Download Civilizations of the 15th Century

Civilizations of the
Century
th
15
Comparing China and
Europe
The Little Ice Age
► About
1300 CE, global climatic change
caused temperatures to decline significantly
throughout the world.
► For more than 500 hundred years, the earth
experienced a “little ice age,” causing
shorter growing seasons and decreased
agricultural production which in many places
led to famine and even starvation.
The Little Ice Age
► In
some northern lands, agriculture ceased
to be a possibility altogether.
► The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Brueghel
(1565)
The Black Plague
► As
people around the world tried to cope
with the cooling climate, in the eastern
hemisphere there arose another new
challenge to human survival: devastating
epidemic disease.
► Bubonic plague bacteria infects rodents like
rats, prairie dogs, and squirrels, and fleas
transmit the pathogen from one rodent to
another.
The Black Plague
► If
rodent populations decline, fleas seek
other hosts including humans.
► In the early 14th Century, Mongol military
campaigns helped spread the plague from
the Yunnan region of southwestern China to
China’s interior: an epidemic in 1331
reportedly killed 90% of the population in
Hebei province, near modern Beijing.
The Black Plague
► Plague
victims
developed inflamed
lymph nodes, usually
in the neck, armpits,
and groin, and died
within a few days.
► Internal hemorrhaging
often caused the
inflammations (called
buboes) to turn black.
The Black Plague
► During
the 1340s Mongols, merchants, and
travelers spread the disease along the trade
routes to points west of China.
► During the 1350s epidemics broke out in
widely scattered regions of China, and
contemporaries claim 2/3 of the population in
afflicted areas perished.
► The disease thrived in the oases and trading
cities of central Asia, where domestic animals
and rodents provided abundant breeding
grounds for fleas.
The Black Plague
► By
1346 it had reached the Black Sea ports
of Caffa and Tana, and by 1347 Italian
merchants had accidently carried it back to
Italy from the Black Sea. By 1348,
epidemics were happening all along the
European trade routes.
The Black Plague
► Europe
would end up losing between 2533% of its population to the plague, mostly
in the urban trading cities.
► For unknown reasons, India and subSaharan Africa were largely spared the
devastating effects of the plague (India will
grow from about 90 million people in 1300
to about 105 million in 1500).
The Black Plague
► Because
of the human toll the plague
created, social unrest also followed its path.
► In western Europe, urban workers
demanded higher wages, and many left
their homes looking for better conditions.
► Political authorities responded by freezing
wages and forbidding workers to leave their
homes.
The Black Plague
► Thousands
of rural peasants tried to move
to regions where landlords offered better
terms; landlords responded by restricting
the peasant’s freedom to move and
imposing labor requirements (serfdom).
► Disgruntled workers and peasants mounted
a series of rebellions that shook western
Europe, but all were put down.
► The plague would eventually subside in the
17th Century.
Ming Dynasty China
► By
the mid-14th Century, the Mongol Yuan
dynasty was in disarray.
► Financial mismanagement and political
conflict led to assassinations and factional
fighting among the Mongols.
► In 1368, with the plague raging, the Yuan
dynasty collapsed, and the Mongols left
China en masse and returned to the
steppes, leaving China in political turmoil.
Ming Dynasty China
► If
you were able to be a traveler in time and
go back to the 15th century, Ming China
would be the place to start.
► Ming China was heir to a long tradition of
effective governance, sophisticated artistic
achievements, and a highly productive
economy.
Ming Dynasty China
► Even
though China
had been greatly
disrupted by nearly a
century of Mongol
rule and its
population greatly
reduced by the
plague, during the
Ming dynasty (13681644) China
recovered.
Ming Dynasty China
► The
first Ming emperor was
Hongwu, a man who came
from a family so poor, he
spent much of his youth as a
beggar.
► Orphaned as a youth, Hongwu
entered a Buddhist monastery
to assure himself of food,
clothing, and shelter.
