Almanac of World History [2nd ed.] 9781426208904, 1426208901

Citation preview

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

PATRICIA S. DANIELS and STEI HEN G. HYSLOP foreword by DOUGLAS BRINKLEY

SECOND EDITION

U.S. $24.95/$27.95 CAN

ALMANAC OF

WO

D

HISTORY

F

eaturing more than 200 illustrations, maps, and time lines, as well as dozens of essays, articles, and sidebars, the National Geographic Almanac

of World History sweeps through the centuries with all the authority, vivid detail, and distinctive visual style that read¬ ers have come to expect from National Geographic. Its an extraordinary chronicle that spans thousands of years and explores every corner of Earth to tell the colorful, utterly engrossing story of how humankind evolved from a scat¬ tering of isolated tribes into the complex and increasingly globalized society we know today. The book opens with an introductory section on epochal milestones: the birth of agriculture, the invention of print, the slave trade, and much more, covered in ten lively essays providing a concise overview of the ideas, dis¬ coveries, and developments that have driven growth and change from prehistory to the present. Next, eight chapters explore the great ages from the earliest cities to the 21st century. Each presents a brief introduction to the period along with a global time line of events, followed by extensive subject sections focused on the cultures of particular significance or achievement in its era, with sidebars highlighting aspects or personages of special interest. Individual time lines note key dates for each important subject. A concluding spread offers a brief yet informative glimpse of what was happening elsewhere in the world. To complete this superb reference, the closing section presents listings of everything from dozens of wars and reli¬ gions to hundreds of outstanding figures in every sphere: leaders, artists, scientists, philosophers, and more—each entry encapsulating its significance. As comprehensive as it is accessible, as readable as it is revealing, this magnificent book unfolds a vast and fasci¬ nating panorama that spans thousands of years—offering an epic tale that stretches from the Neandertals to the nuclear age.

□

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

PATRICIA S. DANIETS

AND

STEPHEN G. HYSLOP

FOREWORD BY DOUGLAS BRINKLEY

SECOND EDITION national geographic WASHINGTON

D. C.

Contents Foreword .10 About This Book .12

MILESTONES The Rise of Agriculture & Complex Societies.16 The Evolution of Writing .18 The Classical Tradition .20 The Silk Road & the East-West Connection .22 Plagues & Peoples .24 Gutenberg & the Print Revolution.26 Slave Trade & Colonialism .28

file astrolabe, such as this brass one from the 1300s, was used for centuries to reckon the position of stars.

The Rise of Democracy .30 Technology Shrinks the World.32 The Search for World Order.34 MAJOR ERAS ANCIENT WORLD: Prehistory-500B.C.38 Human Evolution & Early Migration Prehistory-3000 B.C.40 Mesopotamian Civilizations 3500-500 B.C.44 The Lessons of Judaism. 49 Egyptian Civilization 3000-500 B.C.50 The Divine Right of Queens. 53 Indian Civilization 2500-500 B.C.56 The Multiplicity of Hinduism. 58 Chinese Civilization 2000-500 B.C.60 Mediterranean Civilizations 2000-500 B.C. 62 Olmec of Mesoamerica 1200-400 B.C.66 World Survey Prehistory-500 B.C.68 5

Opposite: King Tutankhcmun's gold funeral mask, 1323 s.c; his tomb was discovered in 1922. Preceding pages: The Hindenbvrg's transatlantic flight ended in flames when the dirigible tried to land at lakehurst, New Jersey, on May 6, 1937.

CLASSICAL WORLD:

5 50 B.C.-A.D.

700 . .

Persia 550 b.c.-a.d. 651 . North American Cultures 500 B.C.-A.D. 400 Mesoamerican Cultures 500

B.C.-A.D. 700

South American Cultures 500 The Roman Empire 509

.

b.c.-a.d. 600

B.C.-A.D. 476

Hannibal of Carthage . . . :. The Roman Army . . ,v.. Greece 492-400 B.C. China’s Qin & Han Dynasties 403 B.C.-A.D. 220

.

90

Emperor Qin’s Tomb.93 Alexander the Great 336-323 B.C.94 India 327 B.C.-A.D. 550 . 96 Rise of Christianity A.D. 27-392 . 98 Marco Polo, the great 13th-cenfury

World Survey 550

b.c.-a.d.

700

.

100

traveler and writer, changed forever the way Europeans viewed the East.

AGE OF FAITH: 500-1150

. 102

Maya 500-1000 . 104 Watching the Heavens. 106 Anglo-Saxon England 500-1066 . 108 Byzantine Empire 527-1054 . 110 Muhammad & Islam 570-1000 . 114 The Koran . 117 China’s Sui & Tang Dynasties 581-907 . 118 Khmer Empire 600-1150 . 122 Charlemagne 768-814 . 124 Vikings 793-1042 . 126 Feudalism 800-1000 . 128 World Survey 500-1150 . 130 CRUSADES TO COLUMBUS: 960-1644 . 132 China’s Song Dynasty 960-1279 . 134 Holy Roman Empire 962-1648 . 136 Toltec & Aztec Empires 1000-1521 . 138 Rituals of Aztec Warfare. 142 Peru’s Chimu & Inca Empires 1000-1536 . 144 Mississippians & Anasazi 1000-1540 . 146 The High Middle Ages in Europe 1000-1453 . 150 The Crusades 1095-1291 . 152 Mongol Empire 1206-1368 . 154 Marco Polo . 159 Ottoman Empire 1299-1571 . 160 The Renaissance 1300-1600 . 162 Machiavelli. 164 China’s Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 . 168 The Admiral of the Western Ocean . 171 World Survey 960-1644 . 172

COLONIZING NEW WORLDS: 1455-1857 . 174 England 1455-1689 . 176 The Great Fire of London. 179 Spain & Portugal 1469-1640 . 180 The Spanish Inquisition. 182 Navigating the Globe 1492-1522 . 184 Spanish-American Empire 1492-1800 . 186 Spanish Mission System. 189 The Reformation 1517-1648 . 192 Mogul India 1523-1857 . 194 France’s North American Colonies 1534-1763 . 196 England’s North American Colonies 1584-1775 . 200 English Conquest of Canada. 203 Japan & the Shoguns 1588-1853 . 204 The Rise of Russia 1613-1796 ... 206 The Age of Enlightenment 1700-1800 .. 210 Europe’s Balance of Power 1702-1763 ...212 British Exploration of the Pacific 1760-1840 .. Australia’s Aborigines . American Revolution 1775-1789 . Rebellions in Other American Colonies . French Revolution 1789-1799 . Robespierre & the Reign of Terror. World Survey 1455-1857 .

214 217 218 220 222 224 226

AGE OF IMPERIALISM: 1750-1917 .. 228 European Imperialism 1750-1900 . 230 Queen Victoria . 233 India Under the British 1757-19 1 7 . 234 Napoleon 1769-1821 . 236 Europe’s Industrial Revolution 1769-1900 . 238 Urban Migration.

240

Ireland’s Potato Famine. 243 Imperialism in the Pacific 1800-1900 . 244 Maori of New Zealand . 247 Latin American Independence 1800-1830 . 248 Bolivar: Liberator or Dictator?. 250 U.S. Expansion 1800-1860 . 252 The California Gold Rush. 255 European Nationalism 1815-1871 . 256 China Ends Its Isolation 1820-1900 . 258 European Powers Colonize Africa 1830—1914 260 Livingstone & Stanley. 265 Japan & the West 1853-1905 . 266 U.S. Civil War & Reconstruction 1860-1877 . 268 The Battle of Gettysburg. 270 The U.S. Becomes a Great Power 1876-1900 . 272

A Roman gladiator's helmet; its ornate decoration suggests it may have been reserved for ceremonial use.

Rough Riders in Cuba.

275

World Survey 1750-1917 .

276

GLOBAL CONFLICT: 1900-1945 Revolution in Transit 1900-1930 . Mass Production Comes of Age , World War I 1914-1918 . . . The Russian Revolutidns of 1917 Boom & Bust 1920-1937 .. Mass Communication ...

Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein solves an equation at the Californio

278 280 283 284 287 290 293 294

Authoritarianism 1920-1938 ...... World War II 1939-1945

296

Development of the Atom Bomb World Survey 1900-1945 .

302

Institute of Technology in 1931.

TOWARD A NEW MILLENNIUM: 1945-Present Postwar Settlement & Cold War 1945-1991 Arab-Israeli Conflicts .. Vietnam War. Iran Revolution ...... Development of a “Third World” 1945-1991 Gandhi: India’s Peaceful Rebel. Frontiers of Science 1945-Present .. Globalization 1991-Present Terrorism. World Survey 1945-Present ..

300

304 306 309 311 313 316 319 322 326 329 332

AT A GLANCE

Major Wars . .. Major Religions .. Periods & Movements. Human Accomplishments. Leaders. Scientists, Inventors, &c Philosophers Explorers. Artists. Appendix. Index . Illustrations Credits

336 340 344 348 352 358 362 364 368 372 383

Opposite: Centuries-old giant stone statues stand sentry on Easter Island.

ED

FOREWORD

v and the United Nations Secretary-General U Thant.

OMETIMES IT SEEMS THAT WORLD HISTORY IS

one momentous swirl of disconnected events.

An engineer by training, Armstrong is not known to

How could the construction of the Great Pyra¬

wax philosophical. But when I asked him what sur¬

mid in Egypt have even a remote link to the

prised him about being on the moon he grew excited.

Ottomans taking over the Byzantine capital

“Just seeing Earth,” he said. “Its colors are working

of Constantinople? Is there really a connec¬

together. It was magnificent.” He spoke of seeing Green¬

tion between the Iroquois tribes of North America’s

land and Antarctica, of watching the sun’s rays glint

Great Lakes and the Minamoto clan of Japan? Do the

off central Africa’s Lake Chad. In 1994, on the occa¬

Aztec who seized control of the Valley of Mexico around

sion of the mission’s 25th anniversary, Armstrong

1400 have any similarities at all to the German Nazis

penned a simple statement encapsulating his deepest

A.D.

thoughts on the post-Apollo age: “Luna is once again

who bulldozed across Europe in the late 1930s? If we surveyed anthropologists or paleontologists at

isolated. Two decades have passed without footfalls on

the dawn of the third millennium we would get a defin¬

its dusty surface. No wheeled rovers patrol the lunar

itive “yes.” They would tell us of the abundant ways

highlands. Silent ramparts guard vast territories never

cultural mores transcend boundaries, of how seafaring

yet visited by man. Unseen vistas await the return of

societies and nomadic wanderers have long exchanged

explorers from Earth. And they will return.”

ideas across vast continental divides. Most employees

What is striking about Armstrong’s comment is the

of the United Nations would also immediately answer

notion that, from a “solar system perspective,” we cit¬

in the affirmative, pointing out that viruses, air pollu¬

izens of the world are a united entity. Every day we are

tion, and toxic waste know no borders. Popular culture

consumed with our differences—black versus white,

likewise offers a vision of shared heritage. John Lennon’s

Muslim versus Jew, developer versus environmental¬

song “Imagine,” for example, has long been considered

ist—but in truth we do share a common world history.

a grand peace poem that illuminates a dream world where unity transcends acrimony.

The problem is that it is impossible to get our hands

Perhaps the most compelling argument for the

cal family tree or who has labored to find out the pre¬

“oneness” of humankind, however, comes from look¬

cise architectural origins of a house, knows that scouring

ing at satellite photographs. Recently I interviewed

for records of our past is a taxing proposition. Histo¬

Neil Armstrong about his 1969 Apollo 11 mission,

rians have barely scratched the surface of what really

around it. Anyone who has tried to start a genealogi¬

when he became the first man to set foot on the moon.

happened when Jesus preached at Galilee or Marco Polo

Virtually every person alive at the time can still con¬

first journeyed to southern China. If James Joyce could

jure up the image of Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz”

write his 760-some-page Ulysses about one day in the

Aldrin bouncing across the lunar landscape in their

life of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold and Molly Bloom,

Michelin-man white spacesuits. The most stirring

then how can any human really be expected to master

moment came when they planted an American flag and

the billion forms of world history that, when stitched

left medals in memory of their fallen fellow astro¬

together, give us our multicultural world of today?

nauts Chaffee, Grissom, and White. Congratulatory

But as I read this lavishly illustrated, beautifully

messages poured in from leaders all over the world

written National Geographic book, a larger truth struck

including President Richard Nixon, Pope Paul VI,

me. Life is lived chronologically, so start at the 10

Commissioned

After careful consideration, I truly believe this World

by Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, Istanbul's Hagio

Sophia originally served as a Christian church.

Almanac is one of the best places for a generalist to

beginning. I’ve never fully understood what consti¬

start. Its reader-friendly mission is to instruct, not intim¬

tutes civilization, but clearly it has something to do

idate. Back in 1977, NASA shot into space the so-called

with groups of people who leave behind clues as to

Voyager 1 and 2 time capsules to tell other solar sys¬

what their life was like through broken pottery, skele¬

tems what life on our planet was about. NASA included

tal remains, primitive art, or oral reminiscences. The

in the capsule such artifacts as a message from Presi¬

libraries of the world are bursting with millions of

dent Jimmy Carter, Mozart recordings, and Chuck

titles trying to piece together the contours of world

Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” After reading the National

history. It would be impossible for us to read them

Geographic Almanac of World History, however, I can

all. We can become trained specialists, mastering a

only wish we could open Voyager’s hatch and drop in

fragmentary aspect of history like the Boer War or

this almanac. For to my mind, the book is one of the

gender politics in the age of Eisenhower or the anti¬

most intelligent and gracefully rendered pictorial

apartheid movement in South Africa. But even the self-

almanacs that we humans have produced (or are likely

assured authority needs a general reference book to

to for quite some time). ■ —Douglas Brinkley

navigate unfamiliar historical terrain. li

ABOUT

THIS

BOOK

ISTORY IS AN EXCITING AND COMPLI-

of exploration. Each chapter ends with notable

cated affair. It is difficult to look

historical events that did not fall neatly into one of the

at events occurring in one location

chapter’s sections. It provides a close-up look at events

without considering those taking

that would otherwise go unnoticed.

place elsewhere at the same time.

The At a Glance section of the Almanac provides a

The Almanac of World History provides a chrono¬

quick summary of all the world’s major wars, religions,

logical and informative overview of concurrent

leaders, human accomplishments, artists, and more.

events. The arrangement, overlapping at times, shows

This reference section is meant to complement the infor¬

the wide variety of history occurring in different parts

mation found within the chapters.

of the world.

Photographs, artwork, and illustrations provide a

The Almanac begins with ten essays that focus on

beautiful and visual history of each era. They educate

milestone events or periods that had a profound impact

and inform while enhancing the reader’s understand¬

on the development and spread of world civilizations.

ing of history.

Next, the book is arranged in eight chapters, each

Charts of emperors, kings, dynasties, rulers, prime

focusing on a separate era. The sections within the

ministers, and presidents appear in the Appendix. A list

chapter cover major themes, movements, people, events,

of additional recommended reading and a comprehen¬

or civilizations. Dates for each section show the range

sive easy-to-use index round out the National Geo¬

of time under discussion. Maps provide context and

graphic Almanac of World History—a work that makes

clarify the spread of empires, major battles, and routes

history come alive. ■

Era Introduction Spread p..;...

Each era opens with a short essay that introduces

Crusades to Columbus

the themes, subjects, and

960-1644

B

oth the Old World and hie Net saw the rise and fall of great powers Dim¬ ing the first half of ihc second millennium. In the New World, military power and strongly centralized governments aided the rise of power of the Aztec and Inca in

Mexico and Peru. In the Old World, it was the last great age of the nomads: Mongols felled China's Song dynasty in 1279 and Ottoman Turks overwhelmed the long-established Byzan¬ tine Empire in 14S3, Although these forces were either overthrown or assimilated in their turn, the far-reaching networks of trade and communication they had established between Europe and Asia helped both regions prosper. In Europe, the economy and culture began to revive. Although Christian crusades against Islam largely failed, they succeeded in enrich¬ ing Europe with Islamic knowledge. Despite the devastation of plagues and the Hundred Years War, European states began to solidify as nations, shaking off the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church and abandoning the feudal system. Trade and commerce brought in riches, especially, at first, to Italian city-states such as Florence and Venice, where the Renaissance was born. The printing press spread classical and Renaissance learning rap¬ idly northward in a golden age of art and literature. Eager to expand, Europe looked out¬ ward and began to embark on an age of exploration that ■ -1- - * ■ - • • >• sv would change both Old and New Worlds forever.

"

major occurrences that mark the era. A time line highlights the era's ten most important events.

Thematic Spread Each thematic spread has a narrative that covers the people, events, and achievements of the period. A time line high¬ lights notable dates and events pertinent to the theme. Featured quotes or passages from a person, book, or document of the time offer a fascinating look at history. Maps illustrate history's ever changing nature.

World Survey Spread The world survey spread offers brief synopses of important historical events not otherwise covered within the Era chapter. Each event is located geographically on a world map, giving a sense of where concurrent events were taking place.

At a Glance Spread

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The Rise of Agriculture & Complex Societies HE TRANSITION FROM HUNTING AND GATHERING TO FARMING, WHICH MAY HAVE

begun around 10,000 B.C., was a great step forward for the human race. Ultimately, it allowed the emergence of civilization. Like all profound changes,

j

however, adapting to farming was difficult for those used to a different way of

life. Farming was harder than hunting and gathering, particularly when people first began to work the soil and lacked metal tools or draft animals to ease their labors. Working the land was so taxing that some regarded

he had no regard.” In jealousy, Cain killed Abel—thus

it as a curse on humanity—as expressed in the

committing the first crime of human against human—

biblical story of Adam and Eve. Cast out of the Gar¬

and went into exile.

den of Eden for disobeying God, they were condemned to harvest the earth at great pains. “Cursed is the

Ferment in the Fertile Crescent

ground because of you,” God told Adam. “In toil

The rivalry between Cain and Abel reflects a human

you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” The curse

drama played out over thousands of years in the region

also fell on Adam’s son, Cain. Cain “brought to the

that gave birth to the Bible. The ancient Israelites lived

Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,” while

in the Fertile Crescent, an arc extending from Egypt’s

Abel, his brother and “a keeper of sheep,” offered

Nile Valley to Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and

“the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.”

Euphrates Rivers in modern-day Iraq. This region

As recounted in the Book of Genesis, the Lord appre¬

was not as dry in ancient times as it is today, and land

ciated Abel’s offering, “but for Cain and his offering

unsuitable for farming could be used for grazing.

16

Domestication of cattle, along with sheep and goats,

which led to wheeled vehicles. The first plows, made

has been documented as taking place 8,000 years ago.

of wood and drawn by hand, barely scratched the

Humans had domesticated dogs, but the herding of

soil. But by 3000 b.c., Mesopotamian farmers used

sheep and goats was of greater consequence because,

cattle to pull plows whose bronze-tipped blades dug

as plentiful sources of wool, milk, and meat, they

deeply, greatly increasing harvest productivity.

provided much of what people needed for food and clothing. Over time, nomadic flock herders encoun¬

Feeding Complex Societies

tered people who had settled down as farmers: Ancient

Agriculture transformed human existence. Farmers

conflicts echoed in the biblical feud between Abel the

produced more food than their families and livestock

shepherd and Cain the farmer.

required. Potters, weavers, bakers, brewers, priests,

Once communities in the Middle East practiced both

and officials were able to pursue specialized work

skills, combining cultivation with the raising of

without starving. Specialization was crucial to the rise

animals, it marked the birth of agriculture. Domesti¬

of cities and civilization (a term derived from the Latin

cated animals like sheep and cattle eased work and

word for “city”). People put down roots, acquired

provided food. Now people had to produce grain to

possessions, and had time and energy for activities

support themselves and their livestock in times of

other than mere subsistence. They built prodigious

scarcity. They lived in one place all year round.

monuments like Stonehenge in Britain, dating from

Wild grains were domesticated according to each

about 2000 b.c. Even more impressive structures arose

region’s soil and climate. By 8000 b.c., strains of wheat

in bountiful areas. In Egypt, for example, rulers with

and barley were being grown in the Middle East, rice

vast reserves of grain and manpower built pyramids.

and millet in China and Southeast Asia. Einkorn, a

Most early civilizations arose near rivers—the Nile,

primitive form of wheat, was being grown in the Indus

the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus, and the Yellow

Valley of today’s Pakistan. Maize, or corn, was domes¬

River in China. Those rivers flooded regularly, deposit¬

ticated in the Americas around 3000 b.c. By that time,

ing silt that enriched the soil and raised crop yields.

people elsewhere were raising various crops and tend¬

Irrigation systems further increased production. It took

ing cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, and other livestock.

strong leadership to manage irrigation projects and

Agriculture spurred crafts. Farmers needed recep¬

distribute surplus grain. Powerful rulers arose, first

tacles to store grain. The potter’s wheel was invented,

presiding over city-states and ultimately over kingdoms and empires. Kings and emperors reaped the fruits of

Sumerians herd goats, sheep, and cattle in a mosaic from the royal cemetery at Ur, one of the first cities of Mesopotamia. Agriculture laid the foundations of Mesopotamian civilization.

civilization, but it was humble tillers of the soil like the accursed Cain who planted the seeds. ■

17

The Evolution of Writing A LONG WITH CITIES AND RULERS, WRITING DISTINGUISHED THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATIONS.

Writing was a skill originally confined to an elite group of officials, priests, and b* '' 4 scribes. “Writing for him who knows it is better than all other professions,”

J£L, declared an ancient Egyptian text, composed by a writing teacher to be copied out by scribes in training. “It pleases more than bread and beer, more than clothing and ointment. It is worth more than an inheritance in Egypt, more than a tomb in the west.” Writing pupils dutifully copied these sentiments on

of characters, numbering anywhere from several

papyrus—no easy task considering that their written

hundred, as in Egyptian, to several thousand, as in

language comprised some 700 hieroglyphs that could

Chinese. It could take years to master all those

be combined in countless ways. Scribes also studied

characters and combinations. The task was simplified

mathematics and astronomy, and the best of them

over time as characters inscribed on stone, clay, or

pursued careers as administrators or royal advisers. To

papyrus became less pictorial, more abstract, and

make students apply themselves, the teacher compared

easier to form.

the sufferings of illiterate Egyptians, forced to work

The development of writing enabled rulers to

hard as soldiers or peasants, with the life of relative

govern vast areas more effectively. Concerned about

ease promised a scribe. Learn writing, the teacher urged

the fate of their troops abroad or the state of their

his pupils, “and you will be protected from all kinds

treasury at home, kings requested reports from

of toil. You will become a worthy official.”

commanders or tax collectors. Written reports improved on oral reports, easily distorted by the

Symbolic Complexity

speaker’s memory lapses or misstatements. People

In Egypt as in other early civilizations, writing was not

subject to the decrees of rulers benefited as well when

simply a path to individual advancement. It was the

the laws of the land were written down. When King

means by which whole societies advanced to higher

Hammurabi of Babylon formulated his great code of

levels of complexity and achievement. Writing began

laws, he had the code inscribed on a monument, in¬

as pictographs representing objects or concepts. As

cluding these words: “Let the oppressed man who

cultures grew more complex, writing evolved into a

has a cause come into the presence of my statue and

more symbolic record of thoughts and actions, with

read carefully.” Hammurabi’s code prescribed harsh

versatile signs or characters that could be combined

penalties for some offenses. “If the wife of a man is

to convey various meanings. In the Sumerian language,

caught lying with another man,” it decreed, “they shall

for example, the sign for mouth combined with the

bind the two and cast them into the water.” With

sign for a bowl of food meant “to eat.”

laws expressed in writing, the Babylonian people had

Signs became phonetic indicators. The sign for a

some assurance that they would not face arbitrary

word like “cat,” for instance, could represent either

punishment from authorities making up rules as they

the animal itself or the sound “cat” in an unrelated

went along.

word like “catalogue.” This process of making one

Since most Babylonians could not read, they relied

sign serve different purposes allowed scribes to repre¬

on scribes or officials to interpret the laws for them.

sent their spoken languages in writing with a finite set

As long as written languages contained hundreds or 18

thousands of characters, they were well-kept secrets,

of the population. The very word “alphabet” is derived

known only by a privileged few whose parents or

from the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta. The

patrons could afford to pay for schooling. This

Greeks adapted their phonetic alphabet from the

remained the case for thousands of years in China,

Phoenicians and bequeathed it to the Romans. That

where mastery of the many intricate characters of its

Latin alphabet has been passed along in modified form

language was confined to the wealthy and to a few

to many modern languages, including English.

gifted commoners who advanced by merit to serve

The phonetic alphabet had far-reaching consequences

China’s rulers as scribes and civil servants.

for Western civilization. The Greek and Latin alphabets included just two dozen or so consonants

Spreading the Word

and vowels. Students of phonetic alphabets had far

In the Mediterranean world, by contrast—thanks to

fewer characters to master, and they quickly learned

the emergence of phonetic alphabets, with characters

to relate those characters to the spoken word. Literacy

representing the sounds of the spoken language—read¬

increased among groups who had been largely

ing and writing became accessible to large segments

illiterate in the past, including women and artisans. By 500 B.C., the spread of literacy and learning around

Egyptian hieroglyphs, such as these on the tomb of Ptahhotep, some 4,400 years old, were both a means of communication and an art form perfected by scribes who spent years mastering their craft.

the Mediterranean had set the stage for the towering intellectual achievements of the classical era. ■

'mm

19

The Classical Tradition HE INFLUENCE OF ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME ON WESTERN CULTURE IS UNMATCHED

by any other. The very words “classic” and “classical,” which literally refer to these ancient states, have also come to mean “the standard” or “the best.” Classi¬ cism—the reverence for Greek and Roman culture, especially literature, art, and architecture—is marked by a dedication to reason, restraint, elegance, harmony, and clarity, and has been a defining characteristic of Western culture throughout its history. After the Roman Empire fell to nomads in the

France and England

early Middle Ages, few Europeans had the education

When the Reformation swept Europe, the fervor for

or inclination to pursue the ancient wisdom of the

classical learning abated, although Greek and Roman

Greeks and Romans. Their work was never lost—

texts were by then firmly regarded as basic to educa¬

manuscripts had been stored in medieval libraries and

tion. Advances in astronomy, physics, and medicine

monasteries—but Renaissance thinkers acted as if

in the 1500s and 1600s knocked ancient scientists

they had discovered the classics. In Italy, the birthplace

down a peg, but classicism revived in 17th-century

of the Renaissance, scholars looked first to their

France as poets Francois de Malherbe, Nicolas

Roman ancestors: Livy, Ovid, Horace, Seneca, Pliny,

Boileau-Despreaux, and Jean de La Fontaine wrote

and others. The writings of Cicero, the Roman

cool, reasoned verse. La Lontaine also wrote his

statesman, became a model for Renaissance Italian

famous Fables, drawn primarily from the Greek

prose. Virgil, too, with his sonorous verse, became

stories of Aesop. Dramatists Pierre Corneille and

a literary hero. When Florentine poet Francesco

Jean Racine took style and content from the Greek

Petrarca became poet laureate in 1341, he gave a speech

classics. In Corneille’s Medee, Horace, and Polyeucte,

on Virgil in Latin.

tragic heroes and heroines subdue their emotions to

Renaissance architects, led by 15th-century thinker

duty. To Corneille’s dismay, his works were upstaged

Leon Battista Alberti, looked to the classical age for

by Racine’s, such as Andromaque and Phedre, which

inspiration. Alberti studied ancient buildings in Rome

also explored tragic characters from Greek myth.

before writing his influential Ten Books on Architec¬

This reverence for ancient forms was bound to cause

ture, which stressed proportion and harmony. In art,

a backlash. In 1687 the poet Charles Perrault (today

similar classical

the

most famous for his fairy tales) declared that modern

glorification of the human form—inspired the

writers were superior to the ancients. Lrench writers

sculptures of Michelangelo, the paintings of Raphael,

debated this “quarrel of ancients and moderns” for

and the work of many others.

seven years, and some of their arguments presage

ideals—harmony,

balance,

In the 15th century, Byzantine Greeks left Con¬

Enlightenment attitudes.

stantinople for Italy, bringing a knowledge of classic

In England, classicism often took the form of satire,

Greek texts. The Florentine banker Cosimo de’ Medici

particularly during the early 1700s, called the Augus¬

founded a Platonic academy, where scholar Marsilio

tan Age since writers emulated the ideals of Augustan

Ficino translated hundreds of Greek works into the

Rome. Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels and

more familiar Latin. Plato and Socrates came to rival

Alexander Pope wrote his epic poems, The Dunciad

the Christian saints in Renaissance thought.

and An Essay on Man, in the 1720s and 1730s. 20

Classical in content and composition, Renaissance painter Raphael's "School

in Italy and others in Greece, American architects began

of Athens" depicts Plato and Aristotle at center, surrounded by sages

to use Greco-Roman forms for their buildings. Thomas

including Socrates, Euclid, and Raphael himself, second from far right

Jefferson’s University of Virginia, Benjamin Latrobe’s

Classical Music

Bank of Pennsylvania, and other public and private

In Germany, classicism took the form of music. With

institutions built in this period were graced by columns

the death of Bach and Handel, the complex polyphony

and domes reminiscent of ancient Greece and Rome.

of the baroque and rococo styles gave way to

In the late 18th century, the pendulum swung toward

simplicity, balance, and restraint. Mozart, Haydn,

Romanticism, and Western artists took up the ideals

Gluck, and Beethoven (in his early works) wrote music

of passion, imagination, freedom, and rebellion rather

that emphasized a melodic line over a supporting

than restraint and moderation. Greek and Roman lan¬

harmony, with a wider range of dynamics. The piano

guage and learning still remained the bedrock of higher

was introduced during this era, as was the modern

education into the 20th century, though. As Harvard

symphony orchestra and the standardized sonata form.

scholar Charles Eliot Norton wrote in 1885, “I think

So influential was the music of this period that

that a knowledge of Greek thought and life, and of

the generic term for formal concert music today is

the arts in which the Greeks expressed their thought

“classical music.”

and sentiment, is essential to high culture. A man

In late 18th-century America, classical enthusiasts

may know everything else, but without this knowl¬

paid particular attention to architecture. Stimulated

edge he remains ignorant of the best intellectual and

by archaeological finds at Pompeii and Herculaneum

moral achievements of his own race.” ■

The Silk Road & the East-West Connection

I

n about

138

b.c. Han Wu

Ti,

the Emperor of China, faced a problem that

would ultimately plague China throughout much of its history: Nomadic people, the Xiongnu, were raiding the borders of his country from the north and west. To the west of the Xiongnu, however, were the Yuezhi, with whom the emperor might

make a profitable alliance. He learned that the Yuezhi disliked the Xiongnu, in part because the nomads had killed the Yuezhi king and used his skull as a drinking vessel. Han Wu Ti sent Zhang Chien, a palace attendant,

knowledge to set up routes for long-distance trade.

westward as an envoy to the Yuezhi. Captured while

Over time, those routes grew into the immense net¬

crossing nomad territory, Zhang Chien stayed in

work of east-west overland caravan passages known

comfortable captivity for ten years. He finally escaped

as the Silk Road.

and made his way to Bactria, northwest of India. There he met disappointment, though, for the Yuezhi king

The Routes

was not, after all, so disturbed about the murder of

Immensely important in the development of Eurasian

his father that he wanted to go to war.

culture, the Silk Road linked trading cities from China

Back to China trudged Zhang Chien. He had failed

to Europe. Originating in the east at the Han capital

to win an alliance, but he had succeeded in gathering

of Ch’ang-an, the main route cut west through

valuable information about the lands and customs west

Mongolia. Two branches split to skirt the desolate

of China. For instance, spotting Chinese goods for

Taklimakan Desert, north and south, then rejoined at

sale in Bactria, he had learned that they had traveled

Kashgar. From there, the road traversed Bactria, where

there via Bengal. Clearly, overland trade with the

another branch split off, south into India. The main

West was possible. Emperor Han Wu Ti used this new

route continued to the Caspian Sea and on to the Mediterranean, with a southern branch to the Persian Gulf. Few traders traveled the entire length of the route: They sold their wares to middlemen along the way. Silk Road trade was busiest from approximately 200 B.C. to A.D. 200, during China’s Han dynasty, then again about one thousand years later. Far more than silk traveled the Silk Road, but the precious fabric was an important Chinese commodity. The Chinese guarded the secret of its manufacture until the sixth century, when, according to the historian Pro¬ copius, two Byzantine monks smuggled silkworm eggs

A small wooden door found along Silk Road routes in present-day Xin¬ jiang depicts animals both real and legendary.

out of China inside hollow walking sticks. East Asian traders brought spices such as cinnamon, cloves,

nutmeg, and ginger to Euro¬ peans, who used them as fla¬ vorings, drugs, perfumes, and aphrodisiacs. India traded pep¬ per, pearls, sesame oil, textiles, coral, and ivory. Central Asian nations sent horses and jade back to China, while Mediter¬ ranean merchants traded wools, gold, silver, gems, glassware, olive oil, and wine.

