Deck 8: E: Commerce and Culture 500-1500

Question 1

Comparative Analysis: Compare and contrast the integration of Southeast Asia and Swahili East Africa into the Indian Ocean world.

Answer 1

•By way of comparison,the development of stronger states in both regions was sparked in part by the wealth generated by the Indian ocean trade network.
•Both regions partook fully in the Indian ocean trade network.
•Both regions were heavily influenced by religious traditions from elsewhere in the Indian ocean world-Buddhism in Southeast Asia,Islam in Swahili East Africa.
•Both regions drew key political and cultural innovations from other parts of the Indian ocean world.
•Both regions received settlers from elsewhere in the Indian ocean world who proved influential to their development.
•In contrast,Southeast Asia was much more heavily influenced by Indian civilization,while Swahili East Africa was more heavily influenced by the Islamic world.
•Southeast Asian trading states developed at a bottleneck in the all-sea route between China and India,while Swahili East Africa developed as a point of interchange where goods from the interior of sub-Saharan Africa were accumulated and then traded for goods from the rest of the Indian ocean world.

Question 2

How did trade along the Silk Roads,Sea Roads,and Sand Roads spur political,economic,social,and cultural changes?

Answer 2

•Political changes:
oRulers used the wealth derived from commerce to expand and construct more centrally governed states and cities (for example,Srivijaya).
oSoutheast Asian rulers adopted the Indian political idea of god-kings and the Buddhist idea of karma to justify and strengthen their rule.
oSwahili civilization emerged as a result of increasing commerce in Indian ocean trade networks (merchant class emerged,villages became towns,chiefs became kings).
oStates,empires,and city-states emerged in western and central Sudan (Ghana,Mali,Songhay,Kanem,city-states of the Hausa people).
•Economic changes:
oThere was an increase in the manufacturing of the products most in demand.
oMany Chinese peasants focused on producing luxury goods for the Silk Road trade instead of cultivating food crops for subsistence and domestic markets.
•Social changes
oMerchants acquired immense wealth.
oIn China,where merchants were disdained,wealth from trade enabled them to acquire the symbols of status (education,silk,etc. ).
oSocial stratification was more prevalent.
oLuxury items like silk became identified with elite status.
oGender hierarchies were changed (matrilineal descent patterns replaced by patrilineal descent patterns in West Africa).
•Cultural changes
oSpread of belief systems (Confucianism,Hinduism,Buddhism,Islam,Christianity).
oIndian influence on Southeast Asia (artistic styles,literature,writing systems).

Question 3

Historical Analysis: “While long-distance trade across Afro-Eurasia predates 500 C.E., it grew in importance between 500 and 1500 C.E.” What key developments make this statement true?

Answer 3

•Trade increasingly altered consumption patterns and encouraged peoples across the zone to specialize in producing particular goods for market rather than being self-sufficient.
•Religious traditions such as Buddhism and Islam spread along the trade routes.
•Epidemic diseases spread more readily along the trade routes than before.
•Regions like Swahili East Africa,West Africa,and Southeast Asia developed stronger states in part because of increased commerce along the trade networks.
•Technological advances,including the development of larger ships and the magnetic compass in China,increased trade.