Strayer 7, Culture & Commerce

15/10/2017

Sorry guys, I ran into technical difficulties Friday, and then I spaced this out. Anyway, let's talk about this pivotal part of the story!

37 Comments

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 17:57:52

Seeking the main point 1:
Trade/commerce=
-affected the working life of many people, encouraging them to specialize in producing certain goods for distant markets, rather than for their own local communities
-altered the structure of societies (merchants often became their own social group and were viewed skeptically)
-became a means of social mobility (Chinese merchants>bought land>gentry class)
-enabled elite groups to distinguish themselves from lower classes, by acquiring goods from foreign places with high value
-had the capacity to transform political life (controlling tax lead to the emergence of many states, and the revenue from those taxes sustained the states in their economy and their military)
-posed a set of problems for every government (should they dictate trade or should it be local or by individual merchants?)
-became a vehicle for the spread of religions, technological innovations, disease, plants and animals from distant regions, and a certain prestige from region to region.

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 18:13:54

MQ 1:
Emergence:
-In Eurasia, their are inner and outer zones. The outer zones are warmer and more arable, while the inner zones have rigid weather and tend to be colder. The outer zones were primarily agriculturally run, while the inner zones were lead by pastoral people. For centuries both these zones traded, henceforth motivating the trade in Eurasia.
-Pastoral peoples' movement allowed the diffusion of Indo-European languages, bronze metallurgy, and horse-based technology all across Eurasia, allowing trade to come easier because of common practices.
-because of the construction of second-wave civilizations, pastoral people were able to administer transcontinental trade between empire such as Persia and Rome because of their earlier invasions.
Up-Keep:
-Large/powerful states provided security for merchants and travlers
-Had a continuous belt of strong states across Eurasia that facilitated trade
- Mongol rule allowed renewed vitality to long-distance trade
-various technologies such as camel drawn caravans, yokes, saddles, stirrups, horses, and oxen allowed more effective transportation.
-unequally distributed goods= need for trade
-elite wanted foreign goods rather than local necessities

Feel free to add or take away from this!

Maha Rahman

18/10/2017 21:55:16

This is very helpful. It might benefit you to specify that the pastoral inner people and traded products of the forest for agricultural and manufactured goods, which would reinforce the idea that trade is based on uneven distribution of resources. I would also argue that a continued demand for luxury products by the elite sustained trade.

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 18:23:02

MQ2:
Silk...
-marked high status of elite men and women in China
-got exchanged for horses and bought off barbarians from the North in China
-offered comfort and value and was seen as a fashion statement
-was used as currency and as a means of accumulating wealth
-Byzantium= silk became a symbol of wealth and governments restricted the lower classes from acquiring it
-was associated with the sacred in the expanding regions of Buddhism and Christianity. Chinese Buddhist pilgrims brought large amounts of silk in return for relics/religious texts. Buddhist monks were given silk robes by emperors= high honor.
-Christendom had silk as wall covers, alter covers, and vestments. These were highly prestigious signs of devotion and piety.

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 18:24:28

Oops i meant expanding "religions" of Buddhism and Christianity, not regions!

Amelia Heymach

16/10/2017 20:31:23

Maybe you could add that only moving goods of high value could compensate for the high costs of transportation across the Silk Road, so many merchants turned to silk to make a profit (it wasn't particularly heavy or difficult to transport, so they could move it in bulk).

For some of these margin questions I have struggled figuring out what information is actually relevant to answering the questions that Strayer asks. I am not sure if what I put actually made silk a highly desired commodity, but I can see it as a reason for why so many merchants wanted to sell it.

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 18:29:42

BQ3:
-food crops lost importance because farming silk=profitable
-impact of long distance trade affected ordinary farmers
-favorably placed individuals benefited from long-distance trade
-Buddhism spread through the silk roads. which was adopted into Chinese culture because merchants favored its universal message rather than the strata of brahmin-Hinduism.
- Diseases traveled on this road and manifested themselves all across Eurasia.

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 18:31:39

HAHA ANOTHER TYPO! this answer is for margin question 3 not big picture question 3.

Amelia Heymach

16/10/2017 20:40:28

I also got:
-In many places a new social group of merchants emerged.
-The divide between elites and commoners grew because the elites were the only ones able to afford foreign luxuries (in some states there were even laws saying that only the elites could wear silk). Differences in clothing and possessions clearly set apart classes.