More than Silk Buddhism,

Hinduism,

and

Christianity also traveled these routes. Many Indian merchants were Buddhists, and they spread their religion to the cities they visited—Samarkand, Kashgar,

Deerskin boots like those worn by this modern-day horseman have been found in ancient graves, suggesting that travelers along the Silk Road have worn such footwear for centuries.

Bukhara, and others—and on into China by the fifth century. Chinese Buddhists vis¬

become a Christian. It wasn’t until 1247 that the monk

ited India and brought back valuable knowledge about

made it back to Rome with Guyiik’s reply. In 1253-55,

the subcontinent. Christian missionaries spread the

William of Rubrouck made the difficult journey from

gospel through the Near East and North Africa.

Constantinople to the Crimea and on to the Great

Diseases started in the vast farming areas of China

Khan’s court, eating raw meat and drinking fermented

and spread along the road: Smallpox, measles, and

mare’s milk to survive. The new Khan, Mangu, was no

bubonic plague were among the worst. Both Han China

more interested in converting than his predecessor. Just

and Augustan Rome were stricken by epidemics in the

as God had created different fingers on one hand, he

second and third centuries. Smallpox, carried along

told Rubrouck, so he created different beliefs for dif¬

the Silk Road, killed millions of Romans during the

ferent peoples.

Plague of Antoninus in A.D. 165-180. The infamous

By the 15th century, sea routes across the Indian

Black Plague of the 1300s also moved by trade routes

Ocean began to supplant the more dangerous over¬

from China to Europe.

land passage, and trade along the Silk Road declined.

With the decline of the Han empire, trade along the

Not until the 19th and 20th centuries did these routes

unguarded Silk Road diminished until the Mongols

see much international traffic again, as European sol¬

swept through Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries and

diers and archaeologists followed the road. German

established the pax mongolica, which provided safe

archaeologist Albert von le Coq, for instance, found

passage. Merchants and craftsmen again plied the

Buddhist cave paintings along the routes, chiseled them

road—among them, the Venetian traders Niccolo, Maf-

out, and sent them to Berlin, explaining that he was

feo, and Marco Polo. European rulers also sent envoys

saving them from future vandalism.

east in search of allies against Islam. Some were remark¬

The future of the Silk Road may lie not in spices

ably intrepid. In 1245, Giovanni da Pian del Carpini,

but instead in oil and gas. Discoveries of these fuels

a Franciscan monk, carried a letter over 3,000 miles,

in Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and other

across Bohemia, Poland, the Ukraine, and the steppes

Eastern locales may bring new trade to the region,

of Russia, from the Pope to the Mongol Khan, Giiyiik.

and trucks may one day roll along the ancient routes

Giiyiik, however, declined the Pope’s invitation to

of camel caravans. ■

H

Plagues & Peoples ernAn Cortes and his

600

soldiers conquered the mighty Aztecs, not

just because the Spanish had guns, or horses, or literacy—although those things surely helped—but also because they carried germs. More lethal than any firearms, viruses and bacteria have accompanied soldiers and traders around the world,

and the epidemics they caused have changed the course of history. A few infectious diseases smallpox, bubonic plague, and AIDS—have ravaged populations throughout history. Many of the most deadly epidemics were born in

The New World

Old World agricultural communities, where people

Nowhere was the impact of Old World diseases—small¬

and animals lived closely together. The deadly

pox, measles, influenza, typhus, and others—more deadly

pathogens probably mutated from those afflicting

than in the Americas. Because relatively few animals were

livestock. Measles, smallpox, and tuberculosis may

domesticated in the New World—and with the excep¬

have evolved from cattle diseases. Influenza and per¬

tion of the Aztecs and Incas, populations were less dense

tussis probably began in pigs, ducks, and dogs.

and more isolated—few plagues originated there. Old

Bubonic plague thrives in the fleas found on rats, ubiq¬

World populations had built up some resistance to their

uitous in farming villages.

diseases, but Native Americans possessed none. When hit by European microorganisms, they died, as one 16th-

The Black Death

century Jesuit put it, in the “infinite thousands.”

Waves of smallpox epidemics periodically ravaged the

Within 40 years of Columbus’s arrival on Hispaniola,

globe, devastating Egypt as early as 1150 B.C., the Roman

the island’s eight million inhabitants were gone, mostly

Empire in A.D. 65, China in A.D. 250, France in the

killed off by introduced disease. The Mesoamerican pop¬

Middle Ages. By the late 18th century, when English

ulation dropped from 20 million to about 1.6 million in

surgeon Edward Jenner discovered a vaccine, it was

the century following Cortes’s invasion. North Ameri¬

killing a half million Europeans a year.

can tribes were also annihilated by the invisible pathogens.

The first recorded outbreak of bubonic plague

By some estimates, in fact, between 50 percent and 95

occurred in the 1300s, when the disease swept through

percent of all Native Americans may have died from Euro¬

China, halving its population. From there, the deadly

pean disease during the first 130 years after contact—the

contagion advanced west, arriving in Sicily by ship in

greatest demographic disaster in history.

1347. By 1348-49, it had spread through Italy into France, Germany, England, and Ireland. Victims died

Evolving Threats

within days, their lymph nodes swollen into charac¬

Twentieth-century public health programs—inoculations,

teristic “buboes” and their skin turned black. Entire

vaccinations, and especially antibiotics—have helped con¬

villages were wiped out by this “Black Death,” the bod¬

trol most epidemics. In one of the triumphs of modern

ies piled in streets while farm animals wandered

medicine, smallpox was declared eradicated in 1979.

untended. By 1351 about 24 million people, possibly

Mutating pathogens still remain a potent threat, however.

one-third of Europe’s population, had died of bubonic

Tuberculosis, for example, is proving newly resistant to

plague. Numerous outbreaks killed tens of thousands

antibiotics. Influenza presents bewildering varieties. In

more in the following centuries.

1918, the devastating “Spanish flu” epidemic killed an

SECOND PANDEMIC 1347-52 First epidemic in Europe and the Mediterranean region Plague route by sea European cities repeatedly hit by plague, 1347-1771; perhaps 50 million people die in all ST PANDEMIC A.D. 541-44 First epidemic A.D. 557-767 Fourteen successive epidemics

Plague from central Africa

Plague route

MOSCOW Brought by troops returning from a Russo-Turkish war in 1771, plague killed a reported 60,000 persons in Europe 's last major epidemic.

Trondheim

CHINA In the late 132Qs aplague epidemic bmmovt in central Asia and spread east to China. Records are vague but millions of people died by the century's end. Plague later spread west along caravan, routes, reaching the Black Sm by 1347.

1350 Moscow*

LONDON Plague was endemic in London beginning in 1348 and ending with the Great Plague of 1665 that claimed at least 68,000 lives.

1350 Erfurt

'

wa*

EUROPE •asbourg* a1349

*Nurnberg Munich Vienna* renice

Toulouse* 1348

M Lisbon

/

Barcelona*

'

'

f Crimea

1350

f Black j Sea j

Ancona Livorno*^ ‘ (Leghorn)

’

134!> ^rvalenciaVj

T

Balearic Islands

Rome' \ ★Naples^

1347

1347

Tunis*

Baghdad.

ISLAMIC WORLD SICILY Cairo

Starting with on epidemic in 1348, the population of the Muslim world suffered recurring plague outbreaks into the late 19th century.

Beginning in Asia and central Africa and traveling along trade routes, the

(severe acute respiratory syndrome), spreading to 37 coun¬

bubonic plague, also called the "Black Death," spread through Europe

tries and killing nearly a thousand people before being

and struck repeatedly from the early Middle Ages until the 1700s.

contained. The terrifying Ebola virus first appeared in

estimated 500 million people worldwide. That disaster

1976; it appears to be harbored in certain African bats.

might be repeated today should one of the deadly avian

The human immunodeficiency virus (HTV)—which causes

influenza viruses, endemic in poultry, ever cross into the

AIDS—lurks in chimpanzees. In the three decades since

human population. Yet the 2009-2010 global pandemic,

1981, when it was first recognized as an epidemic, AIDS

the first in more than 40 years, was caused by an unfa¬

has infected more than 60 million people worldwide,

miliar and unexpected influenza strain.

killing more than 25 million of them. In a crowded world where people interact constantly, conditions have never

More worrisome still are newly emergent pathogens.

been better for spawning fearsome new epidemics. ■

In 2002-03, a previously unknown virus caused SARS 25

Gutenberg & the Print Revolution SK MODERN SCHOLARS TO NAME HISTORY’S MOST IMPORTANT INVENTION, AND THE

answer is likely to be the printing press. Greatly facilitating the mass reproduction of written material, the printing press led to the rapid dissemination of ideas, trans¬ forming every aspect of modern culture. As early as 1700 B.C., Minoans in Crete were impressing characters representing syllables into clay. Nearly 2,000 years later the Chinese had invented pulp-based paper and applied it to inked marble pillars carved with characters. By the sixth century the Chinese were

He first devised a reliable method for making consis¬

working with carved wooden blocks instead, using them

tent pieces of metal type, fabricating molds for each let¬

to print the world’s oldest known book, a copy of the

ter, upper- and lowercase, into which he poured a molten

Buddhist Diamond Sutra, in 868.

alloy of tin, lead, and antimony.

In the 1040s, Chinese alchemist Pi Sheng invented

The resulting type was stored, letter by letter in a type

movable type, baking clay characters and placing them

case. When text needed to be composed, the printer picked

sequentially on wax-coated iron plates. Once heated,

letters one by one from the case and arranged them in

the wax gripped the characters in place. Suitably inked,

sentences in a composing stick, using small pieces of metal

the entire plate could then be pressed onto paper.

to separate words. When a full page of type was ready,

Korean typographers improved on this technology in

it was locked into a metal form; then the form was

the 1400s by casting their characters in bronze.

installed into the press, which Gutenberg may have

Nevertheless, the German metalsmith Johannes Guten¬

adapted from wine presses.

berg is held to be the father of printing, not because he

The form of type was attached to a movable surface,

invented the process or the concept of movable type, but

the platen, hanging directly above a fixed surface, called

because he greatly improved on both, making printing

the bed. The printer inked the type, laid paper on the bed,

truly practical for the first time. He was also lucky: The

screwed the platen down to meet and imprint the paper,

European alphabet, with its 26 standardized letters, is

removed it, and hung it up to dry. After printing as many

far easier to print than are Asian ideographs. And his

of a given page as needed, the printer would return the

contemporaries, the intellectuals of the Renaissance,

letters to the type case to be used again.

seized on the new technology to spread their ideas.

By about 1455 Gutenberg had printed multiple copies of the magnificent Bible now known by his name. Within

Gutenberg

ten years, the technique had spread to Italy. By 1475 William

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was born

Caxton had used a press to print a book in English, the

around 1397 in Mainz, Germany. The son of a patri¬

Recuyell of the History es ofTroye. He went on to print as

cian, he became a goldsmith and a metalworker before,

many as a hundred different titles in English, including

having experimented with stamping techniques, he

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In Venice, meanwhile, printer

formed a partnership in 1450 with a wealthy business¬

Aldus Manutius produced simpler letterforms, including

man to print a Bible.

italic type. Printers began including woodcuts on the pages 26

of books, including beautiful illustrations by such artists

tortured, and burned at the stake. Religious leaders might

as Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein.

have seen the printed book as a threat, but for many others, it became almost a sacred object. “As good

The Spread of Printing

almost kill a man as kill a good book,” wrote English

By the beginning of the 1500s, more than a hundred

poet John Milton in 1644. “Who kills a man kills a rea¬

printing presses were operating throughout Europe, and

sonable creature, God’s image; but he who destroys a

they had produced some nine million copies of about

good book kills reason itself.”

40,000 different works. Most did not resemble the

Indeed, printed words—whether appearing in books,

Gutenberg Bible; many were instead scurrilous pam¬

newspapers, periodicals, reports, directories, even

phlets and political tracts.

menus—became the lifeblood of modern civilization.

Printing meant that new ideas could spread rapidly.

Schools rose on their foundations; libraries preserved

Martin Luther’s 95 theses first circulated in handwritten

their every appearance. Though the rise of today’s dig¬

versions, but soon printed copies were distributed, spread¬

ital technology is beginning to eclipse the printing press,

ing Luther’s reformist tenets. Literacy increased with the

new media is rather proving to be the heir of old, just as

spread of printing. People began to read silently to them¬

print inherited the labors of monks who painstakingly

selves, and written debates began to replace spoken ones.

copied manuscripts in medieval scriptoria.

The printed word wielded power, for good or ill. In

In fact, more books than ever before—nearly 280,000

1546 the Lrench printer Etienne Dolet, who had printed

in 2008—are being published annually in the United

both the New Testament and the Psalms—but also tracts

States, which does not include several hundred thousand

by religious dissenters—was found guilty of atheism,

additional titles that can now be printed on demand. Lor many people in today’s digital world, there is still noth¬

Johannes Gutenberg's accomplishment inspired the development of

ing quite so sacred as a book. ■

printing presses across Europe from the middle of the 15th century on.

27

Slave Trade & Colonialism in

he African slave trade had a profound impact on the development of

I

the New World. During the 18th century, at the peak of the slave trade, between

■

six and seven million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean under

mJKLm miserable conditions.

This huge forced migration was brutal and destructive—

many Africans died in transit—but it enriched the culture of the Americas and transformed the Caribbean and the vast country of Brazil into predominantly African-American regions. The slave trade was as old as civilization, and its

some 400,000 Africans had been exported to the

victims were by no means confined to Africa. So many

New World as slaves. About one in six died during the

Slavs were enslaved in Europe in early times that their

passage across the Atlantic. Those who survived

name came to express the very concept. The ancient

worked largely on sugar plantations in the Caribbean

Greeks turned from slaveholders to slaves when the

and the Portuguese colony of Brazil, where they raised

Romans overtook them in the second century B.C. The

cash crops like sugar and coffee. Tobacco and other

rise of Christianity in the Mediterranean world did little to undermine slavery, and as Muslims gained con¬ trol of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean in the seventh century A.D, they turned their captives into slaves. They also purchased slaves from distant parts of Europe and from sub-Saharan Africa. Africans captured in battle, punished for committing crimes, or irretrievably in debt became slaves to other Africans. Once merchants began visiting Africa from the Mediterranean and the Middle East, some Africans profited from the slave trade. Others suffered, or died. The European Impact In the 1400s Portuguese merchant ships explored the West African coast, at first seeking gold and ivory. By the 1500s, New World colonies raised other economic demands, and they looked to Africa for labor. The Native Americans on whom they had depended were falling victim to European-borne diseases. West Africa’s Gold Coast became the Slave Coast. By the early 1600s, Slaves in shackles are driven to market in Africa, where local slave traders sold captives to Europeans for transportation to colonies in the Americas.

28

agricultural products would travel from the United States, primarily from ports in New England, to be sold in England. There, manu¬ factured

goods

would

be purchased, exported to Africa,

and

exchanged

for slaves. This so-called “Golden Triangle” was one facet of a complex commercial

interchange

between Old and New Worlds that reinforced the slave trade. Other European nations entered the slave trade, and African slave dealers welcomed the competi¬ tion. By the mid-17th cen¬

Millions of Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic to toil in mines or labor on plantations where they raised tobacco, cotton, sugar, coffee, rice, and other crops under oppressive conditions.

tury the Dutch dominated the Atlantic slave trade. They in turn were challenged

The Legacy of Slavery

by the French and British in the 18th century. By the

A fateful link was forged between race and slavery in

1800s, more than ten million Africans had been trans¬

the New World, where nearly all those held in bondage

ported to the Caribbean, and South and Central Amer¬

were either African Americans or Native Americans.

ica. Over half of the slaves who worked in North

Through much of history, slavery had had little to do

America came from the Caribbean rather than directly

with skin color. Slaves released from bondage were less

from Africa.

stigmatized as a result, since nothing in their looks sug¬

Britain entered the slave trade in the mid-1600s,

gested that they had once been slaves. In Roman soci¬

when the first ships brought slaves from Africa to

ety, some who were born slaves won freedom and

British colonies in the Caribbean. By the early 1700s,

prospered as adults.

among all the Caribbean islands, Jamaica was highest

In the Americas, by contrast, skin color became a

in both the number of slaves and the volume of sugar

way of identifying slaves. Interracial partnerships and

produced. Bristol and Liverpool became prosperous

emancipation blurred such distinctions, but the link

slave ports. British ships crossed the Atlantic, carry¬

between race and slavery persisted. In the American

ing human cargo, and returned with sugar and money.

South, laws were passed that made it all but

By the late 18th century, Britain had shipped some

impossible for masters to free their slaves and for free

300,000 slaves across the Atlantic, and the slave trade

Black people to enter or live in slave states.

had become a major factor in the British economy. At

In 1808, the U.S Congress banned the importation

the same time, though, humanitarian interests grew

of slaves, which put an end to the shipment and sale

and abolitionist fervor swept the country. In 1807,

of African slaves in the United States. Slaves contin¬

the slave trade was abolished in British colonies,

ued to be bought and sold inside the country, how¬

making it illegal for a British ship to carry slaves. The

ever. An abolitionist movement, as in Britain strongly

abolitionist movement continued until Parliament

influenced by the Society of Friends, or the Quakers,

passed the 18 3 3 Abolition of Slavery Act, freeing slaves

campaigned against slavery from the 1830s until the

over four years and compensating their owners.

1863 Emancipation Proclamation. ■

The Rise of Democracy .**■

HE LEADERS OF THE AMERICAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS IN THE LATE 1700S

Vi

were inspired by the ideal of democracy, drawing mainly upon classical precedents. But even those who did not trace their ideas to ancient Athens knew that Thomas Jefferson drew on deep-seated aspirations when he asserted that rulers derive

their “just powers from the consent of the governed.” European history actually offered several models of democracy. Classical Greece and Rome, pioneers of representative government, devised different ways of translating the

constitutional monarchy in the 18th century. Since

will of the people into action. Greek democracy in the

1215, when barons prevailed on King John to endorse

city-state of Athens gave each male citizen, gathered

the Magna Carta, monarchs had been obliged to accept

in assembly, a vote. Roman republicanism provided

diminished royal power and to acknowledge the pre¬

similar assemblies for the plebeians, or common peo¬

rogatives of the House of Lords—an aristocratic body

ple, and for the citizenry as a whole; but those bodies

comparable to the Roman Senate—and the more rep¬

then contended with a powerful Senate composed of

resentative House of Commons.

influential aristocrats. Though the result was often an

Even so, American patriots denounced King George III

uneasy compromise, Roman government did provide

as a tyrant when they rebelled against him in 1776.

a way for common people to assert their interests with¬

But after winning independence, the framers of the

out resorting to class warfare.

Constitution concluded that they needed something like an elected constitutional monarch to head the gov¬

Restraining Democracy

ernment. They created a Presidency with powers so

With its limits on democratic representation, the Roman

broad that some condemned the office as an invitation

republican model influenced revolutionary thinking in

to tyranny. In 1787 Jefferson complained in a letter to

the 18th century. Few people then believed that a gov¬

John Adams that the chief executive envisioned by the

ernment based strictly on the principle of one man, one

Constitution seemed “like a bad edition of a Polish

vote could survive and prosper. The framers of the U.S.

king.” Indeed, George Washington, the nation’s first

Constitution thus created a Senate whose members were

President, was so popular that he might have retained

chosen by state legislatures and served for a term of six

the office for life. His decision to step down after two

years—an elite body compared with the House of Rep¬

terms reassured those who feared the chief executive

resentatives, whose members were elected by direct pop¬

had grown too mighty, but complaints about an “impe¬

ular vote and served for a term of two years. Like the

rial” Presidency would resurface periodically. In cre¬

Romans, the Americans balanced a broad-based dem¬

ating a strong head of state to offset the powers of the

ocratic assembly with a legislative body that was less

legislative branch, the nation’s Founding Fathers drew

susceptible to popular pressure. Too much democracy,

inspiration in part from the very constitutional monar¬

the framers had feared, could be a dangerous thing.

chy against which they had rebelled.

A third tradition that influenced the American dem¬ ocratic process came not from Greece or Rome but

Upheaval in France

from the mother country’s venerable parliamentary

France, by contrast, had nothing like the British

system. Great Britain was the world’s preeminent

parliamentary tradition to draw upon when, in 30

1789, crippling national debt and mounting social

until further revolutions wracked the nation did it

tensions brought on a national crisis. King Louis XVI

emerge decisively as a republic.

resurrected a long-defunct assembly called the

Nor had the United States resolved its own internal

Estates-General. Though the first two estates—

tensions. It took the Civil War of 1861-65 to settle

clergy and nobility—dominated that body, the Third

both the status of slavery in a democracy and the issue

Estate—the commoners—seized the initiative and

of states’ rights versus federal rights—at the cost of

sought to transform France overnight from an

600,000 lives.

absolute monarchy into a representative democracy. Their principles were enshrined in the assembly’s

The Long Road

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citi¬

The road to democracy has never been an easy one.

zen, which stated that “all men are born free and

Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, but

equal in rights.”

its new constitution was often ignored by those suc¬

This ambitious effort to legislate a revolution fal¬

ceeding to power, such as the opportunistic Antonio

tered when representatives proved unable to resolve

Lopez de Santa Anna, who went from being a demo¬

sharp differences between defenders of the old regime

cratic reformer to being a dictator. Simon Bolivar of

and radicals hoping to remake society. Tragically, the

Venezuela, called The Liberator, helped free a large

French Revolution turned violent, claiming the lives

part of South America from Spanish rule. Yet even he

of King Louis, Queen Marie-Antoinette, and thou¬

assumed dictatorial powers to safeguard the new state

sands of others. Even worse, the chaos it engendered

with which he hoped to replace it.

fostered the dictatorships of Napoleon Bonaparte and

In 1848 a wave of revolutionary fervor swept across

later emperors. For much of the 19th century, France

Europe, engulfing nearly every nation on the conti¬

was torn between imperial and democratic rule. Not

nent—only to be brutally suppressed by reactionary monarchies. In 1989 a similar ferment exploded throughout Eastern Europe, but instead of being crushed by Soviet tanks, those nations succeeded in winning their freedom. At the same time, however, mass demonstrations in favor of political reform in China, especially in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, were brutally extinguished by the People’s Liberation Army. In 1979 the Iranian revolution cast off the shah’s shackles only to have them replaced by those of a repressive theocracy. Thirty years later, in 2009, this Islamic republic was itself rocked by a failed popular uprising, hundreds of protesters being killed or injured and thousands imprisoned. That revolt had never¬ theless been sparked and sustained by social media networks, the most powerful weapon yet placed in the hands of citizens anywhere. They were put to spec¬ tacular use during the “Arab Spring” of 2011, when in countries from Morocco to the Persian Gulf democratic yearnings, harnessed through social media, erupted, toppling one autocratic government after another. ■ A classical figure representing Equality holds a tablet inscribed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, approved by the National Assembly of France in 1789 on the eve of the French Revolution.

31

I

Technology Shrinks the World

T

**| ECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES CHANGED MANY ASPECTS

of human life—especially the speed of it. Engines and electricity revolutionized trans¬ portation and communications, making the world seem a smaller place. In the late 18th century, the world still depended on wind-powered ships and muscle—animal

or human—for both travel and communications. In 1755, the 320 miles from Philadelphia to Boston took a week to traverse by horseback. Longer journeys often took months. Information flowed at the same pace, augmented

servitude to wind and sail, were plying straight across

since earliest times by signal fires on hilltops or drums

the oceans. Instead of six weeks by sailing ship, it took

pounding out messages throughout the night. By 1734

just over two to ferry passengers, mail, and freight

post riders in Britain were carrying mail from town to

between New York and Liverpool. By the end of the

town, announcing their arrival with a blast on a trum¬

century it had been reduced to six days.

pet. Yet even after 1840, when the first adhesive stamp

The internal combustion engine, however, really

was issued, a British subject could expect a posted let¬

accelerated the speed of travel. In 1805 it was shown

ter to reach its destination safely, if only as fast as

in principle that fuel exploding inside a cylinder could

horses’ hooves could carry it.

generate motive power. By the 1860s engines could

Steam Power

within the cylinder before igniting it with a spark.

The industrial revolution also effected a revolution in

In 1883 German engineer Gottlieb Daimler created

transportation. James Watt’s improved steam engine

a portable engine that injected vaporized oil into a

of 1769 was too bulky to be portable, but by 1804

cylinder so that, once ignited, it could turn a crank¬

Englishman Richard Trevithick had built the first loco¬

shaft. Two years later his engine powered a “horse¬

motive, powered by a high-pressure steam engine. The

less carriage,” and the age of the automobile was

engine enabled the locomotive to haul ten tons of iron,

born. Within a century a car was parked in every

70 men, and five wagons over ten miles of rails—

American garage, and with paved highways to carry

though it took two hours to do so.

them, the drive from Philadelphia to Boston took

burn a mixture of coal gas and air, compressing it

Nevertheless, the railroad had been born, and soon

only seven hours.

improved locomotives were traveling upwards of 35

In 1892 another German, Rudolf Diesel, developed

miles an hour on straight tracks and level grades. By

an engine that created such high compression that

1830 England had 60 miles of railroad track. By 1870

fuel oil ignited in it even without a spark. The diesel

Europe as a whole had 65,000 miles of track and the

engine soon began replacing steam engines in facto¬

United States 53,000, including the transcontinental

ries and ships. Furthermore, internal combustion

railroad, completed in 1869. It took eight days to travel

engines also powered airplanes. By 1935 the China

from coast to coast.

Clipper could cover the 7,000 miles between San

By that time steamships, finally freed of the ancient

Francisco and Manila—nearly a quarter of Earth’s 32

message—What hath God wrought—by wire from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. In 1860 the Pony Express, using relays of fast horses, began carrying mail from the end of the rail line at St. Joseph, Missouri, to the Pacific coast. But the gallop¬ ing ceased after 18 months because the overland telegraph put the fabled riders out of business. Soon telegraph lines snaked over North America, Eurasia, and in 1866, beneath the Atlantic, too. News and dispatches that once took several weeks to cross between the continents were now relayed in a matter of hours. It wasn’t long after 1876, when Alexander Graham Bell invented the tele¬ phone, that those instruments were being found in every middle-class parlor. Telephone poles marched in step with telegraph ones across the United States and Europe. Wireless telegraphy joined the wired kind when Ital¬ ian physicist Guglielmo Marconi perfected the radio. The first transatlantic radio signals, between England and Newfoundland, were sent and received in 1901. Ordinary people soon huddled around radios, listen¬ ing to news broadcasts from distant places. Television, widely available by the 1950s, opened their eyes as well. Such sounds and images shrank the world with electromagnetic velocity. The digital revolution has only sent that speed into overdrive. Not widely known before the unveiling of the The crews that laid the fracks for America's transcontinental railroad in the mid-19th century numbered in the thousands and included American Indians and immigrants from Mexico, Ireland, and China.

World Wide Web in 1992, the Internet quickly blossomed

circumference—in a week. After the advent of jet air¬

world’s population—were online, visiting some 180 mil¬

craft, that flight took less than 24 hours.

lion websites and each day sending more than ten billion

into the largest communications network in history. By 2010 nearly two billion people—nearly a third of the

messages around the globe. The growth of mobile com¬ Communications

munications has managed to outpace that of the Inter¬

Speeding the intangible—information—was just

net. Nearly 90 percent of the world’s population had some

as important as transporting the physical. But the

access to mobile phone networks by 2010.

capacity to harness electricity would finally decouple

As a result, distance has all but been annihilated.

the speed of communications from that of trans¬

The explosive popularity of Internet social networks is bringing about a “global village” in which far-flung

portation. By the 1830s, inventors exploring electrical meth¬

people not only share common interests and concerns

ods for sending messages began perfecting the tele¬

but also eyewitness reports of crisis situations like nat¬

graph (Greek for “far writing”). In the 1830s

ural disasters or terrorist attacks—all in real time. They

Englishmen W. F. Cooke and Charles Wheatstone

also provide a powerful outlet for democratic yearn¬

invented the first commercially practical machine.

ings: Social networks largely toppled repressive regimes

American Samuel F. B. Morse devised a code

the

during the 2011 “Arab Spring.” For better or worse,

Morse code—for translating letters and words into

the world had become a much smaller, and much speed¬

electrical signals. In 1844 he sent the famous encoded

ier, place. ■ 33

T

The Search for World Order *^ HE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS WORLD ORDER IS AN ANCIENT

but elusive goal, as seemingly unattainable as Utopia or the earthly paradise. The Roman Empire tried to enforce a pax romana, or Roman peace, but it proved neither permanent nor global. Rebellions in its provinces and barbarian incur¬

sions at its fringes challenged the peace and shattered hopes that a single power could pacify so huge an area. Not until the 19th century, when the pax brittanica

and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.”

ruled much of the globe, did the notion of a world

The League of Nations, duly established in 1919, was

order revive. But even the British Empire at its height

the first attempt to establish a truly international order

competed with those of France and Russia and such

that was not simply one empire’s hegemony. Unfortu¬

newcomers to the imperial game as Germany. These

nately, it led a brief and troubled existence. Deep-seated

great powers shared a common interest in world order,

European animosities undermined its efforts, and the

but the tensions between them threatened to lead to

U.S. Senate failed to approve American membership,

turmoil, instability, and global conflict instead.

fearing it would diminish national sovereignty. Lacking

The destructive potential of great power rivalries

both American participation and any means of impos¬

exploded in the First World War (1914-18), which

ing its collective will, the League of Nations was pow¬

claimed millions of lives and left much of Europe and

erless to respond to violations of its charter by Germany,

the Middle East in chaos. Diplomats at the 1919 Paris

Italy, and Japan in the 1930s, setting the stage for the

Peace Conference understandably sought ways of

calamitous Second World War (1939-1945), which cost

avoiding any repetition of that bloodbath. Many were

more than 50 million lives.

idealists, hopeful that the “war to end all wars” might

Appalled and exhausted, the victorious Allies sought

afford them the chance to remake the world. “We were

to build a worldwide alternative to the League of Nations.

preparing not Peace only, but eternal Peace,” recalled

Renouncing its previous isolationism, the United States

British diplomat Harold Nicolson, “we were bent on

both joined the new United Nations (UN) and offered

doing great, permanent, and noble things.”

to host it in New York City. Unlike its predecessor, the UN was chartered with the power both to deploy its own

A Powerless League

troops as peacekeepers and to authorize the use of force

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, whose reluctant deci¬

by member nations against aggressors.

sion to enter the war in 1917 had been instrumental

Yet Cold War tensions soon divided the new organ¬

in effecting Germany’s defeat, championed a League

ization. In 1950, after communist North Korea

of Nations as a way to avert future conflicts. He

attacked South Korea, the UN Security Council—

believed that “a general association of nations must

responsible for maintaining international peace—per¬

be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of

mitted the United States to use force to expel the

affording mutual guarantees of political independence

invaders. Both the People’s Republic of China and the

Soviet Union denounced that decision, but the PRC

In 2003, however, the Security Council refused to con¬

was not a council member, and the Soviets had missed

done U.S. and British plans to attack Iraq and remove its

the meeting. Therefore, the United States and its allies,

dictator, Saddam Hussein. UN inspectors simply found

under the auspices of the UN, fought the communists,

no firm evidence that Hussein was amassing weapons of

including 300,000 Chinese troops, in Korea. Instead

mass destruction, as the Americans had alleged. The United

of having its peace safeguarded, the world instead

States spearheaded a “coalition of the willing” and invaded,

teetered on the brink of a nuclear abyss.

despite international condemnation. Saddam was toppled and executed, but throughout an eight-year war, coali¬

The World Enters the 21st Century

tion forces failed to find any of the rumored weapons.

Subsequent decades saw UN peacekeepers deployed

In 2006 the Security Council acknowledged that the

on scores of missions to conflict regions around the

UN, haunted by its failures during the Rwandan and

globe. Meanwhile, in 1971, after the United States

Bosnian genocides, had a “responsibility to protect pop¬

dropped its opposition, the People’s Republic of China

ulations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing

became a permanent member of the Security Council.

and crimes against humanity.” That led to its muscular

The collapse of the Soviet bloc in the late 1980s then

response when, in March 2011, Libyan leader Muam-

led to increased UN cooperation between East and

mar Qaddafi threatened to massacre thousands of

West. In 1990, for instance, after Iraq invaded Kuwait,

antigovernment protesters. The Security Council passed

the council approved the use of force in response, and

a resolution sanctioning the use of “all means neces¬

the following year the United States spearheaded a

sary” to protect endangered civilians, and soon NATO

broad coalition that pushed back Iraqi forces.

aircraft were enforcing a no-fly zone over the country and bombing targets. The quest for a more peaceful

UN peacekeepers patrol Sarajevo in 1994 after the breakup of Yugoslavia ignited fierce fighting between the region's rival ethnic groups.

world continues to prove elusive. ■

35

1 Ancient

Worid | Prehistory-500 B.C. M

2

Classical World 550 b.C-a.d. 700

3 Age of Faith 500-1150 4

Crusades to Columbus 960-1644

*

Colonizing New Worlds 1455-1857

6 |

Age of Imperialism 1750-1917

ft ■>

I

Global Conflict 1900-1945

« Toward a ji New Millennium j \ 1945-Present I

Stonehenge, on assembly of clones on England's Salisbury Plain, probably dales to the Srarae Age,

ERA: ANCIENT

WORLD

O

Ancient World Prehistory-500 b.c. VER MILLIONS OL YEARS, HUMANS EVOLVED FROM A SPECIES THAT WAS LARGELY AT THE

mercy of nature to one that managed its environment and shaped its destiny.

