Deck 4: F: Culture and Religion in Eurasianorth Africa 500

Question 1

Identify the specific commodities that fueled global commerce in the early modern world,and explain how they connected and affected the world.

Answer 1

•A discussion of silver should trace its flow from the Americas to Europe to Asia.Silver also flowed from Japan to the rest of Asia.It should be noted that most of the world's silver ended up in Asia,especially in China.
•A discussion of the effect of silver on the world should discuss the impact on Native Americans forced to mine for silver (especially Potosí).The discovery of silver in Japan also enabled the country to end years of civil war and emerge as a unified state under the leadership of the Tokugawa shogun.For Europeans,silver increased their purchasing power because they were able to use it to purchase more goods,especially in Asia.This was particularly true in the case of Spain because its empire included most of the silver-producing regions in the Americas.
•A discussion of fur should focus on the fur trade in North America and Russia,and should outline the effect of the fur trade on the local population in North America and Siberia.The extinction of certain species should also be noted.
•A discussion of the Atlantic slave trade should show how it connected the economies of Europe,Africa,and the Americas.A discussion of the global consequences should address not only enslaved Africans in the Americas but also those in Africa.

Question 2

What role did Christianity play in European political and economic expansion in the early modern world? How was Christianity changed as a result?

Answer 2

•Missionary activity in the early modern period was linked with the crusading tradition of the Catholic Church.
•Missionaries accompanied explorers and settlers to the Americas and Asia.
•Catholic missionaries were more active in converting local populations (Spanish America,the Philippine Islands).
•The Protestant Reformation paved the way for Europeans to search for religious freedom in North America.
•Christian converts adapted Christianity to their local customs,resulting in religious syncretism (Andean and Mexican Christianity,"Africanization" of Christianity in the Americas).

Question 3

Which part of the world during the early modern era experienced the most dramatic transformation? Support your answer with specific examples of the types of changes that transformed the region of your choice.

Answer 3

•A discussion of the Americas should discuss the impact of European expansion,which can include the:
oeffect of the Columbian exchange on the population and environment in the Americas.
o"great dying."
oenslavement of the population of the Americas.
oreligious conversion to Christianity,especially in Latin America.
odemographic changes in the Americas (decline of Native American population,influx of European settlers and African slaves,increase in mixed-race population).
•A discussion of Europe should discuss the implications of the Protestant Reformation,the Scientific Revolution,and the Enlightenment.
o Protestant Reformation
Challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church
Permanent schism within Christianity
Emphasis on individualism
Increase in literacy
o Scientific Revolution
Challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church
New approach to knowledge based on reason rather than faith
Belief in progress
New view of the universe
New knowledge in astronomy,medicine,and other sciences
o Enlightenment
Notion that human society could be improved
Emphasis on reason,progress,secularism
Challenges to existing political and religious authority
•A discussion of Africa should address the effect of the Atlantic slave trade on both Africans who were enslaved and those within Africa.
•A discussion of Asia and the Islamic world should note the modest effects of Christian missionary efforts as well as movements for religious revival and reform.