Ming Dynasty China
► Because
of his size and strength, he came
to the attention of military commanders,
and he rose through the ranks to lead the
rebellious forces that toppled the Yuan
dynasty.
► In 1368 he became emperor Hongwu and
proclaimed the establishment of the “Ming”
dynasty (Ming means “brilliant”).
Ming Dynasty China
► During
the early decades of his dynasty,
Hongwu sought to eliminate all traces of
foreign (Mongol) rule, discouraging the use
of Mongol names and dress, while
promoting Confucian learning based on the
models of the Han, T’ang, and Song
dynasties (even though he cared little for
scholarly matters).
► Culturally, the Ming looked to the past (preMongol).
Ming Dynasty China
► Politically,
Hongwu reestablished the civil
service examination system that the
Mongols had neglected and he created a
highly centralized government based around
the emperor.
► In 1380 when he suspected his chief
minister of involvement in a treasonous
plot, Hongwu had the minister executed
along with his bureaucratic allies, then he
abolished the minister’s position.
Ming Dynasty China
► From
that point forward, Ming emperors ruled
directly, without the aid of their chief
ministers, and they closely supervised
imperial affairs.
► Ming emperors demanded absolute obedience
to their policies and initiatives.
Ming Dynasty China
► They
relied heavily
on the mandarins, a
special class of
powerful officials
sent out as
emissaries of the
central government
to ensure local
officials implemented
imperial policy.
Ming Dynasty China
cadre of eunuchs
personally loyal to the
emperor also had great
authority, much to the
chagrin of the
mandarins (as castrated
men, there was no fear
of them trying to seize
power and trying to
create a dynasty).
►A
Ming Dynasty China
► The
Ming used eunuchs much more
extensively than their predecessors with the
expectation that servants whose fortunes
depended exclusively on the emperor’s
favor would work especially diligently to
advance the emperor’s interests.
Ming Dynasty China
► Hongwu
wanted to eliminate all
governmental corruption (a major problem
under the Mongols).
► He tried to impress all officials with the
honesty, loyalty, and discipline he expected
from them through the practice of public
beatings for those found guilty of corruption
or incompetence.
Ming Dynasty China
► Officials
charged with misdeeds were
beaten on their bare tushies (several even
died).
► Those who survived never recovered from
the humiliation.
► Reverting back to Confucian veneration,
students were expected to follow the
instructions of their teachers without
question (even if the teachers were wrongbut you know teachers are NEVER wrong!-)
Ming Dynasty China
► One
student at the imperial academy dared
to dispute the lessons of one of his teachers
and was beheaded…his severed head was
put on a pole and hung at the academy
entrance.
► There wasn’t a problem with order in the
classroom after that.
Ming Dynasty China
► While
building a tightly centralized
bureaucracy, Ming rulers conscripted
laborers to rebuild irrigation systems that
the Mongols had neglected.
► Agricultural production soared as a result.
► They also promoted the manufacture of
porcelain, lacquerware, and fine silk and
cotton textiles.
Ming Dynasty China
► Ming
rulers did not actively promote trade
with foreign lands, but private Chinese
merchants eagerly sought out commercial
opportunities and developed a thriving
business marketing Chinese products from
Japan to the Malay Peninsula.
► Domestic trade surged within China, which
reflected increasing productivity and
prosperity.
Ming Dynasty China
► In
1402, Hongwu’s successor was crowned,
an emperor named Yongle (Yung la)
=emperor of perpetual happiness.
► He moved the capital of China from Nanjing
to Beijing (1402)…an area to the north not
far from the Great Wall which had been
depopulated by the Mongols.
Ming Dynasty China
► Emperor
Yongle (r 14021422) sponsored an
enormous Encyclopedia of
some 4,000+ volumes.
► With contributions from
over 2,000 scholars, this
work was to compile all
previous writing on
history, geography,
ethics, government and
more.
Ming Dynasty China
► Yongle
is also known for building the famous
Forbidden City in Beijing.
► Starting in 1406, Yongle had over 1,000,000
peasants conscripted to build what would
become the largest palace complex in the
world.
