7: Converging Patterns: 1000 CE - 1450 CE (Era 4..

Historical Overview

This unit addresses the period from 1000 CE to 1450 CE, which according to most world historians comprises a second portion of a much larger era (500 CE to 1500 CE). Between 1000 and 1500 CE, long distance commerce intensified across Afroeurasia as the world reached the edge of modernity. Two empires emerged that were substantially larger than the Han and Roman states: the Arab Muslim Empire of the eighth century and the Mongol Empire of the thirteenth century. Other large empires such as Mali in West Africa and the Aztec and Incan empires in Mesoamerica and South America also emerged during this time. In short, humanity experienced political, economic, and cultural growth that would set the stage for the beginnings of globalization.

In West Africa, sophisticated societies and empires followed patterns similar to those of Eurasia. They grew and thrived due to trade and the exploitation of raw materials, however, both internal and external factors led to their decline. For example, the Mali Empire was the largest empire in Africa during its existence and had political, economic, and social systems much like other empires in world history.

Advanced civilizations and empires also developed in the Americas, most notably the Aztec and Incan Empires. These empires built on the networks and advances of past American empires like the Olmec, Maya and Moche. The Aztec and Incan empires were characterized by powerful emperors tied to a religious hierarchy, strong militaries, and expanding networks of trade and political connections. These empires were similar to the empires of Afroeurasia in some broad, general ways, but lacked certain technologies because of Geographic Luck. These differences would be most evident when societies from different world zones finally come into contact.

Important events in this era involved the geographic theme of movement, as large scale movements of people, ideas, technologies, and disease changed the world. Long-distance commerce intensified across Afroeurasia between 1000 and 1500 CE with the Indian Ocean emerging as a major trading hub. The Silk Roads continued to carry goods, ideas, and even disease as the Mongol Empire consolidated its hold over a vast area of Eurasia. The Mongol’s focus on trade, quest for knowledge, and organizational skills resulted in a more rapid and extensive diffusion of ideas and goods throughout Eurasia. As inventions such as mechanical printing, gunpowder, and the compass emanated from China, a great deal of scientific and technological cross-fertilization occurred making the world more connected.

Religion, trade and empire continued to be closely connected in this era. Just as imperial administrations consolidated political power, so too did belief systems. Local traditions and beliefs were eclipsed by Universalist religions because they appealed to people from different cultural backgrounds and were a means to facilitate trade. Islam, a new major monotheistic religion, developed during this time and spread rapidly through trade, warfare, and intensified cultural diffusion.

Religion played a critical role in the movement of people across large expanses of land. The Crusades were an attempt by Christian Europe to reclaim holy lands lost during the Islamic invasions. Despite the violence and carnage, the Crusades promoted an exchange of ideas and goods which in turn stimulated connectedness between peoples. These increased connections were not without negative consequences, however. The spread of the Bubonic Plague, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, was facilitated by the extensive trade networks characteristic of this period.

Despite the political, economic and cultural growth witnessed during this era, the benefits of increased interactions were not equally shared by individuals and societies. Many people died in the numerous wars and authoritarian rulers taxed their subjects ruthlessly. Even though humanity made progress, slavery continued to endure. On the eve of the Age of Exploration, this would have a huge impact on the trajectory of human history.

Instructional Overview

This is the final unit of the course. As such, it is designed to not only introduce students to content contained within the historical period under study, but provide a way for students to reflect on the patterns of human history over time.

Students begin this unit with an investigation of the kingdoms in Africa, with a particular focus on Ghana and Mali. After considering the factors that led to the decline of the kingdom of Ghana, students read six historical accounts to investigate the Mali Empire, the biggest African empire during this era. Based on what students learn from these accounts, they make some conclusions about the Mali Empire and consider other historical perspectives about African history.

Students then investigate the Aztecs and Incans by engaging with maps, timelines, images, and information about both empires in an interactive PowerPoint. By analyzing and comparing important social institutions from both societies, as well as the Mayans, students develop a broad picture of the “American” pattern with respect to social institutions. They use this pattern to compare it with the development of social institutions in Afroeurasia as a way to review concepts and patterns from previous units and revisit images and slides from past lessons. In doing so, students examine how people from different world zones are converging and make predictions about what will happen. Optional projects on the Americas are offered as performance assessments.

Using the theme of movement, the unit then explores three significant events occurring during this era – the Crusades, Mongol Invasions, and the spread of the Bubonic Plague. Students analyze maps and images in a PowerPoint presentation to explore the geographic theme of movement with respect to these three events. They read an overview article and engage in a text coding exercise to analyze the large patterns of change in the world between 1000 and 1453 CE. Students then focus on changes related to trade networks, government, movement and migration, culture and knowledge, religion, and technology. Working in small groups, students analyze the large patterns of change and study temporal and spatial patterns. The lesson ends with an optional extension research project in which students focus on one of three large events to explore its impact on the world.

The final lesson in this unit serves as an opportunity to review the course through a project. Students review how human societies have become more complex since the Neolithic Revolution, with more people living in concentrated areas. As this has happened, new problems have developed, and in response, so have new and innovative solutions to these problems. Collective learning has been a key factor of human development across our history, and the speed and reach of collective learning has been steadily increasing. Students use the historical frame of “continuity and change” to conduct research about human history by looking at what has stayed the same and what has changed in Eras 1-4. They learn that there have been many important turning points in human history that signaled the beginnings of new eras. Basic human needs have remained the same, although the ways in which humans have met these challenges has changed greatly. By selecting a topic, gathering evidence, making conclusions, and presenting their ideas to peers, students explore major trends across Eras 1-4.

Challenges for Students

Simultaneity will continue to be problematic for some students. Some of the lessons focus on different world regions. It is easy for students to not realize that these events are happening at the same time so it is important for teachers to remind students of simultaneity through the use of timelines and maps.

Likewise, it is imperative that teachers help students appreciate the large patterns of human history by focusing on the commonalities shared across societies. One common theme throughout the unit is the impact of cultural diffusion on human history. As goods, ideas, and people moved along trade routes, there were both intended and unintended consequences of these movements. It is also important for students to see how the political, economic, and cultural growth of this era set the stage for the beginnings of globalization. These long-term complex causal relationships will be difficult for some students to comprehend. It is also necessary to remind student that in history “hindsight is 20-20.” While looking back at events one perceives a sense of clarity from a contemporary vantage point, such a perspective was not present for the people who lived at that time.

Finally, students may continue to have problems considering structural, environmental, or large scale institutional causes for events. Most students – even through college – attribute change to strictly human agency, ignoring the factors that shape human agents. Using case studies to showcase similarities in the human story allows teachers to highlight these other causes of human events.

How did political, economic and cultural growth set the stage for globalization?