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AP World History AMSCO Guided Notes

2.7: Comparison of Economic Exchange

AP World History
AMSCO Guided Notes
2.1 The Silk Roads
2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Modern World
2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean
2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity
2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
2.7 Comparison of Economic Exchange

AP World History Guided Notes

AMSCO 2.7 - Comparison of Economic Exchange

Essential Questions

  1. What were the similarities and differences among the various networks of exchange in the period from c. 1200 to c. 1450?
I. Similarities Among Networks of Exchange

1. What were the three major trading networks that connected Africa, Europe, and Asia between c. 1200 and c. 1450?

A. Origins

1. How did early trade routes from before the common era influence the postclassical trading networks?

2. Why did stable kingdoms and empires need to support trade routes, and what technologies did they provide?

B. Purpose

1. What was the primary economic purpose of the trading networks?

2. Beyond economic goods, what else did merchants, diplomats, and missionaries exchange along the trade routes?

C. Effects

1. How did trading cities function as 'knots' that held the trade networks together?

2. How did the wealth of trading cities like Malacca lead to centralization and the development of strong navies?

3. Why did trading cities desire standardized currencies, and what role did this play in commerce?

II. Differences Among Networks of Exchange

1. In what four major ways did the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean routes, and trans-Saharan routes differ from one another?

2. How did different regions use alternative forms of currency before shifting to metal-based money economies?

3. What innovations did the Chinese develop to make commerce less bulky and more efficient?

III. Social Implications of Networks of Exchange

A. Labor

1. What forms of labor existed during the period between 1200 and 1450, and how did demand for labor change?

2. How were large-scale projects like irrigation canals and military defenses organized, and what role did kinship ties play?

B. Social and Gender Structures

1. How did social structures during 1200-1450 remain defined by class or caste, and what exceptions existed?

2. In what regions did women exercise more power and influence, and what opportunities did they have?

C. Environmental Processes

1. How did the interconnections of trade networks contribute to the spread of the Black Death and its impact on populations?

2. What environmental changes resulted from increased trade, agriculture, and population growth?