29/09 GLOBAL HISTORY EXAM 1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
WEEK 1:
1. Define globalization and how interconnectedness between different parts of the world have
shaped historical outcomes.
2. Explain which forms of cultural and economic interaction characterized the precolonial world
between 1000 and 1500
3. What is meant by Eurocentrism and recognize expressions of this perspective in scholarly
work.
WEEK 2:
1. Give a general explanation of the main causes of European expansion and the consequences of
these developments for North and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
2. Explain what mercantilism involves and what consequences the rise of mercantilism had for
global trade.
3. Identify and explain the differences between the colonial policies of various European states.
4. Indicate what consequences the political and industrial revolutions between 1750 and 1850
had for colonialism.
WEEK 3:
1. Explain the characteristics of the colonial world
2. Explain the differences between imperialism, colonization and colonialism
3. Identify the different effects of colonization in Latin America, Africa, and Asia and compare
the differences
4. Explain how from the very beginning of the colonial period, people have resisted colonial
rule, and can illustrate this fact with the aid of concrete examples from history.
WEEK 4:
1. Explain what is meant by the term “nationalism”.
2. Discuss intra- and international interactions such as ethnic conflicts, religious fundamentalism
and political ideologies in postcolonial contexts in relation to the colonial relationships that
existed between former colonial powers in Europe and their former colonies.
3. Explain the complexities about representations and, based on that, able to analyze journalism
products with regard to “asymmetrical language”.
WEEK 1
Tutorial 1: Global History and Globalization
Everything that ever happened in the history approached from a global perspective.
Globalization is key to understand what is happening around us today and in the past 100 years.
Definition of globalization: a progress of sustained world-wide integration shaped by the
circulation of people, commodities and ideas.
Technological developments since 1990 made the world more connected
Eurocentrism: the whole of (world) views and perspective in which the economic, political, cultural
and moral dominance of Europe (or the West) is taken for granted.
Criticism
Historians often concentrated on their own society’s history. The world around us pushed to the
background
Western dominance
New period of global history. No society had approached the European degree of control over the
whole world. changing technology was a big part industrial revolution.
Globalization
Process of interaction and integration among people, companies and governments worldwide
connectedness
, Cultural change
Changes in societies through innovation, invention, discoveries and contact.
Ethnocentrism
The belief that the people, customs, and traditions of own society are better than others.
Tutorial 2 Travel Accounts and Writing an Introduction
What are the causes of the growth in global trade between the year 1000 and 1300? And name the four
major global commercial centers during this time.
Revolutions at sea around the tenth century, such as improved navigational aids, refinements in
shipbuilding and better mapmaking have played a significant role in the growth of global trade. Rather
than the trade routes on land, ships are capable of moving a greater amount of goods across the ocean,
and using a new navigational instrument increased not only the mapmaking skills but also sailing
under bitter circumstances. Adding the political protection that was granted, shipping became less
dangerous.
The four major global commercial centers during this time were: Cairo and Alexandria (Egypt),
Quanzhou (China), Melaka, Kollam (India).
The major causes of the global trade increasement was the revolutions at sea. With the compass, better
ship making and mapmaking, sea travels became less dangerous and easier. With that, the political
protection that was granted to some travelers, the journeys also became less dangerous. The better ship
making made it possible to transfer larger amounts of goods across the ocean and with the findings of
new trade routes, the world got into contact with places they had never visited before, using them as
trading partners.
Which factors contributed to sub-Sahara Africa breaking out of its positions of relative isolation?
The people from sub-Saharan Africa wanted to overcome barriers, like the sea and desert, in order to
participate in the increasing global trade and intellectual exchanges. The Mande-people were
constantly moving and therefore slowly spreading their cultural, commercial and political beliefs. By
1300, they had created a network linking both hinterlands and coastal trading hubs, dominating the
trade in the area. Valuable commodities such as gold, salt and slaves, being in demand on both sides of
the Sahara, made the Mande-people a worthy trade partner.
They wanted to overcome barriers and participate in the global trade they were constantly on the
move, spreading their cultural beliefs and traditions they gained access to tradable goods and
connected hinterland with coastal trading hubs. Because their products were wanted on both sides of
the Sahara, the Mande speaking peoples made a worthy trading partner.
Which factors contributed to the political integration and which factors contributed to the political
disintegration of the Islamic world in this period?
Muslim merchants carried the word of the Quran and Suffism. Through trade routes, Islam reached
large areas fast. For common people, the Sufi brotherhood showed an emotional and strong social
bond, becoming a true religion for the people.
The Shiite family, who fell under the new Sunni regime in Egypt, contributed to the political
disintegration of the Islamic world. The Turks had moved to the heartland and established eventually
in Baghdad. This Turkish state also crumbled, leaving the Islamic heartland fractured into three
regions.
The integration of the Islamic world was because of the spreading of religion made possible through
trade routes. The rise of the Sufi made commoners fall for the religion easily because it relied on
brotherhood and emotional bond.
, The disintegration of the Islamic world was because of two factors. Shiitsm and the Sunni started to
question each other’s ruling method, leading to a major divide in the Islamic world. with the fall of
Baghdad, the Islamic world was fractured into 3 areas. It was too fractured to recover.
What were the main political and cultural consequences of the Mongol invasion of Afro-Eurasia?
The most important factor was that the Mongols put Non-Chinese outsiders in political control after
the Mongol Invasion in China. A new ruling system emerged, allowing the influences and elements of
different cultures to enter, and therefore develop the Chinese culture significantly. With the
connectedness of many parts in the world, it had become easier to exchange knowledge on every level;
religious, linguistic, military, science. As the Mongol Empire grew, the world had never seen so much
shared activity before.
Looking back on this chapter: in your view, what was the key cause of increased global integration in
the period 1000-1300: trade or religion? Substantiate your answer with arguments.
While both trade and religion have played a leading role in the increasing global integration, I believe
that trade has been the key cause. With the expansion of trade routes, both on land and sea and the
enhanced navigation and shipping, the exchange of goods, knowledge and even people has led to
booming “economies” across the world. In fact, the rising global trade system has led to the religious
expansion. Greater integration was possible using these trade routes and the migration of people has
led to people getting acquainted with new societies and cultures. After all, the discovery of new areas,
which ultimately resulted in the global trading system, had increased the knowledge about and
interconnectedness of the world. Thus, faiths, in this case Islam, was allowed to spread more quickly.
Source Criticism
Primary source a source that has firsthand stories/witnessed something.
Secondary source a source that has no firsthand witnesses/stories about something.
This is the first time you see the division between areas in the world that are still recognizable today.
One belt one road was clearly meant to connect worlds.
By 1300, the Afro-Eurasian regional worlds were interconnected by trade, migration, and conflict.
easy spread of The Black Death
The Black Death and Mongol invasions brought an end to the old political order for the Abbasid
Empire and its capital, Baghdad.
The distrust in Shiitm and Sinnism had become so great that the UAE has even decided to normalize
its relationship with Israel because of their distrust in Iran to keep it’s enemy close.
Motives to find new trade routes
Spanish had 2 missions to fulfill in the Americas:
Christianize the people they would fine
Find silver and gold
Incas and Aztecs
Gender in balance in Africa and on the plantations
Form the discoveries of the Americas global trade system was created, and Americas and Europe
were no longer isolated.
Modern world: Trump still needs to realize that Europe and the Americas could not have done it
without each other’s help.
Tutorial 3, Tignor chapter 11
The Black Death
One explanation of the significant spread of the disease is climate changes
Dry land in Asian steppe borderlands forced rodents, mainly rats, (knaagdieren) out of their natural
habitat.