People first learned to use tools, weapons, and fire to enhance their skills as hunters and gatherers and expand into new habitats. About 10,000 years ago they began to domes¬ ticate wild plants and animals and settle in villages. The earliest civilizations emerged around 5,000 years ago (3000 B.c.) in Mesopotamia and the Nile River Valley, when villagers using irrigation techniques to increase the yields of those fertile floodplains coalesced into com¬ plex societies. The development of writing was one hallmark of civilization, along with the emergence of cities and the rise of powerful city-states, kingdoms, and empires. By 4,000 years ago (2000

B.C.),

civilizations had flowered in other fertile places around the world,

including the Indus River Valley in present-day Pakistan and the Yellow River Valley in China. In the Mediterranean region, meanwhile, complex societies arose that grew great primarily through trade and colonization. Some 3,000 years ago (1200 B.c.), civilization was emerging in the Americas in the form of monumental ceremonial centers where rulers functioning as high priests or godlike figures commanded the labor and devotion of their followers. Indeed, many of the world

S

first Civilizations were

ruled by kings who claimed kinship with the gods.

■ ca 100,000 B.C. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) begin spread¬ ing across the world.

Horses painted in Chauvetcave in southeastern age-old bond between humans and animals.

■ ca 10,000 b.c.

■ ca 5000 b.c.

■ ca 3500 b.c.

■ ca 3000 b.c.

Humans begin to domesticate plants and animals and settle in villages.

Villagers in

Agricultural surpluses feed the growth of towns in Egypt and cities in Mesopotamia.

Powerful city-states arise in Mesopotamia, and a kingdom emerges in Egypt.

Mesopotamia begin practicing irrigation.

38

■ ca 2550 b.c.

Pyramids are erected in Egypt, and cities take shape in the Indus River Valley.

■ ca 2200 b.c.

Civilizations arise on Crete in the Mediter¬ ranean and along the Yellow River in China.

■ ca 1500 b.c. The Iron Age begins.

■ ca 1000 b.c.

Phoenicians begin establishing colonies around the Mediter¬ ranean, and Olmec civilization strengthens in Mesoamerica.

■ ca 500 b.c. Greek city-states and colonies prosper in the Mediterranean, while Indian civilization flourishes in the Ganges River Valley.

ANCIENT

WORLD:

PREHISTORY-500

b.C.

and must have communicated with gestures and calls rather than with speech. Their long arms and curved

Human Evolution & Early Migration Prehistory-3000 B.C.

B

hands remained useful for climbing trees. They may have continued to seek shelter in wooded areas, which offered protection to mothers and infants, while others in the group foraged in open country, stalked by big cats and other predators. One adult female hominid who lived more than three million years

efore humans spread out

humans and remained apelike in

ago—nicknamed Lucy after her

across the world and came

appearance, with sloping fore¬

skeleton was discovered in Ethiopia

to dominate the planet, they

heads, flat noses, and large teeth.

in 1974—stood only three feet eight

underwent a lengthy process of

They had a brain roughly the size

inches tall. Males grew as tall as five

evolution in Africa. Although many

of a chimpanzee’s—or about a third

feet. Walking upright gave these

questions remain to be answered

the size of a modern human brain—

early hominids a good view of dan-

about that process, scientists have reconstructed the basic sequence of human evolution by studying the bones of early hominids—a family of primates including humans and related species that share the ability to walk upright. The first hominids evolved more than four million years ago in East Africa from apes that moved on all fours. Those apes were well adapted to climbing trees, but geological and climatic changes in the region greatly reduced their forest habitat and increased the amount of prairie or savanna. That development fa¬ vored the evolution of primates that could stand upright, look out over the grasslands, and walk long dis¬ tances on two feet in pursuit of food, which they could then retrieve with their hands. The

earliest

hominids

were

not as erect in posture as modern Hominids some 3.6 million years ago left haunt¬ ing tracks in volcanic ash that later hardened on Tanzania's laefdi Plain. Walking on two feet distinguished the first hominids from apes.

gers in the distance; they were agile

process—the emergence of a larger-

enough to shake sticks and throw

brained species known as Homo

stones when threatened. They lived

erectus (erect man). The mobility

mainly by gathering fruits, nuts,

of these humans combined with

and seeds, but they also may have

their capacity to adapt to new sur¬

scavenged animal carcasses.

roundings made them great explor¬

■ ca 3.5 million b.c.

ers and travelers. Around 1.8

Hominid "Lucy" dies in Ethiopia, where her skeleton was later found complete.

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca 4.4 million b.c.

First hominids hove evolved in East Africa.

Out of Africa

million years ago, Homo erectus

Human evolution entered a major

began spreading out from Africa

■ ca 2.5 million b.c.

new phase with the emergence

across the Middle East, Asia, and

nearly 2.5 million years ago of

ultimately Europe. These early

the first species considered suffi¬

humans could live almost anywhere

First hominid species considered human—Homo habilis—evolves in Africa.

ciently advanced to bear the name

because they had learned to build

man: Homo babilis (handy man).

huts and were skilled hunters,

Equipped with a brain roughly

equipped with better tools and a

half as large as that of modern

larger physique than their hominid

■ ca 1.8 million b.c.

humans, these handy primates were

predecessors. Eventually, they dis¬

the first to craft tools. By chipping

covered how to make use of natu¬

away at stones, they formed sharp

rally occurring fires for cooking and

First human species to leave Africa— Homo erectus—begins migrating to Asia and later Europe.

edges useful for butchering large

warmth, which helped them adapt

animals whose carcasses they found.

to colder climates.

In addition to scavenging, they may

The art of making fire was mas¬

have hunted small animals. At one

tered

site in Tanzania, a group of Homo

known as Homo sapiens (wise

babilis piled up stones as a shelter

man), who may have descended

against the wind—a

sign that

from Homo erectus and possessed

humans were learning to shape their

an even larger brain. That evolu¬

environment in ways that would

tionary advance occurred about

allow them to move about freely

100,000 years ago, by which time

and occupy areas inhospitable to

Homo sapiens living in Africa,

earlier hominids.

where the species most likely origi¬

■ ca 2 million b.c.

The Ice Age begins.

■ ca 1.5 million b.c.

First evidence of the use of fire by humans, in Africa.

by the modern humans

That potential was fulfilled during

nated, were much the same as

the next stage in the evolutionary

humans living today. A distinct

■ ca 300,000 b.c. Various humans sharing characteristics of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens have appeared, now grouped loosely together as archaic sapiens. ■ ca 100,000 b.c.

Homo sapiens, or modern humans, are living in Africa and begin migrating to other parts of the world. ■ ca. 30,000 b.c.

Neandertals disappear, and Homo sapiens continue to spread across the Earth. ■ ca 20,000 b.c.

The Ice Age reaches its peak, exposing land bridge from Siberia to North America. ■ ca 11,000 b.c.

Human evolution did not proceed in a straight line; one species sometimes overlapped with another. Early hominids were still living on Earth after the evolution of the first human species, Homo babilis. 41

The Ice Age ends and the planet begins to warm, setting the stage for the devel¬ opment of agriculture and complex human societies.

people called Neandertals—classi¬

out—or were assimilated into the

The Ice Age was marked by peri¬

fied alternately as a subspecies of

dominant population of Homo sapi¬

ods of extreme cold, punctuated by

Homo sapiens or a separate species

ens—some 32,000 years ago.

milder intervals. When the planet was at its coldest, huge quantities

descended from Homo erectus— found a niche in the cold climate of

Profiting from the Ice Age

of water were locked in ice packs,

Europe by hunting mammoths and

The human evolutionary drama

lowering the seas by hundreds of

other big game and working the

unfolded against the chilling back¬

feet. As a result, narrow bodies of

hides of animals into clothing.

drop of the Ice Age, Which began

water between landmasses dried up,

The Neandertal brain was similar

roughly two million years ago and

creating so-called land bridges that

in size to that of modern humans but

reached its peak not long after

humans could cross on foot.

may not have been as well developed

Neandertals vanished from the

for speech and the social skills

In this way humans migrated

scene. Fortunately, humans were by

from Southeast Asia to Australia

dependent on speech. That lack could

then so highly evolved that cir¬

some 50,000 years ago. Along the

have hampered Neandertals in com¬

cumstances that could have been

way, at the extreme edge of Indone¬

peting with linguistically adept Homo

catastrophic for a less adaptable

sia where the island of Flores stands

sapiens who entered Europe around

species instead presented them with

now, they might have encountered

40,000 years ago. Neandertals died

vast new worlds of opportunity.

the small Homo floresiensis, barely

— SCANDINAVIA Settled by modern Homo sapiens starting some 12,000 years ago

SIBERIA Peopled perhaps 30,000 years ago by modern Homo sapiens

Malta, RUSSIA Modern Homo sapiens Bilzingsleben, GERMANY Homo erectus 400,000 a EUROPE Atapuerca, SPAIN IT.,V ■j ’ Ceprano, ITALY H",o£.

'oO-BOO.OOO.

Mladec, CZECH REPUBLIC Modern Homo sapiens 33,000 Dmanisi, GEORGIA Earliest Homo species m 1.5-1.6 million years ago

Qafzeh, ISRAEL Modern Homo sapiens 92,000 (?)

Ubeidiya, ISRAEL Homo erectus 1.400,000

Tighenif, ALGERIA Homo erectus 700,000

Lake Turkana, KENYA Homo erectus sites 1,800,000,

Zhoukoudian, CHINA Homo erectus 460,000

Lantian, CHINA Homo erectus 1,000,000-700,000

JAPAN Peopled by modern Homo sapiens some 30,000 years ago

Narmada, INDIA Homo (?) erectus 500,000 (?)

PEOPLING OF EURASIA Some 1.8 million years ago an early Homo species became the first hominid to leave Africa—ultimately reaching Europe and eastern Asia.

Diuktai Cave, RUSSIA Modem Homo sapiens 14,000

Liujiang, CHINA Modern Homo sapiens 15,000 Mariana Islands Tabon Cave, PHILIPPINES B MocBrn Homo sapiens

Lake Baringo, KENYA Earliest hominid fossils 4,500,000 Laetoli, TANZANIA / Evidence of hominids walking upright 3,600,000

Makapansgat, SOUTH AFRICA Evidence of hominids in southern Africa 2,700,000 ■ Klasies River Mouth, SOUTH AFRICA Modern Homo sapiens

Border Cave, 1 SOUTH AFRICA Modern Homo sapiens 100,000 (?)

Samoa Islands

Sangiran. INDONESIA Homo erectus 1.7-1.0 million years ago

MADAGASCAR Peopled about 1,500 years ago

PEOPLING OF AUSTRALIA Modern Homo sapiens reached Australia some 50,000 years age from Asia, possibly using simple rafts and a forested land bridge with New Guinea. Upper 38,000

100,000

Peopling Of The Earth

42

Fiji Islands Tonga'' Islands

NEW ZEALAND Peopled by Polynesians about f.OOO years ago

taller than a yardstick—whose

migration began remains a matter of

continents to habitation but also

skeletal remains, found in 2004,

debate. Hunting bands certainly

created new conditions and chal¬

might represent either a diminutive

made the journey when the land

lenges that prompted humans to

version of Homo sapiens, a survival

beneath

evolve socially and culturally. The

of Homo erectus, or a new species

exposed some 14,000 years ago.

altogether.

the

Bering

Strait

was

hunting of mammoths and other big

People then moved southward

game that flourished during the Ice

The most far-reaching migration

into the interior of the continent

Age required close cooperation and

made possible by the lowering of sea

when the climate moderated and

strengthened social bonds. The

levels during the Ice Age took place

glaciers covering North America

practice of burying the dead with

when Eurasian hunters traveling

melted, opening paths to Central

weapons, tools, or food became

in pursuit of game crossed a land

America

America.

widespread during the last phase of

bridge called Beringia from Siberia

Some sites of ancient human habi¬

the Ice Age, indicating that people

to North America. How long ago this

tation in South America hint that

believed in some sort of afterlife.

Humans spread out from Africa across the Earth, reaching the Americas at the end of the Ice Age. Dates for Hie first-appearance of humans in a region are approximate and subject to change.

and

South

migrations from Siberia may have

The end of the Ice Age, roughly

begun during an earlier phase of the

10,000 years ago, did not mark the

Ice Age, 20,000 years ago or more.

end of human migrations or social

The Ice Age not only opened new

evolution. Many islands of the Pacific remained uninhabited until Polynesians reached them by boat

!GH ARCTIC iopled about >00 years ago

Greenland

within the past 2,000 years. Long before that, however, people else¬ where had settled and were taking advantage of the milder climate,

PEOPLING OF THE AMERICAS From Siberia across Beringia came modern Homo sapiens into the New World. Most experts believe humans had moved into North America by 14,000 years ago, but some isolated sites hint at peopling 20,000 years ago and earlier.

■ Sites show earliest evidence of peopling by early hominids, Homo erectus, and modern Homo sapiens

NORTH AMERICA

( Meadowcroft, U.S. ' 16,000 (?)

Site date in years before present (?) Date or species identification questioned

" Black water Draw, U.S. 11,000

which favored the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. Neolithic towns, whose inhabitants employed agricultural techniques and domesticated animals, had arisen by 8,000 years ago in the Fer¬

^WAIIAN ISLANDS Peopled about 1,600 years ago

tile Crescent, the semicircle of fer¬ tile land that stretches from the

\

Taima-Taima, VENEZUELA

PEOPLING OF THE PACIFIC Modern Homo sapiens came to islands near New Guinea perhaps 32,000 years ago. But the rest of Melanesia—and all of Micronesia and Polynesia—were peopled much later, from 4,000 to 1,000 years ago

southeastern coast of the Mediter¬ ranean around the Syrian Desert. At Jericho inhabitants built a pro¬ tective wall that became legendary; (Atal Hiiyiik, in today’s Turkey, was

Marquesas Islands

a market for copper and obsidian. The transition to a more settled

Society Islands

'A

way of life culminated about 5,000 EASTER ISLAND Peopled about 1,600 years ago

years ago, or 3000 B.C., when agri¬ cultural surpluses fed the growth of civilizations in the Fertile Cres¬ cent. With the rise of civilization Toldos Cave, ARGENTINA

came the emergence of writing (see pp. 18-19). Humans had reached the dawn of recorded history. ■

" Fell’s Cave, CHILE 11,000

43

ANCIENT

WORLD:

PREHISTQRY-500 B.c.

in temples, where priests guarded them and distributed or traded them. To keep track of goods

Mesopotamian Civilizations

ian scribes first used pictographs of common objects such as sheaves of grain to record their transac¬ tions. Over time, those pictographs evolved into abstract wedge-shaped characters called cuneiform that

3500 -500 b.c.

C

received and exchanged, Sumer¬

were inscribed in clay with a pointed stick called a stylus.

IVILIZATION ORIGINATED

to bring water from the rivers to

Sumerian temples, known as

at the southern end of

the parched soil. Constructing and

ziggurats, had several levels, each

Mesopotamia, near the Per¬

maintaining that irrigation system

narrower than the one below, giv¬

sian Gulf, where the Tigris and

required strong leadership and the

ing the buildings a stepped pro¬

Euphrates Rivers converged to form

labor of many people.

file. Cities grew up around the

a floodplain of exceptional fertility.

Among the earliest leaders of

ziggurats, and priests exercised

This bountiful country was home to

Sumerian society were priests, who

great influence over the populace.

the Sumerians, who built the world’s

served as intermediaries between

In addition to distributing and

first cities around 3500 B.C.

the people and the gods they

exchanging food surpluses, they

Their civilization arose when the

thanked for their bounty and feared

owned land and supervised large

Sumerians began working together

as the cause of ruinous floods and

temple staffs that included cooks,

to produce agricultural surpluses.

other calamities. Irrigation efforts

weavers, and musicians.

Fertile though the soil was, it dried

ensured that there was usually

out after the spring floods because

plenty of food to feed those priests

little rain fell during the summer.

and others not directly involved in

Farmers in Sumer had to dig canals

raising crops. Surpluses were stored

44

The Assyrians lovecf sport, as this frieze from Nineveh illustrates. Nineveh replaced Dur Sharrukin as Assyria's capital during the reign of Sennacherib (704-681 b.c.).

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca 3500 b.c.

Sumerians develop a complex society featuring urban areas built around tem¬ ple complexes presided over by priests. ■ ca 3300 b.c.

Sumerians begin to develop a writing system. ■ ca 2900 b.c.

Powerful city-states ruled by dynasties emerge in Sumer. ■ ca 2500 B.c.

Royal burials at Sumerian city-state of Ur include human sacrifices. ■ 2334 b.c. The great ziggurat at Ur, built of sunbaked bricks, was dedicated fa the moon god, Norma, whose statue stood ot the summit of the temple and was washed, clothed, and fed by priests.

Among the strongest of the Sumerian city-states were Ur and

King Sargon of Akkad conquers Sumer and goes on fa forge a Mesopotamian empire.

Uruk. Ur was situated near the Per¬ sian Gulf and profited from mar¬

Big Men Take Control

itime trade with civilizations to the

Priests were not the only authority

east. The city itself, surrounded by

figures in these emerging cities.

a massive defensive wall of mud

Leaders of wealthy families formed

brick, contained more than 30,000

councils of elders. In times of crisis

people—a

the council appointed a chief called

ancient times. Uruk had more than

a lugal, big man, or ensi, great

50,000 inhabitants. Near the cen¬

man. By 3000 B.C., Sumerian cities

ter of Ur stood a lofty temple ded¬

were fast expanding into city-states

icated to the moon god, Nanna.

■ 1792 b.c.

Hammurapi takes power in Babylon and embarks on conquests, establishing the first Babylonian Empire and compil¬ ing a collection of laws known as the Code of Hammurapi.

large population in ■ 1595 b.c.

Hittites sack Babylon and end Babylon¬ ian dynasty. ■ ca 1200 b.c.

Hittite homeland in Anatolia (Turkey) is overrun by invaders, ending the Hittite Empire.

that took control of surrounding

Rulers of Ur believed that they

villages, thus ensuring a steady

were godlike and looked forward

flow of food from the country. This

to a glorious afterlife. In a series of

expansion brought neighboring

royal burials that occurred there

city-states into competition for land

around 2500 B.C., the deceased

and water, resulting in warfare. Big

were honored with offerings that

men who led city-states into battle

included model boats of copper and

against their rivals and achieved

silver, game boards inlaid with

great victories remained in power

ivory, beautifully crafted lyres, and

and became kings. Those kings then

chariots pulled by oxen. Palace

enhanced their authority by build¬

retainers of both sexes were put to

■ 539 b.c.

ing palaces near the temples and

death during the burial and accom¬

claiming support from priests and

panied the rulers to the afterworld

Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers the Babylonian Empire.

the gods they represented.

to serve them. 45

■ ca 900 B.c. Assyrians in northern Mesopotamia begin imperial expansion. ■ 612 b.c.

Babylonians defeat Assyrians and seize control of their empire.

Such was the price Sumerians and others in the ancient world paid for civilization, which placed unprecedented power in the hands

Mesopotamia, the "land between the rivers," occupies the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent (inset). It gave rise to Earth's cities and empires, providing seed and soil for literature, law, and science; slavery, sacrifice, and despotism.

Halaf

of rulers. The gap between those at the highest level of society and

Sumerians, weakened by bloody

those at the bottom—slaves—was

rivalries between city-states, fell to

immense. The Sumerian word for

a conqueror named Sargon from

slave meant “foreigner,” suggesting

the land of Akkad, north of Sumer.

that most were outsiders, seized in

Sargon forged an empire that

battle or in slave raids. But some

reached all the way from the Per¬

Sumerians sold themselves or mem¬

sian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.

bers of their family into slavery to

The imperial dynasty of Sargon

escape poverty or debt.

and his descendents lasted less than

While some people suffered, oth¬

a century, but many ambitious

ers benefited from the rise of pow¬

Mesopotamian rulers later tried to

erful city-states. Many specialized

emulate Sargon and take control of

occupations emerged to fill the

the entire region.

needs of kings, priests, and the

Among the shrewdest of those

masses who lived within the city

conquerors was Hammurapi, from

walls. Among those who profited

the city of Babylon, situated in

were scribes, merchants, wood¬

Akkad near the Euphrates River.

workers, coppersmiths, bakers,

Hammurapi’s Babylonian Empire

and

fermented

embraced all of Mesopotamia. His

mashed barley into ale, the Sume¬

greatest legacy was to build on the

rians’ favorite beverage.

legal foundations of the Sumerians

brewers—who

Laws set down in writing by

and compile a list of laws known as

Sumerian rulers offered people

the Code of Hammurapi. Among

some assurance that their rights and

the statutes was one of the earliest

property would not be taken away

malpractice laws on record, stat¬

from them arbitrarily. Even slaves

ing that if a physician was found

had certain rights. If a slave mar¬

guilty of performing reckless sur¬

Zenobia ▲ Archaeological gold mine, a 260-room palace here has yielded more than 20,000 cuneiform tablets. A Mesopotamian trading hub, Mari was ruled by Semitic-speakingdcings

Dura Eitropus^ ,

Palmyra

Mari* • For a thousand years or more, the desert metropolis of Palmyra—a cultural synthesis of East and West—was an entrepot for caravans between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates.

S

Y

k Mui

R

J&RDAN |

irt// LEBANON,

SYRIA ,,

Medit. Sea A ISRAELI! Gaza

i|j|

'-V'bey Stripj, fT

ried a free person, for example, any

gery that killed or blinded a man,

children they had were born free.

the authorities should cut off his

Women could own property and

hand. Such laws were enforced by

testify in court, but their husbands

leading figures in the community.

could divorce them if they bore no

Their verdicts could be appealed

children. Sumerians were the first

to Hammurapi himself.

to record in writing both their laws

EGYPT

Fertile Crescent: Richer in human potential than in soil, the cradle of , Western civilization—an arc reaching from Mesopotamia to Egypt—arose by the third millennium B.C. To the east a similar florescence occurred in the Indus ind Yellow River Valleys.

The system of justice Hammu¬

and their legends. One legend told

rapi

of an epic hero who survived a flood

Mesopotamia, but later Babylon¬

for warlike peoples from sur¬

that ravaged the world.

ian rulers had difficulty holding the

rounding areas. In 1595 B.C., fear¬

empire together. The fertile land

some invaders called the Hittites

Land of Conquerors

between the Tigris and Euphrates,

swept down from the north and

In 2334 B.c. Mesopotamia entered

with its rich harvests and wealthy

sacked Babylon. The warriors rode

a new phase in its history when the

cities, offered an irresistible target

to battle in two-wheeled chariots

imposed

helped

46

unite

iot pulled by sacred bulls. Hittite

X.

TWjltm

i N;N r jA ? '

-< V-

Oldest and long the most important city of Assyria, Nineveh replaced Dur Sharrukin as capital under the reign of Sennacherib {704-681 B.C.), who razed Babylon and ravaged the land of Judea.

Shanidar CaveA t

SharrukinAATeP« Gav,*a

AIMawf!!*

a Nineveh-

•

'

AlXaWa* ArM (Mosul) * „ ^-AfBela HassunaAfJ^fW ^ JiCJaiah,

:raA

KarkQk

NaJiA.ower claimed by Sumerian and Akkadian kings. Like Nippur, Erech dates from the Ubaid culture. Its walls, according to legend, were built by \ Gilgamesh, epic figure of \NMesopotamian literature.

bull to draw the wagon.”

Mesopotamia.The Assyrians, who

T

An

right hand. Team up with me as a

warlike Assyrians of northern

~9 Tan Lmsxt. Q

AKish

strength: “Save my life. Walk on my

other conquerors, including the

^Ba%ubah

Ar Rama* «Dur *arigalzuA

Bufyayrat ar Razazah T ^

rulers prayed to Teshub for aid and

& Diwanryah

that gained strength as they came in contact with more advanced

Sh

O

cultures in the Middle East and acquired their technology.

A yp*

EreefcA (Orukf, Tel! el ObeidA .Or (Ubaid) Eridu*

W\

Advent of the Iron Age

C H A I DE A 'AX

p

T

'O'

'fe,

One factor that destabilized the Middle East after the fall of the Hit¬

Traditional birthplace of Abraham,/ , the royal city of Ur was abandoned in the fourth century B.C., possibly after the Ephrates changed course, leaving Ur enclosed by desert. , Artifacts execuvated at Eridu date x from before 5000 B.C., fixing it \as Mesopotamia’s oldest city.

tites was the new technology of iron¬ working. Previously, the strongest tools and weapons had been made of bronze—an alloy of copper and

Archaeological site

tin—which was scarce and expen¬

g / # Modern city / capital

sive. Only large and wealthy king¬ 50

50

doms could afford to equip entire

100 km

armies with bronze helmets, swords,

100 mi

and spears. Compared with tin, iron ore was relatively plentiful, and once that were far swifter and more

in what is now Turkey, where they

smiths had mastered the art of heat¬

maneuverable than the traditional

ruled an empire that extended

ing and hammering it in forges,

four-wheeled Mesopotamian war

from northern Mesopotamia to the

sturdy iron weapons with a harder

wagons. After plundering Babylon,

Mediterranean. Hittites worshiped

edge than bronze weapons became

the Hittites retreated with their

a storm god named Teshub, who

widely available. The advent of the

booty to their rugged homeland

hurled lightning and rode in a char-

Iron Age gave rising kingdoms such

--

47

-

as Israel—established around 1000

were later overthrown by another

pagan splendors of a city restored

B.C. by Hebrews of nomadic ori¬

son, who restored order, rebuilt

to its former glory by Nebuchad¬

gin—a fighting chance. It did not,

Babylon, and proclaimed himself

nezzar. Among its glittering monu¬

however, alter the balance of power

“king of the world.”

ments were the Ishtar Gate, devoted to the war goddess Ishtar and dec¬

in the Middle East. As always, the military advantage lay with larger,

Rebirth at Babylon

orated with the images of lions and

wealthier kingdoms such as Assyria,

Before long, Babylonians were

bulls; and the Temple of Marduk,

whose rulers amassed huge armies

vying with Assyrians £or control of

the chief Babylonian god, wor¬

of as many as 200,000 men.

that world. In 612 B.C., they cap¬

shiped in the form of a 20-foot-high

tured Nineveh and took control of

golden statue.

The Assyrians were just emerg¬ ing as a major power when the

The Hanging Gardens of Baby¬

Hittites collapsed. In the chaotic

lon entered legend as one of the

aftermath, the Assyrians beat back challenges from nomadic groups

I

Boastful Rulers

may have resembled the royal

across the Fertile Crescent into

cut their throats like sheep. My prancing steeds plunged into their welling blood as into a river; the wheels of my battle chariot were bespattered with blood and filth."

Egypt. To discourage opposition,

—An Assyrian conqueror on the carnage

and became fearsome conquerors. Beginning around 900 B.C., they forged an empire that reached

they subjected defeated enemies to horrible punishment. One Assyrian conqueror warned his foes: “Know ye not what I do to my enemies, how I flay some, burn others alive. ... How I deal with captives, cut¬ ting off noses, ears, and fingers, put¬ ting out their eyes? Submit then, before it is too late!” Those who submitted meekly to such threats had to pay tribute to overbearing rulers like Sennacherib, who reigned at the peak of Assyr¬ ian power around 700 B.C. He used

Seven Wonders of the World; they

he inflicted on his enemies

Modesty was no virtue among Mesopotamian kings. Many rulers had exaggerated accounts of their con¬ quests inscribed on monuments— chronicles in which they took personal credit for victories achieved by their generals and troops. None surpassed the Assyrians when it came to boasting of their prowess. One Assyrian victor told of how he cap¬ tured his Babylonian rival and trod "upon his royal neck as though it were a footstool."Such taunts were meant to impress the rulers loyal followers—and intimidate any foes who might be tempted to rebel.

wealth extracted from subject peo¬

gardens in Nineveh, irrigated by screw pumps that raised water to high points from which streams and cascades poured down through lush greenery. Babylon’s

brief

return

to

brilliance marked the end of a long and triumphant epoch for Mesopotamia. Since the rise of the Sumerian city-states more than 2,300

years

earlier,

the

land

between the rivers not only had nur¬ tured great conquerors but also had inspired lawgivers, artists, archi¬ tects, poets, and scientists. Baby¬ lonian

astronomers

succeeded

in predicting lunar eclipses, and Babylonian mathematicians devised a system of computation based on the number 60 that provided the

ples to build a “palace without a

the vast empire the Assyrians had

basis for the 60-second minute,

rival” at his capital of Nineveh.

built. Like Sennacherib, the Baby¬

the60-minute hour, and the 360-

Constant demands for tribute to

lonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II was

degree circle.

support such projects led some peo¬

merciless to subjects who refused

Mesopotamia bequeathed an

ple to rise up against the Assyrians.

to pay him tribute. He destroyed

enduring legacy to the civilized

Faced with a rebellion in Babylon,

the rebellious city of Jerusalem in

world, but Mesopotamians would

Sennacherib sacked that proud old

Judea, which was all that remained

no longer rule that world. In the late

city, shocking Assyrians close to the

of the kingdom of Israel after ear¬

sixth century B.C., they were con¬

king who revered Babylonian cul¬

lier Assyrian conquests. Many in

quered by Persians from present-

ture and worshiped its gods. Amid

Jerusalem were killed, and others

day Iran. Mesopotamians ceased

the uproar, Sennacherib was assas¬

were enslaved and carried off to

to be masters of the universe and

sinated by two of his sons. They

Babylon, where they toiled amid the

became subjects. ■

48

The Lessons of Judaism HIS WHOLE LAND SHALL BECOME A RUIN

to Canaan, they fought to establish the kingdom of

and a waste,” warned the biblical prophet

Israel, which emerged triumphant around 1000 B.C.

Jeremiah, “and these nations shall serve the

under three celebrated rulers—Saul, David, and

king of Babylon seventy years.” In proph¬

Solomon. After Solomon died, the kingdom split in

esying the defeat and captivity of his people by the

two. Israel, in the north, fell to the Assyrians in 721

Babylonians, Jeremiah was affirming one of the core

B.C.; Judea, including the capital city of Jerusalem in

beliefs of Judaism—that God controls history and sees

the south, succumbed later to the Babylonians in the

to it that virtue is rewarded and wickedness is pun¬ ished. Their devotion to a single supreme God set the Jews apart from other people and placed them under a heavy obligation. The fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. was divine punishment for those who sinned and wor¬ shiped false idols, Jeremiah insisted, but God would deliver them from captivity if they repented: “The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground,” he assured. The promise of redemption runs throughout the Bible. According to the Book of Genesis, God sent a great flood to punish humanity for its sins but spared Noah and made a covenant with him, pledging never again to deluge the Earth. That story and others in Genesis—including those of the creation and the Garden of Eden—resemble Mesopotamian legends, suggesting that the ancient Hebrews (meaning “wan¬ derers”) may have come in contact with Sumerians or Babylonians early in their history. The Hebrews traced their origins to the biblical patriarch Abraham, who left Ur in Mesopotamia and migrated to the land of Canaan, near Egypt. Abraham and his kin were nomadic herders when they entered Canaan, but they longed for a country of their own and believed God Standing on holy ground, Moses removes his sandals beside the burning bush and receives God's blessing as the savior of his people.

had promised them a homeland. “I will make of you a great nation,” God assured Abraham. That nation was known as Israel, a title given to Abraham’s grand¬

disaster lamented by Jeremiah. All this was seen by

son Jacob after God appeared to him as an angel and

the prophets as a lesson for those who took God’s

blessed him.

blessings for granted.

As God’s Chosen People, the Israelites had their

Might did not make right, the prophets warned,

faith tested repeatedly, beginning with their enslave¬

and those whom God raised up would be laid low if

ment in Egypt. After delivering them from bondage,

they broke his laws. In the words of Jeremiah: “Let

God renewed his covenant with the Israelites by

not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the

revealing his laws to their leader Moses. Returning

rich man glory in his riches.” ■

49

A

ANCIENT

WORLD:

PREHISTORY-500 b.c.

B.C.

was a land of villages. The Nile

served as an artery of communica¬ tion between those settlements,

Egyptian Civilization

however, and helped unify the coun¬ try. The first area to be united under one ruler was Upper Egypt, the land along the upper Nile (the Nile Delta downstream to the north consti¬ tuted Lower Egypt). Villages in Upper Egypt were all located within

3000-500 b.c.

T

a narrow floodplain near the river hemmed in by cliffs and desert. Irri¬

he Nile Valley was one of

tling along the river and cultivating

gation efforts provided water for

the most fertile places in the

wheat and barley. Other resources

the crops during the dry season that

ancient world. Each sum¬

of the region included fish, fowl,

followed the annual flood. This

mer, monsoon rains in the highlands

and papyrus—a reed that grew in

bountiful and easily navigated cor¬

of East Africa, far to the south,

marshy areas and was used first to

ridor was readily commanded by

swelled the Nile and flooded the

build rafts and later to make paper

surrounding countryside, leaving a

for writing.

The Sphinx and the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre

rich layer of silt that replenished the

Unlike Mesopotamia, with its

fields. By 6000 B.C., people were set¬

fast-growing cities, Egypt in 3000

60

were just two of the monuments erected at Giza by the rulers of Egypt's Old Kingdom, who iden¬ tified themselves with the sun god Re.

ambitious rulers, who claimed a

ing their power. It took three cen¬

portion of the harvest to support

turies for rulers of the 1st and 2nd

their troops and retainers.

dynasties to bind Egypt into a polit¬

Around 3000 B.C., a king named

ical unit strong enough to support

Narmer from Upper Egypt led

such massive undertakings as the

forces north into the Nile Delta and

building of the pyramids. Two fac¬

conquered Lower Egypt. That

tors that helped pharaohs expand

swampy country was less suitable

their authority and command obe¬

for farming than the land to the

dience were religion and record¬

south, but in centuries to come

keeping. Scribes used characters

Egyptians would drain marshes

called hieroglyphs to write down

there and transform the delta into

royal pronouncements, and to keep

a populous and productive region.

track of official businesses such as

Narmer’s successors made their

the collection of taxes—paid in the

capital at Memphis, at the south¬

form of grain—and the drafting of

ern end of the delta, where Lower

troops and laborers for military

Egypt abutted Upper Egypt.

campaigns and public projects.

The unification of Egypt by

Such demands placed a heavy

Narmer ushered in the first of more

burden on villagers,

but they

than 30 dynasties that would rule

regarded the pharaoh as a super¬

the country for the next 3,000

natural figure who communed with

years. The long succession of dynas¬

the gods and ensured that the Nile

ties was not always smooth. Three

would continue to rise and fall and

great eras of strength and stability

that Egypt would remain fertile.

known as the Old Kingdom (ca

Egypt’s earliest kings identified

2575-2150 B.C.), the Middle King¬

with the falcon god Horus. Later,

dom (ca 1975-1640 B.C.), and the

the cult of Horus was merged

New Kingdom (ca 1539-1075 B.C.)

with that of the sun god Re—a

were interspersed with eras of con¬

higher and mightier figure with

fusion and unrest known as inter¬

which pharaohs identified. With the

mediate periods.

rise of the Old Kingdom around

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca 3000 b.c.

King Narmer from Upper Egypt conquers Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta), unifying the country, and establishes its capital at Memphis. ■ ca 2550 b.c.

Pharaoh Khufu orders construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza. ■ ca 2150 B.c.

Drought disrupts the seasonal flooding of the Nile, destabilizing the Old King¬ dom and leading to a century of unrest known as the First Intermediate Period. ■ ca 1975 B.c.

Egypt is reunified by rulers from Thebes, ushering in the Middle Kingdom. ■ ca 1960 b.c.

Troops invade Nubia, extending Egypt's frontier south from the First Cataract of the Nile to the Second Cataract. ■ ca 1630 b.c.

Hyksos invaders take over the Nile Delta, ending the Middle Kingdom and inaugurating the Second Inter¬ mediate Period. ■ ca 1550 b.c.

Theban kings launch a campaign against the Hyksos, leading to the reuni¬ fication of Egypt and the rise of the New Kingdom, with its capital at Thebes.

After the collapse of the New

2700 B.C., rulers of the 3rd dynasty

Kingdom, Egypt was often ruled by

began building lofty tombs in

foreigners, including black Africans

the hope that their spirits would

from Nubia, or Kush. But those out¬

ascend to heaven after death. The

siders honored Egyptian traditions

earliest of these monuments were

and were recognized as pharaohs—

step pyramids, resembling ziggu-

a term meaning “great house” and

rats. During the 4th dynasty, royal

used to refer both to the king and

architects refined the design by

■ 1070 b.c.

his palace. For thousands of years,

erecting gigantic smooth-sided pyr¬

while other civilizations rose and

amids. The supreme example is the

fell, Egypt endured.

482-foot-high Great Pyramid at

New Kingdom ends and Egyptian power declines; rulers of foreign origin often control all or part of the country.

Builders of the Pyramids

reigned around 2550 B.C. An epic

The first Egyptian kings were

project that took nearly 20 years

largely concerned with consolidat¬

to complete, the Great Pyramid was

Giza built by Pharaoh Khufu, who

--

■ ca 1500 b.c.

Pharaoh Thutmose I forges an Egyptian empire extending from the Fourth Cataract in Nubia to present-day Syria.

I ca 730 b.c.

Nubians conquer Egypt and rule the country for several decades until Assyrians take control.

constructed by peasants conscripted

am lord of eternity in the crossing

of towering authority could have

for labor during the Nile flood sea¬

of the sky.” Egyptians also mum¬

commanded the efforts of so many

son, when work in the fields ceased.

mified animals and buried them as

people for so long. Over the next

Toiling in gangs, the builders hauled

offerings to beloved deities such as

few centuries, that authority grad¬

massive limestone blocks weighing

the cat goddess, Bastet, and the

ually eroded, and the power of local

two and a half tons each that had

crocodile god, Sobek.

governors increased. So long as Egypt remained prosperous and the

been quarried upriver and floated down the Nile on barges. More

Descent into Chaos

fields offered up their bounty, those

than 2,300,000 of those blocks

The construction of the Great

governors did not mind if the king

went into the building of the Great

Pyramid marked the high point of

took his share in taxes. But by 2150

Pyramid. Later, Khufu’s successors

Egypt’s Old Kingdom. Only a ruler

B.C., the region was in the midst of

built smaller pyramids nearby for themselves and their wives. Guard¬ ing the entire complex was the cat¬ like Sphinx, bearing the face of Khufu’s son Khafre. The stunning monuments at Giza reflected an obsession with the afterlife that characterized Egypt¬ ian culture through the centuries. Mummification—the removal of a corpse’s perishable internal organs and preservation of the rest of the body—was originally confined to royalty. Poor Egyptians had to con¬ tent themselves with burying their dead in the sand, which inhibited decay. Underlying such efforts to keep the body intact was the fear that the wandering soul might be lost if it had no body to return to. Over time, mummification and other techniques for ensuring spir¬ itual immortality became available to many Egyptians, whose pre¬ served corpses were wrapped in linen and buried in coffins on which spells were inscribed to ward off evil and ensure a glorious afterlife. “I shall sail rightly in my bark,” reads one such verse intended to launch the spirit on a heavenly journey. “I Inscribed columns shaped like reeds mimic the emergence of life from the primordial swamp at a temple in Edfu dedicated to the falcon god Horus, divine patron of Egypt's first kings.

a long and severe drought. “The Nile was empty and men crossed over on foot,” related an Egyptian account. As harvests dwindled, the pharaoh lost prestige and power. Public order gave way to civil strife. “I show you the land in turmoil,” lamented one chronicler. “What should not be has come to pass.” This time of famine and up¬ heaval, known as the First Inter¬ mediate Period, ended around 1975 B.C., when a ruler named Men-

tuhotep II from the town of Thebes took control of Upper Egypt and went on to conquer Lower Egypt, thus reuniting the country and inaugurating the Middle Kingdom. Mentuhotep’s

successors

were

mindful of the problems that destroyed the Old Kingdom and worked to reduce the power of local governors and increase Egypt’s grain reserves by expanding the amount of land under cultivation. A massive irrigation project trans¬ formed the oasis of Faiyum, south¬ west of Memphis, into a great breadbasket for the

kingdom;

E

The Divine Right of Queens gyptian queens, like their royal husbands, claimed kinship

with the gods and goddesses who brought Egypt power and plenty. Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II, was portrayed 'wearing a vulture headdress and cobra earring that identified

her with the vulture goddess, Nekhbet, of Upper Egypt and the cobra goddess, Wadjyt, of Lower Egypt. Adorned with these accoutrements, she represented the unified kingdom and its guardian spir¬ its. As the king’s principal wife and guardian of his heir, the queen of Egypt held the future of the country in her hands. Despite her exalted status, Nefertari had to share her hus¬ band. Ramses II had many sec¬ ondary wives, including sev¬ eral princesses from foreign lands and his own sister. (Inces¬ tuous marriages were common within the Egyptian royal fam¬ ily.) Secondary wives some¬ times lived together with their children in households called harems and performed useful tasks such as weaving.

watered by a 300-foot-wide canal

The various consorts of

from the Nile, Faiyum covered hun¬

Ramses II bore the king more

dreds of square miles.

than a hundred children dur¬

With the return of stability, Egypt

ing his long reign. Sons of the

began flexing its muscles abroad.

chief queen, however, had

The

between

the strongest claim to succeed

Egypt and Nubia was the First

the pharaoh. If he died before

Cataract of the Nile (submerged in

his heir reached maturity, the

recent times by the Aswan Dam).

queen served as regent until the boy grew up. One Egyptian queen who

Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom had

outlived her husband and became regent, Hatshepsut, defied tradition

launched ventures south of that

by remaining in power long after the rightful heir, Thutmose III, came

border in search of gold and other

of age. To secure her legitimacy in a society that assigned proper rule

riches. Shortly after 2000 B.C.,

to males, she even took the title king and had herself portrayed as

troops of Pharaoh Amenemhet I

pharaoh. Eventually, Hatshepsut died or was overthrown, and Thut¬

embarked on the first in a series of

mose III emerged from her shadow. A tomb inscription offered her ten¬

conquests that brought much of

der tribute: “Possessor of charm, sweetness, and love.” ■

original

frontier

Nubia under Egyptian control. 53

Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II.

The Nile connected Egypt with Nubia, or Kush, known for its gold and its trade with the African interior. To control that commerce, Egyptians pressed south info Kush, reaching the Fourth Cataract by

Alexandria | SUEZ CANAL

LOWER EG"

IORDAN

NUBIA

1500 b.c.

the Hittites swept down into

Uneasy neighbors on the Nile

Mesopotamia

El Faiyum* Beni Suef •

SAUDI

Western

1j

sacked

Babylon, mysterious intrud¬

PmiARABIA

ers called the Hyksos seized

ll

power in Eower Egypt and

ENLARGED

AFRICA

and

UPPER EGYPT

demanded tribute from Upper

Asyut*^

Egypt. The Hyksos intro¬

Desert

Eastern %

duced new technology, in¬

Cultivated area

cluding the battle chariot. In

Desert

time

Luxor (Thebes)

Egyptians

mastered

those innovations and turned

EXTENT OF EGYPTIAN

them against their Hyksos TERRITORY OF KUSHm EMPIRE AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT 724-660 B.C.

overlords. Once again, the

Aswan First Cataract, (submerged)

.ASWAN ■HIGH DAM

impetus

LOWER NUBIA

7 //

//

r

(submerged/:;

reunification

came from Thebes, where a prince named Kamose gath¬

Caravan route

Abu Simbel.\

for

ered forces around 1550 B.C. and attacked the Hyksos in

Wadi Haifa

the delta. His brother Ahmose

UPPER

completed the conquest and

'Seddenga

\\ Karima

Nuri&

inaugurated the New King¬

Soleb-

\\

dom, which brought Egypt¬ Kerma

JEBtL BARKAL

M 'v

BARKAL

r,

-

"Every God Is in Him"

SEE i: INSET MAP

m

ATLEPp

Much like the Old Kingdom

Merowe 0 San am

A

#Tangasi

Originally an Egyptian customs post, Napata rose at the crossroads of the Nile and caravan routes to the hinterland. Its sacred moun¬ tain, Jebel Barkal, made it a cult center of the god Amun. After 750 B.C. Napata prospered as the capital of Egyptianized Nubia.

pharaohs, who built pyramids

Atbara

Napata El Kurm

ian civilization to its peak.

Abu Hamed

to join the sun god Re in

Meroe

TRADITIONAL HEARTLAND OF KINGDOM OFKUSH

heaven and achieve immor¬

Shendi

WadBanNaga^

:

v

tality, rulers of the New King¬

Sixth Cataract^ NagaS Musawwarat jes~Sufra /

SUDAN

.^Khartoum W

& Royal Kushite tombs ° Major Kushite ruins

-

dom enhanced their worldly

/

^

y

^

^

,

ipokm

** Major Egyptian ruins in Nubia

authority by claiming to be one with the greatest of gods. The patron deity of Thebes was Amun, sometimes por¬

Neither gold from Nubia nor

changes in climate that altered the

trayed as a ram. When rulers from

bounty from the Faiyum could

flow of the Nile. Meanwhile, for¬

Thebes defeated the Hyksos and

keep Egypt from lapsing into

eigners were surging into the Nile

reunited Egypt, they elevated Amun

renewed turmoil around 1630 B.C.

Delta from the east—an incursion

to the status of Egypt’s ruling deity.

This Second Intermediate Period,

that was part of a larger upheaval

He was sometimes worshiped in the

like the first, was caused in part by

in the Middle East. Not long before

form of Amun-Re, representing a

54

merger of the new and the old. In

and its gold mines and sending

the eldest daughter of the Hittite

the words of one text, he could

armies into Canaan, Syria, and

king. Ramses prayed to the gods to

transform himself “into an infinity

Libya. Among the greatest of

see her safely to Egypt: “May you

of forms—every god is in him.”

Egypt’s conqueror-kings was Thut-

not send rain, icy blast or snow,

Pharaoh Akhenaten later broke

mose III, who crushed the Canaan-

until the marvel you have decreed

with tradition by rejecting Amun-

ites at the Battle of Megiddo in 1483

for me shall reach me!”

Re and other gods and dedicating

B.C. “I carried off all their citizens

After the death of Ramses II, who

himself

Aten—

to Egypt and their property like¬

reigned 67 years and fathered more

another solar deity, who took the

wise,” boasted Thutmose. Tribute

than a hundred children, the New

form of the sun disk—but Akhen-

from lands he conquered helped fill

Kingdom lost its luster. Imperial

exclusively

to

expansion into Nubia, Syria, and

aten’s successors denounced him

Libya backfired in the long run as

and reinstated the old cults. Under

royal

patronage,

the

priesthood of Amun-Re grew rich and powerful. Temples devoted

The “Sun King”

S

plendid you rise in heaven's lightland, O living Aten, creator of

the people they subjugated adopted Egyptian ways and weapons and outdid the conquerors at their own

to the god were self-sustaining

life.... Your rays embrace the

game. Nubians, for example, served

communities, ruled by priests who

lands to the limits of all that you made."

as valued troops in the Egyptian

collected rent in grain from sur¬

—from the Hymn to Aten,

army, worshiped Egyptian gods,

rounding peasants and supervised

attributed to Pharaoh Akhenaten

and built pyramids to entomb rulers of the kingdom of Kush, which

workshops that produced bread,

Aten, the shining sun disk, was por¬

beer, and linen clothing. The New

trayed as the lord of heaven and mas¬

arose in Nubia as the New King¬

Kingdom capital of Thebes became

ter of the universe. In a society where

dom declined.

the site of a majestic ceremonial cen¬ ter called Karnak, where every year

rulers and their subjects bowed to tra¬ dition and were slow to change their customs and beliefs, Akhenaten was

By 1000 B.C., Egypt was again in turmoil. Libyans invaded the Nile

after the Nile flooded the pharaoh

a truly revolutionary figure. Soon after

Delta, and rulers at Thebes formed

took part in the joyous Opet cele¬

taking power in 1353

a breakaway kingdom to the south.

bration and communed with an

the cults of Amun and other gods and

Egypt

made Aten Egypt's supreme deity. His

the late eighth century B.C., when

image of Amun in his temple.

B.C.,

he rejected

motives were partly political, for he

remained

divided

until

Nubians, or Kushites, reunited the

Across from Karnak, along the

wanted to undermine the powerful

western rim of the Nile Valley, kings

priesthood of Amun and set himself

country by peacefully occupying

and queens were buried in deep

up as the revered leader of a new cult.

Thebes—where they were wel¬

But this controversial "Sun King" was

comed as champions—before going

tomb chambers excavated in the

also a sincere religious reformer,

cliffs. Housed at that necropolis was a talented community of masons,

whose exclusive devotion to one god resembled the monotheism of Judaism.

on to defeat the Libyans in the Delta. Pharaohs of Nubian origin ruled Egypt wisely and well until

sculptors, and painters who spent

Assyrians seized it in 667 B.C.

their lives building, decorating, and

the coffers of his successors, but

furnishing the royal tombs. Trea¬

they were less concerned with

Thereafter, Egypt was subject

sures buried with the 19-year-old

expanding the Egyptian empire

to one foreign power after another,

pharaoh Tutankhamun were later

than with fending off rival powers

including the Persians, the Mace¬

uncovered by archaeologists and

such as the Hittites.

donians

under

Alexander

the

Great, and finally the Romans

offered posterity a dazzling look at

Pharaoh Ramses II, after battling

the riches Egyptian royalty carried

the Hittites at Kadesh in Syria in

under

to the grave.

1285 B.C. and returning to Egypt

ousted Queen Cleopatra—the last

Pharaohs of the New Kingdom

with little to show for it, made

ruler to bear the title pharaoh—

maintained their wealth and power

peace with the Hittites by agreeing

and annexed once mighty Egypt as

by tightening their hold on Nubia

to take as one of his many wives

a province. ■

-

55

-

Augustus

Caesar,

who

A ANCIENT

WORLD:

P R E H I S T O R Y - 5 0 0 B.c.

ers—an important contribution to public health in cities that contained as many as 40,000 people. Such

Indian Civilization

urban planning reflected a complex society whose leaders could com¬ mand the efforts of thousands of laborers, guided by engineers and officials. Bricks used for construc¬ tion were all of the same mold, and the public buildings included gran¬

2500-500b.c.

I

aries filled with surpluses that fed the leadership, the bureaucracy, and

NDIAN CIVILIZATION DEVELOPED

potamia were developing along

the many artisans who produced

first in the Indus River Valley of

the Indus River and its tributaries.

trade items such as necklaces made

present-day Pakistan and later

The most important of those cities

from stone beads, each of which

in the Ganges Valley. Both were fer¬

were Mohenjo Daro, on the lower

took hours to shape and drill.

tile areas watered by snowmelt

Indus River, and Harappa, on the

Trade was the glue of Harappan

from mountains, but the broad

Ravi River near the upper end of

civilization, binding one city to

floodplain of the Indus allowed for

the Indus Valley. Harappa gave its

another and the region as a whole

extensive irrigation, which hastened

name to this Indus Valley culture—

to Mesopotamia and other distant

the development of a well-organized

the Harappan civilization. Both

lands. Among the goods exported

society fed by agricultural surpluses.

cities were built on a similar plan,

were cotton, spices, ivory, and

The Indus Valley was also closer to

with a gridwork of streets, stan¬

handcrafts such as jewelry. Ships

the Middle East and profited from

dardized housing for the common

hugged the coast of the Arabian Sea,

trade with Mesopotamia.

people and larger residences for the

bearing Harappan merchants and

By 2500 B.C., cities that rivaled

elite, and a sanitation system that

their wares to Ur and other Sumer¬

the great urban centers of Meso¬

included bathrooms linked to sew¬

ian cities. Some of those traders set¬ tled in Mesopotamia. Harappan merchants carried stone seals used to stamp their distinctive insignia or trademark on clay tags and label their goods. Portrayed on those seals were animals native to India, including the elephant and the rhi¬ noceros. Seals were also inscribed with pictographs or abstract sym¬ bols that most likely identified the owner by name or family. Seal inscriptions are the only Harappan writing that has survived. Like other river valleys that fos¬ tered ancient civilizations, the Indus The image of a waterbird adorns a clay pot crafted about 3000 B.c. in the Indus Valley, where a complex urban society known as Harappan civilization later emerged.

56

The Indus Valley m

□

Pre-Harappan early farming settlement

1

NOTABLE DATES

,, , ,

Mundigak

AFGHANISTAN

P^cian^Ghundai

Ropar Jalipur,

Major city of Harappan civilization

Kile Gud Mohammad *

Harappan heartland 2500 b.c. to 1800 b.c.

*Rana Ghundai

Damb Sadaat®

.Haraf^a

■ ca 2500 b.c.

#Vain:wal

Debar Kot

Harappan civilization develops in the Indus River Valley as trade flourishes and cities emerge.

• Kalibangen

p'Mehrgarh Nowsharo PAKISTAN

■ Nal Mohenjo Daro* Lohumjo Daro* i Pandi Wahi ■

IRAN

Amri*

■ ca 2000 b.c.

.KoWur ^C... ^

Harappan civilization declines and cities are abandoned.

INDIA

•Chanhubaro

_ *Karchat •Ba]akot Allahdino* *■

Gu jo

Arabian

■ ca 1500 b.c.

J? D, . 2#Ghara Bhiro,

_y -

Aryans infiltrate the Indus Valley from the north and take control of the region, imposing a class system in which Aryan chieftains and priests occupy the tap rank.

Desalpur

Sea OMAN Present-day country boundaries and names shown in gray

Harappan civilization derived its name from the ancient city of Harappa, situated in the upper reaches of die Indus Valley. By 2500 B.C. irri¬ gation efforts had transformed the region.

iots into battle and were organized into rival tribes. Linguistically, they

■ ca 1000 b.c.

were Indo-Europeans: They spoke

Aryan chieftains expand their domain from the Indus Valley into the Ganges River Valley.

one of a large family of languages region was subject to seasonal

that originated on the steppes of

flooding that helped nourish the

Eurasia. Groups emanating from

■ ca 700 b.c.

fields but was sometimes cata¬

that region spread out across a

strophic. The city of Mohenjo Daro

vast area from India to Europe and

had to be rebuilt at least nine

interacted linguistically with other

Indian teachers reinterpret Aryan beliefs in scriptures called the Upanishads, which form the basis of Hinduism.

times; ruinous floods may have con¬

people to produce many related

tributed to the decline of Harappan

Indo-European languages, includ¬

civilization after 2000 B.C. The area

ing Sanskrit —the classical language

remained populous and productive,

of India—Persian,

but the cities were abandoned and

Latin. Aryans reached the Indus

long-distance trade withered.

Valley not long after the Hittites,

Greek,

and

another Indo-European people who

Coming of the Aryans

fought from chariots, swept into

Around 1500 B.C., the Indus Valley

Mesopotamia.

was taken over by nomadic intrud¬

Siddhartha Gautama, known to followers as the Buddha, is born in the foothills of the Himalaya east of the Ganges. ■ ca 520 b.c.

Persians conquer the Indus Valley. ■ ca 500 b.c.

The Aryans were of lighter com¬ than

■ ca 560 b.c.

ers from the north called Aryans,

plexion

the

people

they

who entered the region through

encountered in the Indus Valley and

mountain passes from what is now

referred to them as dasas, or dark

Afghanistan and Iran (named for

ones. Whether through conquest

the Aryans). Aryans told of their

or through peaceful infiltration,

beliefs and traditions in verses that

Aryans gained control of the region

were first transmitted orally and

and imposed a class system that

later written in scriptures called

placed them high above those dark

Vedas, or books of knowledge.

ones. Aryan meant “noble,” and the

According to the Vedas, the

Aryan nobility was divided into two

Aryans were hard-fighting herders

ranks: priests and warriors. In the¬

and horse breeders who rode char¬

ory, priests were superior because 57

Kingdom of Magadha, led by Rimbisara, emerges as the leading state in the Ganges Valley, now the center of Indian civilization.

they communed with the gods

underclass of dasas who served as

to some extent. But the Aryan aris¬

through animal sacrifices and other

laborers and peasants.

tocracy maintained its identity and

This class system was not as rigid

its privileges for centuries. Like the

In practice, the warrior class

as the caste system that later pre¬

gods they worshiped—including

sacred ceremonies.

included proud tribal chieftains

vailed in India, where social status

the conqueror Indra, who hurled

who considered themselves inferior

was hereditary. Peasants in Aryan

thunderbolts and resembled the

to no one. The Aryans as a group

society could rise to become land¬

Greek god Zeus—Aryans were fiery

lorded it over the common class of

holders, for example, and inter¬

and quick to take offense. Tribal

merchants and landholders and the

marriage blurred racial distinctions

chieftains constantly sought to

H

The Multiplicity of Hinduism 'induism combined sacred teachings

declared in an Indian epic, “even they go to the

of the Aryans who took control of the

highest goal.”

Indus Valley around 1500 B.C. with the

Anyone could aspire to that goal, but it was not

. beliefs of the local people Aryans inter¬

easily reached. Indian society remained highly strat¬

acted with over the centuries as they expanded their

ified, and Hindus believed that some people were

domain to the Ganges Valley and other parts of the

closer to salvation than others. Those who were lowly

Indian subcontinent.

and unholy could rise to a higher level by perform¬

From the beginning, Hindus worshiped many

ing good deeds that improved their karma—or

gods, some of them Aryan in origin and others

the consequences of their actions in the next life,

native to India. Their principal gods

when their soul would be reincarnated

were Brahma, the creator who

in another body. Even animals

embodied the universal spirit

had souls, and the soul of an

called Brahman; Vishnu, who

animal might be reborn in

watched over the world from

human

heaven and preserved life;

form

and

ulti¬

mately reach salvation.

and Shiva, the destroyer of

Some animals in par¬

evil. These gods could take

ticular were regarded

different forms. Hindus

by Hindus as precious

believed that the Bud¬

or sacred. Cows, for

dha, or Enlightened One,

example,

was one incarnation of

longer sacrificed to the

Vishnu. Another incarna¬

gods as in Aryan times,

tion was a beloved god

but were protected from

named Krishna, meaning

were

no

harm. Respect for all crea¬

“black.” Krishna offered sal¬

tures—beast or human—

vation to people of all classes,

was

including those known as dasas, or dark ones, whose status was so low

the

golden

rule

of

Hinduism,

which

remains

India’s dominant faith. ■

that the proud Aryan priesthood would The Hindu god Shiva, the destroyer of evil, holds the drum of creation in one hand and the flame of destruction in another.

have little to do with them. “Even those who may be of base origin,” Krishna

58

enlarge their domains and often did

A Religious Awakening

verses. The Upanishads offered an

so at the expense of their neighbors.

By the sixth century B.C., India was

individual of any rank the hope of

In one ritual, a chieftain set a white

in the midst of a great religious fer¬

attaining holiness and salvation by

stallion free to. roam and claimed as

ment that produced three faiths:

freeing his soul and allowing him

his own all the ground the horse

Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.

to become one with Brahman.

covered over the course of a year.

That ferment began when Indian

Hinduism grew out of the Upan¬

Afterward, priests sacrificed the

teachers questioned Aryan beliefs

ishads and combined the worship

stallion—and the chieftain and his

and reinterpreted them in sacred

of various gods with the quest for

warriors did battle with anyone

texts called the Upanishads, which

salvation—a journey that could

who contested their claim.

challenged the idea that only priests

take the soul many lifetimes as it traveled from one body to another through reincarnation. Jainism

Into the Ganges Gradually, the Aryans expanded from the Indus Valley into the lush

The Upanishads

was inspired by the teachings of a holy man named Mahavira, born

'll ¥7" That do you see?" the father

in India around 540 B.C. Mahavira

Ganges Valley, which provided

\\ /asked. "Nothing," his son

them not only with abundant

V Vreplied. "What you do not

was known to his followers as Jina,

harvests of rice and other crops but

see is the essence of the banyan tree,"

or the Conqueror, because he freed

his father explained. "In that essence

his soul by practicing self-denial

also with large deposits of iron ore for the manufacture of tools

the mighty banyan tree exists. The essence is the unseen spirit which per¬

and weapons. Profiting from such

vades everywhere. It is the Self of all

opportunities, Aryan chieftains rose

things. And you are that Self."

to the status of rajas, or kings.

—from an Upanishadic parable

B.C.,

Indian

teachers known as gurus composed scriptures called the Upanishads,

Ganges Valleys. Their leaders had

meaning "to sit down near," as students

remained

divided

politically.

who harmed other souls would not achieve salvation. His followers

Beginning around 700

of them within the Indus and much in common culturally but

body. He believed that all living things had souls and that those

By 700 B.C., there were 16 Aryan states or kingdoms in India, most

and conquering the cravings of the

practiced nonviolence, refused to eat meat, and would not even har¬ vest crops.

did before those teachers. Unlike

Buddhism was inspired by the

Aryan priests of old, who served as

life and teachings of Siddhartha

intermediaries between the people

Gautama, born to a ruling family

Kingdoms along the Ganges were

and a pantheon of remote and fear¬

shielded from invasion by the tow¬

some gods, gurus taught that every¬

in the foothills of the Himalaya

ering Himalaya to their east, but

one had a soul that could commune

around 560 B.C. and known to his

with the universal spirit called Brah¬

followers as the Buddha, or the

man. That spirit was invisible; gurus

Enlightened One. After seeking sal¬

those along the Indus were vulner¬ able to intruders from the north. Around 520 B.C., Persians con¬

could describe it only through such parables as the one of the banyan.

vation through extreme acts of selfdenial like Mahavira, he chose a

quered the Indus Valley and made it a province of their empire. In the

through their sacrifices could com¬

path called the Middle Way, involv¬

Ganges Valley, meanwhile, the iron-

mune with the gods. Everyone had

ing good conduct and moderation

rich kingdom of Magadha was

a soul capable of achieving union

in all things. Ultimately, Buddha

gaining power under a forceful ruler

with Brahman—the supreme spirit

achieved a state of enlightenment

named Bimbisara. Kings of Maga¬

that pervaded the universe. Brah¬

called nirvana—the release from

dha would later build an empire in

man was a title Aryan priests had

earthly desires and longings. Bud¬

the Ganges Valley that would give

reserved for themselves because

dhism rejected as illusions the gods

rise to a classical Indian civilization

they alone were considered holy

many Indians held dear and found

combining Aryan culture with the

enough to recite sacred verses. Peo¬

a larger following in other Asian

traditions of people native to the

ple of the underclass were consid¬

countries, where it evolved into a

Indian subcontinent.

ered too unholy even to hear those

formal religion. ■

- 59 ~

~

together under strong leadership to dig ditches and drainage canals for irrigation and flood control.

Chinese Civilization

Chinese annals later credited a leg¬ endary ruler named Yu the Great with taming the floodplain around 2200 B.c. Just when a kingdom first arose in China remains uncertain, but by 1750 B.c. rulers of the Shang

2200-500 B.c.

dynasty had asserted control over much of the Yellow River Valley.

of great value to the Chinese over

Chieftains loyal to the Shang ruled

/ where were interacting

the centuries was silk, unraveled in

the kingdom’s provinces with an

T through trade or warfare,

threads from the cocoons of cater¬

iron hand and paid their ruler trib¬

the Chinese remained isolated

pillars that fed on mulberry leaves

ute in the form of troops and taxes.

by mountains, deserts, and oceans

and woven into lustrous cloth.

