Ch 15The West Comes to Power

I. IntroductionEurope slowly started to come out of the dark

ages in the 1300’sEurope slowly starts to become dominate in the

worldEverything else started to fall apartReactionary due to external factors

II. Decline of Old World OrderMiddle East and Eastern Europe

Byzantium was a major power in Eastern Europe but slowly began to fall until 1453 at the hands of the Turks

Caliphate/ Baghdad fell to the Mongols in 1258 which kept Islam from having substantial unified powerIslam left luxury for piety and a religious focusIslamic trade starts to decrease creating an opening

II. Decline of Old World OrderAsia

Mongol Rule fell to the Ming DynastyChina took Arab spot as leaders of trade

Admiral Zhenghe- Chinese Muslim Eunuch who had a huge trade fleet and army of 28,000 Confucian bureaucrats disliked him

China eventually backed out of trade Left only Western Europe to take over

III. Rise of Western EuropeCatholic Church was under attack

Wycliffe & HusPeople started to think for themselves and not

listen to just the PopeSecularism

Warrior Aristocrats favored tournaments over real battle

Plague and famine caused general upheaval

III. Rise of Western Europe

CrusadesEuropeans saw the luxury goods of Asia

Lacked high valued goods to trade Had to pay in gold

ColonialismNeeded gold to pay for luxury goodsLooked for ways to the Indies

III. Rise of Western Europe

ColonialismNeeded gold for luxury goods

Had to go look for itWere afraid of Muslims who controlled trade routes

Looked for alternative routes to the Indies Vasco Da Gama- 1st European to reach India by sea Henry the Navigator- sponsored 1/3 of Portugal’s

voyages Columbus- “discovered” new world due to miscalculating

the circumference of the world

III. Rise of Western EuropeRenaissance

Started in ItalyRevival of the arts and education

Realism in art Increase in literacy and the study of classics

goes hand in hand with the Reformation

IV. The OthersIssues in America

Aztecs and Incas political power dwindledAztecs brutality made them unpopularIncas over extended themselvesVulnerable to outside invasion

IV. The OthersPolynesia

Polynesians reached Hawaii in large war canoes and migrated to the islandsBrought pigs over to HawaiiIsolated from 1400 to 1778

MaoriInhabited New Zealand

Much colderMost elaborate of Polynesians

V. The Wrap UpThe Europeans were reinstated as a world power

by the space marines…. Just Kidding

V. The Wrap UpThings worked out for the Europeans

World powers left a power vacuumThe Europeans lucked out