In this unit, we learned about primary and secondary sources as well as how you might learn, but we also covered a great deal of material. Below are the essential questions that the state of Virginia has decided you need to know the answers to. If you do not know the answers you should probably study this unit or come see me.

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• Where were the major trade routes in the Eastern Hemisphere from 1000 to 1500 a.d. (c.e.)?

• How did trade facilitate the diffusion of goods and ideas among different cultures?

• How has Japan’s geography influenced its development?

• How did Chinese culture influence Japan?

• Why were Shinto and Buddhism important to the development of Japanese culture?

• What were the characteristics of civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa during the medieval period?

• What were the characteristics of the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations

• How did European nation-states expand their territories and consolidate their power?

• What were key events and effects of the Crusades?

• What were the effects of the Mongol invasions?

• What were the effects of the Ottoman invasions of Europe?

• How did the Black Death (Bubonic plague) alter economic and social institutions in much of Asia and then in Europe?

• How did European scholars begin to interpret and value ancient learning?

• How did the Crusades stimulate trade between Europe and the Muslim Empir

• What were the economic foundations of the Italian Renaissance?

• How did northern Italian cities benefit from their geographic location?

• How did Italian city-states achieve importance and develop politically?

• What were Machiavelli’s ideas about power?

• How did the arts and literature of the Renaissance differ from those of the Middle Ages?

• Who were prominent Italian Renaissance artists and writers?

• How did knowledge of the classical Greeks and Romans foster humanism in the Italian Renaissance?

• How did ideas of the Italian Renaissance change as they were adopted in northern Europe?

• Who were important artists and writers of the Northern Renaissance?

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The state of Virginia also gives us a list of the information that you will be tested on. They call it the essential knowledge. You will find the essential knowledge for this unit below:

 

Major trade patterns of the Eastern Hemisphere from 1000 to 1500 a.d. (c.e.)

• Silk Routes across Asia to the Mediterranean basin

• Maritime routes across the Indian Ocean

• Trans-Saharan routes across North Africa

• Northern European links with the Black Sea

• Western European sea and river trade

• South China Sea and lands of Southeast Asia

 

Goods

• Gold from West Africa

• Spices from lands around the Indian Ocean

• Textiles from India, China, the Middle East, and later Europe

• Porcelain from China and Persia

• Amber from the Baltic region

 

Technology

• Paper from China through the Muslim world to Byzantium and Western Europe

• New crops from India (e.g., for making sugar)

• Waterwheels and windmills from the Middle East

• Navigation: Compass from China, lateen sail from Indian Ocean region

 

Ideas

• Spread of religions across the hemisphere

• Buddhism from China to Korea and Japan

• Hinduism and Buddhism from India to Southeast Asia

• Islam into West Africa, Central and Southeast Asia

• Printing and paper money from China

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Location and place

• Mountainous Japanese archipelago (four main islands)

• Sea of Japan or East Sea between Japan and Asian mainland

• Proximity to China and Korea

 

Influence of Chinese culture

• Writing

• Architecture

• Buddhism

 

Shinto

• Ethnic religion unique to Japan

• Importance of natural features, forces of nature, and ancestors

• State religion; worship of the emperor

• Coexistence with Buddhism

 

Axum

• Location relative to the Ethiopian Highlands and the Nile River

• Christian kingdom

 

Zimbabwe

• Location relative to the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers and the Indian Ocean coast

• City of “Great Zimbabwe” as capital of a prosperous empire

 

West African kingdoms

• Location of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires relative to Niger River and the Sahara

• Importance of gold and salt to trans-Saharan trade

• City of Timbuktu as center of trade and learning

• Roles of animism and Islam

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Mayan civilization

• Located in the Mexican and Central American rain forests

• Represented by Chichén Itzá

• Groups of city-states ruled by kings

• Economy based on agriculture and trade

• Polytheistic religion: Pyramids

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Aztec civilization

• Located in arid valley in central Mexico

• Represented by Tenochtitlan

• Ruled by an emperor

• Economy based on agriculture and tribute from conquered peoples

• Polytheistic religion: Pyramids, rituals

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​Incan civilization

• Located in the Andes Mountains of South America

• Represented by Machu Picchu

• Ruled by an emperor

• Economy based on high-altitude agriculture

• Polytheistic religion

• Road system

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​Achievements of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations

• Calendars

• Mathematics

• Writing and other record-keeping systems

 

England

• William the Conqueror, leader of the Norman Conquest, united most of England.

• Common law had its beginnings during the reign of Henry II.

• King John signed the Magna Carta, limiting the king’s power.

• The Hundred Years’ War between England and France helped define England as a nation.

• Evolution of Parliament.

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France

• Hugh Capet established the French throne in Paris, and his dynasty gradually expanded their control over most of France.

• The Hundred Years’ War between England and France helped define France as a nation.

• Joan of Arc was a unifying factor.

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Spain

• Ferdinand and Isabella unified the country and expelled Jews and Moors.

• Spanish Empire in the Western Hemisphere expanded under Charles V.

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Russia

• Ivan the Great threw off the rule of the Mongols, centralized power in Moscow, and expanded the Russian nation.

• Power was centralized in the hands of the tsar.

• The Orthodox Church influenced unification.

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Key events of the Crusades

• Pope Urban’s speech

• The capture of Jerusalem

• Founding of Crusader states

• Loss of Jerusalem to Saladin

• Sack of Constantinople by western Crusaders

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Effects of the Crusades

• Weakened the Pope and nobles; strengthened monarchs

• Stimulated trade throughout the Mediterranean area and the Middle East

• Left a legacy of bitterness among Christians, Jews, and Muslims

• Weakened the Byzantine Empire

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Mongol armies

• Invaded Russia, China, and Muslim states in Southwest Asia, destroying cities and countryside

• Created an empire

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Constantinople

• Fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire

• Became capital of the Ottoman Empire

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Impact of the Black Death (Bubonic plague)

• Decline in population

• Scarcity of labor

• Towns freed from feudal obligations

• Decline of Church influence

• Disruption of trade

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Church scholars

• Were among the very few who could read and write

• Worked in monasteries

• Translated Greek and Arabic works into Latin

• Made new knowledge in philosophy, medicine, and science available in Europe

• Laid the foundations for the rise of universities in Europe

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Economic effects of the Crusades

• Increased demand for Middle Eastern products

• Stimulated production of goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets

• Encouraged the use of credit and banking

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Important economic concepts

• Church rule against usury and the banks’ practice of charging interest helped to secularize northern Italy.

• Letters of credit served to expand the supply of money and expedite trade.

• New accounting and bookkeeping practices (use of Arabic numerals) were introduced.

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Florence, Venice, and Genoa

• Had access to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets

• Served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe

• Were initially independent city-states governed as republics

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Machiavelli’s The Prince

• An early modern treatise on government

• Supports absolute power of the ruler

• Maintains that the end justifies the means

• Advises that one should not only do good if possible, but do evil when necessary

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Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation, while Renaissance art and literature focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity.

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Artistic and literary creativity

• Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa and The Last Supper

• Michelangelo: Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and David

• Petrarch: Sonnets, humanist scholarship

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Humanism

• Celebrated the individual

• Stimulated the study of classical Greek and Roman literature and culture

• Supported by wealthy patrons

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Northern Renaissance

• Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas.

• Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity.

• The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (e.g., Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas.

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Northern Renaissance writers

• Erasmus: The Praise of Folly (1511)

• Sir Thomas More: Utopia (1516)

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Northern Renaissance artists portrayed religious and secular subjects.