Chaise Jones

17/10/2017 21:54:34

I might also add on to your first point (since listing examples can be a big help on the summative): Peasants withdrew from cultivation of food and began producing silk, paper, porcelain, lacquer-ware, and iron tools which would had an almost guarantee of bring profit along the Silk Road.

I just mostly wanted to point out the other examples because they are quite beneficial :)

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 18:59:36

MQ4:
-Merchants were appealed by Buddhisms universal message
-Because of rulers like Ashoka, merchants and Buddhist monks were able to penetrate Oasis cities through trading routes and spread Buddhism.
- conversion to Buddhism in Oasis cities was voluntary and= no pressure of conquest/foreign rule.
-Long-distance trade linked Buddhism to the larger/ more prestigious civilizations in India
-Buddhist merchants gained merit if the provided monasteries for Buddhist monks. These monasteries acted as resting and re-supplying facilities for merchants.
-Oasis cities became centers for cosmopolitan learning and trading.
-Outside of Oasis cities, central Asia, pastoral people were involved in long-distance trade and ruled over settled agricultural people, so Buddhism became more attractive.
-china associated Buddhism widely with foreign rulers and merchants, and only later did they start to accept it into their culture
-Buddhism shifted in its doctrines and practices
-Theravada Buddhism didn't support the material world but as Buddhism spread the monasteries/monks received great riches from merchants/rulers.
-Original Buddhism advocated Buddha as a teacher, but Mahayana depicted him as a deity. Also, compassion was encouraged and merit could be earned.
- It also adopted some Greek practices/doctrines/deities.
All of these changes facilitated a more accessible religion, therefore making it more appealing to foreigners as it spread.

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 19:38:04

Also, when a different culture/religion was assimilated into Buddhism, Bodhisattvas were the result (gods of many peoples).

Maha Rahman

18/10/2017 21:59:01

It also mentions that Buddhism attracted people during epidemic by offering compassion, though I'm not sure how relevant that is

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 19:56:20

MQ5:
-In the Roman empire and the Hand dynasty, measles and smallpox ravaged the population, facilitating heir political collapse. With this incredible loss of human life came the predominance of religion: Christianity and Buddhism. The people who survived found sanctuary in the teachings of both religions.
-The Bubonic plague hit the Mediterranean Sea as black rats carried it seaborne from India. Byzantium was devastated, which kept it from reintegrating Italy into its renewed version of the Roman Empire.
-The recurrence of this disease weakened Christendoms attempts of fighting off the Muslim army.
-The mongols spread the black death from China to Europe, killing up to half the pop. of Europe. Despite the deaths, some people benefited from the plague; tenant farmers and urban workers charged more for tasks because there were less people to do them. Landowners were hurt because of the drop in value of grain and the raging dependency on its production.
-In the Asian Steppes, Mongols were hurt badly as well, resulting in a permanently altered balance between pastoral and agricultural people, favoring settled farmers.
-Aside from the loss European and Africans developed some immunity to these diseases, while the Americas did not.

Evelyn Wattenbarger

18/10/2017 18:17:46

You might want to add the reasons why the Americas had less immunity, such as the lack of domesticated animals and large trade/commerce between civilizations.

Amelia Heymach

16/10/2017 21:16:40

What lay behind the flourishing of Indian Ocean commerce in the post-classical millennium?
-Indian Ocean trading network grew out of the vast environmental and cultural diversities of the area
-The desire for goods unavailable from home (ex. porcelain from China, spices from southeast Asia) were incentives for Indian Ocean Commerce
-Since ships could carry larger cargo than the camels of the Silk Road, Indian Ocean commerce sold products for a mass market (not just elites)
-An understanding of monsoons and growing technology of shipbuilding and navigation (compasses from China!) made it more efficient
Economic and political revival of China after the collapse of the Han
-China's reestablished unified state actively encouraged maritime trade
-Growth of Chinese economy sent loads of Chinese products into Indian Ocean commerce
-China provided a large market for Indian and South Asian goods
-Chinese technological innovations such as the magnetic compass and the example of its large fleet likely added to momentum of commercial growth
Islam's spread across Afro-Eurasia
-Unlike Confucian culture, Islam was friendly to commercial life (Muhammad was a trader)
-The creation of an Arab Empire provided an arena for the energies of Muslim traders that intensified commercial activity
-Muslim merchants, Muslim sailors, Christians, and Jews established communities all the way from East Africa to South China
-A huge slave trade started with efforts to take back Mesopotamia in order to export dates and sugars
-Transactions increased with the mass amount of people converting to Islam

Tell me if there is anything to add, subtract, or edit!