'W~¥7'Thile civilizations else-

\

V

and built a distinctive society of

One of the few innovations to reach China from the outside world

their own. They called their realm

Taming the Floodplain

in early times was the chariot, intro¬

the Middle Kingdom—a

Politically,

Yangtze Valley

duced from the northwest about

lagged behind the Yellow River

1300 B.c. Battles between chieftains

region, where people living

in chariots accompanied by foot

in the floodplain down¬

soldiers often cost hundreds of

river from the first

lives. To guard against attack, cities

settlements

were surrounded by walls up to 35

world of order and sta¬ bility surrounded by wilderness and chaos. Although that king¬ dom did not take shape until about 2200 B.C., the seeds of Chinese civilization were planted thousands of years earlier along the Yellow River, so called for the yellow loess deposited along its banks by winds from the Gobi. Loess provided fertile soil for the cultivation of millet. By 5000 B.C., people were living in villages along the middle Yellow River and its tributaries and farming on terraces. In the wetlands along the Yangtze to the south, villagers began culti¬ vating rice. Another natural resource Kui and agre mask designs decorate this bronze Shang dynasty zun (wine vessel). A crouching tiger and a phoenix adorn the tip of the ele¬ phant's upraised trunk.

the

feet thick made of earth rammed

and tortured his opponents. That

between a frame of timbers.

was the story put out by usurpers from a province in western China

Blood Offerings to the King

who led a rebellion against the Shang

In China, as in Mesopotamia, rulers

about 1100 B.C. and founded the

claimed kinship with the gods and

Zhou dynasty. The Zhou rulers

were offered human sacrifices when

claimed they had a mandate from

they died. In one royal burial at the

heaven to govern China as long as

last Shang capital, Anyang, along

they did so wisely and justly.

the Huan River, a tributary of the Yellow, more than 60 bound cap¬

The Kingdom Unravels

tives were put to death. Among the

For more than two centuries, the

burial treasures were carved objects

Zhou dynasty seemed to enjoy

of jade, which had religious signif¬

heaven’s blessing. The kingdom

icance for the Chinese and was

expanded to cover a vast area, from

more precious than gold.

well north of the Yellow River to

Shang kings had large retinues

south of the Yangtze. Under the

that included dozens of wives and

feudal system the Zhou inherited

scribes versed in a complex written

from the Shang, however, powerful

language containing thousands of

provincial rulers held sway over

characters. The only surviving Chi¬

their own fiefdoms. Many of those

nese writings from this period were

Chinese rulers possessed more land

inscribed on bronze vessels or ora¬

than the king, who controlled a

cle bones such as tortoiseshells. A

small district around his capital.

diviner inscribed questions on the

The weakness of the king became

bone and then scorched the object,

clear in 771 B.C., when attacks by

producing cracks in the surface

nomads forced the Zhou to aban¬

interpreted as answers from ances¬

don their capital in western China

tral spirits. Rulers built temples to

and establish a new capital at

their ancestors and consecrated

Luoyang, to the east.

those buildings with human sacri¬ fices as they did their tombs.

The Eastern Zhou rulers had even less authority over the local rulers

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca 2200 b.c.

Chinese civilization begins to emerge along the Yellow River. ■ ca 1750 b.c.

Shang dynasty takes control of a kingdom centered on the Yellow River; the Yangtze River Valley to the south comes under the cultural influence of the Shang rulers but remains outside their kingdom. ■ ca 1300 b.c.

Shang rulers move their capital to Anyang on a tributary of the Yellow River, where kings are buried with dozens of victims sacrificed for the occasion. ■ ca 1100 b.c.

Dt Xin, last ruler of Shang dynasty, is overthrown by challengers from western China who found the Zhou dynasty; under the Zhou, the Chinese kingdom expands to embrace the Yangtze River Valley. ■ 771 b.c. Attacks by nomads force the Zhou to move their capital from western China eastward to Luoyang, marking the divide between the Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou, whose rulers exercise little authority over chiefs of the king¬ dom's many provinces or states.

During the Shang dynasty, Chi¬

than their Western Zhou predeces¬

nese cities grew larger and more elab¬

sors. As the kingdom slowly frag¬

■ ca 550 b.c.

orate. Anyang extended for more

mented into rival states, some people

Philosopher Confucius is bom in an era of increasing strife between China's states.

than three miles. Villages and work¬

longed for the return of strong rulers

shops for artisans and other com¬

who would govern China wisely

moners surrounded the royal district.

with a mandate from heaven. That

Chinese chroniclers later portrayed

philosophy was the outlook of the

the last Shang kings who reigned at

philosopher named Confucius, born

Anyang as careless rulers who sought

around 550 B.C. He had little impact

“nothing but excessive pleasure.”

on his own time, but his ideas were

The dynasty reportedly came to a

later embraced by ambitious Chi¬

dismal end with the reign of a des¬

nese leaders and their advisers, who

pot named Di Xin, who hiked taxes

reunited the Middle Kingdom and

to support his extravagant lifestyle

expanded it into an empire. ■

-

61

-

ANCIENT

WORLD:

P R E H I S TO RY- 500

tant Minoan assets were timber and

b.c.

the know-how to craft that timber into seaworthy vessels. All ancient

Mediterranean Civilizations 2000-500

b.c.

"

civilizations had boats of one kind or another, but most were built to move along rivers or hug coasts. Minoans had to cross open ocean to trade their goods, and they designed ships with deep keels for stability and high prows that cut through waves. Those ships made them masters

A ROUND 2000 B.C., LONG AFTER

according to legend, kept a beast

of the Aegean and the eastern

/ \ cities and kingdoms arose in

called the Minotaur—half man and

Mediterranean. Among their trad¬

JL the Middle East, the first

half bull—penned up in a labyrinth

ing partners were not only Greeks

European civilization emerged on

at his palace and fed the monster

but also Egyptians, from whom

the island of Crete—a prosperous

youths sent as tribute from the

they obtained ivory, gems, linens,

society based on maritime trade

Greek city of Athens.

and Nubian gold. Trade stimulated

JL

that established the pattern for later

The far-ranging Minoans once

Minoan crafts, which included

civilizations on the Greek mainland

dominated the Greeks economically

finely decorated pottery, colorful

and

the

and received payment from them in

Mediterranean. The people who

goods, if not in blood. Minoans

settled Crete may have reached the

owed their strength and prosperity

A fresco from the island of Thi'ra shows' a fleet of ships much like those built by Minoans on nearby Crete, which was devastated by a vol¬ canic eruption on Thira in the 17th century B.c.

island from the north or the east.

in part to the natural resources of

Whatever their origins, they were

their homeland. The lush plains and

wool textiles, and gold and silver

seafarers who acquired great wealth

hillsides of Crete yielded wool from

drinking vessels and daggers. There

and influence through their mastery

sheep and wine from grapes along

were several kingdoms on Crete,

of ships and navigation. Today we

with olive oil and grain—all in such

and

know them as Minoans for a fabled

abundance that there was plenty left

acquired through trade to build lav¬

Cretan king named Minos who,

over for export. The most impor-

ish palaces connected with paved

other

places

around

62

their

rulers

used

wealth

roads. Scribes at those palaces

at Knossos thought he had discov¬

recorded in writing official business

ered the palace of the fabled King

such as goods collected in taxes.

Minos. According to legend, the

This rich and well-ordered soci¬

brutal exploitation of the Greeks by

ety was disrupted by one or more

Minos and his man-eating beast

violent upheavals

leveled

came to an end when the hero The¬

palaces on the island in the 17th

seus penetrated the labyrinth and

century B.C. A massive volcanic

killed the monster. That part of

eruption on the nearby island of

the story had a kernel of truth, for

Thira devastated Crete with earth¬

Greeks overran Crete around 1450

quakes and ashfalls. Palaces were

B.C. and inherited what remained of

rebuilt after that calamity, and

Minoan civilization. Those Greek

one of them, at Knossos, reached

intruders were known as Myce-

magnificent proportions. Spread

naeans, and like the Minoans they

over five acres, the palace contained

inspired legends.

that

1,500 rooms, including apartments and

workshops

for

artisans,

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca 2000 b.c. Minoan civilization emerges on Crete as rulers accumulate wealth through maritime trade and build palaces. ■ ca 1700 b.c. Massive volcanic eruption on Thira causes earthquakes and ashfalls on Crete and disrupts Minoan civilization. ■ ca 1600 b.c. Mycenaean civilization arises at the southern end of the Greek mainland, where rulers construct hilltop fortresses and are buried with treasure acquired through trade.

Realms of Gold

kitchens, storehouses, bathrooms

The Mycenaeans were a warlike

with toilets, ceremonial chambers,

people who swept down from the

and subterranean passages.

Balkans and occupied the Greek peninsula around 1600 B.C. Their culture was simple compared with that of the Minoans, and when the two groups first came in con¬ tact through trade, Minoans were

■ ca 1450 b.c. Mycenaeans take control of Crete, bringing Minoan civilization to an end. ■ ca 1250 b.c. Walled city of Troy destroyed, possibly by Mycenaeans. ■ ca 1150 b.c. Mycenaean civilization declines.

the masters and Mycenaeans were the pupils. In time, Mycenaeans adopted Minoan script and Minoan artistic traditions. Some Mycenaeans came to rival the Minoans as seafarers and traders, enriching their homeland with imported gold and other treas¬ ures. Others remained tied to the land and clung to the warriorlike traditions of their ancestors. To strangers from foreign lands,

The Mycenaeans were organized

this mazelike palace complex would

into many small kingdoms, each of

have been a veritable labyrinth, and

which had its own hilltop fortress

bulls portrayed on the walls may

commanding surrounding farm¬

have contributed further to the leg¬

lands. The most impressive of those

end of the Minotaur. In one fresco,

strongholds was Mycenae, from

a Minoan athlete grasps a bull by

which the civilization takes its

the horns and leaps over the ani¬

name. Girded by a stone wall 40

mal. Understandably, the archaeol¬

feet high and more than 26 feet

ogist who excavated the remains

thick, the fortress was virtually

-

63

-

■ ca 1000 b.c. Wealthy Phoenician city-states along the eastern rim of the Mediterranean send out merchant fleets and establish trad¬ ing posts that evolve into colonies. ■ ca 750 b.c. Phoenician colony of Carthage, on the North African coast, develops, emerging as the hub of its own trading empire in the western Mediterranean. ■ ca 700 b.c. Greek colonists settle on the coasts of Sicily and southern Italy, while Etruscan civilization develops in northern Italy. ■ ca 550 b.c. Athens and other city-states on the Greek mainland become centers of learning and artistry and undergo political ferment.

impregnable. The only entrance

Drought, civil war, or invasions may

Egyptians. But the decline of Egypt

was a gate beneath two magnifi¬

have caused this collapse. A dark

and the collapse of the Mycenaeans

cently carved stone lions. Like

age descended on the Aegean world,

allowed the Phoenicians to expand.

Knossos, Mycenae may have been

and seafarers from elsewhere in the

Their port cities became independ¬

the seat of an overlord to whom

Mediterranean took the lead in

ent city-states and prospered by

other rulers deferred.

trade and colonization.

sending out merchant fleets of

Mycenaean

fortresses

broad-beamed cargo ships filled

were

with oil, wine, grain, lumber, and

smaller than Minoan palaces but

The Far-Ranging Phoenicians

resembled them in other respects.

About 1000 B.C., Phoenicians liv¬

Egyptian papyrus, among other

ing along the coast of what is now

goods. The biblical prophet Isaiah

Within the stone walls were work¬ shops for potters, weavers, gold¬

referred to Tyre as “the crowning

smiths, bronzeworkers, and other

city, whose merchants are princes.”

artisans. The king presided over ceremonies in a magnificent hall

Ancient Rivals

T

here came a certain Phoeni¬

To defend against piracy, Phoeni¬ cian merchant ships were escorted

cian, a cunning rascal, who

by sleek war galleys with hull-

painted pillars, decorative wall fres¬

had already committed all

puncturing

coes, and a central hearth. The

sorts of villany.... he set me on board

called a megaron, with brightly

tombs of Mycenaean royalty—deep stone chambers shaped like bee¬

a ship bound for Libya, on a pretence that I was to take a cargo along with him to that place, but really that he

rams

jutting

from

their prows. The first Phoenician colonies were little more than trading posts,

hives—were filled with so many

might sell me as a slave and take the

where a small number of mer¬

precious objects that they were

money I fetched."

chants, artisans, and soldiers lived

known as treasuries. Among the

—Ulysses, in Homers Odyssey

riches that accompanied kings to the grave were necklaces, crowns, breastplates, and golden masks.

year-round and exchanged goods with the local population, refitted

Greeks and Phoenicians traded in slaves and engaged in piracy at times.

ships, and guarded the port. Over

Greek resentments were fueled by

time, the trading posts grew into

One such burial hoard, uncov¬

their fears that the Phoenician mar¬

thriving communities. Most were

ered at Mycenae, was mistakenly

itime empire based at Carthage

located in the western Mediter¬

identified by an archaeologist as the tomb of Agamemnon, a legendary

would shut them out of the western Mediterranean. In 540

B.C.,

Greeks

ranean, on the coasts of Sicily, Sar¬

tried to defend their new colony on

dinia, Spain, and North Africa.

the island of Corsica by fighting a sea

Chief among the North African

wealth who organized the siege of

battle against the Carthaginians and

colonies was Carthage, across from

Troy, the city in Asia Minor immor¬

their Etruscan allies. The Greeks won

Sicily. Phoenicians flocked there

king of enormous power and

talized in Homer’s Iliad. In fact,

the Battle of Aleria but lost the war, suffering such heavy losses that they

the tomb at Mycenae held the

had to abandon the colony.

remains of a king who died in the

in the eighth century B.C., when Assyrian conquerors overran their homeland. Soon Carthage was the

16th century B.c.—or roughly three

Lebanon embarked on a remark¬

leading Phoenician colony in the

centuries before the destruction of

able phase of expansion across

western Mediterranean and began

Troy. Nonetheless, seafaring Myce-

the Mediterranean. Phoenicians

planting colonies of its own on the

naeans could have been responsible

were related to the Canaanites and

Balearic Islands, off the east coast

for Troy’s downfall. By 1450 B.c.,

spoke a Semitic language akin to

of Spain.

they had occupied Crete and were

that of the Canaanites and the

Carthage emerged as the capital

raiding and trading throughout the

rival Israelites. The Phoenicians

of a great maritime trading empire,

eastern Mediterranean.

were never a great power militar¬

whose

By 1200 B.C., Mycenaean civi¬

shipping

lanes

reached

ily. Their principal cities of Tyre,

beyond the Strait of Gibraltar and

lization was in decline, and the

Sidon, and Byblos often fell under

extended up the Atlantic coast as

fortresses were reduced to rubble.

the sway of conquerors such as the

far as Britain.

-

64

-

The Phoenicians were not the

with Greek colonists who began

invention of the Greek alphabet—

only power in the Mediterranean

fanning out across the Mediter¬

derived from a similar phonetic

during this period. In northern Italy

ranean from their homeland as it

alphabet spread by the Phoenicians

resourceful people called the Etrus¬

slowly returned to prosperity fol¬

and easily mastered because it

cans were building their own city-

lowing the collapse of the Myce-

contained only two dozen charac¬

states and sending out merchant

naeans. The Greek recovery began

ters—many Greeks were able to

fleets. Their relations with Phoeni¬

in earnest around 800 B.C., when

read and write. For all the differ¬

cians were friendly, but one village

agriculture and renewed trade pro¬

ences between their city-states, the

in Italy that grew up under Etruscan

moted the growth of powerful city-

Greeks shared a cultural legacy that

rule—Rome—won independence

states such as Athens, Corinth, and

included the Homeric epic. By 700

around 500 B.C. and evolved into a

Sparta. Economic advances there

B.C. the Greeks were exporting

mighty city-state that would chal¬

were matched by cultural achieve¬

that legacy to dozens of distant

lenge Carthage for control of the

ments, as Greek artists developed

colonies—around the Aegean and

Mediterranean.

distinctive styles of pottery, sculp¬

the Black Sea, in southern Italy, and

ture, and architecture and produced

across from the Greek mainland in

Greek Revival

great literature in the form of the

North Africa. Colonists were some¬

Long before the rise of Rome, how¬

Iliad and Odyssey, epics attributed

times chosen by lot, and the city-

ever, Phoenicians had to contend

to a blind bard named Homer and

states they founded were politically

set down in writing in the eighth

independent of the homeland—an

century B.C.

early sign of the quest for freedom

Minoans then Mycenaeans dominated Mediter¬ ranean trade routes (inset}. Then Phoenicians took control and colonized the Mediterranean until challenged by Greek colonists.

that led to the birth of democracy

Literature could flourish only in

in Athens around 500 B.C. ■

a literate society. Thanks to the

4A Lesbos

Crete and the Greek Mainland Leucas

Scvros ANATOLIA

GREECE Orchomenos

Euboea "Gla

■ Mycenaean settlement ■ Minoan settlement Cephalonia

Ionian

Chios

" ”

■ Thebes

Aegean

m Athens

Sea

Mycena® Zante

o

Sea An*0S

■Tiryns

Samos

Tenos

Ikaria

MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION

PELOPONNESE

(ca. 1550-1100 b.c.) Grotta

Pylos

Black Sea

'*3X05

■

Paros

Menelaion Arriorgos

THRACIANS

Melos

■■Philakopi

gliari

H1TTITES

>

Thera

■ Akrotiri

Cythera Thapsosj

Kastri1

MYCENAEANS

Sea of Crete

Sicily Rhodes

4*

MINOAN CIVILIZATION

4t—■ Crete

(ca. 2000-1450 B.c.)

MINOANS Khania

Knossosg

a Malta

CRETE GourniaB Zakros

Phaistos ■

Mersa Matruh Minoan and Mycenaean trade routes

f¥TTITH THE END OF THE GREAT CLASSICAL EMPIRES OF GREECE AND ROME, MUCH

4 W

,

of the world was thrown into disarray. Beset by invaders on several frontiers, ▼ Europe entered a period of turmoil and cultural stagnation known as the Dark

Ages. Farther east, Persia, China, and India dissolved into struggling kingdoms. In this political power vacuum the unifying force became faith: Christianity in the West, Islam in the Near East, and Buddhism and Hinduism in the Far East. Christianity helped hold the Byzantine Empire firm while others failed. It supported Charlemagne’s rise to power, kept learning alive in monasteries, and even reached into Russia to convert the rulers of Kiev. In Arabia, Islam was born and grew rapidly to dominate lands from Spain to India. Bud¬ dhism reached China over the Silk Road, winning popular support even as China’s rulers put Confucian principles to work in their vast bureaucracies. Hinduism traveled from India into Southeast Asia and took physical form in the great temples of Angkor. Outside Europe, the Dark Ages were not so gloomy. Byzantine scholars kept Greek learning alive; Islamic ones developed algebra and compiled the Thousand and One Nights; in China, the Tang dynasty gave birth to block printing, delicate porcelain, and poetry. As the millennium ended, the world was turning a corner, leaving the Dark Ages

The House of the Governor and the more dis-

.

tant Pyramid of the Magician still stand in the ancient Maya city of Uxmai.

behind and looking forward to an era of vitality and progress,

■ 527-565 Emperor Justinian, who expanded and organ¬ ized the Byzantine Empire, reigns.

■ ca 570 Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is born.

■ 581-618 The Sui dynasty re¬ establishes a strong central government in China.

- 102 -

■ ca 600-800 Tikal—one of several Maya city-states flour¬ ishing in and around Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula—reaches the peak of its power.

■ 618-907 The Tang dynasty exerts a strong central¬ ized control over China and ushers in an age of learning and art.

■ 738 Revolution in Copan results in the execution of its ruler by one of his vassals.

■ 768-814 Charlemagne, who briefly created a European empire, rules.

■ ca 900 Environmental stresses and increased conflict contribute to the col¬ lapse of Maya civiliza¬ tion, resulting in the destruction or aban¬ donment of most urban areas. - 103 -

■ ca 987 Prince Vladimir of Kiev converts to Christianity and fosters Byzantine learning in Russia.

■ 1066 William, Duke of Normandy, defeats the Saxon King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and takes control of England as William 1 (the Conqueror).

AGE

OF

FAITH:

bark paper or deerskin.

500-1150

Only

recently did linguists succeed in deciphering their writings, which were thought to be related to astro¬ nomical observations or the Maya calendar. The jottings of these pre¬

Maya

sumably peaceful stargazers proved to be quite different—the proud declarations of warlike rulers who offered up their own blood and that

500-1000

M

of their enemies to the gods.

aya civilization, which

not only pyramids and palaces, but

A Deadly Ball Game

reached its peak about

also a coherent written record.

Chief among the Maya deities

600, was more than

Others in the area had used writing

was the maize god, who according

a thousand years in the making.

sparingly to record names, dates,

to legend died in a contest with

During that long ascent, the Maya

or other details; the Maya chroni¬

demonic lords of the underworld

were influenced by the neighboring

cled the rise and fall of their rulers—

and was reborn in the form of a cornstalk, the staple of the Maya.

A.D.

Olmec and by the city-state of Teoti-

the first historical figures to emerge

huacan in the Valley of Mexico. The

in any detail from the cryptic annals

Maya achieved something unique

of ancient America.

as a culture: They were the first

The Maya inscribed hieroglyphs

Americans to bequeath to posterity

on pots, stone monuments, and

104

In a Maya court scene at Bonampak, perform¬ ers wearing elaborate costumes and playing ceramic trumpets and other instruments regale their ruler with music and dance.

The ritual ball game they played

ferences through marriage alliances,

symbolized that mythic contest and

but tensions often persisted until

had a similar outcome. The losers

one side conquered the other. Van¬

were sacrificed in the belief that

quished rulers were not always exe¬

their blood would nourish the earth

cuted, but they had to recognize the

and help renew the blessings of the

victor as their overlord.

maize god and other deities.

One of the leading Maya city-

This fateful contest was played

states was Tikal, which arose in the

in stone courtyards with a solid rub¬

jungle of Peten near the ruins of ear¬

ber sphere about the size of a human

lier Maya ceremonial centers. By

head. (In legend, the lords of the

A.D. 800, through conquests and

underworld used a skull as their

alliances, the city of Tikal covered

ball.) A rubber ball that size could

an area some 50 miles square with

injure contestants, and they wore

more than 50,000 inhabitants.

protective gear around the midriff,

One measure of Tikal’s strength

arms, and knees.. Depictions show

and stability was that a single

two players on each side, striking

dynasty held sway there for more

the ball with their hips or shoulders

than 600 years. When a king died

rather than with their feet or hands.

without a male heir, the succession

In some courts, hoops projected

passed through his daughter to her

from walls on either side of the play¬

husband or consort. That happened

ing surface, and the object may have

early in the sixth century, when a

been to propel the ball through the

child queen known as the Lady

opposing side’s hoop.

of Tikal wed a prominent general

The ball game was just one of

who served with her as co-ruler.

many forms of blood sacrifice the

Bringing a general into the royal

Maya engaged in for religious pur¬

family made sense in a society

poses. Royalty sometimes drew

where city-states faced constant

their own blood in sufficient quan¬

threats from rivals or rebellious sub¬

tities to grow delirious and experi¬

jects, who looked to the movements

ence visions. They also took part

of stars to determine when to stage

in ritualized combat with rival

their attacks. One such “star war”

groups aimed at collecting prison¬

brought calamity to Tikal in A.D.

ers for sacrifice. The most prized

562; it suffered a defeat so devas¬

captives were opposing royalty,

tating that it did not fully recover

whose blood was considered espe¬

for more than a century.

cially appealing to the gods.

The perpetrator of that attack may have been the ruler of Calak-

Dueling City-States

mul, a rising power that menaced

The Maya waged war not only to

other city-states around this time.

corral sacrificial victims but also to

In A.D. 599, troops from Calakmul

expand their territory. Like the

ventured to Palenque—some 150

ancient Greeks, they shared a com¬

miles away at the western fringe of

mon language and culture but were

the Maya realm—and inflicted a

divided into competing city-states.

stinging defeat on Palenque’s queen,

Rivals sometimes resolved their dif¬

Lady Yohl Ik’nal, one of the few - 105-

NOTABLE DATES ■ 562 Tikal—one of several Maya city-states flourishing in and around Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula—is devastated in a "star wars" attack timed to coincide with movements of the planet Venus. ■ 599 Lady Yohl Ik'nal, ruler of Palenque, suf¬ fers a humiliating defeat by the rival city-state of Calakmul. ■ ca 600-800 Tikal reaches the peak of its power. ■ 683 Pacal, ruler of Palenque, dies at the age of 80 after a productive reign of 68 years and is buried with great ceremony in a pyramid he had built for the occasion. ■ 738 Revolution in Copan results in the execu¬ tion of its ruler by one of his vassals. ■ 749 Smoke Shell takes power in Copan and restores the city-state to splendor by constructing a great temple and other monuments. ■ ca 900 Environmental stresses and increased conflict contribute to the collapse of Maya civilization, resulting in the destruction or abandonment of most urban areas.

women to rule a Maya city-state on

T

her own. The attackers toppled

Watching the Heavens

images of the city’s patron deities, and the humiliation cast a long

"^he Maya were keen astronomers who charted the move-

ments of the sun, moon, and stars for reasons both practical and spiritual. Keeping track of equinoxes and other astronomical events was useful for determining when to plant crops, but the

overriding purpose of the activity was to allow the Maya to synchro¬ nize their rituals and activities with the movements of heavenly bodies that they revered and believed could determine their fate. Venus, for example, was thought to govern warfare, and rulers planned battles according to its movements. Maya scribes devised a hieroglyph to represent such wars—a star showering the Earth with droplets represent¬ ing water or blood. It was used to denote great conquests that toppled rulers and subjugated

monuments were

sometimes aligned so as to

however, by a remarkable king named Pacal, or “Sun Shield,” who came to power in A.D. 615 at the age of 12 and rilled for 68 years. He reached out to the forlorn rulers of Tikal and offered them protec¬ tion against menacing Calakmul. And he enhanced the grandeur of Palenque by building a lavish palace, pyramid, and temple. Deep within the pyramid lay Pacal’s tomb chamber, where his body was laid to rest in 683, painted bright red and adorned in jade.

every Maya ruler’s dream. The worst nightmare was the fate that

astro¬

befell the king of the city-state

At Tikal,

of Copan in 738, when he was

Venus and Jupiter aligned

captured by a rebellious underling

directly over the tip of a pyra¬

and beheaded.

highlight nomical

From this observatory at Chichen tea astronomers sought information to guide Maya activities*

Palenque’s prestige was restored,

Pacal’s majestic send-off was

their people. Maya

shadow over the queen’s successors.

important events.

mid. At Chichen Itza, a temple

Copan soon revived under a

was aligned so that at the

shrewd king named Smoke Shell,

spring and fall equinox, a ser¬

who

pentlike shadow seemed to

Palenque, which was far enough

slither toward the head of a

away to pose little threat. A great

snake chiseled in stone.

builder like Pacal, Smoke Shell and

Recording the movements Qf heaVenlv bodies enabled the

his successors constructed a soar¬

: Maya to construct an elabo¬

rate calendar consisting of two cycles—a solar year of 365 days and a

married a

princess

from

ing complex of pyramids and tem¬ ples known as the Copan Acropolis, one of the last great Maya feats.

ceremonial year of 260 days, each of which was devoted to its own deity. Once every 52 years, these cycles aligned so that the first day of

Success Bred Failure

the solar year coincided with the first day of the ceremonial year. This

The soil of the Maya was not very

was an event of great ceremony and significance for the Maya.

fertile, and by the ninth century it

To keep track of longer spans of time, the Maya devised their

could no longer support population

so-called Long Count, which extended back to the creation of

densities as high as 500 people per

the universe, an event to which they gave a date corresponding to

square mile in some places. Rulers

3114 B.C. ■

and their troops had to range ever farther afield to collect enough food 106

Never a

single

empire, »he Moya established dozens of ceremonial centers and powerful city-states between around 600 B.C. and

a.d.

900.

to support the teeming urban cen¬

dents inhabit the region to this

the Aztec in the Valley of Mexico.

ters, and the demands they made on

day. But most Maya cities were

Once the center of power in

outlying areas kindled resentments

destroyed or abandoned, with the

Mesoamerica, that fertile valley to

that grew into fiery rebellions.

notable exception of Chichen Itza,

the north regained its prominence

The collapse of Maya civilization

which may have endured in part

as the exhausted fields of the

around A.D. 900 did not bring

because it came under the influence

Yucatan reverted to jungle and the

an end to the Maya, whose descen-

of the Toltec, the predecessors of

lost cities of the Maya crumbled. ■

107

Various invading groups carved their own territories in Britain. At one time there were seven king¬

Anglo-Saxon England

doms: three ruled by Saxons, three by Angles, and one by Jutes. Vying for supremacy over all Britain, they fought each other frequently. A revival of sorts came in the seventh century, when much of England converted to Christianity.

500-1066

Led by Augustine in 597, Christ¬ ian missionaries began to convert dominance over the Britons. Many

the British and establish centers

of the

Celts were

of learning in Canterbury, Malmes¬

A-fourth and fifth centuries,

pushed into Wales and Ireland; oth¬

bury, and Northumbria. Scholars

the island became a battleground of

ers were probably absorbed into the

from Ireland and the Continent

competing invaders from Germany,

society of the victors. The West

brought

France, and Scandinavia. Pushed

Saxon code of 694 provides for

by Huns from the east, Germanic

“Welshmen” as substantial land-

After Roman forces with-

Z_Adrew from Britain in the

JL

Romanized

tribes of Angles and Saxons moved

owners and those who performed

in. By A.D. 600 they had established

errands for the Saxon king.

in

books,

assembled

In this section of the Boyeux Tapestry, carpen¬ ters build the ships that will carry William, Duke of Normandy, to England, where he will triumph over Saxon King Harold.

libraries,

and

began

to

write

histories of the island. Not all liter¬

more major battle would determine a new set of rulers.

ature of the period was Christian,

In the 11th century Edward

however; the great poem Beowulf,

the Confessor was the Saxon king

based on Germanic legend, is

of .England. Related through his

thought to date from the seventh or

mother to the Normans across the

eighth centuries.

channel, he was pro-Norman.

Under the reign of two kings of

When a powerful Saxon earl named

Mercia—Aethelbald and Offa—

Godwin revolted unsuccessfully,

England knew a period of stability.

Edward banished him and named

Monastic learning flourished in

William of Normandy as his heir to

this time, and Offa became so well

the throne. Godwin’s son Harold

known that France’s Charlemagne

returned to England and rose in

tried to arrange a marriage between

power but, according to chroni¬

his son and Offa’s daughter (which

clers, acknowledged William’s even¬

Offa refused). Offa also managed

tual right to the kingship.

to build a dike to protect his bor¬

When Edward died in 1066,

der with Wales. He could not, how¬

however,

ever, protect the kingdom against

himself crowned king of England.

its next great threat—the Vikings.

Now there

Harold were

quickly three

had

laying

claim to the throne: William, Duke

Raiders from the North

of Normandy, the original heir;

Seafarers from Scandinavia, mostly

Harold, the Saxon son of Godwin,

Denmark, had been raiding Britain’s

already crowned; and King Harald

shores for years, but by the early

Hardraada of Norway, who took

ninth century they were a serious

the opportunity of Edward’s death

menace (see pp. 126-27). English

to invade northern England.

King Alfred the Great was able to

Harold sped to the north and

contain them through the late ninth

defeated the Norwegian, then raced

century, holding on to Wessex when

south again to meet William, who

much of the rest of England had

had invaded across the channel.

fallen. Although warlike, most of

Wearied by battle and travel, the

the invaders were farmers who

Anglo-Saxon, or English, forces of

sought fertile valleys on which to

Harold fell to the Normans at the

grow crops and graze their animals.

Battle of Hastings in 1066. On

By the late ninth century the

Christmas Day, William became

fierce Saxons had prevailed, absorb¬

King William I of England, also

ing the Angles and Jutes and

known as William the Conqueror.

restricting the Vikings to an area

Saxon nobility was shattered,

called the Danelaw in northeastern

Norman barons were awarded

England. Even that was eventually

large estates, and French was spo¬

won from the Vikings, and after

ken in court. But the Anglo-Saxon

954 England was one kingdom.

population dominated, and even¬

Even so, it was a compromise, with

tually so did the English language,

Danish and Saxon kings alternat¬

which became a rich amalgam of

ing into the new millennium. One

Anglo-Saxon and French. ■

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca 550 After being fought back by native Britons, Germanic tribes once again begin to invade England, driving Britons west into Cornwall and the Welsh Marches. ■ 597 Augustine converts the kingdom of Kent to Christianity. ■ ca 673-735 The Venerable Bede, a Benedictine monk who chronicles the history of England and is considered one of the most learned men in Europe, lives. ■ 757-796 Offa, King of Mercia, one of the most powerful of the early English kings, rules. ■ ca 790s-880s A major wave of Viking invasions occurs, in which the seaborne raiders attack Ireland, Scotland, and England, eventually controlling most of England except for the southwest. ■ 871-899 Alfred of Wessex, also known as Alfred the Great, reigns. Alfred holds the kingdom of Wessex against the Danes and promotes legal reforms and education. ■ 954 Upon the death of Erik Bloodaxe, King of Northumbria, all English king¬ doms are united under the Saxons. ■ 1066 Norman forces under William, Duke of Normandy, invade England and defeat the Saxon rulers at the Battle of Hastings.

