. Became marketplaces where goods could be sold
         7. But…overcrowded, polluted, people lived in abject poverty
         8. Benefit – immunity from feudal obligations
            1. Year and a day rule
         9. Urbanization in high Middle Ages
            1. service providers/craftspeople set up businesses in towns – stimulates growth
               1. barbers, blacksmiths, coopers (barrels), jewelers, tanners, innkeepers, wine/beer merchants
            2. Cities had to plan growth, regulate business, collect taxes
            3. Wealthy towns in Italy invested in new buildings/statuary for beautification