Izze Chavez

16/10/2017 21:31:31

HAHA ok Amelia, for question 6 I only got two answers. 1= The economic/political revival of china. 2= the sudden rise of Islam. What I did was I elaborated extensively on both points and encompassed what you wrote basically. I will put my answer down later but I'm SUPER tired.

Olivia Miller

17/10/2017 19:09:19

Would the communities established by Muslim merchants help contribute to the flourishing of Indian Ocean commerce, or were they just a byproduct?

Bingham

17/10/2017 20:00:45

I think both. They are a byproduct of sustained efforts to grow Indian ocean trade, AND they were the heart of the process by which these merchants sought to gain relevance in that trading system. An attempt that was extremely successful.

Bint

16/10/2017 21:20:09

Great conversation guys. And very thorough!

faith davis

16/10/2017 21:48:32

Here's what I put for this margin question: In what ways did Indian influence register in Southeast Asia?

-Indian alphabets (Sanskrit and Pallava) were used to write a number of Southeast Asian alphabets
-Indian artistic forms provided models for Southeast Asian sculpture and architecture
-the Indian epic Raymayana became widely popular in the region
-Politically, Southeast Asian rulers and elites liked the Indian belief that leaders were god-kings or reincarnations of the Buddah or the Hindu deity Shiva
-karma conveyed legitimacy to rich and powerful based on their moral behavior in previous lives
-Srivijaya monarchs employed Indians as officials and assigned Sanskrit titles to their subordinates
-Rulers made use of Indian political ideas and Buddhist religious concepts
-Srivijaya grew into a major center of Buddhist observance and teaching
-the Sailendra kingdom in central Java built Hindu temples and Buddhist monuments during the 8th-10th centuries
-Hinduism was well rooted in the Champa kingdon, the Angkor kingdom built a temple complex called Angkor Wat

Is this what the question is asking?

Olivia Miller

17/10/2017 20:39:15

That is what I assumed the question was asking as well...

Lauren Dotson

18/10/2017 19:12:21

I got the same thing as well!

Amelia Heymach

16/10/2017 22:23:53

What changes did trans-Saharan trade bring to West Africa?
-The introduction of camels for transportation caused the Sahara to become a major international trade route that linked distant peoples
-Caravans linked the people of West Africa to people in North Africa
-Long-distance trade provided incentives for larger political structures (especially in western and eastern Sudan)
-People of Sudan established states, empires, and city-states reaching from the Atlantic coast to Lake Chad
-Monarchies with elaborate court life supported themselves with wealth gained from the trans-Saharan trade and taxes on merchants
-Urban and commercial centers emerged where traders clustered. Some of these cities became commercial centers and were labeled as cosmopolitan
-West Africa gained a reputation for its riches
-Growing integration with commerce produced social hierarchies. Distinct classes and royal families emerged. Gender hierarchies emerged- most traders, rulers, and officials were male.
-Slavery evolved from consisting of mostly women doing domestic work to men also becoming slaves (with roles anywhere from state official to salt miner)
-Most slaves were used in West Africa, but a slave trade did develop across the Sahara
-Islam accompanied trade and became a part of West African urban culture

I would appreciate suggestions on things to add, edit, or subtract!

Amelia Heymach

16/10/2017 22:25:49

My answer for this question is very scrambled, and I think it would be beneficial to organize these points in different ways (using the SPICE themes would probably be the most helpful).

Amelia Heymach

17/10/2017 21:54:44

I am struggling with this question so please help me out if I am not interpreting it correctly!
What was the role of the Swahili Civilization in the Indian Ocean commerce?
-Swahili cities acted as a place for the accumulation of interior goods that were later exchanged for products from Indian Ocean commerce
- Coastal waterways were navigated by Swahili ships
-Islam linked Swahili cities to those of the Indian Ocean world (it quickly and voluntarily converted to Islam)
-Arab, Indian, and Persian merchants were welcome and many settled in these Swahili cities
-Coastal cities acted as intermediaries between the interior Africa producers and the Arab merchants who sold them
-The relationship between these merchants and producers spread the influence of Indian Ocean trade commerce into the African interior
-Some Swahili rulers claimed Arab or Persian ancestry to strengthen their authority

Is it necessary to point out that the Swahili language was a Bantu tongue, but written with Arabic script?

