Chapter 15 – In a Nutshell…

Intro and Main Ideas… In the 1400’s, major changes were taking place The primary focus is the shift from Eastern Power to Western Power Arab strength was declining Mongol incursions were halted Ming China emerged powerfully Italy, Spain, and Portugal took the lead…

Out With the Old and In With the New… (in the Middle East) The Middle east was dominated by the Byzantines and Muslim caliphates… Constantinople fell in _____ and the caliphates suffered loss from the Mongols Hard core Islam was fading in favor of Sufism Ibn Rushd attempted to counter this change – but failed Europeans seemed more interested in his work than the Middle East

A new book – The Destruction of Philosophy - it claimed Aristotle's approach that it was impossible to discover religion through human reason As the caliphate declined, landlords took power over the peasant class Agriculture suffered Taxes declined Finally a fusion emerged between the Turks and the Arabs to create the Ottoman Empire

The Chinese Thrust… Never interacted with international trade The Ming replaced the Mongol Yuan In 1400, they set sail for new ideas… The first fleet sailed to India in 1405 These expeditions were led by Zheng He They ended the voyages because they couldn’t justify the cost AUDIO

The Rise of the West Medieval culture came under question The church which had been the most formally organized institution was under attack Medieval philosophy was gone… The lives of ordinary people was declining fast – famine, disease (Black Death) surfaced

The monarchy began increasing in power Provided more effective governments Strong monarchies in Spain and Portugal took the lead The church made its peace Technology was advancing Europe had earlier contacts with the east and was sold on their luxury products

In exchange, they offered their own goods but they weren't as good They made up for it with gold, but that supply was getting smaller…