NB: Chapter 7 Study Guide: Commerce and Culture 600-1450 Name: _________________________________ P: _____
I. Define the word and place in historical context
silk
myrrh
caravan
Sogdians
Mahayana Buddhism
Fotudeng
Bubonic Plague
Small Pox
Indian Ocean monsoon winds
Angkor Wat
Borobudur
Great Zimbabwe
II. Study Questions:
1. pp. 252-255 a. In what ways did the process of Bantu expansion stimulate cross-cultural interaction?
b. What makes the Bantu migration unique? What might have been the factors that led to the migration of Bantu speaking
peoples?
c. How did Bantu-speaking peoples adopt to new environments?
Silk Roads (284 – 288)
1. In what ways did long-distance commerce act as a motor of change in premodern world history?
2. What lay behind the emergence of Silk Road commerce, and what kept it going for so many
centuries?
3. What made silk such a highly desired commodity across Eurasia?
4. What were the major social and cultural consequences of Silk Road commerce?
5. What diseases spread along the Silk Road and what was the impact of disease along the Silk Road?
6. What accounted for the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Roads?
7. How did Buddhism change as it spread across different cultures?
Sea Roads 291 – 300: 8. What technological developments aided Indian Ocean trade?
9. What lay behind the flourishing of Indian Ocean commerce in the post-classical world?
10. In what ways did Indian influence register in Southeast Asia?
11. What was the role of Swahili civilization in the world of Indian Ocean commerce?
12. To what extent did the Silk Roads and Sea Roads operate differently?
Sand Roads 301-305: 13. What key raw materials were carried along the Sand Roads?
14. What is Swahili culture? What was the role of Swahili civilization in Indian Ocean commerce?
15. How did Great Zimbabwe distinguish itself from the Swahili coast cities and ports?
16. Zooming In pp 302-303 a. What impact did the Arabian camel have on long-distance trade in Eurasia and Africa?
b. How might reliance on the camel rather than the wheel affect human settlements?
17. How integral were women in West African societies? Why were they sometimes distrusted?
18. In what ways did networks of trade differ between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres?
20. 306 – 307 Zooming In: Thorfin Karlsefni, Viking Voyager: Who was this Nordic trader? Why did the Vikings not
establish permanent settlements in the Americas?
Source 7.3 pp. 318-319
a. Based on these accounts, how does Leo Africanus characterize West African civilization? What can you infer about his
attitude towards the civilizations he encounters?
b. What can you learn about the role of slavery in West Africa at a time before the Atlantic slave trade had become big
business?
c. Does Leo Africanus see variations in the practice of Islam?
Film Guide: Following in the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta
The Man Who Walked Across the World – 3/3 Trade Winds
[Link]
1. In ____________________ a young Ibn Battuta set out to travel for more than _____________ years.
2. When he first set out to travel in southern India, he first hired ______________________________.
3. Why have the local Habshi retained their East African identity?
4. How does he describe Calicut? Is it the same city as when Ibn Battuta saw it?
5. What made Ibn Battuta’s travels possible?
6. “Black Gold” is ____________________ ________________________
7. Who were the Zamorins? _____________________________ How did they traditionally encourage trade?
8. The Zamorins enforced the rule of not __________________ religion in public. They also encouraged
_______________ marriages between Hindu girls and Muslim men.
9. What delayed his journey to China? What happened as a result?
10. Dubai is the ____________________________ of the modern world. It has more ___________________ than trees.
11. Ibn Battuta travelled next to the Maldives via a trading vessel. What would he think of the current tourists? What
would still be the same?
12. A main export of the Maldives are _________________ shells.
13. Some think the local sport was ________________________. Why was marriage a simple matter in Malaku?
14. A man gets his ”strength” by eating plenty of ____________________ and very old smoked
______________.
Reading Questions (Red Book Doc 8.3, The Human Record page 446) :
1. How would you describe Ibn Battuta’s impression of Mali? What surprised or shocked him? What did he appreciate?
2. What does Ibn Battuta’s description of his visit to Mali reveal about his own attitudes and his image of himself?
3. What specifically does Ibn Battuta find shocking about the women he encounters on his travels in West Africa?
4. Indicate Sand Roads (brown), Sea Roads (blue), Silk Roads (red) Also indicate at least 2 major trade cities in each
region: Africa, West Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia