To India and Back
What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?
“Spain and Portugal both acquiesced in a papal line…Lands to the west of the line would belong to Spain, those eastward to Portugal” (pg. 174)
Why did the Hindus tolerate the religion of the Arab merchants in their city?
“Hindu rulers remained tolerant of the religion of the merchants who kept their city’s commerce flourishing.” (pg. 179)
What class were eunuchs most commonly from?
“These eunuchs…were usually drawn from the lowest levels of society.” (pg. 188)
What did the Chinese say they "lacked"?
“There is nothing we lack” (pg. 196)
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What has Columbus' fame blinded us to?
“Columbus’ dazzling fame…has blinded us to other achievements of seafaring discovery as great or even greater in that first Age of the Sea.” (pg. 175-CH23)
What was the problem with the Treaty of Tordesillas?
“From which Cape Verde island should the line be measured? Precisely how long was a league? And centuries would pass before the technology existed to draw the required precise line of longitude.” (pg. 174)
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How were monsoons utilized in travel in the Indian Ocean?
"The monsoon…is a wind system that reverses direction seasonally…(and so) offers convenient motive power both for going eastward in the Indian Ocean and for returning.” (pg. 179)
How did the eunuchs have influence in the Chinese court?
“The favored imperial eunuchs living inside the palace had daily converse with the emperor…the heir, born in the palace, grew up under constant tutelage of the eunuchs. When such an emperor, still a child, succeeded the throne, the imperial eunuchs would control the child-emperor’s decisions or those of the empress-regent.” (pg. 188)
What did the appearance of a k'i-lin show according to Chinese folklore?
“It showed Heaven’s favor and proved the virtue of the ruling emperor.” (pg. 197)
The Arab navigator Ibn Majid steered Vasco De Gama's fleet across the Indian Ocean. What was the irony in this?
“The great Arab master of navigation was unwittingly guiding the great European sea captain to a success that meant the defeat of Arab navigation in the Indian Ocean.” (pg.182-CH24)
Why was Vasco De Gama chosen for the expedition to India by sea?
“Gama had proven himself to be both a sailor and a diplomat.” (pg. 175)
What did the seafaring adventures of the ancient Arabs consist of?
“The seafaring adventures of the ancient Arabs in the Mediterranean were sallies of commerce or of piracy.” (pg. 180)
What was Emperor Chu Yuan-Chang's greatest achievement?
“During his thirty-year rule he managed to consolidate the nation, which had long been split by Mongol domination of the north.” (pg. 189)
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What drew Cheng Ho's expeditions to the eastern coast of Africa?
“It was not the appeal of slaves, of gold, or of silver, but the charm of the giraffe that drew Cheng Ho’s later expeditions to Malindi and the far reaches of the eastern coast of Africa.” (pg. 197)
What was the Great Withdrawal?
“When the (Chinese) emperor forbade his subjects to go abroad.” (pg. 199-CH26)
What was proved by Dias' journey?
That “Africa really could be rounded by sea” (pg. 173)
In what way could the Arabs have been seen to dominate the Mediterranean?
“It was the land-based strength of the Arabs who controlled both ends of the Mediterranean, whether or not they dominated the traffic inside.” (pg. 181)
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Why did the Portuguese voyage around the Cape of Good Hope? (3 reasons)
100 points for each reason, plus 100 if you can name all three
“To increase their nation’s wealth, to secure the staples and the luxuries of the East, and to convert the heathen to Christianity.” (pg. 191)
In what ways did the Chinese suppress seafaring in the 1500's? (3 ways)
100 points for each reason, plus 100 if you name all three
1500: It was a capital offense even to build a seagoing junk with more than two masts
1525: Coastal officials were ordered to destroy all such ships and to arrest mariners who continued to sail in them
1551: The crime of espionage was redefined to include all who went to sea in multiple-masted ships
(pg. 200)
What did Vasco De Gama's voyage prove?
“His voyage…finally proved a feasible sea route between West and East.” (pg. 177-CH23)
Why was Columbus disappointed by the results of Dias' journey?
“the eastward sea route to the Indies around Africa was now feasible and Columbus’ project was superfluous” (pg. 173)
What features of Arab land and civilization help us understand why they weren't inclined to sail west?
(100 points for each feature) 600 points possible
No navigable rivers
Few good harbors
No populous or hospitable hinterland
Coral reefs surrounding the coasts produced wrecks to encourage pirates
No easy source of fresh water
Menacing northerly winds coming down without respite all year round
(pg. 185)
What were the reasons for Emperor Cheng Ho's voyages? (3 reasons)
“To track down emperor Yung Lo’s nephew…display the splendor and power of the new Ming dynasty…(and to show that they were) beyond the need for assistance.” (pg. 193)
(1) 100 pts (2) 200 pts (3) 200 pts
How did the Chinese bureaucrats want the imperial money to be spent, rather than by exploits?
“On water-conservation projects to help farmers, on granary projects to forestall famine, or on canals to improve internal communication.” (pg. 199)
Why didn't the scholar-bureaucrats like the eunuchs? Why didn't the military class like them?
200pts for each answer, plus 100pts if you can answer both
Scholar Bureaucrats: Feared, envied, and despised the eunuchs who excelled them in power, even without being able to recite a single passage from the Confucian classics.
Military Class: Felt contempt for these effeminate imperial confidants of the bedchamber who had never fought a battle.
(pg. 188-CH25)
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