The west and the changing world balance notes summary analysis

The following texts are the property of their respective authors and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to share for free to students, teachers and users of the Web their texts will used only for illustrative educational and scientific purposes only.

All the information in our site are given for nonprofit educational purposes

The information of medicine and health contained in the site are of a general nature and purpose which is purely informative and for this reason may not replace in any case, the council of a doctor or a qualified entity legally to the profession.

The west and the changing world balance notes summary analysis

CHAPTER 15: THE WEST AND THE
CHANGING WORLD BALANCE
Pages 498 – 513

SUMMARY

The Decline of the Old Order

The first step in the new world order that was beginning to emerge by 1400 involved reshuffling in the Middle East and north Africa. Following the destruction brought by the Mongols, who destroyed the Abbasid Empire, the Ottomans rose to power, conquered the Byzantine Empire and overran most of the region.

The Rise of the West

Western Europe began to undergo important changes in the 14th and 15th centuries. Some involved new problems such as trade and the rise of the Ottoman Empire; others like the Renaissance and maritime expeditions created new opportunities. Examining of the various strengths and weaknesses of this once backward region sets the stage for Europe’s new ventures in world trade.

Western Expansion: The Experimental Phase

Specific European attempts to explore the Atlantic beyond the earlier Viking voyages in the North Atlantic began in the later 13th century. Early discoveries increased Europeans’ interest in setting up a colonial system.

Outside the World Network

The international framework that had developed during the postclassical period embraced most of Asia, Europe, and Africa. This network left out important groups such as the Polynesians and American Indians and regions, Mesoamerican and the Andean civilizations, that had their own vigorous histories in their centuries.

Conclusion: Adding Up the Changes

The world history framework that began to take shape after 1400 was the most important change since the fall of the classical empires almost a thousand years before, and it was to last in broad outlines for centuries. The causes of the new western European ascendancy were complex. They mixed new technologies, derived mainly from imitation, and new economic problems, with elements of a new secular and religious outlook. And the role of individuals was critical. All of these changes in Europe juxtapose against increasing weaknesses in the American states, the decline of the Arabs and the increasing self-isolation of China.
CHAPTER REVIEW

What led to the decline of the Muslim world and its empires?

How did the Mongols disrupt international relations?

Why were post-Mongol states unwilling to reestablish contacts?

What institutions and situations gave Europe an advantage?

How did the Renaissance affect and benefit European society?

What advantages did Spain and Portugal have when expansion began?

Which regions were outside the world network and why were they vulnerable?

VOCABULARY

Renaissance

Secularization

Humanism

Ethnocentrism

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS: Italy’s Renaissance Culture (Page 506)

Analysis
Who wrote it?
What was the author’s point of view?
How reliable is the document? Why?
What was the intent or purpose behind the document?
Who was the intended audience?
What is the document’s tone?

Interpreting
What values does Petrarch emphasize?

In what ways is Petrarch’s work secular and religious?

Why might this new outlook threaten the Medieval, sacred emphases?

What values does Petrarch exhibit that help European maritime expansion?

How does Petrarch emphasize individuality?
PHOTO EXERCISES: Europe’s New Spirit amid Old Values (Pages 505)

The European Renaissance broke with traditional medieval values associated with religion and the influence of the sacred and began to emphasize increasingly secular, everyday themes.

How does the painting represent religious themes?

How does the painting represent secular themes?

VISUALIZING THE PAST: Population Trends (Page 504)

Finding Relationships
Which continents have the largest and smallest populations?

Which continent has had the greatest population growth?

Trends
Which populations show the greatest change from 1000 – 1700?

What might account for the decline in Asian and African populations?

When did the population increase the most?

Why might account for the decline in Europe’s and Asia’s population between 1900 – 1975?

What information is missing that might make your analysis easier?

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

The medieval state, which originated in the Classical Era, and whose fall in 1453 signed the end of the Post-Classical era was
Song China
Abbasid Caliphate
Kievan Rus
Byzantine Empire
Mameluk Caliphate in Egypt

What change in Islam ended the Post-Classical age and began a new era?
Islamic faith and piety won out over rationalism and secular themes.
Mass conversions of Muslims to Christianity began.
The secularization of Islamic society began.
Islamic lands in Central Asia and the Middle East fell to Hindu conquerors.
Muslims began to speak of a messiah and await his coming.
As the Post-Classical era ended, within Muslim society
Christian and Jewish merchants began to dominate trade and commerce.
secularized schools opened.
landlords seized power over the peasants and agricultural productivity fell.
slavery was abolished.
women were granted rights to own property and work outside the home.