Ming Dynasty China
► Thousands
of peasants were sent into the
forests of southwestern China where they
were to cut great timbers for construction.
► These people were at the mercy of disease,
starvation, and wild animals…it is believed
over ½ of them died.
► It would take four years to get these
timbers from the forests to Beijing and
when construction began in 1417, it would
take 15 years to complete.
Ming Dynasty China
► The
Ming vigorously tried to repair the
damage of the Mongol years by restoring
millions of acres to cultivation; rebuilding
canals, reservoirs, and irrigation works; and
planting, according to some estimates, over
a billion trees to reforest China.
Ming Dynasty China
► China
also undertook the largest and most
impressive maritime expeditions the world had
ever seen.
► Since the 11th century, Chinese sailors and
traders had been a major presence in the
South China Sea and in Southeast Asian port
cities.
Ming Dynasty China
► An
enormous fleet, commissioned by
Emperor Yongle himself, was launched in
1405, followed over the next 28 years by six
more such expeditions.
► On board the more than 300 ships were
nearly 30,000 sailors and soldiers, 180
physicians, hundreds of government
officials, 5 astrologers, 7 high-ranking
“grand eunuchs,” carpenters, tailors,
accountants, merchants, translators, and
cooks.
Ming Dynasty China
Ming Dynasty China
► Visiting
many ports in
Southeast Asia,
Indonesia, India,
Arabia, and East Africa,
these fleets, captained
by Admiral Zheng He (a
Muslim eunuch from
western China), sought
to bring distant peoples
and states into the
Chinese tribute system.
Ming Dynasty China
► Dozens
of local rulers accompanied the
fleets back to China, where they presented
the emperor with gifts (and tribute),
performed the required rituals of submission
(kowtow), and in return, received abundant
gifts, titles, and trading opportunities.
► Chinese officials were amused by some of
the exotic products found abroad, especially
ostriches, zebras, and giraffes brought back
for the royal zoo.
Ming Dynasty China
► The
giraffe became the unicorn of Chinese
legends.
Ming Dynasty China
► Officially
described as “bringing order to the
world,” Zheng He’s expeditions sought to
establish Chinese power and prestige in the
Indian Ocean and to exert Chinese control
over foreign trade in the region.
Ming Dynasty China
► However
the Chinese did
not try to conquer or
colonize new territories
or spread their culture.
► On one of the voyages,
Zheng He erected on the
island of Ceylon (Sri
Lanka) a tablet honoring
the Buddha, Allah, and
the Hindu deity Vishnu.
Ming Dynasty China
► The
Chinese fleet as it probably looked on
the oceans:
Ming Dynasty China
► Zheng
He generally obtained his goals
through diplomacy as his 28,000 armed
soldiers usually overawed his hosts.
► But a contemporary reported that Zheng He
walked like a tiger, and did not shrink from
violence when he considered it necessary to
impress a foreign leader of China’s military
might.
► He also ruthlessly suppressed pirates who
had long plagued east Asian waters.
Ming Dynasty China
► Probably
the most surprising feature of
these voyages was how abruptly and
deliberately they ended.
► After 1433, Chinese officials simply stopped
their expeditions and allowed the most
expensive and magnificent fleet in history
(to that point) to disintegrate in port.
► The greatest navy in the world had been
ordered into “extinction.”
Ming Dynasty China
► Part
of the reason was the death of their
patron, Emperor Yongle.
► But many high-ranking Confucian scholar
officials had long seen the expeditions as a
waste of money because China, they
believed, was the self-sufficient “middle
kingdom,” requiring little from the outside
(barbarian) world.
► The Confucian scholars believed the money
would be better spent on agriculture.
Ming Dynasty China
► In
the eyes of the Confucian scholar
officials, the real danger to China came from
the north, where nomadic barbarians
(including the Mongols) constantly
threatened.
► The Confucian scholars also saw the
voyages as a project of the much despised
court eunuchs and saw this as a way to
lessen their power.