AGE

OF

FAITH:

increase its influence at a time when

500-1150

people were drifting back to a reliance on custom and tradition. Justinian carried on a city rebuild¬ ing program begun by Constantine, raising

even

more

Christian

Byzantine Empire

churches and decorating them lav¬

527-1054

Holy Wisdom), the empire’s great¬

L

ishly—including

the

elaborate

Hagia Sophia (the Church of the

:

est building. He maintained a shaky peace with Persia and recaptured

ong after the fall of the

some of the Roman territory lost

North Africa, much of Italy, south¬

western Roman Empire in

in preceding centuries. A strong

ern Spain, and the islands of the

the fifth century, the eastern

ruler who relied on his beautiful

western Mediterranean. But shortly

portion centered in Constantinople

actress wife, Theodora, for advice,

after Justinian’s death, the jugger¬

retained its Roman identity. The

Justinian codified Roman law to

naut of Muslim armies pushed the

eastern empire remained prosper¬ ous, lying advantageously along both land and sea trade routes. It continued to battle a longtime adversary, Persia, and it fought to keep the invaders at bay. The Roman emperor, Constan¬ tine, had taken for his capital a thousand-year-old

Greek town

called Byzantium, renaming it Con¬ stantinople. Located on a peninsula between the Black Sea and the Aegean and possessing a great natural harbor called the Golden Horn, Constantinople could con¬ trol much of the traffic between Europe and the East. To secure it against enemies, Constantine quickly built walls. To Romanize it he constructed Christian churches and public buildings and commis¬ sioned works of art. Under Justinian, who reigned from 527 to 565, the Byzantine Empire expanded and reclaimed A masterpiece of Byzantine architecture, Hagia Sophia was originally built by Emperor Justin¬ ian as a Christian church. It was converted to a mosque in the 15th century.

for all classes. Its large stadium, NOTABLE DATES

Actress to Empress

the Hippodrome, rivaled Rome’s Coliseum. Chariot races were par¬

■ 527-565

As [future empress Theodora]

ticularly popular, and two clubs

JlA arrived at the age of youth ...

of racing fans, the Blues and the

Reign of Emperor Justinian, who codifies Roman law and builds or rebuilds much of Constantinople, including the church Hagia Sophia.

JL

A. her mother put her on the

stage.... For she was very funny and a good mimic, and immediately became

Greens, became so powerful that they turned into political parties.

popular in this art. There was no shame

The empire, strategically located

in the girl, and no one ever saw her dis¬

along major east-west trade routes,

mayed: no role was too scandalous for

soon became the wealthiest and best

her to accept without a blush.... When she came back to Constantinople,

governed realm in Christendom.

■ 550s

Silk production begins in Constantinople after Christian emissaries bring silk¬ worms back from China.

In rural provinces around Con¬

■ 673

At first he kept her only as a mistress,

stantinople a loyal peasantry and

though he raised her to patrician rank.

work force, which doubled as an

Byzantine warriors use "Greek fire" for the first time against Arab attackers.

Through him Theodora was able

army when needed, produced crops

Justinian fell violently in love with her.

immediately to acquire an unholy power and exceedingly great riches."

and trade goods—olives, wine, and skillfully worked gold. These were

—Procopius, Secret History. Procopius, a sixth J , Pearls, silks, I -I /medicines,

\

KORYO

,

\

te ^ > Sf

" V

AN KINGDOMS

f

Io Japan

JAPAN

Hl,ai

r

V-

-

art,books

j

'

•mm To China —Gold, mercury,. l* pearls, wood

f

RAQZHOU

iern Song empire 1127-1279 \ it of Jin empire ca 1141

■ 1130-1200 The philosopher Zhu Xi lives; he helps establish o form of Confucianism mixed with Buddhism known as neo-Confucianism.

V

lorn of the Western Xia 1038-1227

Guangzhou4 lpP®v

|oI heartland ca 1200 |oI military incursions (dated)

To China

: with populations over lillion (ca 1100-1279)

Cotton, spices, luxury goods

AN N AM

ication/Wall i route

//

ZHENLA

«Siig GRE

gold, silver, textiles

Although rich, urbanized, and populous, the Song state could not withstand waves of nomadic invaders. After the Jurchen took over the north in 1127, the Chinese retreated south and established a new capital at Linan (Hangzhou)—only to lose that land as well to the Mongols.

Marco Polo \ 1271 1295 .

locx) mi 1000 km

issue the world’s first governmentbacked paper money. As Europe during this time was still in a period of stagnation, China was perhaps the world’s greatest power and its culture the most splendid.

The Song as a Sea Power

■ 1215 The Mongols move into northern China.

Route'or

To Southeast Asia

ft Chinese copper cash,

al (date of capital status) inq people

■ 1127 Jurchen nomads seize northern China.

\ / -SUZHOU T„

'{Jiaiigzbou) Tea, rice porcelain-, textiles, books

■ ca 1100 The magnetic compass is invented.

Chinese copper cash,

★BlANllNG iKaifenq) / (1215-1234^

,

NOTABLE DATES

A.D. 960 - 1279

The country’s very prosperity,

Because trade with western lands

and its inward-looking, nonmili-

was curtailed by loss of control over

taristic policies finally led to the

the northern land routes, the Song

Song dynasty’s collapse. Landed

turned into a maritime power, trad¬

gentry, made fat by good times,

ing along rivers and by sea with

acquired large estates and then

southeastern Asia, Indonesia, India,

rented land to peasants at high

and the Persian Gulf. Merchants

rates. They reaped peasant rebel¬

became immensely wealthy and set

lion. Bureaucrats who, like the gen¬

up complex commercial systems

try, had been made complacent by

that included banks and credit sys¬

economic success, neglected the mil¬

tems. So populous and rich was the

itary even as nomadic armies gained

empire that it could no longer trade

control of northern China. By 1279,

just in coins, which now numbered

Mongol forces overran the coun¬

in the billions. Officials began to

try and ended the Song dynasty. ■ 135

■ 1279 Mongols take over China and end die Song dynasty.

CRUSADES

TO

COLUMBUS: 960-1644

Empire. Conquering Bohemia, Aus¬ tria, and northern Italy, Otto con¬ trolled a large area. It was made up

Holy Roman Empire

of many small duchies, counties, and districts governing themselves, but owing allegiance to the emperor. Through their alliance with the emperor, the popes saw this empire as a means of helping them rule over Christendom. In fact, however, the

962—1648

popes and the Holy Roman Emper¬ ors were often at odds, each strug¬ gling for power over the other.

4 LTHOUGH THE POPE NAMED

In the mid-tenth century the ruler

L\ Charlemagne Holy Roman

of one such kingdom, Otto I of Ger¬

In the middle of the 11th century,

Emperor in 800, his realm

many, embarked on a series of cam¬

Emperor Henry IV clashed with

was held together largely by the

paigns in eastern Europe and

Pope Gregory VII over the right to

force of his personality. After his

northern Italy. In exchange for his

appoint church officials. Excom¬

death, France and Germany became

aid to the church in Italy, Pope John

municated and facing revolt by his

separate countries, and much of

XII crowned him Emperor “Augus¬

own princes, in 1077 he was forced

Europe dissolved into a patchwork

tus” in 962, inaugurating an 846-

to beg forgiveness from the pope

of feudal kingdoms.

year term of the Holy Roman

while kneeling in the snow outside

JL

the pope’s residence. The battle for authority continued for many more years, however, until settled by the Concordat of Worms in 1122. In the meantime, monarchies of France and England were growing more powerful and independent. The popes were forced to negoti¬ ate with them to counter the power of another

powerful

emperor,

Frederick I (known as Frederick Barbarossa, or “Red Beard”) of Germany. After Frederick invaded northern Italy, the papacy enlisted the aid of these other European states to drive him back.

'

Eventually, the Holy Roman Empire began to break free from its papal ties. The emperor was selected by a group of seven elec¬ tors within the emperor’s holdings Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, a Habsburg, surveys the family that was to play an important part in extending the empire through marital alliances.

Habsburgs. His son Philip II took

Barbarossa’s Law

I

f any one, within the term fixed

over Spain and the Netherlands, and his brother Ferdinand ruled Germany and also Austria.

for the peace, shall slay a man, he shall be sentenced to death, un¬

less by wager of battle he can prove this, that he slew him in defending his

The Decline of Empire Into this emerging Europe—with

own life.

the Holy Roman Empire generally

■ If any one wound another after the

opposed by England and France—

proclamation of the peace, unless he

the religious differences of the

prove by wager of battle that he did

Reformation further complicated

this while defending his life, his hand shall be amputated. ■ If any one shall have stolen 5 shillings, or its equivalent, he shall be

alliances. The western half of the continent became a patchwork of Catholics, Calvinists, Lutherans,

hung with a rope; if less he shall

and many other shades of Protes¬

be flayed with whips, and his hair

tantism. Catholic leaders, recog¬

pulled out with a pincers." —Selected laws established by Frederick Barbarossa between 1152 and 1157 to "indicate a peace ... throughout all parts of our kingdom."

nizing that excesses had contributed to the rise of Protestantism, tried to correct their mistakes through counterreforms in the Council of Trent. It was not enough. From

and was no longer crowned by the

1618 to 1648 Catholics and Protes¬

pope. Indeed, during a 23-year

tants fought the Thirty Years’ War.

period known as the “great inter¬

Though nearly all Europe was

regnum” during the 13 th century,

involved in the conflict, the war was

there was no emperor at all and

fought primarily on German soil,

nobles ruled themselves. In 1273 Rudolf, a member of a

NOTABLE DATES ■ 800-1806 Duration of the Holy Roman Empire; however, between 814 and 962, no one ruled as emperor. ■ 962 The pope crowns Otto i of Germany Holy Roman Emperor. ■ 1056-1106 Emperor Henry IV reigns. ■ 1073-1085 Pope Gregory VII rules. ■ 1076-1122 The "Investiture Controversy" pits the Holy Roman Emperors against the papacy in a dispute over the relative authority of church and emperor. ■ 1152-1190 Frederick I of Germany (Frederick Bar¬ barossa) rules as Holy Roman Emperor. ■ 1250-1273 The "great interregnum"; no Holy Roman Emperor holds the throne.

devastating its population, agricul¬ ture, commerce, and industry.

Austrian Habsburg family that had

The Treaty of Westphalia, an

many land holdings, was chosen as

important step toward religious tol¬

emperor. A Habsburg would hold

eration, brought peace; Catholics

the title of emperor almost contin¬

and Protestants recognized the right

uously for the next 500 years, pass¬

of the others to exist in their own

ing it down through marriages of

states. Yet the Thirty Years’ War

expediency and subsequent inheri¬

fragmented

tances. In the late 15th century, for

Empire into some 300 increasingly

example, Emperor Maximilian I

nationally organized states, a strik¬

the

Holy

Roman

married his son Philip of Burgundy

ing contrast to broad patterns of

to Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand

political development in East Asia

and Isabella of Spain. Their son

and the Middle East and one that

Charles V eventually inherited lands

would greatly influence European

that made him the Holy Roman

economic and social change. Hab¬

Emperor of Spain, Austria, Ger¬

sburg

many, the Netherlands, and Italy.

although the empire lasted until

When Charles V retired in 1556 his

1806, it remained a shell, never

realm was divided among other

regaining its former glory. ■

greatness

137

declined,

and

■ 1273 Rudolf I becomes Holy Roman Emperor, beginning a long line of Habsburg rulers, ■ 1519-1556 Charles V, who controls Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy, rules the Holy Roman Empire. ■ 1618-1648 The Thirty Years' War pits Catholic against Protestant forces.

CRUSADES

TO

COLUMBUS: 960-1644

The Toltec rose to power in the tenth century and built an impres¬ sive capital at Tula, just north of the

Toltec & Aztec Empires 1000-1521

T

Valley of Mexico. By 1000, Tula had a population of at least 30,000. It was laid out on a grid and con¬ tained pyramids, temples, and ball courts much like those found in earlier Mesoamerican cities. Tow¬ ering stone images of warriors and sculpted scenes of conquest and human sacrifice adorned the

velous.” In truth, the Toltec had

city, indicating that the Toltec were

trol of the Valley of Mexico

much the same strengths and weak¬

merciless to their enemies. An

in the early 15th century,

nesses as the Aztec. Both were ener¬

altar near one of the ball courts was

modeled themselves after the Toltec,

getic city-builders and empire-

found

who controlled the same area sev¬

builders who ruthlessly exploited

human skulls.

eral centuries earlier. By one Aztec

the people they conquered and were

Toltec warriors belonged to mil¬

account, the deeds of the Toltec

overthrown after dominating the

itary orders associated with preda¬

were “all good, all perfect, all mar-

region for a century or two.

tory animals such as the jaguar and

he Aztec, who seized con-

covered

with

shattered

the eagle. Their rulers took the names of gods such as Mixcoatl (Cloud Serpent) and Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent). According to legend, the ruler named Quetzal¬ coatl—later revered by the Aztec as a god-king—was ousted by a rival and fled eastward with his follow¬ ers, eventually reaching the Yucatan Peninsula. The Maya told a similar tale about a conqueror named Feathered Serpent who invaded their homeland shortly before 1000. There could be something to these stories, for the Yucatan city of Chichen Itza, which endured long after other Maya urban centers col¬ lapsed, closely resembled Tula and may have come under Toltec influ¬ ence or control. The Toltec grew rich through conquest. Quetzalcoatl, while he reigned at Tula, reportedly had Stone warriors with feather headdresses guard fee ruins of Tula, capital of the Toltec, who dom¬ inated the Valley of Mexico before the Aztec.

north in the 13th century and set¬

NOTABLE DATES

tled on a marshy island at the west¬ ern edge of Lake Texcoco, near what is now Mexico City. By their own account, they were living a meager

existence

when

they

reached their new home, hunting with bows and arrows and fishing with nets, but they knew how to plant corn, beans, and other crops

■ ca1000 Toltec capital of Tula emerges as the center of an empire covering much of central Mexico, with its influence extending southward to the Yucatan. ■ ca 1170 Tul a is sacked and burned, and the Toltec Empire crumbles.

and recognized the fertile potential of the lake and its marshlands. Others were drawn to the same The bearded figure emerging from the jaws of a Toltec effigy represents the ruler Quefzalcoatl.

area; Aztecs faced competition for

■ 1325 Aztec found Tenochtitlbn, destined to become the capital of their empire and one of the greatest cities in the world.

its resources. According to legend,

separate houses- where he stored

their

gold and silver, turquoise, coral,

pochtli—later deified by the Aztec—

fabled

leader

Huitzilo-

shells, exotic feathers, and other

assured them that they had nothing

treasures. Some of the precious

to fear from their rivals and were

objects the Toltec amassed and

destined for greatness. “We shall

crafted into works of art were

proceed to establish ourselves and

acquired through trade, but the rest

settle down,” he proclaimed post¬

were extracted from conquered

humously through priestly seers,

people, who preferred giving trib¬

“and we shall conquer the peoples

ute in the form of goods or crops

of the universe.”

to offering their lives. At its height

The Aztec set out on the path to

in the 11th century, the Toltec

conquest in the 14th century by

domain covered much of central

serving as warriors for powerful

Mexico, but an empire dependent

neighbors who eventually recog¬

on tribute could not survive long

nized them as equals. In 1428 they

when its subjects had little left to

turned on those allies and over¬

give. A drought in the 12th century

threw them in a campaign led by

weakened the Toltec, and around

Itzcoatl, founder of the Aztec

1170 Tula was sacked and burned.

Empire. With ruthless determina¬ tion, Itzcoatl and his successors

Rise of the Aztec

expanded their domain by force of

The downfall of the Toltec occurred

arms until it reached across the con¬

amid tumultuous migrations of

tinent from the Gulf of Mexico to

people from arid outlying areas into

the Pacific.

the Valley of Mexico, whose lakes

Theirs was the greatest empire

and marshes made it an oasis in

yet seen in the Americas, covering

times of drought. Among those

80,000 square miles and embrac¬

intruders were the Aztec, also

ing as many as six million people.

known as the Mexica, a name they

Fueling this phenomenal expansion

bequeathed to the Mexican people.

was the Aztec belief that conquest

They arrived in the valley from the

was a sacred duty, a means of

-139-

■ 1428 The Aztec ruler Itzcoatl gains control of the Valley of Mexico and goes on to expand the Aztec Empire through fur¬ ther conquests. ■ 1487 King Ahuizotl takes power and inaugu¬ rates his reign by seizing some 20,000 captives in battle and sacrificing them atop the Great Pyramid in Tenochtitlan. ■ 1502 King Mocfezuma II succeeds Ahuizotl. ■ 1519 The Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes reaches Tenochtitlan and confronts Mocfezuma II. ■ 1521 Cortes, aided by Mesoamerican allies, defeats the Aztec and shatters their empire.

obtaining thousands of sacrificial

enough to support buildings. This

another marshy island nearby. The

victims for gods who required

was the same technique used to cre¬

land between the two islands had

blood offerings if their blessings

ate raised fields called chinampas

been

were to be sustained. Others in the

that provided people living around

remained a separate district within

Americas shared such beliefs, but

the lake with fertile farmland.

the capital, home to a great mar¬

the Aztec practiced human sacrifice

Founded in 1325, Tenochtitlan

ketplace brimming with goods

on a phenomenal scale, as if the very

grew quickly, emerging within a

from throughout Mesoamerica,

magnitude of their success called for

century or so as a magnificent city

including precious metals and

bloodlettings beyond compare.

of nearly 200,000 inhabitants. It

stones, embroidered cotton fabric,

was laced with canals and linked by

sandals, pottery, bark paper, dyes

causeways to the mainland.

and inks, firewood soaked in pitch,

There was much more to Aztec culture than blood and gore, how¬

filled

in,

but Tlatelolco

ever. Like the Toltec, they

axes of copper and tin, gourds

exacted tribute from people

for dipping, cocoa, salt, spices,

they conquered in the form of

baked goods, fruit, fish, fowl,

gold, silver, jade, and coveted

and animal pelts of every

ceremonial objects such as bird

description. Here as in the

feathers. Those articles, and

Old World, merchants offered

other items acquired through

slaves

trade with lands beyond the

women captured in battles or

bounds of the empire, made the

raids and driven to the market

Aztec as rich as they were

in shackles. Goose quills filled

powerful. Rulers, merchants,

with gold served traders as a

priests, and others in privileged

medium of exchange. City

positions lived in high style

officials inspected the mer¬

and oversaw a well-disciplined society. The wealth and complexity of the Aztec Empire dazzled Span¬ ish conquistador Hernan Cortes

The Aztec Empire covered much of central and southern Mexico when the Spanish conquista¬ Hernan Cortes arrived at the capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519.

dor

for

sale—men

and

chandise to ensure that no one was cheated, and disputes were set¬ tled by magistrates in a nearby courthouse.

and his followers, who arrived

The city was divided into four

in 1519 and were welcomed by

quadrants, with a ceremonial plaza

swarmed through the plaza and

King Moctezuma II before their

at its hub dominated by the Great

its

hostile intentions became clear.

Pyramid, which had twin temples at

few public disturbances of the sort

Spanish accounts added greatly to

the summit dedicated to the war god

that marred similar gatherings in

our knowledge of this remarkable

Huitzilopochtli and the rain god

Europe.

Native American civilization, which

Tlaloc. The Spaniards who first saw

“When we arrived at the great

would not long survive its first con¬

that structure and other monuments

market place...,” wrote Bernal

tact with Europeans.

looming above the lake could hardly

Diaz, “we were astounded at the

believe their eyes. The “buildings

number of people and the quantity

An Island City

rising from the water, all made of

of merchandise that it contained,

At the heart of the Aztec Empire lay

stone, seemed like an enchanted

and at the good order and control

the capital of Tenochtitlan, rising

vision,” wrote Bernal Diaz del

that was maintained, for we had

miraculously from the marshes of

Castillo. “Indeed some of our sol¬

never seen such a thing before.”

As

many as

surrounding

60,000 arcades

people with

Lake Texcoco. Before building a

diers asked if it was not all a dream.”

The wealthiest and most presti¬

city there, Aztecs first had to reclaim

By that time, Tenochtitlan had

gious Aztec merchants were those

land by digging drainage canals and

expanded to include the neigh¬

who engaged in long-distance trade.

piling up earth to form terraces firm

boring city of Tlatelolco, built on

Some ranged far to the south in

140

search of macaw feathers, jaguar

Diaz. “Everything was made in

his election was a mere formality.

pelts, and other prized items from

masonry and well cemented, baths

But he then had to prove his fitness

the tropics. Aztec merchants some¬

and walks and closets, and apart¬

to serve by demonstrating his might

times entered hostile territory in dis¬

ments like summer houses where

in battle. Soon after his corona¬

guise and served as spies, collecting

they danced and sang.”

tion—a stirring ceremony in which

intelligence that might be used

When Aztec dignitaries appeared

he was carried in a litter to the

against the people with whom they

before King Moctezuma II—who

summit of the Great Pyramid in

traded. Merchants paid part of their

came to power in his 30s in 1502

Tenochtitlan and offered some of

earnings in taxes to Aztec rulers,

and was 53 years old when the

his own blood to the sun god by cut¬

and some served as royal advisers

Spaniards encountered him—they

ting his ears and legs with a jaguar’s

and administrators.

went barefoot, wore humble cloth¬

claw—the new king embarked on

ing, and kept their eyes downcast,

a coronation war.

Life at the Palace

addressing him as “Lord, my Lord,

Victory would bring him cap¬

Aztec kings lived in lavish sur¬

my Great Lord.” He dined behind

tives, who would then be sacrificed

roundings that rivaled the courts

a screen so that no one would see

atop the Great Pyramid during his

of European monarchs. The palace

him eat, attended by serving ladies,

confirmation ceremony.

complex in Tenochtitlan consisted

advisers, and dwarfs who acted as

Most Aztec rulers were victori¬

of 300 rooms, including many

jesters. He had two wives and many

ous in battle because they com¬

storehouses, workshops for royal

mistresses. When he went out in

manded the services of large and

artisans,

for

public, attendants swept the ground

well-motivated armies. Each ward

accountants, and an aviary and zoo

before him and covered him with a

or neighborhood in the capital had

whose denizens included eagles,

canopy of green feathers.

to contribute 400 men to military

libraries,

offices

jaguars, birds, and rattlesnakes. The

When an Aztec king died, his suc¬

service if called upon. The city con¬

well-tended palace grounds con¬

cessor was selected from among his

tained nearly 80 wards, meaning

tained baths, fountains, fruit trees,

surviving male relatives by the

that it could furnish roughly 30,000

and gardens. “It was a wonder to

nation’s supreme military council.

see, and to take care of it there were

Typically, the successor was already

many gardeners,” wrote Bernal

serving as head of that council and

An Aztec artist used wood, turquoise, and shell to craft this double-headed serpent symboliz¬ ing fertility and regeneration.

men to the army. Although wards

their communities and perpetuat¬

in 1481 and embarked on a coro¬

were required to provide troops,

ing the empire.

nation war against enemies in mountainous country where the ter¬

taxes, and labor to the king, they had their own governing councils,

Royal Bloodbaths

rain made it difficult for him to take

schools, and temples and owned

Despite the dedicated troops at their

advantage of his numerical superi¬

land communally. In effect, the

disposal, Aztec rulers sometimes

ority. Tizoc barely avoided defeat

fighting men recruited from such

suffered defeats or disappointments

and returned to the capital with

neighborhoods were citizen-soldiers

in battle. One such setback occurred

only 40 captives—a meager haul

to King Tizoc, who came to power

when compared with the thousands

with a strong interest in protecting

Rituals of Aztec Warfare "V "W T ~Y AGING WAR WAS A SERIOUS BUSINESS FOR %

/ Aztec rulers, who amassed armies of

%/% / as many as 200,000 men for campaigns ▼

right to dine at the palace and wear cotton clothing and sandals—status symbols that distinguished them from the ordinary Aztec, who went barefoot and

▼ of conquest. But it was also a ceremony,

wore rough clothing woven of maguey fiber. Mili¬

with stirring rituals and regalia. Like the Toltec, the

tary service thus served as an avenue to advancement

Aztec had warrior societies devoted to the jaguar

in Aztec society.

and eagle, each of which had a distinctive cos¬

When an army was ready to march, heralds

tume. Eagle warriors wore an eagle headdress

blew conch shells. Scouts led, followed by

and a cloak and leggings representing the

warrior-priests bearing images of gods and

bird’s wings and talons. Members

honored warriors of the military societies.

of the society gathered in a lodge known as the eagle house, where youngsters listened to war stories related by their elders and leaned how to han¬ dle weapons.

Then came masses of regular fighting men from Tenochtitlan, followed by recruits from

allied

city-states.

Bringing up the rear were soldiers supplied as trib¬

Simply gaining admission

ute by subject peoples.

to one of these societies was

Each successful war of

a privilege, but greater hon¬ ors awaited those who per¬

conquest enlarged tribute to Tenochtitlan in the form

formed feats in battle. Warriors

of troops, laborers, or goods. But not all cam¬

who captured enemies—which was consid¬

paigns were aimed at conquering territory.

ered far better than killing them since cap¬

Some were so-called flower wars whose sole

tives could be sacrificed to the gods—wore

purpose was to capture prisoners for sacri¬

special outfits depending on the number of

fice. Like the Maya, the Aztec placed a pre¬

prisoners they claimed. The leading Aztec

mium on capturing enemies of high rank,

warriors were often from high-ranking fam¬

who were considered well suited for a

ilies, but commoners could distinguish them¬

“flowery death”—one in which choice vic¬

selves as well by capturing four enemies, which

tims were put to death with great ceremony

entitled them to membership in one of the war¬

to honor the gods. ■

rior societies. Commoners could also earn the

An Aztec eagle warrior was rendered in clay.

of prisoners seized and sacrificed by

a year as an exalted figure. Shortly

52-year-cycle was a time fraught

other Aztec kings.

before he died, he wed four priest¬

with danger. On the last night of the

It was an unpromising debut,

esses who lived with him as god¬

cycle, to ward off evil and regener¬

and Tizoc later faced rebellions

desses. When his time came, he

ate the world, all fires were extin¬

from subjects who doubted his

went to the sacrificial altar volun¬

guished in the capital and priests at

resolve and no longer wished to pay

tarily and died in glory. Other Aztec

the summit of an extinct volcano

him tribute. In 1486, after five dis¬

rites were less inspiring for the vic¬

near the city kindled a new fire on

mal years in office, he was poi¬

tims. Priests devoted to Xipe Totec,

the chest of a sacrificial victim.

soned—perhaps by his brother

the god of springtime and renewal,

Torches were then dipped in that

Ahuizotl, who inaugurated his own

sacrificed captives in the spring and

fire and carried to Tenochtitlan to

triumphant reign with a bloodbath

illuminate the city and consecrate

of unprecedented proportions. After a highly successful corona¬ tion war, Ahuizotl herded some 20,000 captives back to Tenochti¬

Moctezuma’s Reply

I

the New Year. Such rituals helped unite Aztec

f I had known thatyou would have

society, which offered many bene¬

said such defamatory things I

fits to its members, including the

tlan and sacrificed them atop the

would not have shown you my

opportunity for honored warriors

Great Pyramid, which he had

gods, we consider them to be very

rebuilt for this gruesome confir¬

good, for they give us health and rains and good seed times and seasons and

of common origins to join the ranks of the elite. But Aztec rulers made

mation ceremony. Guards con¬

as many victories as we desire, and

little effort to share those benefits

ducted a seemingly endless stream

we are obliged to worship them and

with

of bound victims to the summit,

make sacrifices, and i pray you not to

conquered people into their soci¬

where priests wielding razor-sharp

say another word to their dishonour."

knives cut open their chests and ripped out their hearts, which they

—King Moctezuma It's response to Cortes, who told the king that gods who

outsiders

by

integrating

ety as the Romans did by granting citizenship to foreign subjects.

demanded human blood must be devils.

Aztecs recognized some neighbor¬

offered to the gods along with the

Cortes had seen the hearts of sacrificial

ing groups as allies, but they

victims’ blood. Afterward, the life¬

victims that had been burned as offerings at the summit of the Great Pyramid

less bodies were rolled down the

in Tenochtitlan.

steps and beheaded. Their skulls

remained sharply at odds with tribes they subjugated and milked them for tribute and sacrificial vic¬

were displayed on a giant rack,

flayed them. Priests wore the vic¬

tims. This aroused fear and resent¬

offering grim testimony to the

tims’ skins for 20 days, Bernal Diaz

ment and provided ready recruits

bloodlust that consumed Aztec

del Castillo reported, and “smelled

for any challenger bold enough to

rulers and the gods they worshiped.

like dead dogs.”

defy the oppressors.

Priests willingly took part in the

Aztec priests performed many

As it turned out, the assault that

slaughter because they believed that

useful functions when they were

shattered the Aztec world in 1521

the gods had sacrificed themselves

not conducting sacrifices. Like the

was led by Hernan Cortes and his

to make the earth fruitful and might

monks of medieval Europe, they

fellow Spaniards, assisted by rebel¬

lose their power to do good if they

were well educated and served as

lious tribes. But the empire might

were not constantly sustained by

scribes, artists, and guardians of

soon have fallen even without

blood offerings. Some victims were

knowledge. Like Maya priests, they

European interference, as had hap¬

honored and even worshiped before

watched the heavens for important

pened before in Mesoamerica to the

death because they were reenacting

astronomical events and kept track

Toltec and to other conquerors.

sacrifices made by the gods for the

of a complex calendar consisting of

In their relentless pursuit of

good of the people. A young man

two cycles—a 260-day ceremonial

blood and treasure, the Aztec vir¬

without any faults or blemishes was

year and a 365-day solar year—

tually ensured the destruction of

chosen to play the part of the Aztec

which coincided once every 52

their regime by native foes or rivals

war god, for example, and lived for

years. For the Aztec, the end of that

from abroad. ■

ft

CRUSADES

TO

COLUMBUS:

960-1644

tal of Chan Chan, which had nearly 30,000 inhabitants. Around 1300, Chimu rulers embarked on con¬

Peru’s Chimu & Inca Empires

600 miles of the Peruvian coast under their control by 1470. It soon fell to the Inca, who organized their fast-expanding empire along Chimu lines and incorporated their roads and water works.

1000-1536

L

quests that brought more than

The Rise of Empire

ike the Aztec in Meso-

Moche River Valley, where the

The Inca began their imperial quest

america, the Inca created a

once-formidable Moche kingdom

around 1400 when they outgrew

vast empire in South Amer¬

had collapsed in the seventh cen¬

the confines of their native Cuzco

tury (see pp. 78-79).

Valley high in the Andes. The soil

ica in the 15 th century by building on the foundations of older civi¬

Irrigation had long been prac¬

there was fertile, and terraced hill¬

lizations. The Inca of the Peruvian

ticed here, but the Chimu expanded

sides helped preserve moisture, but

highlands drew lessons from the

on the engineering feats of their

Chimu, who had long dominated

predecessors and built reservoirs.

the coast. The Chimu began their

One canal snaked through 50 miles

ascent to power around 1000 in the

of dunes to feed water to the capi¬

In the Andes near the Inca capital of Cuzco, Machu Picchu was built in the 1460s by the Inca ruler Pachacuti as a ceremonial center and con¬ tained temples and other public buildings.

rainfall was scant and yields were

sisting of two main arteries, one

insufficient for a growing popula¬

along the coast and another along

tion. The yearning for more and

the Andes. Way stations were

better land may well have set Inca

located a day’s journey apart, and

rulers on the path to conquest, but

footbridges carried pedestrians and

expansion soon became an end in

pack-llamas across rivers. The Inca

itself—a way for each successive

had no writing system but kept

king to prove his worth.

meticulous records by tying knots

The ruler who did most to forge

on strings. Inspectors visited homes

this empire came to power in 1438

regularly to see that all who were

and took the name Pachacuti, or He

eligible for labor or armed service

Who Transforms the Earth, a fitting

were meeting their obligations and

title for a king who enlarged the

ensure that housing conditions were

Inca world through conquest and

sanitary. The Inca capital of Cuzco

changed the way it was governed.

had sewers, and buildings there and

All the wealth a king acquired dur¬

in the nearby ceremonial center of

ing his reign, Pachacuti decreed,

Machu Picchu were neatly con¬

would be devoted to housing and

structed of snugly fitted stones.

caring for his mummified remains.

On rare occasions, such as the

This practice reinforced the idea

inauguration of kings, the Inca sac¬

that the ruler was immortal. It also

rificed as many as 200 young peo¬

forced each new ruler to make his

ple to their gods. More often, they

own fortune through conquest.

sacrificed llamas or made offerings

Inca kings could recruit large

of food. Every day Inca priests

armies because all people had to

offered cornmeal to honor the sun

serve the state periodically as sol¬

god. “Eat this, Lord Sun,” they pro¬

diers, laborers, or farmers—a third

claimed, “so that you will know

of whose harvest went to support

that we are your children. ” The Inca

the king and his works. The same

pantheon included several female

obligations applied to all con¬

deities, including Earth Mother and

quered subjects.

Moon Mother, wife of the sun god.

Pachacuti imposed further on

Devotees known as Chosen Women

some defeated groups by resettling

lived in seclusion at shrines and

them near the Inca homeland,

temples and wove richly embroi¬

where they were closely watched.

dered fabrics.

