Eastern Hemisphere Notes Background: During the Medieval Period several major trade routes developed in the Eastern Hemisphere. These trading routes developed among Europe, Africa & Asia. What were some of the major trade routes in the E. Hemisphere? (1000 to 1500 AD/ CE) • Silk Roads across Asia to the Mediterranean Basin • Maritime (ocean) 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 What is so important about the trade routes during this time? Regional trade networks and long-distance trade routes in the Eastern Hemisphere helped or aided the diffusion and exchange of technology, goods, ideas, and culture between Europe, Africa and Asia. What goods are being traded? Where are they coming from? • Textiles-India, China, the Middle East, and later Europe • Spices- lands around the Indian Ocean • Porcelain- China and Persia • Amber- Baltic Regions (Northern Europe) • Gold- West Africa What technology is being adapted? Where did they originate? • Paper- from China through the Muslim world to Byzantium and Western Europe • Waterwheels- (Rome, China) and windmills (NW Europe, Middle East) • Navigation – Compass from China, lateen sail from Indian Ocean What religions are being spread through trade routes? • Buddhism from China to Korea and Japan • Hinduism and Buddhism from India to S.E. Asia • Islam into West Africa, Central and Southeast Asia What other idea is coming out of China through trade routes? Printing and paper money from China What African Empires existed during the Medieval Period? What regions in Africa where they located? • Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in West Africa • Axum in East Africa • Zimbabwe in Southern Africa What influenced these African Empires the most? Trade brought important economic, cultural and religious influences to African civilizations from other parts of the Eastern Hemisphere. Axum: Where is it located? Near the Ethiopian Highlands and the Nile River What is unique about Axum? Christian kingdom Zimbabwe: Where is it located? • Location relative to the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers • On coast of the Indian Ocean What is their capital city? City of Great Zimbabwe as capital of a prosperous (rich) empire Zimbabwe Video Notes 1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ West African Kingdoms: Ghana Video Notes 1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Mali Video Notes 1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Songhai Video Notes 1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ What were the three West African Kingdoms? Ghana, Mali, Songhai What geographical features were they near? Location relative to Niger River and the Sahara Desert What two important goods came out of Western Africa? gold and salt to trans-Saharan trade What was the major city? Timbuktu Video Notes on Timbuktu 1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ What other things influenced West African kingdoms? • Role of Animism and Islam o Animism – spirits in animals, plant, natural forces, that play in important role in regulating daily life .