Patterns of Long-Distance Trade Silk roads Sea lanes of Indian Ocean basin Trans-Saharan caravan routes Development of trading cities, emporia Nomadic invasions cause local devastation but expand trade network – E.g. Mongols in China, 13 th c.

Marco Polo ( ) Example of long-distance travel Traveled to China with merchant father, uncle Enters service of Mongol Khubilai Khan Returns to Venice after 17-year absence Experiences recorded by fellow prisoner in Venice-Genoa conflict Great influence on European engagement with far east

Gunpowder Technologies Muslims, Mongols spread gunpowder Technology reaches Europe by 1258 A Mongol bomb thrown against a charging Japanese samurai during the Mongol invasions of Japan after founding the Yuan Dynasty, 1281.

Travel and trade from the twelfth to the fourteenth century

Political and Diplomatic Travel Trade requires diplomatic relations after 1000 CE Mongols, Christians recognize Muslims as common enemy, 13 th century Pope Innocent IV invites Mongols to convert to Christianity – Mongols counter-offer: Christians accept Mongol rule or face destruction

Diplomatic Travelers Rabban Sauma – Nestorian Christian Priest sent to Pope by Mongols in Persia, 1287, regarding proposed attack on Jerusalem – Did not win European support – 1295 new leader of Persia accepts Islam – His writings give a reverse viewpoint of the East looking to the West. Ibn Battuta ( ) – Islamic scholar, worked in governments on extensive travel – Strict punishment meted out according to sharia Lashes for drinking alcohol, hand amputations for theft Unable to convince women of Maldive islands to cover breasts

Ibn Battuta (1304 – 1369) Berber Muslim Moroccan explorer, legal scholar Over a period of thirty years, he journeyed more than 75,000 miles. Wrote the Rihla; while apparently fictional in places, the Rihla provides an important account of much of the 14th- century world.

Missionary Travelers Sufi missionaries travel throughout new Muslim territories, CE Christian missionaries accompany, follow Crusaders – Roman Catholic priests travel east to serve expatriate communities – John of Montecorvino travels to China in 1291 Translates Biblical texts, builds Churches

Cultural Exchanges Songs and Stories – troubadours European scientists consulted with Muslim and Jewish counterparts on understanding of natural world The magnetic compass from China

Spread of Crops Citrus fruits, Asian rice, cotton Sugarcane – Muslims introduce crystallized sugar to Europeans – Demand increases rapidly – Europeans use Muslim precedent of having large populations of slaves work on sugarcane plantations

Bubonic Plague The Little Ice Age, c CE – Decline of agricultural output leads to widespread famine, specifically in resulting in the death of millions – Warm summers stopped being dependable in N. Europe – Bubonic Plague spreads from south-west China Carried by fleas on rodents Mongol campaigns spread disease to Chinese Interior

The Culprits

The Black Death Yersinia pestis (Bubonic Plague) seen at 2000x magnification. Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). From the Dance of Death by Hans Holbein the Younger (1491).

The Symptoms Bulbous Septicemic Form: almost 100% mortality rate.

Symptoms of the Black Plague Inflamed and discolored lymph nodes in neck, armpits, groin area – Buboes, hence Bubonic 60-70% mortality rate, within days of onset of symptoms Extreme northern climates less affected – Winter hard on flea population India, sub-Saharan areas unaffected – Reasons unknown Buboes

From the Toggenburg Bible, 1411

Lancing a Buboe

The Disease Cycle Flea drinks rat blood that carries the bacteria. Flea’s gut clogged with bacteria. Bacteria multiply in flea’s gut. Flea bites human and regurgitates blood into human wound. Human is infected!

Medieval Art & the Plague

Bring out your dead!

Attempts to Stop the Plague A Doctor’s Robe “Leeching”

Results of the Black Plague Trade declines Shortage of workers Decline of people lowered the prices of food Rent replaces labor as payment to landlords Feudalism officially ends The Church cannot explain the plague which leads many to question the authority of the Church Anti-Semitism once again rises

Attempts to Stop the Plague Flagellanti: Self-inflicted “penance” for our sins!