Amelia Heymach

17/10/2017 21:57:51

Oops! I meant to say "Coastal cities acted as intermediaries between interior African producers and the Arab merchants who sold their products"
Arab merchants did not sell the producers!

Chloe Shupe

18/10/2017 12:53:59

I don't think it's necessary to include that the Swahili language was a Bantu tongue written in Arabic script because that is a supporting detail for the point about the settlement of Arab, Indian, and Persian merchants in Swahili cities. I see the language aspect of that point as more of how Indian Ocean commerce played a role in Swahili civilization rather than the Swahili civilization playing a role in Indian Ocean commerce which is what the question is asking.

Chloe Shupe

18/10/2017 13:04:26

BPQ3:
"Cultural change derived often from commercial exchange in the third-wave era." What evidence supports this observation?
- Spread of Buddhism along the Silk Roads
- Spread of Islam in Africa from the Sand Roads
- Emergence of states and empires, such as Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Kanem, and Hausa city-states, in West Africa from Sand Roads
- Indian Ocean commerce lead to the emergence of Swahili civilization
- Indian influence in Southeast Asia from Sea Roads in artistic forms, architecture, alphabet, political ideas, and religion

These are the examples I found but are there more I should include or any I should exclude?

Izze Chavez

18/10/2017 16:48:28

MQ1: What lay behind the emergence of Silk Road commerce, and what kept it going for so many centuries?

One important reason behind the Silk Road trade was the exchange of products of the forest and of the semi-arid northern grasslands of inner Eurasia, which were controlled by pastoral peoples, for the agricultural products and manufactured goods of the warmer, well-watered lands of outer Eurasia, including the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India, and China.
-important were the construction of classical civilizations and their imperial states during the last five centuries B.C.E.; classical civilizations invaded the territory of pastoral peoples, securing sections of the Silk Roads and providing security for merchants and travelers.
The Silk Road had the continued support of later states, including the Byzantine, Abbasid, and Mongol empires, which also benefited from the trade. There was a continuing demand for hard-to-find luxury goods among elites across Eurasia.
This was from an earlier forum, but it worded my answers better than I could.

Izze Chavez

18/10/2017 18:57:24

MQ6:
-The economic revival of the Chinese reestablished an effective/unified state, which activated maritime trade. The growth of the Chinese economy allowed large numbers of Chinese products to enter Indian Ocean commerce and provided an attractive market for Indian/Southeast Asian goods. Chinese innovations (larger ships/magnetic compasses) added to commercial growth.
-The sudden rise of Islam in the 7th century C.E helped Indian Ocean commerce flourish. Islam widely accepted merchants and it spread from the Med. basin, to India, allowed one political systems encompass many different economies/ cultural traditions, and provided a vast arena for Muslim traders. The energy of Muslim traders intensified commercial activity, and because of the Muslim prestige, power, and prosperity a wide spread conversion took place=facilitated commercial transactions. Muslim, Jews, Christians in the Islamic world established communities of East Africa to South China coast. Mesopotamia was reclaimed in order to produce sugar/dates. An expansive slave trade from East Africa to Iraq was initiated.

Izze Chavez

18/10/2017 19:00:19

Most people answered this question incorrectly (I think) because they looked at the second-wave innovations at the bottom of page 326 (these talked about calculating latitude and stuff like that) when they should have been looking at the bottom of page 327 that talked about post classical/third era innovations. There are only two point with many smaller point.

Izze Chavez

18/10/2017 19:12:59

Srivijaya:
Indian Ocean commerce allowed Srivijaya a bureaucracy, military and naval force because of competition on the coast of Sumatra between many small ports. This attracted trade because Srivijaya was equip with gold and spices, then the state would tax passing ships, funding its revenue=allowed state building.
-Srivijaya became a major center of Buddhist observance/teachings.
Culture:
-Indian alphabet (Sanskrit and Pallava)
-Indian artistic forms= Southeast sculptures/architecture
-Indian epic Ramayana became widely popular
Political:
-Southeast found the belief that leaders were God kings or reincarnations of Buddha or Hindu=Shiva
-Karma justified rich because of actions in past life
-Chiefs were awarded some prestige but adopted from India was the belief that rulers had higher levels of magic
-Both Champa and Angkor Wat Hinduism had stunning architecture. Pagan had both Hindu and Buddhist shrines were made. Trade stimulated political change as ambitious or aspiring rulers used wealth derived from commerce to construct larger or more centrally governed states/cities. Southeast experienced cultural change as local people were attracted to foreign/religious traditions from Buddhist, Confucius, Hindu, or Islamic forces.

