Economic+West+and+Changing+World+Balance

ANNA CARLSON HOLLAAAA Economy of the World in 1450
 * Post-Mongol world
 * Byzantine empire decline
 * Middle East
 * Landlords seized power over peasantry
 * European merchants gained increasing initiative in Middle Eastern trading areas
 * Chinese
 * Boats sent to India for trade
 * Zheng He: Chinese admiral, commanded large trade expeditions, stopped in 1433
 * Europeans
 * Leading into the 1400s, recovering from intense famine
 * Hundred years war between Britain and France
 * Opportunities to imitate previous civilizations
 * Internal warfare
 * Trade with Asia: Asia had more luxury items like silk and sugar, whereas Europeans offered cruder goods such as tin, copper, and salt.
 * Italian Renaissance: revival styles and themes from Greece/Rome
 * Western exploration
 * Henry the Navigator from Portugal
 * Columbus unknowingly discovers the Americas