Changes Driven By Conflict
Civilizations would often clash over the years, bringing together very different cultures and increasing innovation among the peoples who were affected. Prominent changes were things such as the introduction of new diseases, the spread of technology, and the movement of ideas across Eurasia during the late 1200s until around 1300. This was all largely due to the rise of Mongol powers and the vast empire they managed to create in their hunger for wealth and land.
Change 1: Arrival of the Black Plague in Europe
The Black plague is infamous for wiping huge numbers of Europeans after it spread from East to West through a mixture of war and trade. It caused extremely painful sores to develop on the body as well as causing necrosis in the hands and feet causing the flesh to turn black. The importance of the plague in history is that it culled the European population which then caused the system relying on serfs for labor to quickly undergo reform, as the peasant population had been reduced so much that serfdom was no longer an efficient way to organize labor. This resulted in peasants being able to acquire greater wealth because of the low supply of workers bringing about more equality.The cause for this was the re-invigoration of trade from the silk road and Mongol invasions on Europe's borders. Trade allowed oriental rats to travel along with caravans of goods into the European population where infected fleas would transmit the disease throughout multiple cities. The Mongolian invasions also helped the pandemic spread, because the Mongolians would use siege weapons to hurl infected bodies into the cities they were attempting to conquer. The survivors would then flee the city when possible and from them, the disease would move on to the next victims.
http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Fighting-Infection/Sci-Media/Images/Black-Plague-street-scene-1300s
Change 1: Arrival of the Black Plague in Europe
The Black plague is infamous for wiping huge numbers of Europeans after it spread from East to West through a mixture of war and trade. It caused extremely painful sores to develop on the body as well as causing necrosis in the hands and feet causing the flesh to turn black. The importance of the plague in history is that it culled the European population which then caused the system relying on serfs for labor to quickly undergo reform, as the peasant population had been reduced so much that serfdom was no longer an efficient way to organize labor. This resulted in peasants being able to acquire greater wealth because of the low supply of workers bringing about more equality.The cause for this was the re-invigoration of trade from the silk road and Mongol invasions on Europe's borders. Trade allowed oriental rats to travel along with caravans of goods into the European population where infected fleas would transmit the disease throughout multiple cities. The Mongolian invasions also helped the pandemic spread, because the Mongolians would use siege weapons to hurl infected bodies into the cities they were attempting to conquer. The survivors would then flee the city when possible and from them, the disease would move on to the next victims.
http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Fighting-Infection/Sci-Media/Images/Black-Plague-street-scene-1300s
Change 2: Yuan China and Trade With Europe
The Mongols conquered China in the late 1200s under the leadership of Kublai Khan and not only reunited the separated empire, but caused a huge amount of change for the entire world. The reason was that they wanted to plunder the weakened empire for it's wealth, and also to gain land for their own people, greed and expansion. This resulted in the reopening of the silk road which allowed the new Mongol led Yuan Dynasty of China to begin trade again causing items such as high quality porcelain and purified saltpeter which was used to make gunpowder to reach Europe. In return, China received a great amount of influence from Muslims who were also part of the trading system, the effects of this can be seen today in the Islamic parts of Western Asia. The Mongolians also began to rejuvenate a Chinese infrastructure which had been withering in the years that it was separated into multiple states. As Mongolian power began to die out, many of them began to be assimilated into China. The end result was a new start to Eurasian trade, which would lead to the black plague's spread, the introduction of Mongolia's culture into China's, and a reunited Chinese state.
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Yuan/yuan.html
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/yuan.htm
The Mongols conquered China in the late 1200s under the leadership of Kublai Khan and not only reunited the separated empire, but caused a huge amount of change for the entire world. The reason was that they wanted to plunder the weakened empire for it's wealth, and also to gain land for their own people, greed and expansion. This resulted in the reopening of the silk road which allowed the new Mongol led Yuan Dynasty of China to begin trade again causing items such as high quality porcelain and purified saltpeter which was used to make gunpowder to reach Europe. In return, China received a great amount of influence from Muslims who were also part of the trading system, the effects of this can be seen today in the Islamic parts of Western Asia. The Mongolians also began to rejuvenate a Chinese infrastructure which had been withering in the years that it was separated into multiple states. As Mongolian power began to die out, many of them began to be assimilated into China. The end result was a new start to Eurasian trade, which would lead to the black plague's spread, the introduction of Mongolia's culture into China's, and a reunited Chinese state.
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Yuan/yuan.html
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/yuan.htm
Change 3: The Start of Russia
The Mongol invasion of what is today Russia began in the early 1200s. Led by a number of different Mongol Khans and generals, the reason for the campaign was to gain more territory and riches. The conquering of Russia increased the size of the Mongol Empire greatly, however, their empire did not last long so that was ultimately unimportant. The biggest change that the invasion of the Russian territories brought, was the amount of development that it allowed the rising civilization. Although the Mongols did kill a large number of inhabitants, the foreign invaders also gave rulers the chance to take a position of power over their rivals, and would bring a measure of security afterwards so the Russians could develop without infighting or fear of invaders because the Mongols would back the leaders who collaborated with them. Without Mongol influence, Russia would have continued their infighting for dozens of years, preventing them from developing into the world power they are today.
http://www.sras.org/the_effects_of_the_mongol_empire_on_russia
http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/russia/ru01.html
The Mongol invasion of what is today Russia began in the early 1200s. Led by a number of different Mongol Khans and generals, the reason for the campaign was to gain more territory and riches. The conquering of Russia increased the size of the Mongol Empire greatly, however, their empire did not last long so that was ultimately unimportant. The biggest change that the invasion of the Russian territories brought, was the amount of development that it allowed the rising civilization. Although the Mongols did kill a large number of inhabitants, the foreign invaders also gave rulers the chance to take a position of power over their rivals, and would bring a measure of security afterwards so the Russians could develop without infighting or fear of invaders because the Mongols would back the leaders who collaborated with them. Without Mongol influence, Russia would have continued their infighting for dozens of years, preventing them from developing into the world power they are today.
http://www.sras.org/the_effects_of_the_mongol_empire_on_russia
http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/russia/ru01.html