PC+Theme+4

The Creation, Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems in the Post Classical Period (~500 to ~1450):

I. Islam II. Byzantine III. Western Europe IV. Mongols V. China and Sinification

__Intro__

Economics are a huge part of world history. How civilizations went about formulating their economic structures changed how they blossomed as a culture. Economic expansion was present in most if not all societies to date. Without expansion and interaction of economies, the world would be in a much different situation. Trade, industrialization, socialism and capitalism, and labor systems were all affected by these expansions. The results of the interactions between civilizations were adaptations and adoption of customs, governmental systems, agricultural techniques, traded goods, and more.

__Islam__ Trade has forever been a major part of the spread of Islam. Muhammad was first exposed to monotheistic religion through merchants that were traveling through Mecca. Mecca is a city that was an important link between trade in the Mediterranean and east Asia. Mecca is located in the mountainous region by the Red Sea of the Arabian Peninsula. It was founded by the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh, and fostered an elite merchant class. It is also the religious site for the shrine Ka'ba, and a pilgrimage to Mecca is made at least once in a follower's lifetime. This caused Mecca to flourish in trade. Mecca also had a special truce between the feuding clans, so there was little violence and fear in the city. Trade is also the main way that Islam was spread through Africa and India. During the Abbasid rule many cultural aspects were refined. [|Achievements in science] flourished along with literature. This, with trade, allowed Islam to greatly influence the land including and surrounding it. The Muslims were keen to take other ideas from other civilizations and improve upon them, which was enhanced through trade.



__Byzantine__ In the Byzantine Empire, the areas close to the sea featured cereal crops, vines, and olive groves. The interior of the Balkans and Asia Minor concentrated on stock raising. Grain and silk were two of the most important commodities for the empire. Grain was shipped from Egypt and Syria, while silk came from China. In 550 c.e. [|Monks came from India and told Justinian Augustus that the Romans should no longer buy silk from the Persians]. They also discouraged the use of the Silk Roads. They promised to teach the Romans to make their own silk, and told them about silk worms. The Monks brought the worm eggs from India to the Romans, which promoted the silk industry in Rome from that point on. Now the major trade hub of Byzantium was Constantinople. Constantinople was located on important east-west and north-south trade routes. Oil, meat, wine, salt, fish, vegetables, timber, wax, linen, ceramics, woven cloth, and other alimentary products. In addition luxury items such as silks, spices, and perfumes were traded. There was also a slave trade taking place. Byzantium's most important export was textiles. These textiles that were exported allowed new items to be developed and discovered. The cities in Byzantine usually had this structure: they were arranged around two poles, the estate and the village, which was basically a collection of free smallholders. The tenants and the villagers paid taxes to the state. The Byzantine trade was a vast network of trade routes that greatly benefitted their commerce. This trade allowed them to be exposed to new ideas from other countries, which in turn gave them the opportunity to adopt those ideas to their own society. This helped further their civilization as a whole.

__Western Europe__ One of the major forms of agriculture and social systems that developed in Western Europe is manorialism. The serfs were peasant laborers that lived on agricultural estates called manors. The serfs depended on the landowners for protection (by [|Charlemagne's legislation]) in turn for their labor. After this trade was officially revived in the 10th century with the development of the moalboard plow and the three-field system. Another important innovation is banking, which was developed by Italian businessmen. The Italian merchant trade routes also connected Western Europe. The weak government allowed these merchants to have more rights than other merchant classes in other civilizations. In fact the government basically left the merchants alone aside from taxation. This kind of urban development allowed more specialized manufacturing which then increased trade. Aside from this Western Europe had very little industrialization and innovation. Now in terms of capitalism the Pope headed the hierarchy that was based on the Roman imperial model. In addition, around the 6th century feudalism developed and this bridged together Western Europe. Feudalism served as a vital tool to unite the European countries. They had a very fractured government before this, and feudalism also produced contacts throughout Europe. This connection lasts throughout the rest of the post classical period, and forged the links for the future of Western European civilization. \

__Mongols__ Mongol used conquest as a means to gain profit. They were even payed to leave civilizations alone (China). Mongols had a certain tolerance for foreign religion, people, and what not. Whenever they conquered a society and after they were subdued they did not interfere with the religious affiliation of the people. This helped their economic growth. The Mongols also retained their nomadic lifestyle, despite the fact they took over very advanced cities. The Mongols also took over the trade routes of the areas that they conquered. This was an important factor in their economic growth and general economic situation. The Mongols established the largest land empire in the world. This contributed to the fact that they established a a very large trade connection with many civilizations, including China, India, Europe, and Islam. The Mongols didn’t really produce products as much, they facilitated the trade between Asia and Europe. The Mongols took over the silk road which stimulated their economy in a sense because of the European demand for Asian finery. The Mongols had a major impact on the civilizations around them, and world history in general. Even though they briefly ruled much of their conquered land (their reign only lasted about 100 years or so in many areas), they connected Eurasia by using their prowess in the trade routes that forged lasting connections that have endured for the rest of time.

__China__ The post classical era was essentially a renaissance for Chinese culture. Once the Tang dynasty was established, Confucian values were reinstated, and thus the bureaucracy was reborn. This bureaucracy raised the status of the scholar-gentry through the elevated demand of the examination system to become one of the scholars. This scholar-gentry attacked the Buddhist movement that was taking place in the early Tang dynasty, which furthered their power in the bureaucracy. They claimed that, because the Buddhist monasteries were not taxed, they posed an economic threat to the society. After the Tang declined and the Song took over the commerce of China increased drastically. The Song funded voyages on massive ships called junks. These junks gave them control over the sea-trade in Asia and was also the reason why flying money was invented. This early start for their economy greatly benefitted them: it allowed them to gain a new and improved reputation and opened new trade contacts that future dynasties could utilize.

__Sinification__ The sinification of Korea, Vietnam and Japan altered their cultures drastically. Korea adopted a profuse amount of aspects of Chinese culture, including their ways of commerce and their scholar-gentry. This affected their trade because the scholar-gentry studies about the Confucian teachings, and Confucius reduced the status of merchant greatly. Now in Vietnam, the most important aspect of Chinese culture that was adopted was their form of bureaucracy. They also adopted Chinese agricultural techniques. In Japan, Zen Buddhism (from China) and Pureland Buddhism became prominent. Zen Buddhism is the form of religion that the samurai practiced, and today there are still aspects of the samurai way in Japan. Other than this sinification had very little impact on Japan.