Loyal subjects were sent to colonize

Like the Aztec Empire, the realm

newly conquered territory. Such

of the Inca was already under

measures helped transform the

stress when Spanish conquistadores

sprawling Inca domain—which

arrived. Resentments among sub¬

extended for some 2,500 miles from

ject ethnic groups, diseases of Euro¬

present-day Ecuador southward to

pean origin, and a power struggle

Chile and embraced nearly a hun¬

in Cuzco made it possible for the

dred ethnic groups—into a tightly

small Spanish force led by Francisco

regimented state.

Pizarro that reached Peru in 1532

Binding the empire together was a remarkable highway system con¬

to divide and conquer the vast Inca Empire. ■

- 145-

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca 1000 The Chimu state continues to take shape in the Moche River Valley of Peru. ■ ca 1300 Chimu rulers begin building an empire along the Peruvian coast. ■ ca1400 The Inca expand beyond the Cuzco Val¬ ley in Hie Peruvian highlands and begin forging an empire. ■ 1438 Inca ruler Pachacuti takes power and strengthens and expands the empire through reforms and conquests. ■ 1471 Pachacuti abdicates in favor of his son, who completes conquest of the Chimu. ■ ca1500 The Inca Empire reaches its greatest extent. ■ 1532 Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro capture the Inca capital of Cuzco and complete conquest of Inca Empire.

A CRUSADES

TO

COLUMBUS: 960-1644

opment was profound. Tribes that once spent much of the year scrounging for subsistence settled

Mississippians & Anasazi

and harvested surpluses that sup¬ ported artisans, priests, and rulers. Even

common

people

in

this

Mississippian culture—which soon spread beyond the Mississippi River and its tributaries to other fertile

1000-1540

B

in sizable permanent communities

river valleys in the Southeast— could now devote considerable

efore the arrival of Spamsh

in combination with beans and

energy to nonsubsistence activities

colonists, no great empires

squash, they obtained a nearly com¬

such as trade, ceremonies, and

arose in North America to

plete diet and had to spend much

public works. A similar transfor¬

less time hunting and gathering.

mation had occurred earlier among

rival those in Mesoamerica or South America. By 1000, however, com¬

In fertile areas like the Missis¬

the Adena and Hopewell mound

plex societies with strong leaders

sippi Valley, the impact of this devel¬

builders of the Ohio Valley, but the

were building impressive monu¬ ments in the Mississippi Valley and the desert Southwest. Here, as elsewhere in the New World, Native Americans were constructing an elaborate cultural framework that was torn asunder when Europeans arrived in the 1500s. The emergence of complex soci¬ eties in North America resulted from advances in food production that enabled people to settle in siz¬ able villages. In most places the growing season was too short to allow people to derive much bene¬ fit from the corn originally intro¬ duced from the Southwest, which required up to 200 frost-free days to ripen. Native Americans were constantly developing crop varieties better suited to their environment, however, and by the eighth century tribes in the eastern woodlands were planting corn that matured within 120 days. By cultivating corn Marble statues of ancestral figures sacred to the Mississippians decorated a temple atop a burial mound at Etowah, a site in Georgia.

beads and was buried with at least

Greeting the Sun

E

60 other people. Some were prob¬ ably relatives and others were evi¬

very morning, the great chief

dently captives, for their heads and

honors by his presence the

hands had been cut off. Mississip-

rising of his elder brother, and salutes him with

many howlings

pian rulers were considered wor¬

as soon as he appears above the

thy of such sacrifices because they

horizon. Afterward, raising his hand

were linked with the gods. Priests

above his head and turning from

tended sacred flames in temples

the east to the west, he shows him

atop the burial mounds, and the

the direction which he must take in his course." —A French priest in the lower Mississippi

rulers themselves likely served as priests of a cult devoted to the sun

Valley describes the daily ritual of a

god, with whom they identified.

Natchez chief, who was called the Great

Here, as in ancient Egypt, massive

Sun and who lived atop a mound, communing at dawn with the sun god in heaven, referred to as his elder brother.

tombs that towered over the sur¬ rounding countryside symbolized the longing of rulers to become one

Mississippians, with their greater

with the gods.

reliance on corn and other crops,

Mississippian rulers derived their

achieved a higher level of social

wealth and prestige in part from

complexity and constructed even

tribute received from surrounding

bigger monuments.

villages, many of which had their own small burial mounds. Local

Mound Builders of Cohokia

chiefs in those outlying villages rec¬

The most important center of Mis-

ognized the ruler as their overlord,

sissippian culture was Cahokia,

to whom they owed duties in the

near the east bank of the Mississippi

form of crops, labor, or military

not far from modern-day St. Louis.

service. Rulers could expand their

By 1000 Cahokia had at least

domain by sending out warriors

10,000 inhabitants; the population

armed with bows and clubs to con¬

may have peaked at 20,000 or

quer neighboring groups, but it

more. Many residents lived in clus¬

was difficult for them to force vil¬

ters of pole-and-thatch dwellings

lagers hundreds of miles away to

outside Cahokia’s vast plaza, which

pay regular tribute. Most Missis¬

was surrounded by a stockade.

sippian rulers controlled fairly small

Within the enclosure lay houses for

domains and obtained what they

the elite and massive burial mounds,

needed from more distant areas

one of which covered some 16 acres

through trade. Precious materials

and rose a hundred feet.

such as seashells from the Gulf

The earthen mounds were con¬

Coast, used to craft ceremonial

structed in stages over several gen¬

objects, were transported by river

erations and contained the remains

and trail to markets up to a thou¬

of leaders and their followers, some

sand miles distant.

of whom were sacrifices. One ruler

By 1200, Mississippian culture

interred at Cahokia received a regal

covered a large portion of the

grave offering of 20,000 shell

Midwest and Southeast. Sites like -

147'-

NOTABLE DATES ■ ca1000 Villagers at Cahokia and other centers of Mississippian culture build great burial mounds to honor their leaders. ■ ca 1050 Anasazi ceremonial center in Chaco Canyon emerges as the hub of a highly organized society with trade ties to Mesoamerica, linked by roads to outlying communities. ■ ca 1200 The Anasazi abandon Chaco Canyon amid a prolonged drought that triggers migration from lower, drier elevations to higher spots such as Mesa Verde, where settlers build cliff dwellings. ■ ca 1250 Villagers at Cahokia and other Missis¬ sippian centers cease mound building; their culture declines, perhaps because of a change in climate or other environ¬ mental stresses. ■ ca 1300 Continued drought prompts the aban¬ donment of cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde and other sites, bringing an end to Anasazi culture. New settlements arise near the Rio Grande and other permanent waterways, marking the emergence of Pueblo culture. ■ 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado launches Spanish conquest of the Southwest while Hernando de Soto sweeps across the Southeast, wreaking havoc among tribes heir to the traditions of the Anasazi and Mississippians.

The artfully constructed cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park were home to Anasazi villagers in the 13th century.

Etowah in Georgia and Moundville

and beliefs were passed down to

These Southwestern societies

tribes such as the Natchez, who

shared a way of life based on the

lived in smaller villages and built

cultivation of corn, the crafting of

less imposing mounds.

clay pots—used to store crops and

in Alabama, which contained 20

hold water—and the construction

mounds within its walled plaza,

Master Builders of the Southwest

of houses made of adobe or stones

were less populous than Cahokia,

The constructive feats of the Mis-

joined with adobe. The Mogollon

but the inhabitants went to no

sissippians were rivaled by the peo¬

people living in New Mexico’s

less effort and expense to glorify

ple referred to by the Navajo in later

Mimbres Valley in the 11th century

deceased rulers. By 1300, this

times as the Anasazi, or Ancient

fashioned clay vessels inscribed

extravagant culture was in decline,

Ones. Master builders, they erected

with exquisite animal motifs and

perhaps because a change in climate

multistory apartments and cliff

geometrical designs that inspired

reduced harvests or high popula¬

dwellings in what is now the Four

Southwestern potters ever after. The

tion densities near ceremonial cen¬

Corners region of New Mexico,

Mimbres also diverted water from

ters exhausted local resources and

Arizona, Utah, and Colorado—

hillside streams to nourish their

posed health risks. The swampy,

structures that were perfectly suited

crops, but the greatest irrigation

humid environment of the Missis¬

to the desert environment and

works in the region were produced

sippi Basin and other river valleys

stand among the finest examples

by the Hohokam living along the

of the Southeast may have con¬

of Native American architecture.

Gila and Salt Rivers in Arizona.

tributed to the spread of disease.

Two related cultures known as

They dug a network of canals

For whatever reason, Cahokia and

the Mogollon and Hohokam left

extending for several hundred

other Mississippian sites were aban¬

enduring monuments in southern

miles. Fields irrigated by this sys¬

doned by 1400, and their customs

New Mexico and in Arizona.

tem supported communities of up

148

to a thousand inhabitants, whose

moved to high plateaus such as

settled

customs resembled those of Meso-

Mesa Verde in Colorado, where rain

sources such as the Rio Grande,

americans in some ways. Many

fell more often than in the parched

congregating in villages Spaniards

Hohokam villages had courts for

lowlands. Settlers there farmed the

dubbed pueblos, or towns. The

ball games, for example, although

mesa tops and built spectacular cliff

Pueblo people inhabiting those vil¬

there is no evidence that they

dwellings in the alcoves of canyon

lages spoke different languages but

sacrificed the losers as the Maya

walls. The remoteness of those cliff

shared customs inherited from the

did. Hohokam culture reached

dwellings may have discouraged

Anasazi, including the practice of

its peak between 800 and 1100,

raids by enemies, but they were not

living close together in multistory

when villagers constructed impos¬

designed strictly as fortresses. Cir-

adobe dwellings, gathering in kivas

near

permanent

water

ing multistory buildings like Casa

for social and religious ceremonies,

Grande, which may have served

and raising corn and other crops in

Fabled Cities

as a residence for leaders or or as an observatory for priests who

A Ithough they are not decorated

watched the heavens and kept track of the calendar.

with turquoises, nor made of

irrigated fields. Some of the com¬ munities they founded in the 14th and 15th centuries, such as Acotna

JLlime or good bricks, never¬

Pueblo, survive to this day and rank

Mesoamerican beliefs and prac¬

theless they are very good houses,

as the oldest continuously occupied

tices may also have influenced the

three and four and five stories high."

settlements north of Mexico.

JL.

development of the sophisticated Anasazi culture that developed in

Coronado, commenting on pueblo construction.

—

The cultural heritage of both the Anasazi and the Mississippians

New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon. By

Francisco Vdsquez de Coronado's

was still very much in evidence in

the 11th century there were at least

expedition in 1540 to the Native Amer¬

1540, when Francisco Vasquez de

5,000 people living there in large multistory dwellings such as Pueblo

ican towns he called pueblos was inspired by vague reports of glittering cities, whose inhabitants were rich in

Coronado began to blaze a fiery trail across the Southwest in search

Bonito, which contained some 800

gold, silver, and turquoise. Coronado

of fortune while Hernando de Soto

rooms laid out around a plaza

and his men discovered those stories

did the same in the Southeast. De

where people gathered for cere¬

were grossly exaggerated, but they

Soto encountered tribes who con¬

monies in subterranean chambers

were duly impressed by the sturdy adobe dwellings the inhabitants had

called kivas. A network of roads

constructed in the manner of their

linked Pueblo Bonito and nearby

Anasazi predecessors.

tinued to revere the sun and wor¬ ship

at

temples

atop

burial

mounds, much as the residents of Cahokia did; Coronado entered

structures to outlying settlements, suggesting that this was the hub

cular structures resembling watch-

pueblos whose Anasazi-inspired

of a well-organized society with

towers were in fact ill-suited for that

buildings were so imposing that

strong leadership. Buildings and

purpose and were probably used for

a distant observer mistook one

rock paintings were aligned to

ceremonial purposes. Most cliff

village for a city. By the time

catch the sun’s rays and highlight

dwellings were inhabited for only

those expeditions ended three

equinoxes, solstices, and other

a century or so before drought and

years later with de Soto’s death and

astronomical events. Among the

soil exhaustion depleted the area

Coronado’s return to Mexico,

items the Anasazi living in Pueblo

and forced the occupants to migrate

the conquistadores had left an

Bonito acquired through trade were

around 1300, leaving behind haunt¬

indelible mark on North America.

macaw feathers and copper bells

ing monuments to the architectural

Many accomplished tribal societies

from Mesoamerica.

ingenuity of the Anasazi.

were already crumbling from the

After

1200,

Chaco

impact of conquest or disease, and

Canyon

declined as a center of Anasazi cul¬

Rise of the Pueblos

few would survive European con¬

ture, most likely as a result of pro¬

Most who survived this prolonged

tact without undergoing wrench¬

longed drought. Many Anasazi

period of drought and disruption

ing change. ■

149

C R U S A DES

TO

At times supporting—and at

COLUMBUS: 960-1644

times opposing—this trend toward national power was the Roman

The High Middle Ages in Europe 1000-1453

:

Catholic Church, which had wide¬ spread influence on matters great and small in the Middle Ages. It dictated how people were born and how they died. It dispensed land and power to those it favored and excommunicated those it did not; it fostered schools in France and Italy that grew into Europe’s first uni¬

As THE SECOND MILLENNIUM A.D.

began, Europe was rapidly

JL

idate their feudal states under cen¬

versities in Paris, Bologna, Oxford,

tralized control.

and elsewhere. It sponsored art,

JL-becoming a richer, more

With the invention of powerful

music, and architecture, including

urban, and more dynamic society.

weapons such as the iron cannon

the spectacular stone Gothic cathe¬

By the year 1000, threats from

and the steel crossbow, the kings

drals that rose throughout Europe.

Vikings and other nomadic invaders

could assemble armies that would

As the church became increas¬

were fading. The Norman rulers of

withstand challenges from lower-

ingly powerful and worldly, it drew

England, Capetian kings of France,

ranking nobles. People began to

criticism both from the kings who

and Holy Roman emperors of Ger¬

develop a sense of national, rather

clashed with it and from purists

many and Austria began to consol¬

than regional, identity.

who called for reform. In the 13th century, Saints Dominic and Fran¬ cis founded the Dominican and Franciscan orders, which empha¬ sized poverty and spirituality. The Cathars, or Albigensians, attempted to break away from the church hier¬ archy until Pope Innocent III or¬ dered their destruction. By the 14th century, the church reached a crisis during the Great Schism, when two popes were elected—one in Rome, the other in Avignon, with secular powers in Europe backing one or the other. Only in 1417 did the var¬ ious factions agree to return to one pope, in Rome, but by then the damage was done; the church never regained complete authority. Meanwhile, the standard of liv¬ ing was rising across Europe. FarmThis scene appears in a 15th-century illuminated manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles—a history of the Hundred Years War written in the 14th century.

150

times guilds became monopolies

Agincourt

that made it difficult for journeymen-craftsmen to become masters.

"V^T"Then.the King of England

Despite its prosperity, two huge

\ JL /saw that he was master of

blpws damaged medieval Europe in

▼ ▼ the field and had got the bet¬

the 14th century. The first was a

ter of his enemies he humbly thanked the Giver of victory, and he had good

series of famines and devastating

NOTABLE DATES ■ 987

Hugh Capet becomes King of France, beginning the Capetian dynasty. ■ 1160

Building begins on Notre-Dame cathedral in Laon, France, thought to be the first Gothic-style edifice.

cause, for of his people there died on

plagues that reduced the population

the spot only about sixteen hundred

by as much as a quarter in the mid¬

men of all ranks, among whom was

dle of the century. The second was

the Duke of York, his great-uncle, about

the Hundred Years War, a conflict

■ ca 1170

that began in 1337 when Philip VI

The University of Paris is founded.

whom he was very sorry. Then the King collected on that place some of those most intimate with him, and inquired

of France laid claim to a rich area

the name of a castle which he per¬

in southwest France held by the

ceived to be the nearest; and they said,

English known as Gascony, and

'Agincourt.' 'It is right then,' said he,

Edward III of England declared

'that this our victory would for ever bear the name of Agincourt....'" —French knight Jehan de Wavrin

himself king of France. The war between England and

describes Henry V's victory at Agincourt

France actually lasted more than a

in his Chronicles.

century, from 1337 until 1453, but fighting was not continuous. The

■ ca 1170-1221

St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order, lives. ■ ca 1182-1226

St. Francis of Assisi lives. ■ 1337

The Hundred Years War begins between England and France.

ers using improved plows, horse

English won most of the important

collars, and horseshoes grew much

battles, including Crecy in 1346 and

■ 1346

more on their lands. New windmills

Agincourt in 1415. By using the

and water mills allowed owners not

new longbow, they could loose

The English win at Crecy and after a year-long battle capture Calais.

only to grind foods, but also to

arrows from 400 yards, while the

■ 1347-1352

power machinery for making cloth

French were still using short-range

and for forging metal. In Italy, par¬

crossbows. English forces began

The Black Death reaches its height in Europe.

ticularly, merchants profited from

experimenting with gunpowder, fir¬

trade with the East and set up a sys¬

ing missiles through a long tube

tem of banking. The invention of

lighted by a match. By the end of

gunpowder migrated across Eura¬

the Hundred Years War, cannon

sia, being adapted, changed, and

were in use, which rendered both

improved by states, craftsmen, and

knightly armor and town fortifica¬

soldieries in the Middle East, Cen¬

tions ineffective against assault.

tral Asia, and Europe.

Inspired by a young girl named

■ 1378-1417

The"Greaf Schism" within the Roman Catholic Church results in the election of two popes, one in Rome and one in Avignon, France. ■ 1415

Henry V wins the Battle of Agincourt.

As commerce stimulated the

Joan of Arc, the French rebounded.

■ 1429

growth of European cities, mer¬

Joan led them to victory at Orleans

Joan of Arc saves the city of Orleans.

chants and craftsmen established

but was captured by the English and

guilds that set standards and rules

eventually burned at the stake. Her

■ 1453

for creating products and regulat¬

courage continued to be an inspi¬

The Hundred Years War ends.

ing trade. An apprentice could serve

ration for the French, who eventu¬

up to 12 years before becoming

ally ended the war by driving the

a master. Merchants also formed

English out of France, except for

guilds to deal with political superi¬

the port of Calais—and even that

ors who charged heavy taxes. Some¬

returned to France in 1558. ■

-151 -

A CRUSADES

TO

mands it.” Thus was launched the

COLUMBUS: 960-1644

first of several crusades that took more than 50,000 Europeans into the Holy Land, campaigns that combined piety and greed in an ulti¬ mately unsuccessful attempt to

The Crusades

retake the city of Jerusalem.

1095-1291

efforts—known as the Peoples

T

Thousands responded to Urban II’s call, but the first disorganized

Crusade—met with defeat and massacre by the Turks. A more dis¬

o Christians in medieval

Muslims, overran Palestine in the

ciplined force later managed to

Europe, Palestine, where

late 11th century, safe passage for

capture Jerusalem in 1099. Success

Jesus had lived and died,

Christians was no longer possible.

in this hirst Crusade strengthened

was the Holy Land. After Muslims

In 1095 Pope Urban II called for

the church’s influence and increased

took Palestine in the seventh cen¬

a holy war to regain the Holy Land.

tury, Christians were still allowed

He urged volunteers “to strive to

to make pilgrimages to their sacred

expel that wicked race from our

sites. But when Seljuk Turks, also

Christian lands_ Christ com¬

Forces from oii over Europe launched wave after wave of attack on the Holy Land in an attempt to recapture Jerusalem, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

SWEDEN

Baltic Sea

North Sea

IRELAND

LITHUANIA

J*-

_

The Crusades

Prussians/ POMERANIA

1 ENGLAND London*

KIEVAN RUS

HOLY

Dartmouth,

300 mi

POLAND

JL T

l

21sr

d ht

400 km

'BayeuX*

ROMAN

1RMANI

Lisbon

o d t! T ~Nr

(Regensburg)

Cumans EMPIRE

FRANCE

HUNGARY

Clermonti

LEON

'oulouse^.—^

AND

-^Aigues Mortes*

Venicf ■enoa

GEORGIA'

Marseille Spalato (Spin

CASTILE

Khazars

Buda/Pest

BYZANTINE

SERBIA

BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Adrianople (Edime)

LATALONIJ

Corsica

inople (Istanbul)

Lisbon

DANISHMENDS

rrrhachium Gallipoli

DOMINION

Sardinia Balearic Islands

OF THE

Cagliari #

BYZANTINE

NORMAN PRINCIPALITIES

_^ANicaea irylaeum*"""')

SEUUKSpi

Messina^

A

Crusader states (1099-1144)

COUNTY OF EDESSA

; /:/ EdeSsa X-JUrfa|GREAT Aleppo SELJUK •(Halab) EMPIRE PRINCIPALITY iOF ANTIOCH P COUNTY rpDF TRIPOLI

DOMINION

ALMORAVIDS

X |ANjl

Iripoli

OF THE

Candiai

HAMMADITES

First Crusade (1095-1099) Second Crusade (1147-1149) Third Crusade (1189-1192) Fourth Crusade (1199-1204) Fifth Crusade (1217-1221)

• Damascus

^Jerusalem Damietta

FATIMID CALIPHATE

Political boundaries of 1097

152

3NGDOM IF JERUSALEM

the self-confidence of western Euro¬

Richard’s

peans—for a time. When the forces

brother. Yet, when terms of Acre’s

that remained in Palestine failed to

surrender displeased Richard, he

hold on to crusader territory, the

allowed the slaughter of 2,700

Second Crusade was launched less

Turkish hostages within sight of

than 50 years after the first. By this

their comrades in Jerusalem.

sister

and

Saladin’s

time, however, Muslim forces had rallied, and the crusade failed to

Chivalry

regain what had been lost.

The Christian Crusades came at a time when knighthood had reached

Later Crusades

its full expression in Europe. The

Under the leadership of the brilliant

system of military recruitment

general Salah ad-Din, or Saladin,

through a landed aristocracy, set up

NOTABLE DATES ■ 1095

Pope Urban II calls for a holy war to regain the Holy Land. Thousands respond and begin to travel across the Continent toward Turkey. ■ 1099

An organized and prepared force is sent east; later that year it manages to capture Jerusalem. ■ 1147-49

The Second Crusade begins in France; it ends with the crusaders failing to regain what had been lost.

the Muslims recaptured Jerusalem

by Charlemagne, had produced a

in 1187, and the Third Crusade

cult of gentleman warriors whose

could not regain it. Diseases sweep¬

code of conduct became a roman¬

ing Europe impeded expansion

tic ideal, even if its reality was con¬

■ 1187

into the Holy Land. In the Fourth

siderably more brutal.

Saladin reconquers Jerusalem for the Muslims.

Crusade, instead of pursuing “infi¬

Training for knighthood began

dels,” western Christians turned

early, with youths serving as pages

against the eastern Christians of

at about age 12, then as squires or

the Byzantine Empire and sacked

apprentices to knights at age 14.

Constantinople. Lesser but equally

Training included horsemanship,

unsuccessful crusades followed;

archery, wrestling, and the use of

gradually Europeans lost interest in

sword, shield, and lance. Education

the fruitless ventures, concentrat¬

emphasized Christian piety, honor,

ing instead on political and eco¬

respect for women, and protection

■ 1189-1192

The Third Crusade fails to retake Jerusalem, although Saladin allows pilgrims access to the Holy Sepulchre. ■ 1202

The Fourth Crusade is launched by Pope Innocent III.

nomic matters in their homelands.

and compassion for the helpless. A

■ 1212

In 1291 Muslims destroyed the last

novice was expected to become pro¬

Christian outposts in the Holy land,

ficient at hawking, chess, and writ¬

effectively ending the Crusades.

ing poetry. At 21, if found worthy,

In the ill-fated "Children's Crusade/' thousands of children leave for the Holy Land, only to die en route or be captured and sold into slavery.

In the Crusades, as in any war,

he could be dubbed a knight. The

there were examples of both valor

aura of selfless and chivalrous serv¬

■ 1219

and cruelty. The Muslims were

ice made knights natural recruits for

said to admire the courage of the

campaigns to regain the Holy Land.

The Fifth Crusade captures Damietta in Egypt.

“Franks,” as they called all cru¬

Although the Crusades failed in

saders, and when the Christians

their intended purpose of liberating

conquered the city of Acre, they

the Holy Land, Europe benefited.

stared at the departing Turks with

Contact with the highly advanced

admiration, remembering their

civilizations of the Muslims and the

fierce defense. When the Christian

Byzantines stimulated Europeans.

leader King Richard the Lionheart

Exposure to goods from the East—

of England was ill, the Muslim

rugs, tapestries, spices, and exotic

leader Saladin sent him fruit and

foods—opened trade routes, and

snow, and the two discussed peace

Europe began to play a bigger part

that would involve the marriage of

in the larger world. ■

■ 1248-1254

Louis IX of France goes on crusade to Egypt, where he is captured and later ransomed. ■ 1291

The Christian city of Acre falls to Islam; the Crusades are effectively at an end.

A CRUSADES

TO

able to loose arrows with great

COLUMBUS: 960-1644

accuracy at full gallop. Even so, their impact would have been merely regional had it not been for the leadership of a military genius named Temujin, later known as

Mongol Empire

Genghis Khan Born around 1162, son of a minor

1206-1368

T

Chinggis, or Genghis, Khan.

Mongol chieftain, Temujin’s faced a brutal struggle for survival in his

hroughout early Asian

In their male-dominated warrior

early life. After his father was poi¬

and European history, set¬

society Mongol men took the best

soned by Tatar tribesmen, Temujin

tled people in organized

food for themselves and trained

grew up in poverty, and according

communities contended with raids

from childhood in archery and

to some stories, once escaped from

from warlike nomads, pastoralist

physical combat. They hunted on

captivity while his enemies were

clans that generally lived in rugged

horseback, honing their skills as

drunk. By the time he was an adult,

high country. Sometimes these

swift, deadly cavalrymen who were

Temujin was a man to be reckoned

intrusions completely disrupted societies, such as those of the Roman Empire and China. In the 13th century, civilizations from the Mediterranean to the Pacific had to endure the last and most successful invasion by nomadic peoples when the Mongols conquered an empire that in scope and range exceeded anything that had come before it. Originating in the chilly steppes of central Asia, in the area now known as Mongolia, the Mongols and their rivals, the Tatars, had long bedeviled their neighbors in China. Because the barren land of the central Asian steppes from which they originated was not highly productive, the Mongols were never a numerous people. Their success as conquerors was due to their excellent horsemanship, endurance, ferocity in battle, and superior mil¬ itary tactics. Chinese designs adorn a Mongol officer's hel¬ met, a trophy from the Mongols' unsuccessful attack on Japan.

154

with. Gathering allies, Temujin

Marco Polo in his Travels (see p.

defeated the Tatars. In revenge

159), “but keep perpetually riding

for his father’s death, he killed

round and shooting into the enemy.

all males taller than the height of a

And as they do not count it any

cart axle and enslaved the women

shame to run away in battle, they

and children. As his power grew

will sometimes pretend to do so,

and alliances shifted, he gradually

and in running away they turn in

brought the 30-some nomadic

the saddle and shoot hard and

tribes of Mongolia under his con¬

strong at the foe, and in this way

trol, killing in the process his own

make great havoc. Their horses are

brother, who had opposed him. The

trained so perfectly that they will

■ 1211-1234

enemies he did not kill, he enslaved

double hither and thither.... Thus

The Mongols conquer northern China.

or dispersed among his own tribe,

they fight to as good purpose in run¬

so that families and tribes were bro¬

ning away as if they stood and faced

ken up and old alliances could not

the enemy because of the vast vol¬

re-form behind his back. In 1206

leys of arrows that they shoot in this

the tribes named him Genghis

way, turning round upon their pur¬

■ 1241

suers, who are fancying that they

The Mongols turn back from an invasion of Europe upon Hie death of Genghis Khan's son Ogodei.

Khan, universal ruler.

have won the battle.” Military tactics

With the Mongols united behind

NOTABLE DATES ■ 1204

The first Mongol alphabet is devised, using Uygur script. ■ 1206-1227

Genghis Khan, unifier of the Mongols and founder of the Mongo! Empire in Asia, reigns.

■ 1237-1241

The Mongols conquer Russia and begin their rule as the Golden Horde.

Although he commanded a rela¬

him, Genghis turned first to China,

■ 1254-1324

tively small population, Genghis

defeating the Tangut peoples who

Khan’s implacable will and ruthless

controlled oases along the lucrative

tactics, combined with the skill of

Silk Road between China and lands

Marco Polo, the Venetian adventurer who brought knowledge of the Far East back to Europe, lives.

his fabled horsemen, overwhelmed

to the west. Moving farther into

his opponents. Mongolian warriors

China, he took bribes aimed at

grew up on horseback, hunting,

fending off his attacks, then sacked

playing, and fighting from the backs

and massacred inhabitants anyway.

of their tough, grass-fed mounts.

Returning to Mongolia, he built a

■ 1260-1294

capital at Karakorum, then defeated

Kublai Khan, Great Khan of the Mongols and ruler of China, rules.

A mounted Mongol was a for¬ midable force, a superb horseman

rivals to the west.

armed with a lance, saber, dagger,

■ 1258

Hulegii Khan captures the Abbasid capital of Baghdad,

■ 1279-1368

a bow with at least two quivers of

Campaigns against Persia

arrows, and a shield on his arm.

When the shah at Samarkand killed

Some of the arrowheads were

envoys sent by Genghis to negoti¬

designed to make a whistling sound

ate, Genghis avenged the insult

to terrify the enemy. Each warrior

by defeating the shah’s forces,

kept as many as four horses so

even though they were superior in

■ 1336-1405

that he would always have a fresh,

number to his own. Continuing

speedy mount available. Using cat¬

westward, he overran central Asia,

Tamerlane, last of the great nomadic conquerors, lives.

apults in siege warfare, warriors

Afghanistan, Persia, and parts of

lobbed not only rocks but also dis¬

Russia. Many cities were demol¬

eased human carcasses into their

ished and townsfolk were massa¬

enemies’ strongholds.

cred by the thousands, with some

“They

never

let

themselves

get into a regular medley,” wrote

unlucky survivors saved to serve as human shields in the next battle. -155 j-

Mongols rule China as Hie Yuan dynasty. ■ 1295

llkhan Ghazan converts to Islam.

Genghis’s army may never have exceeded 110,000 men, but they were mobile, loyal, and disciplined soldiers. When necessary, troops from

conquered

states

were

incorporated into the forces and rewarded with booty. Turks per¬

£7 T

FOUR KHANS BESTRIDE ASIA

EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN ■ Mongol raiding parties reach the outskirts of' Vienna in December. "1241. The death*??' "t t

■

kic language became the language

1240. fhey remain vas}

golia saves Europe

sals djntil lvafi Uf fepek.

consolidated into four

pwNcietf.m ' HUNGARY

VV'T

ggnerryguv

kS

one of Genghis Khan's

(Chernlhiv)

'Vladimir

-

V

Y""!

UKRAINE

descendents. After the defeat of the Jin and then Kublai initiated 89 years

Despite his well-deserved repu¬ brutal

Novgorod

the Southern Song empire,

the enemy dead. a

knights

the Mongol world had

each the personal fief of

as

the Mongols ih 1430.

■ 'from further attack.

By the time of Kublai Khan

pages by the Mongols, who were

tation

feuding principalities by

TEUTONIC

near-autonomous khanates,

and were rumored to cannibalize

.Bata subdued Russia's

,.y"

POL^yNd

of the invaders. Fear preceded ram¬

known to slaughter the vanquished

-

T

OgodeibackinMon-

haps outnumbered native Mongols in Genghis’s armies, and the Tur¬

,

'

conqueror,

Golden Horde capital after 124:

of Mongol rule over China TURI0*

under the auspices of his

SELJUK SULTANATE. OF RUM

Yuan dynasty. From the Yuan

Genghis Khan was also an intellec¬

capital at Daidu, he remained

tually curious man who was quick

titular head over the entire

to adapt knowledge from the cul¬

Mongol Empire and active

tures he conquered. In 1204, he

Mongol homeland.