Izze Chavez

18/10/2017 19:25:34

MQ8:
CULTURE:
-Arab, Indian, and Persian ways were adopted into Swahili culture.Swahili used Arabic script/ loan words in their language and Swahili cities claimed Arab/Persian origins as they used Chinese porcelain and Indian clothing.
-The adopted Indian artistic style as well.
-Swahili rapidly became Islam;Islam was voluntarily adopted within the Swahili world. Islam linked Swahili cities to the larger Indian world.
ECONOMIC:
-Swahili cities acted as intermediaries between the interior producers of valued goods and the Arab merchants who carried them to distant markets.
-Southern Swahili states allowed Indian Ocean commerce to reach the African interior.

Izze Chavez

18/10/2017 19:37:21

MQ9:
-The introduction of camels
-received horses, cloth, dates, various manufactured goods, and especially salt from the rich deposit in the Sahara
-Caravans equipped with 5000 camels and hundreds of people linked the interior of West Africa with lands and people far to the North.
-The Sahara provided both incentives and resources for the construction of new and larger political structures
-Western and central Sudan constructed a series of states, empires, and city-states from the Atlantic coast to lake Chad.
-All were ruled by monarchies with elaborate court life
-societies drew on the wealth of trade and taxes of merchants
-gained a reputation for great riches
-Mali rulers monopolize of strategic goods
-growing integration=social complexity and hierarchy characteristic of all civilizations.
-slavery was found in West Africa=slave trade
-developed substantial urban and commercial centers and were described as cosmopolitan
-Islam accompanied trade and became an important aspect of West African society.

Chaise Jones

18/10/2017 21:47:44

Margin Question 10: In what ways did networks of interaction in the Western Hemisphere differ from those in the Easter Hemisphere? (This is really latecoming, but anyway...)

- Connections among the various civilizations in the Western Hemisphere were less densely integrated/shown; WHILE the connections between civilizations in the East Hem. could be proved through trade linkage (?)
- Limits of interactions between civilizations in Western Hem. were linked to the absence of horses, donkeys, camels, wheeled vehicles, and large oceangoing vehicles; WHILE Eastern Hem. had an abundance of domesticated animals and maritime technology
- small bottleneck of Panama (full of dense rain forest) decreased the amount of contact between North and South America
- North/South orientation of the Americas which required different agricultural practices depending on the climate and vegetation zones slowed the spread of agricultural technology and innovations; WHILE Eastern Hem. could spread agricultural innovations easier since they were all relatively in the same region of latitudes (similar climates)
- Easily spread cultural traditions (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam) in Eastern Hem. where people linked through long distance trade system that Western. Hemisphere lacked
- Loose connections between the Americas consisting of the diffusion of Maize (from Mesoamerica to Southwestern United States) and game with rubber balls (in Caribbean, Mexico, Northern South America); WHILE Eastern Hem. have multiple pieces of evidence linking civilizations
- Most active networks and exchange in the Americas lay in Mesoamerica and the Andes (commercial relations, though not comparable to the size of the Silk or Sea Roads)
- Western Hem. most trade was in luxury goods (cotton clothing, precious jewels, feathers) WHILE Eastern Hem. majored in Luxury goods on Silk Roads to mass market products on it's Sea Roads

I feel like I'm missing quite a few points, but I wasn't really sure if those points would relate to their differing. Feel free to add and delete and question my points! :)

izze chavez

18/10/2017 22:48:21

We got all of the same answers

Bingham

Welcome class of 2020. Some years students collaborate in this space effectively, some years not so much. One thing I know, collaboration significantly enhances learning. If you want access to my thoughts, this is the collaboration space to use. Most people propose an answer to margin questions, big picture question, or anything else related to managing Strayer. Other people can then comment leading to a stronger answer. I'll keep an eye on these pages, and pop in when I think you need me.

Strayer 7, Culture & Commerce

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