Ming Dynasty China
► Private
Chinese merchants continued to
trade with Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan,
and Southeast Asia, but they did so without
the support of their government.
► China turned its back on what was surely
within its reach…total domination of the
Indian Ocean region.
European Comparison
► At
the other end of the Eurasian continent,
similar processes of population recovery,
political consolidation, cultural flowering,
and overseas expansion were underway.
► Western Europe, having escaped the
Mongol onslaught but devastated by the
plague, began to rebound during the second
half of the 15th century.
European Comparison
► Politically,
Europe, like China continued its
earlier patterns of state building.
► In China, this meant a single, centralized
government that encompassed almost the
whole of its civilization.
► In Europe, it was a fragmented system of
separate, independent, and very
competitive states.
European Comparison
► Europe
in 1500:
European Comparison
► Many
of these states—Spain, Portugal,
France, England, the city-states of Italy
(Venice, Genoa, Milan, and Florence),
various German principalities—learned to
tax their citizens more efficiently, to create
more efficient and centralized administrative
structures, and to raise standing armies.
European Comparison
►A
small Russian state emerged, centered on
the city of Moscow as Mongol rule faded
away.
► Much of Europe’s state building was based
on the needs of war, a frequent occurrence
in such a competitive and fragmented
political environment.
► Long term implications?
European Comparison
► For
example, England and France fought
intermittently for more than a century in the
Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) over rival
claims to territory in France.
European Comparison
► Nothing
remotely similar disturbed the
internal life of Ming dynasty China.
► A renewed cultural blossoming, the
Renaissance (French for “rebirth”),
paralleled the revival of Confucianism in
China.
► In Europe, that blossoming celebrated and
reclaimed a classical Greco/Roman tradition
that had been kept alive in the Arab world.
European Comparison
► Beginning
in the vibrant commercial cities of
Italy between 1350-1500, the Renaissance
reflected the belief of the wealthy/powerful
elite that they were living in a new age, far
removed from the confined religious world
of feudal Europe.
► The few educated citizens of these cities
sought inspiration in the classical
art/literature of ancient Greece/Rome—they
were “returning to the sources” as they put
it.
European Comparison
► The
elite patronized
great Renaissance artists
like Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo, and
Raphael, whose
paintings were far more
naturalistic, particularly
when portraying the
human body, than those
of their medieval
counterparts.
European Comparison
► Even
though religious themes remained
prominent, Renaissance artists began to focus
more on the secular, on contemporary figures
or scenes from ancient mythology.
European Comparison
► In
the work of scholars, known as
“humanists,” reflection on secular topics such
as history, grammar, politics, poetry, rhetoric,
and ethics was more important than religious
topics.
European Comparison
► Machiavelli’s
(1469-1527)
famous work The Prince,
was a prescription for
political success based on
the way politics actually
operated in a highly
competitive Italy of rival
city-states rather than on
idealistic or religiously
based principles.
► Is it better to be loved or
European Comparison
► Heavily
influenced by classical models,
Renaissance figures were more interested in
capturing the unique qualities of particular
individuals and in describing the world as it
was than in portraying or exploring eternal
religious truths.
► In its focus on the affairs of this world,
Renaissance culture reflected the urban
bustle and commercial preoccupations of
the Italian cities.
European Comparison
► The
secular elements of the Renaissance
challenged the otherworldliness of Christian
culture, and its individualism signaled the
dawning of a more capitalist economy of
private entrepreneurs.
► A new Europe was in the making, more
different from its own recent past than Ming
dynasty China was from its pre-Mongol
glory.
European Comparison
► During
the Renaissance, to become wealthy
and stay wealthy required a high standard
of education…one could not be successful in
commerce or industry without knowing how
to read and write and being skillful with
numbers.
► Increased business meant more partnership
agreements, complicated wills, etc…i.e.
more law.
