1. Quick Review: What happened to Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire?
In the East, the Byzantine Empire became a center for trade & Greco-Roman culture

2. Also known as the “Dark Ages” or “Medieval” era
The Middle Ages
In the West, Europe grew weak & fell into the Middle Ages from 500 to 1300
Also known as the “Dark Ages” or “Medieval” era

3. Europe After the Fall of Rome
When barbarian kingdoms that conquered Rome, Europe was plagued by constant warfare
Warfare disrupted trade, destroyed Europe’s cities, & forced people to rural areas
Learning declined; Few people could read or write
Greco-Roman culture was forgotten
• Disruption of Trade Merchants faced invasions from both land and sea. Their businesses collapsed. The breakdown of trade destroyed Europe’s
cities as economic centers. Money became scarce.
• Downfall of Cities With the fall of the Roman Empire, cities were
abandoned as centers of administration.
• Population Shifts As Roman centers of trade and government collapsed, nobles retreated to the rural areas. Roman cities were left without strong leadership. Other city dwellers also fled to the countryside, where they grew their own food. The population of western Europe became mostly rural.
The Decline of Learning The Germanic invaders who stormed Rome could not read or write. Among Romans themselves, the level of learning sank sharply as more and more families left for rural areas. Few people except priests and other church officials were literate. Knowledge of Greek, long important in Roman culture, was almost lost. Few people could read Greek works of literature, science, and philosophy. The Germanic tribes, though, had a rich oral tradition of
songs and legends. But they had no written language.
Loss of a Common Language As German-speaking peoples mixed with the Roman population, Latin changed. While it was still an official language, it was no longer understood. Different dialects developed as new words and phrases became part of everyday speech. By the 800s, French, Spanish, and other Roman-based languages had evolved from Latin. The development of various languages mirrored the continued breakup of a once-unified empire.
Europe lost a common language; Latin mixed with local languages to form Spanish, French, Italian

4. Germanic Tribes in the Middle Ages
Without the unity of the Roman Empire, Europe became divided into a series of Germanic kingdoms
Germanic people lived in small communities led by chiefs & his loyal warriors
Family ties & loyalty were more important than citizenship
The Concept of Government Changes Along with shifting boundaries, the entire concept of government changed. Loyalty to public government and written law had unified Roman society. Family ties and personal loyalty, rather than citizenship in a public state, held Germanic society together. Unlike Romans, Germanic peoples lived in small communities that were governed by unwritten rules and traditions. Every Germanic chief led a band of warriors who had pledged their loyalty to him. In peacetime, these followers lived in their lord’s hall. He gave them food, weapons, and treasure. In battle, warriors fought to the death at their lord’s side. They considered it a disgrace to outlive him. But Germanic warriors felt no obligation to obey a king they did not even know. Nor would they obey an official sent to collect taxes or administer justice in the name of an emperor they had never met. The Germanic stress on personal ties made it impossible to establish orderly government for large territories.

5. The Spread of Christianity
During the early Middle Ages, the Germanic kingdoms were slowly converted to Christianity
The Catholic Pope became involved in secular (non-religious) issues like road repair, aiding the poor, & helping Christian kings expand their power

6. The Spread of Christianity
The Franks were the largest & most powerful of the Germanic kingdoms in the early Middle Ages
Frankish kings allied with the Catholic Church & expanded their power
In 771, Charlemagne (“Charles the Great”) became king of the Franks

7. Charlemagne & the Frankish Empire
Charlemagne was the greatest Medieval king because he did something no other king was able to do…create an organized empire
He spread Christianity
He created schools to train future priests
Charlemagne expanded the Frankish empire
He valued learning & built schools in his empire

8. Charlemagne & the Frankish Empire
After Charlemagne’s death in 814, his Frankish Empire was divided & lost power…
…This was the last opportunity to provide unity in medieval Europe

9. From 800 to 1000, a 2nd major wave of invasions struck Europe led by Vikings, Muslims, & Magyars (The 1st wave were the barbarians that attacked Rome)
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These invasions caused widespread fear & suffering
Kings could not defend against invasion
People stopped looking to kings for protection
The invasions by Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims caused widespread disorder and suffering. Most western Europeans lived in constant danger. Kings could not effectively defend their lands from invasion. As a result, people no longer looked to a central ruler for security. Instead, many turned to local rulers who had their own armies. Any leader who could fight the invaders gained followers and political strength.

