Unit 1
This is a drought-resistant, high-yield rice strain that helps and supplies lots of East Asia with a substantial food source.
The rice strain is Champa rice.
Who was a famous person that traveled on the trans-Saharan trade routes? Why were they famous?
Mansa Musa was a famous person that traveled on the trans-Saharan trade routes, and he was famous because of his immense wealth. He was the ruler of Mali, and he made a Hajj to Mecca showing off his extensive wealth.
What is a gunpowder empire?
A gunpowder empire is one of the first empires to employ gunpowder-powered artilleries in its army on a large scale. The Mughal, Ottoman, and Safavid Empires were gunpowder empires.
Who was credited with exploring and conquering the Americas first?
Christopher Columbus was credited with exploring and conquering the Americas first.
What was the movement to end the Atlantic slave trade and free all enslaved people called?
It was called Abolitionism.
Who was Muhammed?
Muhammed was the founder of Islam that was born in Mecca and started as a merchant. He wrote the Quran and faced prejudice because he preached monotheism while the majority of the world was polytheistic.
What two big cities on the Silk Road grew as the trade of merchants increased?
Kashgar and Samarkand were the two big cities on the Silk Road that grew as trade increased.
What is the idea that rulers are given a right to rule by God?
Divine right is the idea that rulers are given a right to rule by God.
What was the Columbian Exchange?
The Columbian Exchange was the widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (slaves), diseases, and ideas between the Eastern hemisphere/Old World/Afro Eurasia and the Western hemisphere/New World/the Americas.
What is Deism?
Deism is the belief that a divinity simply set natural laws in motion and became a popular mode of belief during the Enlightenment.
What are the two main factions of Islam? What does each believe?
The two main factions of Islam are the Sunni and the Shi’a Islams. Sunnis believe that the leader of Islam is to be chosen by the people as the most capable and disregard the relation to Muhammed, and Shi’as believe the leader should be a descendant of Muhammed.
What were the three main technological advances used in the Indian Ocean Trade?
Three main technological advances were lateen sails, dhow ships, and astrolabes.
What was the Devshirme system?
The Devshirme system was a system used in the Ottoman Empire that recruited young non-Muslim boys, converted them to Islam, taught them military and government skills, and they could move up to positions of power in the government and military.
What was the cause of the Atlantic Slave Trade?
The Atlantic Slave Trade started because Europeans wanted tobacco and sugar, and American colonizers started farming cash crops using slaves to increase profits. Africa was the most efficient and cost-effective place to get slaves from.
What were some empirical methods of scientific inquiry that Francis Bacon emphasized?
These methods were called empiricism, and it is the belief that knowledge comes from sensed experience and from what you observe through your experience, including through experiments.
What were the three empires of Central and South America? What is one thing they had in common?
The three empires of Central and South America were the Aztec, Inca, and Maya Empires. All of the empires practiced polytheistic religions that committed human sacrifice.
What were the three main Mongol Khanates called? Who was the leader of each?
All of the Khanates were ruled by the grandsons of Genghis Khan. These Khanates were the Golden Horde, ruled by Batu; the Ilkhanate, ruled by Hulegu; and the Yuan Dynasty, ruled by Kublai Khan.
What was the main person who perpetuated the Protestant Reformation? What did he do?
The main person who perpetuated the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther, and he wrote and posted the 95 Theses which opposed the Catholic Church, translated the Bible, and disagreed with simony and Indulgences.
What were some global responses to European exploration?
European exploration caused a loss of population in Africa which lead to economic and social disruption because of slave trade. Japan and China essentially shut themselves off from the rest of the world for most of the 17th and 18th centuries because they saw Christian explorers and expansion as threats. In India, the Mughal Empire stayed open to trade until the British East India Company went to take advantage of trade opportunities which lead to colonization and the Mughal Empire’s decline.
What was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement during the 17th and 18th centuries when many questioned age-old traditions and beliefs which lead to advances in individualism, science, art, self-determination, religion, and government.
What is one economic development that arose during the Song Dynasty in China from 1200-1450? How did it affect China?
A = One economic development that arose during the Song Dynasty in China from 1200-1450 was the Grand Canal which was created to connect northern and southern China by a waterway that was easier to traverse and trade on which increased trade across China.
C = After the creation of the Grand Canal, China benefitted economically through the increase in trade across China and provided easier transportation of products.
E = The facilitated transportation of products decreases the prices of the products and allows for more access to these products. One of these products was books which increased the literacy rate in China.
What were the differences in exchanging commodities along the Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade routes?
A = Commodities were exchanged on the Silk Road with camel caravans and taxes throughout the different lands, while on the Indian Ocean trade routes, ships were used to carry more products for less money.
C = Merchants on the Silk Road had to rely on animals and other people and take care of them through deserts and other harsh environments which weren’t advantageous to the efficiency of the trade.
E = Merchants on the Indian Ocean had to rely on their boats and possible crewmates but had to worry about unpredictable monsoon winds. In addition, camels couldn’t carry as much cargo as boats, so boats carried bulk items while camels carried smaller, more precious items.
What are the three characteristics of an empire?
A = Empires are groups of diverse people with an organized government and a desire to expand.
C = Throughout history “empires were up of kingdoms, at least in part, in much the same way that modern countries are made up of states or provinces” which means that many kingdoms, “a smaller political state composed of people who often share a common set of cultural characteristics,” joined together while maintaining the smaller areas where government can be broken down hierarchically.
E = Empires must have an organized government, so the citizens of the empire will have less power than the government officials to maintain order and prevent unrest. Empires must have a desire to expand in order to keep up with growing populations by continuing to gain more resources.
Define mercantilism and explain one example of a mercantilist policy.
A = Mercantilism is a state-driven economic system that emphasizes the buildup of mineral wealth by means of a favorable balance of trade including increasing domestic production and decreasing imports.
C = An example of a mercantilist policy is the increase in colonization such as Spain establishing colonies in Central and South America to increase their natural resources and hopefully find gold to increase.
E = Because the state controlled the economy in mercantilist states instead of private ventures, establishing colonies to facilitate the increase of natural resources helped the state gain money by increasing exports that were often in high demand. The resources were in high demand because they were often rare and extremely profitable at the time, as they were from a place undiscovered by the mother country.
What is the difference between skilled and unskilled labor? How would this potentially influence someone's decision to support capitalism or communism?
A = The difference between skilled and unskilled labor is that skilled labor consists of work that doesn’t require any level of training or education, and skilled labor is work that requires training and often extensive education.
C = An unskilled worker would support communism because in a communist economy he would be equal with other workers economically without having to go through training or education. A skilled worker would support capitalism because he worked to have an often high-paying job that wouldn’t profit him in a communist economy.
E = A skilled worker like a doctor makes more money than an unskilled dishwasher, so the doctor would prefer to reap the benefits and money of the training he went through where the dishwasher would benefit from an economic system that puts him on the same level as the doctor.