Attempts to Stop the Plague Pograms against the Jews “Jew” hat “Golden Circle” obligatory badge

The alleged ritual murder of a boy by the Jews, 1475, wood engraving

Spread of Plague Mongols, merchants, travelers spread disease west 1346 Black Sea ports 1347 Mediterranean ports 1348 Western Europe

Population Decline (millions)

Social and Economic Effects Massive labor shortage Demand for higher wages Population movements Governments attempt to freeze wages, stop serf movements – Riots result

Recovery in China: The Ming Dynasty Yuan dynasty collapses 1368, Mongols depart Impoverished orphan raised by Buddhist monks, works through military ranks, becomes Emperor Hongwu Proclaims new Ming (“Brilliant”) dynasty,

Ming Centralization Reestablishment of Confucian educational system Execution of minister suspected of treason, begins tradition of direct rule by Emperor Reliance on emissaries called Mandarins Heavy reliance on eunuchs – Sterile, could not build hereditary power base Centralized structure lasts through Qing dynasty to 1911

Ming Dynasty,  Golden Age of Chinese Art – Moderation – Softness – Gracefulness  Landscape paintings, porcelain jars, silks, poetry, fiction, drama, music & dance flourished.  Hundreds of thousands of workers constructed the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City: China’s New Capital

Ming Porcelain / Ceramics, 17 c.

Ming Vases, 17 c.

Ming Painting and Calligraphy, early 16c

Ming Painting – “Birds and Flowers”, 16c

Ming Cultural Revolution  Printing & Literacy  Cheap, popular books:  woodblock printing.  cheap paper.  Examination system.  Leads to explosion in literacy.  Leads to further popularization of the commercial market.  Culture & Art  Increased literacy leads to increased interest in cultural expressions, ideas, and things:  Literature.  Painting.  Ceramics.  Opera.

Ming Silver Market  Triangle route:  Philippines to China to Japan.  Silver floods Chinese Market:  Reduces price of Chinese goods in Europe  Increases interest in Chinese culture & ideas in Europe.  Helps fund conquest of New World  Encourages Europeans in conquest & trade.

Economic Recovery Conscripted labor to repair, rebuild irrigation systems Promoted manufacturing of porcelain, silk Cultural revival – Attempt to eradicate Mongol legacy by promoting traditional Chinese culture – Emperor Yongle commissions 23,000-roll Encyclopedia, one of the earliest in the world and compiled from 7,000 books

Recovery in Western Europe: State Building China: centralized Empire Europe: regional states Europe develops new taxes – Italian states: bonds – France: salt tax, sales tax – England: hearth tax, head tax, plow tax Establish large standing armies – French Louis XI ( ) had army of 15,000

Spain Fernando of Aragon marries Isabel of Castile, 1469 Major political and economic alliance Completes reconquista, expanded beyond Iberian peninsula to Italy Funded Columbus’ quest for China Wedding portrait of King Ferdinand II of Aragón and Queen Isabella of Castile (1469).

The Renaissance, 14 th -16 th c. “rebirth” of classical culture Italian artists use perspective Work with real human anatomy and musculature – Leonardo da Vinci ( ) Architecture: domed cathedrals – Imitation of Roman domes

The Humanists Humanities: literature, history, moral philosophy Renaissance humanists deeply devoted to Christianity – Desiderius Erasmus ( ) publishes critical Greek-Latin edition of New Testament Also devoted to rediscovering classical Latin texts, often ignored in monastic libraries

Humanist Moral Thought Rejection of monastic lifestyle in favor of morally virtuous life while engaged in the world – Marriage, business Reconciliation of Christianity with rapidly changing European society and economy – Focus on the present – Emphasis on the individual – Secular focus – Focus on Greco-Roman learning

Realism & Expression Expulsion from the Garden Masaccio 1427 First nudes since classical times.

