1300-1400 AD. The Little Ice Age Global cooling of 2-3 degrees begins c. 1300 AD Part of a cycle of hot/cold spells that is still unpredictable Lasts.

1300-1400 AD

The Little Ice AgeGlobal cooling of 2-3 degrees begins c. 1300 AD

Part of a cycle of hot/cold spells that is still unpredictable

Lasts 150 yearsPrior 400 years were relatively warm (900-1300)c.1300 glaciers begin moving south

Disrupts shipping and trading in northern climates More frozen water = less rain Called “Little Ice Age”

Today’s temperatures are only now reaching what they were in the 1200s

Effects of Little Ice AgeMassive flooding early (cooling quickens

precipitation until water becomes locked in glaciers)“Great Drowning” of 1362 in HollandErosion and village destruction in northern

latitudesSevere droughts and cold winters in Central

AsiaFamine throughout Asia and AmericasBrings end of:

Mongol Empire Hohokam in AZ

Coming of the Plague“Black Death” most lethal event in the history

of humanityHistorians still unsure exactly what the “Black

Death” actually was Probably a mixture of several dangerous pathogens

Bubonic Plague Typhus Small Pox Influenza Anthrax

Global cooling created more hospitable environments for these diseases

Spread of the PlagueSeems to have originated in the steppelands

Spread through Mongol conquestFlourished because of global cooling

Earliest accounts in China, but quickly spread throughout all of Eurasia

Depending upon the region 1/3 to ¾ of the population died from the plague

Effects of the PlagueTurn toward religionIncreased interest in medical scienceSurvivor’s guild and obsession with deathRise in Anti-Semitism

Belief that Jews caused the plague by poisoning wells Jews burned by mobs

Exploited Bible passages about betrayers of Christ

Drove Jews out of W. Europe and concentrated them in E. Europe

Effects cont. Women’s status

Plague hit men harder than womenMajority numbers brought women into power

Socially, economically, politically Chaucer’s Wife of Bath

Class distinctions diminishedLabor much more valuable because of worker

scarcityPeasant rebellions in China and W. Europe“free” peasantry rather than serfdom

Only in plague areas, not E. Europe

Still more EffectsLack of labor force led to increase of interest

in labor saving technologiesParticularly in hardest hit areas like W. EuropeMajor reason for European head start on

industrializationPlague survivors had very strong immune

systemsReason European diseases so devastating to

the New World

Outside the Plague ZoneIndia

Delhi Sultanate becomes aggressive w/ decline of Mongol power Ibn Tughluq est. large empire

Based on conquest Falls apart after his death

SE AsiaJava

Imperial power slowly taking Mongol possessions Controlled SE Asian trade

JapanEnjoying century of peace and isolation

Lessens importance of warrior class “Shoguns” Struggle for power between Emperor and Shoguns

Emperor defeated, left as a figurehead with the warrior Shoguns in charge

Chaos of the time period leads to development of Zen Part of the Buddhist tradition Discipline Self-denial Willingness to die

Women oppressed in military culture

Mali Empire (NW Africa)Began to grow in wealth at European expenseDesert protected it from effects of plagueMuslim kings who frequently made pilgrimages to

Mecca/MedinaMansa Musa 1324

Controlled W. African gold mines Spent so much on his pilgrimage that he caused world-wide

inflation (fall in the buying power of currency)Europe’s trade imbalance caused need for $

(gold/silver)Very little precious metal in EuropeAfrican gold led to extreme European interest in est.

regular trade with NW Africa

After the PlagueVikings stop exploring the N. Atlantic

Last voyage to America 1347 ADN. Greenland abandoned

Major earthquake levels walls of GallipoliTurks tried to move in and seize Dardanelles

Begins 200 years of Muslim/Christian conflict for straights of Bosporus/Dardanelles

Ottoman Turks seize all of Anatolia, leaving only Constantinople and S. Greece to Byzantines

After the PlagueMongol expansion ends

Russian princes gain independence from Golden Horde

Il-Khan in Persia dies 1343 and region fragmentsRise in power of European monarchs

E. Europe spared from plague Monarchs lived long lives with well-planned

succession, leading to stable, peaceful statesW. Europe’s peasants blamed feudal nobles for

their problems and began appealing directly to monarchs

Population RecoveryWorld population static for approx. a century

as smaller plagues hitW. Europe and China rebound most quickly

Causes power shift out of Middle East and the steppelands and toward W. Europe and China