1. Chapter 15 – In a Nutshell…

2. 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…

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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
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6. 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

7. 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

8. 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…