Geometrical Arrangement of Figures The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate Leonardo da Vinci 1469 The figure as architecture!

David by Donatello 1430 The Liberation of Sculpture

David Michelangelo Buonarotti 1504 Marble

 15th c. 16 th c.  What a difference a century makes!

Leonardo da Vinci, 1512 Leonardo da Vinci, Artist Sculptor Architect Scientist Engineer Inventor

Leonardo, the Scientist (Anatomy): Pages from his Notebook

The Pieta Michelangelo Buonarroti 1499 marble The Popes as Patrons of the Arts

The Sistine Chapel Michelangelo Buonarroti

The Sistine Chapel Details Creation of Man

Perspective! Betrothal of the Virgin Raphael1504

The Renaissance “Man” Broad knowledge about many things in different fields. Deep knowledge/skill in one area. Able to link information from different areas/disciplines and create new knowledge. The Greek ideal of the “well-rounded man” was at the heart of Renaissance education.

Birth of Venus – Botticelli, 1485 An attempt to depict perfect beauty.

Venus of Urbino – Titian, 1558

Northern Artists Albrecht Durer Jan & Hubert Van Eyck Pieter Bruegel Peter Paul Rubens

Literary Achievements Dante – The Divine Comedy Cervantes – Don Quixote Shakespeare – English writer during the 1600’s, he focused on the joys and sorrows of human life. Machiavelli – The Prince

The Printing Press With technology from China, Johann Gutenberg created the printing press in Germany in Led to cheaper, more available books. Led to an increase in literacy. Growth of knowledge – religious ideas –M–Medicine, science & geography

Renaissance Europe and the Larger World Artists express interest in Byzantine, Asian worlds Giovanni Pico della Mirandola ( ) tries to reconcile Plato, Aristotle, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism – Illustrative failure – Oration on the Dignity of Man which has been called the "Manifesto of the Renaissance“ – Believed in universal reconciliation In Russia, Ivan III (the Great), declares Russia free of Mongol rule by refusing to pay tribute.

Exploration and Colonization Ming dynasty hesitant to have large foreign populations – Mongol experience – Allowed small populations in port cities Emperor Yongle engaged the eunuch Muslim Admiral Zheng He to mount seven massive naval expeditions, Placed trade under imperial control Demonstrated strength of Ming dynasty Successful, but aborted as Mongols presented new threat in the north

Admiral Zheng He  Ming “Treasure Fleet”  Each ship 400’ long & 160’ wide

Admiral Zheng He  China’s “Columbus?”

 > Da Gama reached Calcutta, China’s favorite port.

Admiral Zheng He Brought exotic animals back to the imperial zoo. Brought little wealth, but was costly to maintain his fleets. After his death, the rise in Confucian values stressed Chinese cultural supremacy, which limited further contact with foreign influences. Statue of Zheng He in Malacca Town, Malaysia

Chinese and European voyages of exploration, 1405 – 1498

European Exploration in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans Motives: profit, missionary activity Portuguese early leaders in Atlantic exploration Search for sea route to Indian Ocean basin Prince Henrique (Henry the Navigator) seizes Strait of Gibraltar, 1415 Begins encouragement of major Atlantic voyages

Colonization of the Atlantic Islands Madeiras, Azores Islands, etc. Investments in sugarcane plantations Exploration of West African coast Dramatically increases volume of slave trade Ultimately, some 12 million Africans deported to Americas for slave labor

Indian Ocean Trade Attempt to avoid using Muslim middlemen in trade with east 1488 Bartolomeu Dias sails around Cape of Good Hope – Vasco de Gama sails this route to India and back Portuguese gun ships attempt to maintain trade monopoly Beginnings of European imperialism in Asia

Path of Vasco da Gama

Christopher Columbus Search for western sea route to Indian Ocean Portuguese consider his proposal impractical, reject it Fernando and Isabel of Spain underwrite voyage, departs in 1492 Makes landfall in San Salvador – Believed he had reached islands off coast of Asia

Christopher Columbus [ ]