10. Feudalism Feudalism began in Europe as a way to offer protection:
Feudalism is based on land & loyalty
Land-owning lords offer land (called a fief) to knights in exchange for their loyalty & promise to protect the lord’s land

11. Some peasants were serfs & could not leave the lord’s estate
Feudal Structure
Knights were specially trained soldiers who protect the lords & peasants
Some peasants were serfs & could not leave the lord’s estate
Kings had land but very little power
Lords (also called Nobles) were the upper-class landowners; they had inherited titles (“Duke,” “Earl,” “Sir”)

12. Lords built castles to protect their territory from outside invasions

13. The Manorial System
During the Middle Ages, the manorial system was the way in which people survived
The lord’s land was called a manor
The lord provided peasants with housing, farmland, & protection
In exchange, peasants repaid the lord by working his land & providing a portion of the food they produced

14. Peasant life was hard: They paid taxes to use the lord’s mill, had to get permission to get married, & life expectancy was about 35 years old
Manors were self-sufficient communities; Everything that was needed was produced on the manor

15. Qing Dynasty: What did China look like?
Qing Dynasty – founded by Manchus (from Manchuria) – many Chinese resisted
Rebellions flared up periodically for decades
Manchus slowly earned respect
Upheld China’s traditional Confucian beliefs
Made frontiers safe & restored prosperity

16. Qing Dynasty: Kangxi (1661-1722)
Reduced gov’t expenses, lowered taxes
Gained support of intellectuals by offering them gov’t positions
Jesuits told him of European achievements in science, medicine, and math

17. Qing Dynasty: Isolation Continues
Those that wished to trade w/ China had to follow certain rules:
Trade at special ports
Tribute
“Kowtow” ritual (kneeling before emperor & touching head to ground 9 times)
“There is nothing we lack, as your principal envoy and others have themselves observed. We have never set much store on strange or ingenious objects, nor do we need any more of your country’s manufactures.”
- Qian-Long, from a letter to King George III of Great Britain

18. Qing Dynasty: Cultural Developments
Based mainly on traditional forms
Valued technique over creativity
Pottery – high-quality ceramics (porcelain)
Drama popular b/c literacy rates were low
Focused on Chinese history & cultural heroes

19. Oda Nobunaga (1568-1582) Wanted to eliminate remaining enemies
“Rule the empire by force.”
- Oda Nobunaga
Wanted to eliminate remaining enemies
1575 – Nobunaga’s 3,000 soldiers armed w/ muskets crushed enemy force of samurai cavalry
1st time firearms had been used effectively in battle in Japan
Committed seppuku (ritual suicide of samurai)

20. Tokugawa Shogunate (military gov’t): Tokugawa Ieyasu (1603-1616)
Defeated his rivals at Battle of Sekigahara
Victory earned him loyalty of daimyo throughout Japan
1603 – Became sole ruler (shogun)
Moved capital to Edo (later Tokyo)
Enacted policies that resulted in the rule of law overcoming the rule of the sword

21. Tokugawa Japan: Policy of Isolation
1639 – Shoguns realized that they could safely exclude both missionaries and merchants
Sealed Japan’s borders, except Nagasaki
Commercial contacts w/ Euro. ended
200+ years – Japan remained closed & citizens could not leave
Continued to develop self-sufficiently

22. Tokugawa Japan: Cultural Developments
Traditional culture thrived
New types of fiction began to emerge – realistic stories about self-made merchants or hardships of life
Haiku – type of poetry that presented images rather than ideals
Kabuki theater – skits about modern life

23. Causes of Population Increase
Agriculture Improved -irrigation & fertilizer use ↑
Farmers produced more food
Nutrition improved  new crops – corn and sweet potatoes (Europe)
People lived longer, families expanded
**Columbian Exchange

24. Impact on Social Structure: Qing China
Sons Favored
Only sons allowed to perform religious rituals
Raised his own family under parents’ roof - help aging parents on farm
Females not valued – many infants girls killed
Role of Women
Worked in fields, supervised children’s education, managed family finances
Some found jobs working as midwives or textile workers

25. Impact on Social Structure: Tokugawa Japan
Societal Structure
Emperor top rank (figurehead only)
Actual ruler was shogun – military commander
Daimyo – landholding samurai
Samurai warriors
Peasants (4/5 of population) & Artisans
Merchants
Role of Women
W/ rise of commercial centers, found jobs in entertainment, textile manufacturing, & publishing
Most led sheltered lives as peasant wives
* Confucian values important
*Farmers made ideal citizens