State Building 1200-1450
Post Classical Trade Networks
Early Modern Empires
Global Connections
1200-1750
100

This fast-ripening rice helped fuel population growth during the Song dynasty.

Champa rice

100

This overland trade network connected East Asia to the Mediterranean world.

Silk Roads

100

This empire controlled much of Eurasia and encouraged cross-cultural exchange.

Mongol Empire

100

These seasonal winds made Indian Ocean trade predictable.

monsoon winds

100

This type of ship improved European ocean travel.

Caravel

200

This group gained status in China by passing Confucian-based exams.

Scholar-gentry

200

These cities served as hubs for trade, culture, and religion along trade routes.

Caravan cities / caravanserai

200

Mongol rulers often recruited administrators based on this trait rather than ethnicity.

Skill / ability

200

This group dominated Indian Ocean trade networks before European arrival.

Muslim merchants

200

This institution in the Islamic capital served as a center for learning and debate.

Baghdad's House of Wisdom

300

This belief system shaped social hierarchy and family roles in East Asia.

Confucianism

300

This group translated and preserved Greek philosophy and science.

Muslim scholars

300

This policy helped the Mongols rule diverse populations.

Religious tolerance

300

Europeans initially lacked this advantage in Asian trade.

valuable trade goods

300

This technology was widely used in China centuries before it spread to Europe.

Printing / gunpowder / compass (accept any)

400

Agricultural surplus in East Asia most directly led to growth in these areas.

Cities / urban centers

400

The spread of this disease was an unintended consequence of trade networks.

The Black Death / bubonic plague

400

These weapons strengthened centralized states after 1450.

Gunpowder weapons, cannons

400

This Latin American resource became crucial to global trade after 1500.

Silver

400

This practice allowed private individuals to collect taxes for the state.

Tax farming in the Ottoman Empire

500

This type of labor supported most premodern states by producing food and taxes.

Peasant Labor

500

High population density made these locations (give a region) especially vulnerable to disease.

European cities

500

This system allowed governments to collect revenue to fund armies and expansion.

taxation

500

Silver allowed Europeans to purchase goods from this region.

China

500

These regions adopted Chinese writing systems and Confucian ideas.

Korea & Vietnam

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