LT Bradley Sherer Environmental Engineer Indian Health Service Albuquerque Area Office
The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century - Sherer History...5. in present-day central New York State,...
Transcript of The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century - Sherer History...5. in present-day central New York State,...
Beginning to think about the Fifteenth Century
1. Before reading chapter 12, what impression of Christopher Columbus
do you have?
2. What reasons are given as to why some are rethinking Columbus’
reputation in history?
“Sometimes, the past can be as unpredictable as the future” - Strayer
3. What predictions about the future might a global traveler in the
fifteenth century have reasonably made?
The Shapes of Human Communities
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
A. In 1500, the world still had all types of societies
from G&H to empires
BUT…the balance was drastically shifting
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
B. Paleolithic Persistence: Australia and North America
1. G&H existed throughout Australia, much of Siberia, arctic coastlands, and
parts of America and Africa
2. societies had changed over time via interaction (some diffusion)
3. Australian Gathers and Hunters
a. 250 separate groups
b. assimilated “outside technologies” and ideas
outrigger canoe, fish hooks, netting techniques, artistic styles, rituals, mythological
concepts
c. had NOT adopted agriculture (despite proximity to farmers)
d. H.E.I – fire stick farming
e. exchanged goods over hundreds of miles
f. developed sophisticated sculpture and rock paintings
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
B. Paleolithic Persistence: Australia and North America
4. northwest coast of North America developed VERY DIFFERENTLY
a. abundant environment allowed development of a complex G&H culture
b. had permanent villages, economic specialization, hierarchies that sometimes included slavery,
chiefdoms and food storage
5. elsewhere, farming had advanced and absorbed Paleolithic lands and
people
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
C. Agricultural Village Societies: The Igbo and Iroquois
1. predominated in much of North America, parts of Amazon River basin,
Southeast Asia and Africa south of the Equator
2. their societies mostly avoided
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
C. Agricultural Village Societies: The Igbo and Iroquois
3. the example of forested region in present-day southern Nigeria
a. by 1400s, Yoruba and Benin people had begun developing small states and urban
centers
4. Igbo Peoples
a. dense population and trade
b. purposely rejected kingship and state building
c. relied on title societies, woman’s associations, and hereditary ritual experts to create a
stateless society
d. traded with Yoruba, Benin and beyond
e. region shared common artistic traditions
f. all shifted from matrilineal to patrilineal
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
C. Agricultural Village Societies: The Igbo and Iroquois
5. in present-day central New York State, agricultural village societies
underwent substantial change in the centuries before 1500
a. Iroquois speakers had become fully agricultural by c.1300 (maize / beans)
b. population growth, emergence of distinct people
c. rise of warfare as key to male prestige
probably since farming was now associated with females (males out of food business)
d. extensive warfare triggered the creation of the Iroquois confederation
impressed Europeans with social equality and personal freedom (women too)
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
D. Pastoral Peoples: Central Asia and West Africa
1. Timur (Tamerlane) – Turkic warrior attempts to reunify Mongol Empire
a. army devastated Russia, Persia, and India
b. dies in 1405 while preparing invasion of China
c. successors kept control of areas between Persia and Afghanistan for a century
d. the last great military success of Central Asian nomads
2. in following centuries, steppe nomads swallowed up by expanding
Russian and Chinese Empires
The Shapes of Human Communities in 1400s
D. Pastoral Peoples: Central Asia and West Africa
3. African pastoralists remain independent longer – until late 19th century
4. example of the Fulbe of West Africa (largest pastoral society)
a. gradual migration eastwards after 1000 CE
b. usually lived in small communities among agriculturalists
c. gradually adopted Islam
d. some move to towns and become religious leaders
e. series of Jihads create new Fulbe-ruled states in the 18th and 19th centuries
Exploration 1. What drives human
exploration?
2. Create a timeline of Zheng He’s life; what were the major turning points?
3. How did being a eunuch affect Zheng He’s life?
4. What was their motives?
5. Strengths / Limitations
6. Significance: Immediate / Long Term
List three facts about Zheng He’s voyages.
Why did Portugal enter the exploration business?
Where did the Portuguese explore? Why? (motives)
What is a trading post empire?
What are a few myths of Columbus’ voyages of exploration?
What was the Line of Demarcation? Was it fair?
Who was the “best” mariner; Zheng He, Columbus or da Gama? (Argument)