Global History and Geography
Unit 1: Introduction to Our World
Island - isolates one culture from another
River Valley – great location to begin a civilization
Cultural Diffusion – the mixing together of different customs (often creating a new culture)
Cultural Diversity – different culture living together but not mixed well
Society – types of people in a culture (race, religion, nationality)
Geography – land, location, and natural resources of a culture (physical features, climate, and raw materials)
Economy – the way you get the things you need (trade, agriculture, industry, money, hunting)
Politics – government and laws of a culture (leadership, services, rules)
AD/CE – Ano Domini/Common Era
Unit 2: Early Man
Hunting & Gathering – the way that early man got his food (their economic system)
Neolithic Revolution – the change from hunting and gathering to herding and farming
Civilization – highly organized community with advanced elements of culture; politics, economy, art, etc.
Nile River – Egyptian
- Pyramids
- Leader called Pharaoh
- Hieroglyphics
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – Sumerian/Babylonian
- Fertile Crescent
- Mesopotamia
- Cuneiform
- Wheel
- Hammurabi’s Code
Indus River – Indian
- Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
- Weave cotton into cloth
Huang He River – Chinese
- Middle Kingdom
Polytheism – belief in many gods
Hammurabi’s Code – first written laws of Babylon
The Middle Kingdom – Chinese belief that they were the center of the world
Unit 3: Classical Civilizations
“Classical” Civilization – very highly organized
civilization that contributed many things to our lives today
Dynasty – a line of ruling families in China
- Each ruling family claims the Mandate of Heaven
Mandate of Heaven – the belief that families are given the right to rule by the gods
Contributions of Maurya – bureaucracy
- Centralized government
Contributions of Han Dynasty – paper
- Wheelbarrow
- Rudder
- Acupuncture
- Great wall of China
- Silk
- Civil service system
Contributions of Rome – literature
- Arch, dome
- Roads
- Aqueducts
- Latin
- Twelve Tables
Contributions of Greece – columns
- Philosophy
- Democracy
Hellenistic Culture – blend of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian culture
- Created by Alexander the Great (cultural diffusion)
How Empires Fall Apart – 1. People became corrupt and lazy
2. Empire becomes too big to manage
3. Foreign invasion
4. Taxes get too high
Unit 4: Belief Systems
Reincarnation – Hinduism/Buddhism – belief that the soul comes back in another form after the body’s death
Missionaries – people who spread religion by teaching others about their beliefs
5 Relationships – Confucianism
- Father à Son
- Older Brother à Younger Brother
- Husband à Wife
- Ruler à Subject
- Friend = Friend
Four Noble Truths – Buddhism
- Everyone suffers
- Suffering is caused by having desires
- To end your suffering - end you desires
Five Pillars of Faith – Islam
- Recite
- Pray
- Charity
- Fast
- Pilgrimage
Monotheism – belief in one god
Jerusalem – holy city for Judaism, Islam, and
Christianity
Religion – organized beliefs and rituals of culture – usually associated with “God” (deity) or “spiritual force” (worship)
Social Philosophy – a set of guiding principles that a community follows
- Great influence on how the community behaves
Shintoism – Japan – spirits of “Kami” exist in all things à similar to animism
Unit 5: Important Empires I
Tang Influence on Japan and Korea – much of
Japanese and Korean culture was borrowed from the Chinese during the Tang Dynasty
- Buddhism
- Writing System
- Confucianism
Silk Road – trade route that connected China with western cultures and helped the Chinese extend westward
Tang Contributions to our Society – gunpowder
- Compass
- Mechanical clock
- Block printing
Justinian’s Code – laws of the Byzantine Empire based on the Twelve Tables of Rome
2. did not get too large
3. minded their own business
Battle of Tours – 732 A.D. in France – French
Christians stopped the Muslim advance into Europe
How Muslim Empire Spread – Out of Mecca, east to India, west across North Africa, and on into Spain
How the Byzantine Empire was Created – eastern half of the old Roman Empire
Gupta Contributions – Math – decimal system
- Arabic numerals
- Concept of 0
Feudalism – a “type of government” – organized but not centralized à locally run system that is based on land ownership à the manor
Manorialism – economic relationship between the lord and the people who work for him (giving and receiving of goods and services)
Monastic System – Education – monks lived in
monasteries
- Read/wrote fluently
- Monks copied books
Heresy – a crime of speaking out against the church or disagreeing with the Church’s teachings or doctrine
Excommunication – people were forced to leave the Church
Impact of Crusades – 1. Learning increased
2. “beginning of the end” for feudalism
3. better economy
4. base for the Renaissance
5. religious tension between Muslims and Christians
Battle of Hastings – 1066 A.D. – Normans attacked and won England which created the English culture
Hundred Years War – England versus France (1300s – 1400s) – England claimed the throne of France
The Plague – a disease with no cure and it ended Feudalism
Unit 7: The Renaissance
Effects of the Crusades on the Economy – 1. New markets and towns
2. End of feudalism
Capitalism – an economic system based on using money à “investment money”
- Prices are determine by the market
Italian City-States – Italy – dominated trade between Asia and the Middle East
- Very independent (Venice, Genoa, Naples)
Why the Renaissance began in Italy – location à traders à wealth à patrons à universities and works of art
Vernacular – the local everyday language of the people (English, French, Spanish)
Leonardo Da Vinci – (1452-1519) “Renaissance Man” because he could do many things really well
Humanism – an intellectual and artistic movement that focused on everyday life or secular issues during the Renaissance
Secular – not church related à part of the everyday world
Commercial Revolution – a “change” from a feudal economy to money (market) economy
Hanseatic League – an organization of trading merchants from large cities in Northern Europe who promoted and protected trade for its members