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Contributions of early civilizations
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Recommended: Contributions of early civilizations
Caitlynn Zielinski
HIST113 – World History – Laurie Brown (March / April 2014)
An Age of Changing the World 500-1500
Connections between early civilizations played a huge part in how history developed. Each and every civilization during the time period 500-1500 had unique and different interactions with the world. Economic, political and or military, social, intellectual and religious interactions of ancient civilizations all shaped the world into what it is today. If it was not for trial and error interactions, our world would not be as advanced as it today.
All waterways, including oceans and seas, played a major role in how civilizations interacted. Water provided a means of travel and a steady source of food for ancient cultures. If there was not a solid source of water to develop farming, early civilizations like the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, or the Indus River civilizations would not have survived.
China’s physical geography affected the development of its early civilization. At one point in time, China was isolated from other civilizations and they had no idea what trade or other culture was. However, China was a very self sufficient civilization. China had everything they needed and were technologically advanced for the time period. This meant that they had no need to interact with other people for what they needed.
Even though the geography of China had disadvantages it also had many advantages. Due to China’s high mountain ranges, forbidden deserts and chaotic seas, China was protected from anyone who tried to invade them. Although this was useful, it made it incredibly hard for the Chinese to import and export their goods.
China’s most enduring and intense interactions were with the foreigners to the...
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... and hunting societies, known as the Paleolithic (old stone age) peoples. All of Australia, much of Siberia, the arctic coastlands, and parts of Africa and the Americas fell into this category. “(Page 560)
Technological innovations led to increase land and sea exploration and trade. Religious faiths, technology, and eventually diseases followed the same routes as the goods did. The world was never the same after some of the many different interactions people had during the time period of 500-1500. If it was not for trade and the spread of religious beliefs over time, the world would not have known right and wrong. Civilizations became stronger by trial and error. Some empires survived and are still around today, whereas others have disappeared. It did not help that some societies were undeveloped and that is who the strong civilizations targeted.
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Before the emergence of silver, Chinese society isolated themselves from the global economy. Due to Confucian teachings and heavy voyage expenditures, Chinese officials restricted foreign interaction and trade. Also, being
As in terms of economics, China grew prosperous through trade, military expansion, invention of tools and other means of convenience and through the market economy. From the Han Dynasty China began to build again. The Sui Dynasty constructed the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was an artificial canal that extended 1,240 miles. It enabled merchants and farmers to travel by water, selling an abundance of rice and other crops. This canal was extremely expensive but throughout the years paid itself off by providing travel routes north and south of China. The Sui Dynasty also built palaces, granarie...
During the time 600C.E-1450 C.E the Silk Road went through major changes while maintaining ingenuity. Changes and continuities interactions included cultural knowledge (changes in art, architecture and technology), political control (the impact the leader had on the Silk Road), culture diffusion (continuities in religion that spread and the impact) and trade (continuities of luxury items). Although there were many continuities, the changes of the Silk Road outweighed the continuities.
The Age of Imperialism brought many changes that caused suffering and improvements in countries. The domination of Europeans in Asia and Africa brought benefits and sufferings. When reading in between the lines, it is clear and obvious that the European?s domination gave Asia much to benefit from and Africa more to suffer from. Asia gained tons of economical power and was educated with Western ideas, but in the long run they turned Western literature it into Chinese matters. On the other hand, Africa lost economical independence.
During the time period 1450 to 1750, the world went through major changes and developments. Nomadic power declined, and European Kingdoms became world powers. A world trade network was set up as contact amongst nations increased immensely. A population boom occurred throughout the world. Many civilizations that were once isolated were brought into the world economy.
Due to trade from India, the religion of Buddhism took root. Indo-European migrations provided connections among Eurasian cultures. Through trade with Indo-European groups China learned of vehicles and weapons as mentioned earlier. The connections made with Central Asia also helped the development of China through Asia's technological advancements. China gained iron and military power from Asia. They were able to produce shields and daggers which they could arm their soldiers with. Iron was more abundant than the copper which bronze is made of. Iron plows created from the influence of Central Asia helped to enhance China's agricultural production. Interactions with the nomads as China expanded lead to a transformation of Chinese warfare. It is from the nomads that they adopted horseback riding which was faster and more practical than large difficult to control
With water came fertile soil which you could find anywhere that there was water. When the rainy season came the waters would flood and make the soil around it fertile. These civilizations looked for other natural resources as well such as rocks and minerals to help them build , trees to produce wood for houses, and plants to help with food supplies but water was the most important thing that was needed in order for a civilization to form and grow properly.
China had a great need for a powerful military. Not only were armies needed to control the vast territories of China and to defeat internal rivals, but ancient China was also surrounded by potential enemies. Different Ethnic groups within ancient China such as the Qiang and Di vied for power. The settled nations around China resented the subordination, or outright annexation, that the Chinese attempted to thrust on them causing wars with groups like the Vietnamese and the Koreans. However it was the nomadic tribes to the West and North of China that caused the most problems.
Global Interaction changed the early modern world because people came in contact with new religions, cultures, political ideas, and creating new ideas by choice through trade and colonization.
China is located in Eastern Asia, but mainly to the north of the Xi River and the south of the Huang He River. China has many forests and swamplands, which later in time were populated by farmers. Anywhere above the Huang He River was too steep for suitable farming lands. There was not many farmers in China due to the geology, so most people were hunters or gatherers.
Chinese and Roman history share a lot in common during the classical period. They were the “two super powers of the known world” (Wade-Giles). Both civilizations, expanded dramatically during this period, they both had to deal with barbarian attacks, and they both had large amounts of land to manage. China and Rome had their own written language, which lead “scholars to share information to a greater number of people” that allowed them to communicate to the nomads (Chiu). Both empires built roads for better commerce and had a banking system in place for commerce. Chinese and Roman government were both under a central rule that was war hungry to conquer more land. As both empires expanded, the ever increasing land became a problem to manage
Chinese civilization began in the Yellow River valley around the 18th century BC, and like Rome, had a number of geographical advantages which allowed it to thrive and develop without outside interference.
The Nile played an important role in the life of the ancient Egyptians. It makes life in the deserts of Egypt possible. It provided drinking water, a source of irrigation for crops, and most importantly the fertile soil used to grow crops. Without the Nile River it would have been difficult for Egyptian civilizations to survive. The Nile provided the crucial resources needed by a growing civilization. It caused all the ancient Egyptian communities to develop alongside the river. It also created a way of transportation of goods and people. This caused the development of boats and other water traveling methods.
During the explorations the Europeans gained knowledge of other civilization; although the europeans knew of other civilizations that were near Europe they had limited knowledge about civilizations on the other side of the world such as the Americas. Gaining this knowledge would increase the flow of ideas and concepts that would later change the world. The spread of ideas, customs and language were also important for all civilizations after being found by the Europeans. The spread of ideas and language created united communities that spanned over different lands that would be everlasting. For example the arrival of the Europeans in the Caribbean gave the people a common culture that was mixed with European and indigenous heritage. This later was useful in living through slavery and revolting later on. In conclusion, the spread of ideas and culture was the most significant result of the Age of
After the beginnings of agricultural booms across the world, civilizations led to empires. China was and still is one of the largest nations in the world, with a large population and industrial trade. During the legacy of the past dynasties, the provinces of China were all in position to take totalitarian power over one another. In my opinion, the most impressive feats accomplished by the Chinese were the Great Wall, Grand Canal, and naval fleet, all of which showcased early China’s attempts for a role in global dominance.