THE WORLD BEFORE EUROPEAN HEGEMONY

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• THE WORLD BEFORE EUROPEAN HEGEMONY
• After 1500 age of European expansion?GLOBAL
  INTEGRATION virtually all regions of world in
  contact
• with each other
• Before 1500 smaller worlds
• A. World empires, e.g., Mongol, Maya,
  Aztec, Roman,
• Abbasid, Han, Tang, Maurya, Gupta
  Emperors
• consider themselves only legitimate
  rulers, seek to spread
• their civilization to rest of world
  through conquest, trade,
• missionary activity.
• B. World religions, e.g., Buddhism,
  Christianity, Islam
• C. World history before 1500 uses
  COMPARATIVE
• CIVILIZATIONS approach because none of
  these
• empires actually connected all parts
  of earth.

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• III. Increasing degrees of integration before
  1500
• A. 500 B.C.E.-200 C.E. World empires
  expand to include
• surrounding nomadic populations and
  remains of earlier
• civilizations.
• (1) World empires have extensive
  contact with each other
• Athens uses navy to trade with Rome
• Rome trades over Silk Road with Maurya
  India and Han
• China.
• (2) World empires expand into territory
  of different civs.
• Alexander the Great spreads
  Hellenistic culture to Egypt,
• Iran, N. India (4th century
  B.C.E.)
• Rome conquers N. Africa, Middle East,
  much of W. Europe
• (3rd century B.C.E. 2nd century
  C.E.).

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• B. After 200 C.E. Civs. spread beyond core
  regions.
• Differences from before 200 C.E.
  sustained nature of spread
• civs. spheres of influence touch.
• (1) Examples of spread
• Islamic civ. spreads to India and SE
  Asia.
• Byzantine civ. spreads to E. Europe
• Chinese civ. Spreads to Korea, Japan,
  Vietnam.
• Civ. of Mexico / C. America spreads to
  Mississippi valley.
• (2) World religions spread.
• Buddhism spreads from India to China,
  later from China to
• NE and SE Asia.
• Christianity spreads from Roman (later
  Byzantine) Empire
• through W. and E. Europe and into
  Africa.
• Islam spreads from Middle East to
  India, C. Asia, SE Asia,
• Africa.

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• (3) Trade and pilgrimage unite civilizations as
  never before.
• Buddhism spreads along Silk Road from India
  to China and
• C. Asia.
• Islam spreads along Indian Ocean route from
  Egypt to S. India,
• then to SE Asia.
• Islam spreads along Silk Road from Iraq /
  Iran to C. Asia and
• China.
• Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca unites Muslims
  from Morocco to
• Indonesia.
• Catholic pilgrimages (e.g., to Canterbury)
  help to unite
• W. Europe.

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By the 13th century, numerous civilizations had
the technological tools necessary for overseas
expansion. Sowhy did the W. European kingdoms
expand overseas? IV. W. European disunity as
spur to expansion In the absence of
spiritual and political unity, European
kingdoms are inspired to compete for territories
overseas.
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• Spain and Portugal, 15th c.
• (1) Reconquista in Spain, c. 1085-1492
• 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella capture
  Granada, expel Jews from
• Spain, say Good-bye, Columbus.

GRANADA
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(2) Portuguese expansion (a) Prince Henry the
Navigator, early 15th c. (b) Trading posts in
NW Africa tap into W. African trade, including
trade in SLAVES (3) Vasco da Gama finds
Cape Route to Indian Ocean, 1498.
Henry
Henry the Navigator (l.) with nephew
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V. Mongol spur to European expansion A. Pax
Mongolica, ca. 1250-1350 Between initial
conquests and fragmentation in the
late 14th c., Mongol empire is a
large, tolerant free-trade zone.
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B. Marco Polos visit to Khubilai Khans court in
Beijing fuels European dreams of Prester
John, a mythical Christian ruler who lived
beyond Muslim lands (and might give Europeans
access to eastern trade).
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C. New Muslim advances dash dreams of Prester
John. (1) Il-khans in Iran/Iraq convert to
Islam, late 13th c. (2)Timur (Tamerlane)
hacks out empire, late 14th early 15th c.
?
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D. Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, 1453, and
early 16th c. conquest of Arab lands would
have put eastern trade in Muslim
choke-hold but for the Cape Route.
Ottoman sultan Mehmed II (r.
1451-81), conqueror of Constantinople

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VI. Why didnt the Chinese and Islamic empires
expand overseas? A. Zheng Hes (Cheng Ho) 7
trading expeditions, early 15th c.
Later, Chinese abandon overseas exploration.
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B. Muslim tradition of land empires Ottomans
had a strong navy but were focused on trade in
the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean (where
they confronted the Portuguese in the 16th c.)
Ottoman ceramic with ships
Portuguese map of Indian Ocean,
1519 ---Ottoman ---Portuguese
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C. Not clear at time that overseas expansion
was a wise choice VII. Spanish and Portuguese
voyages lay ground for modern world system
after 1500.
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PERSON OF THE WEEK!!
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GENGHIS KHAN