In comparison to the fall of the Roman Empire, the fall of the Arab caliphate
had few repercussions on its inhabitants.
was not due to outside invasions by pastoral nomads.
produced prolonged economic and political confusion on the Middle East.
left no religious institutions to support the Islamic faith.
was not dramatic or sudden but occurred gradually over several centuries.

The resulting power vacuum in international affairs following the collapse of the Arab caliphate was
further disrupted by the rise of the Mongols.
not restored until the West European nations emerged as great powers.
restored the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East.
restored by the Ming Dynasty in China.
not restored until the 19th century C.E. when Great Britain created an empire that spanned all continents.

The Ming Chinese naval expeditions of the early 15th century C.E.
ended because they challenged Confucian values and typical expenditures.
were followed by the Chinese conquest of Southeast Asia.
were stopped by Muslim navies in the Indian Ocean.
led to a renewed Chinese interest in scientific and geographic exploration.
stimulated trade between China and Africa.

The Ming Dynasty in China valued all of the policies and traditions EXCEPT:
reviving foreign relations and the tribute system with its neighbors.
military expenditures to eliminate nomadic threats in Northern China.
explorations and overseas adventures.
agricultural interests over commercial opportunities.
internal economic development instead of trade.

All of these events led to the weakening or end of Medieval West European institutions EXCEPT the:
Bubonic Plague.
political and theological attacks on the Roman Catholic church.
rise of national monarchies.
Ottoman Turk invasion of Western Europe.
rise of non-aristocratic armies loyal to national monarchs.

The Renaissance in Europe
rejected medieval values.
was largely a cultural and intellectual movement.
was a political revolution against the power of the pope.
was not a rebirth of classical cultures as it borrowed little from Greek, Roman or Islamic achievements.
avoided challenging medieval values.

The Renaissance spirit of West Europe is BEST characterized as
religious and sacred.
imitative.
innovative and ambitious.
deferential towards elites and traditions.
fearful and fatalistic.

Besides the Italian city-states, the geographic region or state in West Europe MOST supportive of change at the end of the post-classical era was
the Holy Roman Empire (Germany and Low Countries).
France.
England.
the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).
Russia.

The major barrier to West European expansion prior to the 15th century CE was
the low level of European technology.
the lack of interest by West European rulers for acquiring territory.
the overwhelming power of Muslim and Mongol states.
religious civil wars divided Western Europe and made overseas expansion impossible.
lack of popular interest and public funds to support expansion.

The first West European nation to establish an overseas empire in the 15th century CE was
the Netherlands.
Sweden.
Portugal.
Spain.
France.

The first European colonial estates were set up to
export foodstuffs back to Europe.
receive excess populations and alleviate overpopulation at home.
were unsuccessful and failed.
produce cash crops like sugar to supply European markets.
caused very few ecological, environmental, and demographic disruptions in the Atlantic islands.
Later developments that brought the Post-classical Age 1000 – 1450 CE to an end would have influenced and affected all of these regions EXCEPT:
the Middle East and North Africa.
East Asia.
South Asia.
West Europe.
Polynesia and the Americas.

ESSAYS

Compare and contrast the intellectual Renaissances of 12th and 15th century Europe.

Compare and contrast 13th century Muslim fundamentalist reaction to the increasing secularization of Western Europe.

Compare and contrast Chinese and Portuguese naval expeditions in the Indian Ocean during the 15th centuries.

Compare and contrast the end of the Post-Classical era with the collapse of the Classical Era.

Source : http://mrbowersclassroom.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/5/7/15576618/chapter_15.doc

Web site link to visit: http://mrbowersclassroom.weebly.com

Google key word : The west and the changing world balance notes summary analysis file type : doc

Author : not indicated on the source document of the above text

If you are the author of the text above and you not agree to share your knowledge for teaching, research, scholarship (for fair use as indicated in the United States copyrigh low) please send us an e-mail and we will remove your text quickly.