How Did Increased Trade Across The Indian Ocean Affect East Africa During The 11th Century? Why Did Ethiopia Recover From Its “Dark Age?”

The trade led to the development of a new ethnic group called Swahili, characterized by the Swahili language. The ethnic group developed due to interracial marriages. Some of the Swahili words can be traced to Hindi and Arabic origins. Ethiopia recovered from the Dark Ages during the Zagwe dynasty. Ethiopia became a place of pilgrimage and a religious centre. Zagwe constructed magnificent churches to continue Axum’s Christianity.

Why have relations between pastoralists and farmers been so hostile for much of history? How did the Islamic world, Christian Europe, and China deal with the Steppe land invaders?

The nomads raided the agricultural peripheries of farmers, which formed a primitive form of trade. Raids occurred to substitute broken trade relations. Also, the cattle of nomads destroyed crops. The Steppe people accepted Islam as their main religion. A similar religion unified the Steppe and the Islamic world. The Steppe people absorbed the Chinese culture because the Chinese people were more civilized than them. Therefore, the Steppe culture became Chinese-influenced. They borrowed the bureaucratic principles of the Chinese. The Europeans used knightly warfare against the Steppe.

Part 2

How did the world recover in the late 14th and 15th Centuries? How did the Russian and Ottoman Empires expand during the 14th and 15th Centuries? Why did China turn away from maritime expansion in the 14th Century? Why was Western Europe motivated to try to expand overseas? What roles did geography and culture play in European expansion overseas?

The world recovered during the Renaissance period. The increased interest and creativity in humanities and arts that characterize humanism resulted in increased scientific knowledge and the development of education. Thinkers during the Renaissance emphasized the positive role of humanity. Printing invention facilitated the spread of humanist writings in 1540. The Ottoman Empire began by expanding westwards and overrun Constantinople in 1354. The empire gained control of the Balkan’s main route and the black sea. By 1520, Ottomans became the undisputed leaders of Muslims all over the world as a result of the exploits of successive sultans. The concentration was on expanding into Western Europe during the time. Suleiman welcomed different types of arts and created a uniform system of law, which made many Muslims consider him a political ruler and a religious leader.

The alliance of Russia with Crimea against Poland-Lithuania and Great Horde between 1480 and 1519 facilitated the Russian expansion. China was a large country and, hence, did not need external trade to obtain outside resources. The main motivational factors for overseas expansion were price inflation, population growth and the desire for overseas discovery. Western Europe wanted to gain economic power through trade monopoly on certain basic commodities. Also, the desire to expand Christendom through the Crusades and to acquire fame through discovery motivated the overseas expansion from 1415 to 1715. The Europeans learned about new cultures worldwide as a result of exploration. The Europeans increased their knowledge of the size of the world, especially after America’s discovery. Therefore, the exploration changes the profound misconceptions about cultures and geography.