European Comparison
► The
influence of the past was strengthened
by the fact that the Renaissance had no
conception of progress…until the
Renaissance men did not believe that
society could steadily improve itself by
inventing new ways to exploit resources and
organize economies and governments.
► It seemed to Renaissance thinkers that the
ancients had done nearly everything about
as well as it could be done.
European Comparison
► Early
humanists believed that the
intellectual life should be one of solitude
and study.
► Later humanists, especially in Florence,
believed that it was the duty of an
intellectual to live an active life for one’s
community and country.
► They also believed that their study of the
humanities should be put to the service of
their community or country.
European Comparison
► So
there were three basic characteristics to
the Italian Renaissance:
► First: Renaissance Italy was largely an
urban society made up of powerful citystates.
► These city-states became centers of Italian
political, economic and social life.
European Comparison
► Second:
The Renaissance signaled an age
of recovery from the disasters at the end of
the post-classical period…namely the
destruction caused by the Black Plague, the
political disorder that was caused by it, and
the collapse of the world economy.
European Comparison
► Third:
The leaders of the Renaissance
began to look at humans in a new way.
► For the first time in over 1000 years, an
emphasis was placed on individual ability.
► Individuals tried to achieve a new social
ideal: the well-rounded personality or
universal person who was capable of
achievements in many areas of life (today
known as a “Renaissance man” or
“woman”).
European Comparison
► Leonardo
da Vinci
(1452-1519) for
example, was a
painter, sculptor,
architect, inventor,
scientist, and
mathematician.
► The ideal of a
“Renaissance
Man.”
European Comparison
► Our
modern notion of individualism
comes from this period, as people
began to seek personal credit for their
achievements…this was in contrast to
the medieval notion that all glory goes
to God, not the individual.
European Comparison
► Some
of the greatest artists in history did
not toil as anonymous craftsmen, they
sought prestige by competing for the
patronage of secular individuals like
merchants and bankers.
European Comparison
► Before
the dawn of
the Renaissance (i.e
Late Medieval
period 12th-14th
centuries), Europe
was dominated by
asymmetrical and
ornate Gothic
architecture.
European Comparison
► In
the early 1400’s, architects reverted back
to the older styles of Romanesque and
Greek.
► The architects of the Renaissance period
refined Greek and Roman architecture and
used new materials not usually associated
with Greece, like brick.
► Arab influences are also evident (like the
curved arches).
European Comparison
European Comparison
► The
Vatican:
European Comparison
► The
Europeans, like the Chinese, began
major outward-bound maritime expeditions
during the early part of the 15th century.
► Initiated in 1415 by the Portuguese and
supported by the state and blessed by the
Pope, their voyages began sailing down the
west coast of Africa.
► By the end of the century, two expeditions
marked major breakthroughs (Columbus in
1492, and Vasco da Gama in 1497).
European Comparison
► The
differences between the Chinese and
European oceangoing ventures were
striking, especially in terms of size.
► Columbus captained three ships with a crew
of 90, while da Gama had four ships
manned by about 170 sailors.
European Comparison
► These
were tiny fleets compared to the
great expeditions of Zheng He.
► “All the ships of Columbus and da Gama
combined could have been stored on a
single deck of a single vessel in the fleet
that set sail under Zheng He.”
European Comparison
► Motivation
was also vastly different between
the two civilizations.
► Europeans were seeking the wealth of Africa
and Asia—gold, spices, silk, and more.
► They also were looking for Christian
converts and of possible Christian allies
against threatening Muslim powers.
European Comparison
► China,
by contrast, faced no equivalent
power, needed no military allies in the
Indian Ocean, and required little that these
regions produced.
► China also didn’t have the impulse to
convert foreigners to Chinese culture or
religion like the Europeans.
European Comparison
► The
confident and overwhelmingly powerful
Chinese fleet didn’t seek conquests or
colonies, while the Europeans soon tried to
monopolize by force the commerce of the
Indian Ocean and violently carved out huge
empires in the Americas.
► This was why the voyages of Zheng He
were neglected for so long in China’s
historical memory—they led nowhere.
European Comparison
► Even
though the European expeditions were
smaller and less promising, they were initial
steps on their journey to world hegemony.
► But why did the Europeans continue a
process that the Chinese had deliberately
abandoned?
► First, Europe had no unified political
authority with the power to end its maritime
outreach.
European Comparison
► Its
system of competing states, so unlike
China’s single unified empire, ensured that
once begun, rivalry alone would drive the
Europeans to the ends of the earth.
► Beyond this, much of Europe’s elite had an
interest in overseas expansion.
► The wealth/greed generated from increased
merchant activity had implications for
monarchs and the Church too…
European Comparison
► Monarchs
saw new revenue streams (from
taxing trade or outright seizing resources)
that could fund larger, better equipped
militaries, fund building projects, etc.
► Lesser nobles (even commoners) might
imagine fame and fortune abroad.
► The Church saw the possibility of
widespread conversion.
Ming vs Europe
► In
China, by contrast, support for Zheng
He’s voyages was very shallow in official
circles, and when the emperor Yongle
passed from the scene, those opposed to
the voyages prevailed within the politics of
the court.
Ming vs Europe
► Ming
emperors after Yongle believed that
China had been weakened by its contact
with other people, so they were much more
cautious in their trade with outsiders, and
much more likely to believe that it was best
for China to remold itself in the greatness of
the past.
Ming vs Europe
► The
Chinese were very much aware of their
own antiquity, they believed strongly in the
absolute superiority of their culture, and
they felt with good reason that, should they
need something from abroad, others would
bring it to them.
Ming vs Europe
► China
made the world’s most desirable
products, especially after Ming craftsmen
began creating distinctive and beautiful blue
and white porcelain.
► In 2007, this Ming jar sold for $3.9 million
at auction.
Ming vs Europe
► The
Ming understood that much of the
empire’s wealth depended on trade, but its
leaders (especially after Yongle) were
always wary of outsiders, afraid to lose
China again to rule by non-Chinese.
► So they set out to rebuild the empire as
independently as possible, repairing
irrigation systems, factories, internal trade
connections, and even the Great Wall.
Ming vs Europe
► The
Great Wall as it looks today was a
product of the Ming.
Ming vs Europe
► Ming
emperors actively promoted Chinese
cultural traditions, especially Confucian and
Neo-Confucian schools.
► For many years, the Ming lived up to their
name (“brilliant”), and built a strong China
that clearly reflected its age old conflict
between opening its doors to others and
closing them tightly to keep intruders out.
Ming vs Europe
► Europeans,
like the Ming, also believed
themselves to be unique, particularly in
religious terms as the possessors of
Christianity, what they considered the “one true
religion.”
Ming vs Europe
► In
material terms, they sought out the
greater riches of the East, and they were
highly conscious that Muslim power (the
Ottomans) blocked easy access to these
treasures and posed a military and religious
threat to Europe itself.
► All this propelled continuing European
expansion in the centuries that followed.
Ming vs Europe
► The
Chinese withdrawal from the Indian
Ocean facilitated the European entry.
► It cleared the way for the Portuguese to
enter the region, where they faced only the
eventual, moderate naval power of the
Ottomans.
Ming vs Europe
► Had
Vasco da Gama
encountered Zheng
He’s massive fleet
as his four small
ships sailed into
Asian waters in
1498, world history
would likely be very
different.
Ming vs Europe
► So
as it turned out, China’s
abandonment of oceanic voyaging and
Europe’s embrace of the seas marked
different responses to a common
problem that both civilizations shared—
growing populations and land shortage.
Ming vs Europe
► In
the centuries that followed, China’s
rice-based agriculture was able to
expand production by more intensive
use of the land, while the country’s
territorial expansion was inland toward
Central Asia.
Ming vs Europe
► By
contrast, Europe’s agriculture, based on
wheat and livestock, expanded primarily by
acquiring new lands in overseas
possessions, which were gained as a
consequence of their commitment to
oceanic expansion.