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Although Afro-Eurasia and the Americas remained separate from one another, this era witnessed a deepening and widening of old and new networks of human interaction within and across regions. The results were unprecedented concentrations of wealth and the intensification of cross-cultural exchanges. Innovations in transportation, state policies, and mercantile practices contributed to the expansion and development of commercial networks, which in turn served as conduits for cultural, technological, and biological diffusion within and between various societies. Pastoral or nomadic groups played a key role in creating and sustaining these networks. Expanding networks fostered greater interregional borrowing, while at the same time sustaining regional diversity. The prophet Muhammad promoted Islam, a new major monotheistic religion at the start of this period. It spread quickly through practices of trade, warfare, and diffusion characteristic of this period. A. Existing trade routes - including the Silk Roads, the Mediterranean Sea, the Trans-Saharan, and the Indian Ocean basin - flourished, and promoted the growth of powerful new trading cities.
Important Trade Cities 600-1450 CE
B. Communication and exchange networks developed into the Americas. Examples of networks:
C. The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by significant innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies, including more sophisticated caravan organization; use of the compass, astrolabe, and larger ship designs in sea travel; and new forms of credit and monetization
D. Commercial growth was also facilitated by state practices, trading organizations, and state-sponsored commercial infrastructures like the Grand Canal in China. Examples of state practices:
E. The expansion of empires facilitated Trans-Eurasian trade and communication as new peoples were drawn into their conquerors' economies and trade networks. Examples of empires:
A. The expansion and intensification of long-distance trade routes often depended on environmental knowledge (geography) and technological adaptations to it. Examples of environmental knowledge and technological adaptations:
B. Some migrations had a significant environmental impact. Examples of migration and their environmental impact:
Video on the Polynesian Migration from the History Channel C. Some migrations and commercial contacts led to the diffusion of languages throughout a new region or the emergence of new languages. Examples of the diffusion of languages:
A. Islam, based on the revelations of the prophet Muhammad, developed in the Arabian peninsula. The beliefs and practices of Islam reflected interactions among Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians with the local Arabian peoples. Muslim rule expanded to many parts of Afro-Eurasia due to military expansion, and Islam subsequently expanded through the activities of merchants and missionaries. B. In key places along important trade routes, merchants set up diasporic communities where they introduced their own cultural traditions into the indigenous culture. Examples of diasporic communities:
Examples of interregional travelers:
D. Increased cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of literary, artistic, and cultural traditions. Examples of the diffusion of literary, artistic and cultural traditions:
E. Increased cross-cultural interactions also resulted in the diffusion of scientific and technological traditions. Examples of the diffusion of scientific and technological traditions:
A. New foods and agricultural techniques were adopted in populated areas. Examples of new foods and agricultural techniques:
B. The spread of epidemic diseases, including the Black Death, followed the well established paths of trade and military conquest. It is widely believed that the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, traveled with merchant caravans and on merchant ships from China all the way to London following established trade routes during the 700s CE and again during the mid 1300's CE. The Black Death wiped out nearly half of the population in Europe
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