/ /

M .,

Ain Jalut, 1260 ‘yl Vq ''TQn^^^^^njehSjate capital after'1265 Mamluks defeat Mongols/# bYKlA/ . < iMfcragheh —TURKMEN ? PAOSTiNErx. ;

RUSSIA

■'

* ■*

/ {«„

1

v

i -'Baiiiial

-

Marco Polo described Kublai

Two failed attempts,

1

in.07A and 128!, to

•

\

• itMde'Jipan frustrate

;

admiringly: “He is of a good

khan's desire

stature, neither tall nor short, but

to .expand his empire beyfchd the seacoast. (Bayan-OvogL

MONGOLIA C

of a middle height. He has a becom¬

JAPAN

*(UIaanbaatar) Karakorum Mongol empire

ing amount of flesh, and is very #Shang4H'"|,:y

(Harhorin), ;capTta44235-l267

kKSTAN

•]

shapely in all his limbs. His com¬ Daidu (Beijing) >oudian)#Mongol emtffe i capital fbunded,

V

'

KOREA. -^*^ Ky\Jfrd> 1267 ^?4 A-

■, Xf

n. Galconda*

fyutthayaS Isgkok

X Hong Kong

PACIFIC OCEAN

South

China. Sea Ph

Strait of 'Malacca

'(Sri tanka) Ratnapura

Tern ate;

EQUATOR

INDIAN OCEMN . Kilwa

p

* f Banda

•*V-/Timor

Sofalal

TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

AUSTRALIA

Cape of Good Hope

than 50 fortified trading posts along

Sea to Europe. But for a century,

the route. Lisbon became one of the

prior to coming under Spanish rule,

most important ports in Europe.

the Portuguese had no serious Euro¬

Despite the Treaty of Tordesillas,

Through the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Portuguese explorers established sea routes from Lisbon to Africa, India, and east Asia, creating a rich trade empire.

pean rivals.

Portugal never had a monopoly on

Although Portugal took some

introduced sugarcane, tobacco,

Eastern trade. The first visits to

bases such as Hormuz, Goa, and

coffee, cocoa, and cotton. The local

Eastern ports met with opposition

Malacca as outright possessions, it

Indian population was inadequate

from the Muslims. The Portuguese

was not aggressive in establishing

for forced labor, so the Portuguese

tried to limit competition through

colonies

gradually

began bringing slaves from their

tolls and by plundering other car¬

planted colonies in its African bases

ports on the west coast of Africa, a

goes, but the sea was big and ships

at Angola and Mozambique and

practice soon copied throughout the

few. Arabs, Persians, and Indians

began sending settlers to Brazil in

Americas. By the late 1600s Brazil

continued to haul pepper across the

the 1530s. Land there was split

was the largest sugar-producing area

Indian Ocean and through the Red

among wealthy Portuguese who

in the world. ■

abroad.

It

-- 183-

COLONIZING

NEW

WORLDS:

14 5 5-1 8 5 7

first, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella refused him. Then, heart¬ ened by the expulsion of Moors

Navigating the Globe

from southern Spain in 1492, they outfitted him with three ships. In early August he left the Spanish port of Palos and sailed to the Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa. Departing there on September 6, he sailed weeks without sighting land,

1492-1522

his crews growing increasingly fear¬ ful and mutinous.

'T^T’Then Columbus sailed

measuring the angle of the sun

On October 12, 1492, they at

\ lL I west from Spain in 1492

above the horizon at noon—the

last made landfall in the Carib¬

▼ in pursuit of the riches of

compass, the hourglass, and a rope

bean—possibly at the Bahamian

the Far East, he was drawing on

with regularly spaced knots that

island of San Salvador. They pro¬

recent advances in navigation and

was released behind the ship to

ceeded to the larger islands of Cuba

age-old geographical knowledge.

measure its speed.

▼

and Hispaniola (now Haiti and the

Astute mariners and scholars had

The leading mariners of the day

Dominican Republic). Sure that he

reckoned since classical times that

were mostly Italians—longtime

had reached the Indies, Columbus

the Earth was round, and Greek

masters of the Mediterranean—or

called the native people he met

mathematician Eratosthenes had

Portuguese, who had made great

“Indians.” In all, he made four voy¬

even calculated its circumference.

strides under Prince Henry the Nav¬

ages to the Caribbean and back

The revival of classical learning dur¬

igator, founder of a school devoted

before he died in 1506.

ing the Renaissance reinforced

to improving navigation and patron

Columbus insisted that the lands

Columbus’s belief that he could

of expeditions southward along the

he discovered were close to Asia, if

reach Asia by circling the globe to

west African coast. By 1492 Por¬

not actually part of that continent.

the west, but he had little way of

tuguese mariners had rounded

In truth, the honor of first sailing

calculating how distant his goal was

Africa and were within reach of

from Europe to Asia went to Por¬

and greatly underestimated.

India and its spices, prized by Euro¬

tuguese mariner Vasco da Gama,

Tie dared to venture into un¬

peans because they made meat

who reached India in 1498 after a

charted waters because he had ships

palatable even when it was close to

voyage around Africa—a trip far

that were swifter and more maneu¬

spoiling. Finding an ocean route to

shorter than any route westward to

verable than those of medieval

the Indies—India and other desti¬

Asia. The true significance of cross¬

times—squat, square-rigged vessels

nations in Asia that had spices or

ing the Atlantic was soon made

with a single mast. Ships by Colum¬

precious metals—became a prior¬

clear, however, by another Italian

bus’s day had three masts with var¬

ity after the Turks took Constan¬

sailing with a Spanish expedition,

ied rigging that enabled them to

tinople in

and deprived

Amerigo Vespucci, who in 1501

move briskly with a tailwind and

western Europeans of access to

explored the coast of a huge land-

make headway even when sailing

overland routes.

mass south of the Caribbean that

1453

close to the wind. By this time,

bore no relation to any descriptions

mariners could also chart their ap¬

Discovering a New World

of Asia. He concluded that this was

proximate course and later retrace

Columbus, an Italian who offered

an unknown country, forming a

it with navigational tools such as

his services to Spain, hoped to find

barrier between Europe and Asia,

the astrolabe—which allowed them

a shorter route to Asia than the one

and referred to it in writing about

to approximate their latitude by

the Portuguese were pursuing. At

1504 as Mundus Novus, or the

- 184-

ililS8it*8

NOTABLE DATES ■ 1492

Sailing from Spain, Christopher Colum¬ bus reaches islands in the Caribbean. ■ 1497

John Cabot leads an English expedition across the North Atlantic and explores the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. ■ 1498

Vasco da Gama of Portugal lands in India after rounding Africa, pioneering an ocean route to the riches of Asia. ■ 1502

[Gehakous M e r c*

;rus

RuPEL.MLNDS.in NON.MARTH ANNO fopxd.vjxir ANN.LXXX. J.M.VIII. D. XXVKDENATUS »( NON .l)UT RR s ANNO (l)imIV,

1

H 1

iu 1) OfT^TT 0X61 U i NATOS IN '\0O Fl.ANDRIS. Die TO WACKENE XVI; tALEND-NOVEMBRIS ANNO tnOEXl'li:; (1X1T ANN XLVIlM.vn.Q.XXlXVOENAI. i USXIV KAL.MARTU -XNNO CI>|?CSI .

r- ------. .--.r--..

1

Columbus embarks on his fourth and final voyage to the Caribbean, still believing that the islands there are part of Asia or close to that continent. ■ ca 1504

Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, seated at left with his publisher, devised the Mer¬ cator projection in the 1500s. It represented the round globe on a flat map.

Nova Scotia confirmed the land was all part of the New World. The crowning feat of this age of navigation began in 1519, when a

New World. In 1507 a German car¬

Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand

tographer published the first map

Magellan of Portugal set out to

of the New World using the name

find the western passage to the

America—in honor of Vespucci.

Indies that had eluded Columbus.

By the time Vespucci wrote of the

In 1520 the ships rounded the

New World, its northern shores had

storm-wracked tip of South Amer¬

been explored by other Europeans.

ica—now called the Strait of Mag¬

Vikings had landed along the coast¬

ellan—and entered the Pacific,

line of what is now Canada around

enduring one dismal stretch of 99

1000, and John Cabot, an Italian

days before obtaining fresh food.

sailing under the English flag,

Magellan died in 1521 in a battle

had reconnoitered the coasts of

with Philippine islanders, but Juan

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

Sebastian de Elcano took command,

in 1497. Like Columbus, Cabot

continuing west in one ship, and cir¬

thought he had reached Asia, but

cumnavigated the globe, returning

later voyages by Juan Ponce de

to Spain in 1522. The crown added

Leon, Giovanni da Verrazano, and

to Elcano’s coat of arms a globe in¬

others who explored the east coast

scribed with the words: “You were

of North America from Florida to

the first to encircle me.” ■ 185

Amerigo Vespucci publishes an account of his recent journey along the east coast of South America, labeling that country the New World. ■ 1513

Juan Ponce de Leon explores the coast of Florida for Spain. ■ 1521

Ferdinand Magellan dies in the Philip¬ pines after leading the first European expedition to round South America and crass the Pacific. ■ 1522

Juan Sebastian de Elcano of Magellan's expedition returns to Spain, completing the first circumnavigation of the globe.

COLONIZING

NEW

WORLDS: 145 5-1 8 5 7

bursts of conquest and colonization in history. The interests of Spanish coloniz¬

Spanish-American Empire 1492-1800

B

ers soon brought them into con¬ flict with native people in the New World, who at first welcomed the newcomers. Columbus gave the Indians he met on Hispaniola and other Caribbean islands gifts such as beads and bells, and they

:

responded in kind. “Of anything they have, if you ask them for

efore Columbus set out in

Similar incentives later lured Span¬

it, they never say no,” he wrote.

the summer of 1492 on the

ish conquistadores to the New

“Rather they invite the person to

voyage that gave birth to the

World. Many of those empire-

share it, and show as much love as

Spanish-American Empire, he made

builders were eager to serve God

if they were giving their hearts.”

a deal with King Ferdinand and

and country by spreading Chris¬

The islanders cultivated cassavas,

Queen Isabella by which he would

tianity and claiming territory for

serve as governor of any lands he

Spain, but they were just as eager

discovered and receive 10 percent

to serve themselves, and that self-

of all the wealth obtained there.

interest fueled one of the greatest

Atahualpc, heir to the Inca throne, kneels before the conquistador Francisco Pizorro, who cap¬ tured him in 1531. Despite promising to spare Afahuaipa for gold, Pizarro had him executed.

cotton, tobacco, and other crops,

forces armed with cannon, mus¬

but what most interested Colum¬

kets, and swords. Natives taken

bus were the glittering ornaments

prisoner fared little better than

■ 1492

they wore. The Caribbean lacked

those who died in battle. In 1496

great mineral wealth, but there was

Columbus shipped nearly 500

enough gold on Hispaniola to make

Taino captives to Spain. Only 300

the island worth colonizing.

or so survived the voyage, and they

Columbus explores the Caribbean and builds a fort on the island of Hispaniola before returning to Spain to organize a colonizing expedition in 1493.

NOTABLE DATES

The first settlement there came

were sold as slaves in Seville in vio¬

■ 1511

about by accident. In December

lation of an edict by Queen Isabella.

1492, Columbus’s flagship Santa

In 1500, after conditions on His¬

Maria ran aground off Hispaniola

paniola deteriorated and colonists

Diego Velazquez conquers Cuba and becomes governor of Spanish colonists there.

and broke apart. Taino Indians

turned against him, Columbus

■ 1513

paddled out in dugout canoes to

was removed as governor, but the

help rescue the men and their cargo.

exploitation of the islanders con¬

It was Christmas, and Columbus

tinued. His successor instituted a

Vasco Nunez de Balboa crosses the Panamanian isthmus and reaches the Pacific Ocean.

took the mishap as a sign from

system known as encomienda—a

God that he should settle there;

royal grant that entitled colonists

he used timbers from the wreck

to demand goods and labor from

to build a fort called La Navidad

Indians, reducing them to serfdom.

■ 1519

Neman Cortes leaves Cuba for Mexico, where he completes his conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521.

(Christmas). Leaving 39 men at the

One Catholic missionary sent to

outpost, he and others returned

the Caribbean, Bartolome de Las

to Spain aboard the surviving

Casas, was shocked by the abuse

ships Nina and Pinta to organize a

of Indians there and launched a

full-scale colonizing expedition,

personal crusade against what he

launched in 1493. He returned to

called the “robbery, evil, and injus¬

find that the fort and its occupants

tice committed against them.” His

had been destroyed after the men

efforts led to laws to correct such

antagonized the Taino. Undeterred,

abuses, but not before many tribes

Columbus settled Hispaniola in

had been devastated by contact

earnest and reconnoitered other

with Spanish colonists and the

Caribbean islands. By 1511 Span¬

diseases, such as smallpox, that

■ 1565

ish colonies had been established on

they spread. The native population

Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba.

of the Caribbean was all but anni¬

Spanish colonists land in Florida and found St. Augustine, oldest permanent European settlement in the U.S.

hilated. The gold was exhausted,

■ 1531

Francisco Pizarro reaches Peru and embarks on conquest of the Inca Empire, completed in 1536. ■ 1542

Hernando de Soto dies near the Mississippi River while searching for wealth in the Southeast; Francisco Vasquez de Coronado returns to Mexico after a similar expedition across the Southwest.

Conflict in the Caribbean

and colonists turned to raising

■ ca 1609

As governor of Hispaniola, Colum¬

sugarcane and other cash crops. To

bus urged settlers there to treat

work the fields, they imported

Indians decently, but he profited by

slaves from Africa in such vast

Spanish colonists found Santa Fe, which becomes the colonial capital of New Mexico.

the wealth extracted from native

numbers that the population of the

people, who were forced to pay

Caribbean became largely Black.

colonists tribute in the form of gold dust and cotton. Meeting those

Age of the Conquistadores

demands kept the Taino from rais¬

Spanish colonists eventually found

ing enough food, and many died

the great mineral wealth they cov¬

of hunger. Others resisted Spanish

eted by probing the interior of

authority and were attacked by

Mexico and South America and

-177-

■ 1762

France cedes Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. ■ 1769

Spanish missionaries and troops reach San Diego harbor from Baja California and found the colony Alta California.

defeating the mighty Aztec and Inca

of the city. Cortez recruited an

then reneged on his promise and

Empires. Leading the way were con-

army of 200,000 Indian allies

had the Inca ruler put to death. By

quistadores, who operated under

among tribes antagonized by Aztec

1536 Pizarro had captured the Inca

royal authority but recruited their

demands for tribute and sacrificial

capital of Cuzco and driven the last

own forces. Those recruits helped

victims. By the time he returned

emperor there into exile. Here as

finance the campaigns and were

with those forces and laid siege to

in Mexico, the conquerors recruited

repaid with land grants and a share

Tenochtitlan in 1521, an epidemic

Indian allies to overthrow the exist¬

of the profits.

of smallpox was raging in the city.

ing empire and then imposed their

were

Cortes sacked and destroyed the

own regime and demanded labor

noblemen who set out to make a

Aztec capital and founded Mexico

and tribute from .former subjects

fortune because they had little or

City in its place.

of the Inca. Vast amounts of silver

Most

conquistadores

no inheritance. Hernan Cortes,

poured into Spanish coffers from

the conqueror of Mexico, came

Preamble to War

from such a background. A reck¬ less, quarrelsome youth, he left for the Caribbean when he was 19 and

Acknowledge the Church as the

L\ ruler and superior of the whole

sources in Mexico and South Amer¬ ica during the 1500s, and gold was extracted in large quantities from Central America.

helped colonize Cuba, where Gov¬

-X.

JL.world and the high priest

Conquistadores who explored

ernor Diego Velazquez authorized

called Pope and in his name the king

North America, in contrast, found

him to lead an expedition to the

and queen.... But if you do not do this

land of the Aztec in 1519. With 600

or if you maliciously delay in doing it, I certify to you that with the help of

no great wealth or native empires to exploit. Instead, they encoun¬

men, he sailed for Mexico in 11

God we shall forcefully enter your

tered tribes fiercely resistant to out¬

ships stocked with 10 cannon and

country and shall make war against

side control, as demonstrated in

17 horses, both of which awed

you in all ways and manners that we

1521 when Juan Ponce de Leon

native people on the mainland,

can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of

who had never seen such things. Courageous but ruthless, Cortes set out from the newly founded town of Veracruz on the Mexican coast for the Aztec capital of Tenochti¬

coast of Florida and died of his

their highnesses." —Extract from the Requerimiento, the declaration conquistadores had to read to the Indians before engaging in hostile activities. If possible, an interpreter translated the document.

tlan—first burning his ships to show his men that there was no turning back.

was attacked by Indians along the

wounds. When Hernando de Soto followed in 1539 to search for wealth, he came prepared for bat¬ tle with some 700 men. For three years, they rampaged across the

Much the same strategy was

Southeast, clashing with warriors,

used against the Inca by Francisco

capturing chiefs, and plundering

Cortes disguised his hostile inten¬

Pizarro, an aide to Vasco Nunez

pearls and other grave offerings

tions when he entered Tenochtitlan.

de Balboa, who in 1513 crossed

from burial mounds. De Soto fell

Aided by an Indian woman named

Panama and became the first Euro¬

ill and died along the Mississippi

Malinche, his mistress and inter¬

pean to reach the Pacific. When

River in 1542, and only about

preter, he first befriended the Aztec

Pizarro arrived in Peru in 1531 with

half his force survived the expedi¬

ruler Moctezuma II and then caught

a force of fewer than 200 men, he

tion, which brought disease and

him off guard and took him pris¬

defeated the Inca by treachery. He

calamity to tribespeople and little

oner. Moctezuma’s brother suc¬

enticed the Inca leader, Atahualpa,

profit to Spain.

ceeded him as king and launched

and his 6,000 unarmed bodyguards

Much the same assessment could

an attack on Cortes, during which

into the Spanish camp. There the

be made of Francisco Vasquez

Moctezuma was mortally wounded

Spaniards killed most of the men

de Coronado and his men, who

when he urged the Aztec in vain

and

prisoner.

marched north from Mexico in

to lay down their arms. Cortes and

Pizarro agreed to spare his life in

1540 and wreaked havoc among

his followers fought their way out

exchange for a huge sum of gold,

Pueblo Indians in a futile search for

took

Atahualpa

188

S

Spanish Mission System panish missionaries played a vital role in

supporting. “There are no other missions like theirs

colonizing the New World, particularly in

in all these provinces,” one official said of the Fran¬

| the rugged borderlands of the American

ciscans there. “They have made fertile and fecund a

Southwest, which attracted few settlers. The

portion of land which they found as uncultivated

Spanish colonies of Texas, New Mexico, and Cali¬

wastes.” Aided by California’s mild climate, friars

fornia owed their very existence to Franciscan fri¬

and their Indian converts reaped large harvests from

ars who founded scores of missions there, converted

irrigated fields, tended cattle and sheep, and built

tens of thousands of Indians to Christianity, and

handsome mission buildings where Indians practiced

introduced them to Spanish customs and the Spanish language. The relationship between missionaries and the native peoples under their author¬ ity was complex. Most Indians were tol¬ erant of competing beliefs and curious about the newcomers and their rituals. They admired the sacred music, art, and pageantry of Catholicism and readily com¬ bined elements of Christianity with their own ancestral beliefs. The missions and the farms and ranches attached to them offered Indians some security at a time when their livelihood was threatened by the incursions of colonists and the diseases they communicated. On the other hand, the concentration of native people at missions sometimes made epi¬

Mission Son Froncisco de Asis (St. Francis of Assisi} near Taos, New Mexico, was ded¬ icated by Franciscan missionaries to the founder of their order.

demics worse. And once Indians were bap¬ tized, they could leave the missions only with the

traditional crafts like pottery and basketmaking and

friars’ consent.

mastered new skills like masonry and tanning hides. Yet these seemingly successful missions were shad¬

In California, Spanish troops went in pursuit of

owed by disease and discord.

runaways and sometimes forced unbaptized Indians into missions. Even willing converts disliked the strict

California missions were supposed to disband after

mission regimen that banned “pagan” practices such

ten years, at which time their occupants would

as the worship of kachinas, spirits sacred to the Pueb¬

become part of colonial society, which needed to

los, and prescribed bodily punishment for a variety

assimilate Indians to compensate for the small num¬

of offenses. Many missionaries allowed Indians to

ber of Spanish settlers. Franciscans postponed that

engage in traditional customs such as tribal dances,

transition indefinitely, arguing that mission Indians

but some were harsh disciplinarians who aroused

were not ready for independence. Here, as elsewhere,

violent resentments.

the mission system helped the colony get started but failed to promote its continued growth and resusci¬

Missions in New Mexico were heavily subsidized

tate the declining Spanish-American Empire. ■

by Spain, but those in California were largely self¬

189

After raising sword and cross over the Missis¬ sippi River in 1541, Hernando de Soto went on to explore part of the territory the French later dubbed Louisiana.

The Crown Takes Control

role in future colonization efforts

By the 1540s Spain was taking

and appointed viceroys to rule

steps to impose order on its Amer¬

Spanish dominions in the New

ican colonies. Conquistadores were

World and enforce Spanish laws.

the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola.

feuding among themselves (Pizarro

Such measures did not bring an

In 1541 they marched far onto the

died in 1541 in a vendetta with

end to conflict because many Indi¬

plains, lured by a fanciful tale about

a rival) and inciting Indian upris¬

ans still resented having to labor

a golden city called Quivira; Coro¬

ings with their brutal tactics.

for the colonists, but a new society

nado found only buffalo and scat¬

Laws passed in 1542 prohibited the

evolved in the Americas that com¬

tered Indian villages and returned

enslavement of Indians—although

bined Spanish and Indian culture.

to Mexico in 1542 with little to

the trade in African slaves remained

Despite the toll taken by European

show for his efforts. Like de Soto,

legal throughout the Americas—

diseases, Indians far outnumbered

he had added to geographical

and modified the encomienda sys¬

Spanish colonists and often inter¬

knowledge of North America, but

tem that gave colonists free use of

married with them. Colonists of

his chaotic expedition confirmed

Indian labor. Pressure for those

pure Spanish ancestry formed the

that the age of the conquistadores

reforms came from missionaries

elite, but a large class of mestizos,

was ending and that future efforts

such as Las Casas, who argued that

or people of mixed race, emerged.

to expand the Spanish-American

colonists should be converting Indi¬

Spanish became the dominant

Empire must be based on more than

ans, not killing them. The crown

language

the profit motive.

gave missionary orders a leading

with the exception of Brazil, which

190

from Mexico south,

was settled by Portugal under an

undermined those efforts. By 1700

Mexico in the 1690s and eventually

agreement reached with Spain in

there were few Indians left on the

came to terms with the Pueblos,

1494. Native crops such as corn

Florida peninsula, and the Spanish

who served with them in expedi¬

and tomatoes and dishes like the

presence there was confined to St.

tions against hostile tribes.

cornmeal tortilla became staples of

Augustine and other fortified posi¬

Hispanic-American cuisine, while

tions along the Gulf Coast.

Two other Spanish colonies grew up on either side of New Mexico—

horses, cattle, sheep, and other

A larger, more successful colony

Texas to the east and California to

livestock imported from Spain

took root in New Mexico when set¬

the west. Both consisted largely

transformed the landscape and

tlers arrived overland from Mexico

of missions for Indians guarded

economy. Indians who converted to

and founded Santa Fe about 1609.

by small numbers of troops. Texas

Christianity honored their own

had more than 30 missions by

icons and saviors, and a Catholic

1800, and California had nearly

church or cathedral dominated nearly every town or city square from Cuba to Argentina.

Imperial Sunset

F

20, thanks largely to the efforts of Father Junfpero Serra, a tireless

irst they become acquainted with the Indians, trade with them, and afterwards engage

Franciscan who in 1769 helped found the colony, known originally

Colonies in North America

in contraband trade with the natives

as Alta California to distinguish it

The success of the Spanish-Ameri¬

of Mexico. Some stay in the territo¬

from Baja California. Even the pros¬

can Empire drew competition from

ries.... They are settled in sufficient

perous California missions, with

other European powers. In the mid-

numbers that they will establish their customs, laws, and religion. They will

1500s France sent colonists to vie

form independent states, aggregating

their well-tended fields and gardens, were plagued by disease and unrest,

with Spain for control of Florida—

themselves to the Federal Union, which

and no large towns arose outside

which originally extended up the

will not refuse to receive them, and

their walls. Some Spanish settle¬

coast to the Carolinas—and Eng¬

progressively they will go as far as the

ments founded in the 1700s would

land dispatched privateers like Sir Francis Drake to raid Spanish ships

Pacific Ocean."

later grow into major cities, includ¬

—Governor Manuel Gayoso de Lemos of Louisiana, 1798

ing Eos Angeles in California and San Antonio in Texas, but these

and ports. Such challenges led Spain to colonize and fortify a wide area

By the late 1700s it was clear to some

rugged

from Florida to California over the

officials that Spain's colonies in North

lightly inhabited throughout the

next two centuries as a buffer

America had too few settlers to with¬ stand the territorial advances of the

against European incursions. This

booming Anglo-American population

Spanish frontier in North America

of the newly independent U.S.

borderlands

remained

colonial period. Spanish America reached its greatest extent in the late 1700s after France ceded to Spain the city

was sparsely settled by civilians, troops, and missionaries, and the

Pueblo Indians in the area, antago¬

of New Orleans and the remainder

colonists encountered more oppo¬

nized by demands for their labor

of Fouisiana west of the Mississippi

sition from defiant Indians than

and efforts by missionaries to make

River. Yet this huge empire extend¬

from rival Europeans.

them embrace Christianity at the

ing from the Canadian border to

expense of their traditional beliefs,

Cape Horn would soon crumble as

began in 1565, when Pedro Menen-

staged a determined revolt in 1680,

Anglo-Americans encroached on

dez de Aviles founded the town of

killing hundreds of colonists and

the

St. Augustine and annihilated a

forcing the survivors to flee. In the

colonists in Central and South

French settlement at nearby Fort

process, many Spanish horses found

America—weary of a colonial sys¬

Caroline. Franciscans later founded

their way into the hands of nearby

tem that extracted their resources

dozens of missions in present-day

Plains Indians, greatly enhancing

while restricting their economic and

Florida and vicinity, but Indian

their skills as hunters and warriors.

political development—began agi¬

rebellions and ruinous epidemics

Spanish colonists reclaimed New

tating for independence. ■

Spanish colonization of Florida

-191 -

borderlands,

and

Spanish

A COLONIZING

NEW

wealth and its hierarchy of clergy.

WORLDS : 1 45 5-1 85 7

In Bohemia, Jan Hus led a move¬ ment aimed at reforming corrupt church leadership. In 1415 a church council, after promising Hus pro¬ tection in order to hear his views,

The Reformation

had him burned at the stake. For hundreds

turbed even its supporters. To raise

1517-1648

I

of years, the

church’s financial policies had dis¬

money for its large administrative structure, the church often levied

n October of 1517, a Catholic

creeds had swept through northern

unpopular taxes; almost all services

scholar named Martin Luther

Europe in the movement known as

required the payment of fees.

wrote a letter of protest to his

the Protestant Reformation.

Church positions could be bought.

archbishop. In it, he listed 95 theses

Luther was not the first to raise

Although many popes were vir¬

critical of church practices. In

his voice. In the late 1300s in Eng¬

tuous and altruistic, for others the

particular, he objected to the grant¬

land, Oxford University scholar

pursuit of power and luxury had

ing of indulgences: paying the church

John Wycliffe criticized the church’s

become paramount. Pope Leo X

to pardon sins, even those not yet committed. Accord¬ ing to some stories, Luther also nailed his theses to the door of All Saint’s Church in Wittenberg. Whether he did so or not, his theses soon became public, thanks to

the

newly

invented

printing press, and they

^gucM

expressed the doubts and anger that had been grow¬

R O MAH

ing throughout all classes of European society. Luther intended merely to spur an academic debate about church corruption and authority. Instead he touched off a religious revolt. Within 50 years, Lutheranism and other dissenting

Christian ffEES^

From its beginnings in $axony, the Protestant Reformation branched out into different sects and spread rapidly throughout the Holy Roman Empire and the British Isles.

192

spent heavily not only on wars to

NOTABLE DATES

repel foreigners and on improve¬ ments for the Vatican, but also on pleasures such as lavish banquets. The church founded on Luther’s

Four Theses

T

preached that salvation was a gift

preach

only

human

doctrines who say that as soon as the

tenets of faith was the first of the Protestant denominations. Luther

■ 1517 hey

money clinks

into

the money chest, the soul flies out ■ 1522

of purgatory. ■ It is certain that when money clinks

from God that could not be bought

in the money chest, greed and avarice

or sold and did not require the inter¬

can be increased; but when the church

cession of a church official. He and other reformers simplified church

■ Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the

church leaders not priests but min¬

needy does a better deed than he who

and conducted services in the local language instead of in Latin.

Huldrych Zwingli brings the Reforma¬ tion to Zurich; Martin Luther translates the New Testament into German.

intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.

doctrine and rituals and called their isters, who preached from the Bible

Martin Luther makes public his 95 theses regarding the reformation of church practices.

buys indulgences. ■ The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God. —From Martin Luther's 95 theses, 15Y7,

Protestant Sects

■ 1524-25

Thousands of German peasants take arms in the "Peasants' War," demand¬ ing religious reform as well as relief from feudal obligations. ■ 1527

The first Protestant university in Germany is founded at Marburg.

written originally in Latin and sent to church officials.

Various Protestant sects formed as different interpretations were applied to biblical passages. In the

Henry VIII declared himself head

1520s Huldrych Zwingli, leader of

of the Church of England when the

the Reformed Church in Zurich cre¬

pope refused to grant him a divorce.

■ 1534

Henry ¥11! becomes the first head of the Church of England. ■ 1536

John Calvin comes to Geneva.

ated a church-run state that banned

This more radical variant of the

the Catholic Mass and forbade the

Catholic Church became part of the

■ 1555

use of music in worship. The Swiss

Protestant movement by the time

Brethren, or Anabaptists, broke

his daughter, Elizabeth, gained the

away from Zwingli to form a more

throne. Some believers who thought

The Peace of Augsburg gives German princes and cities the right to choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism.

radical sect that opposed infant

the church still not reformed

baptism. Anabaptists disagreed

enough became known as Puritans.

so radically with civic authority

To counter Protestantism, the

that they refused to hold office or

Catholic Church reinvigorated the

bear arms. For their civil disobedi¬

Inquisition to forcibly uproot its

ence, they came to be persecuted by

opponents. The Lutherans formed

Catholics and Protestants alike.

the Schmalkaldic League, which

In 1540s Geneva French preacher

fought

the

pro-Catholic

Holy

John Calvin founded a strict church

Roman Emperor Charles V. Reli¬

that advocated and enforced thrift,

gious wars raged across Europe

sobriety, and hard work: Backslid¬

from 1545 to 1650.

ers could be excommunicated.

In time Europeans wearied of

Calvinists also believed in predes¬

warfare over religion, which slowly

tination, the idea that some people

abated. The Catholic Church looked

are elected for salvation by God.

inward and reformed its worst

England entered the Reforma¬ tion for different reasons. In 1534

abuses; but the Protestant Church was here to stay. ■ 193

■ 1618-1648

The Thirty Years' War pits Protestant forces against Catholic in Europe.

) COLONIZING

NEW

WORLDS:

1 4 5 5-1 8 57

and curious, Akbar began by organ¬ izing the tattered country into regular provinces, districts, and vil¬ lages, each with sound administra¬ tion. He revised taxation, which had been a special burden on the

Mogul India

large peasant population. His suc¬ cessful reign had drawn many capable office seekers from Asia, but Akbar also made use of Hindus

1523-1857

as

administrators,

army

com¬

manders, and counselors. 41 though Mongol invasions

were little more than a bad

The Reign of Akbar

Although himself a Muslim, the

Although Akbar was only 13 when

philosophical Akbar invited schol¬

in Asia by the

his father died, he took control rap¬

ars of many faiths to his court and

16th century, in 1523 a descendent

idly, aided by his able chief minister,

appointed Hindus to high govern¬

of both Timur (the Lame) and

Bayram Khan. Illiterate, but smart

ment posts. He married a Hindu

JL

A. memory

Genghis Khan showed that the Mongol will to conquer remained. From Kabul, Afghanistan, came Babur, a Mogul, the name used in India to describe people descended from Turks and Mongols. Backed by warriors on swift horses, Babur outmaneuvered the elephants of Indian troops, overthrew the Turk¬ ish sultanate at Delhi, and took over the central part of northern India. Despite his conquests, Babur’s Mogul Empire was never consoli¬ dated, and he was unhappy in India. In his memoirs he wrote: “Hindus¬ tan is a country of few charms. ” His attitude may have rubbed off on his son Humayun, who became an opium addict and for a time lost the empire to Sher Shah, an Afghan chief. Humayun regained Delhi in 1555—only to die falling down stairs in 1556. His son Akbar cre¬ ated a lasting Mogul dynasty that controlled more than half of India and lasted nearly two centuries. Babur, the first Mogul emperor, presides over outdoor entertainments that include wrestling matches between beasts as well as men.

princess and allowed his subjects to worship as they pleased. Typically, his benevolence did not extend to

NOTABLE DATES

Weighing Jahangir ■ 1523

occasional uprisings, which he

At last [the Emperor Jahangir]

fiercely put down, keeping tight

Z_\appeared clothed, or rather -i-

control of his empire. Mogul occupation created a melting pot of Arab and Persian thought in India. Akbar immersed

JL loden with Diamonds, Rubies,

Babur, a descendant of Mongols born in Ferghana, invades northern India from Afghanistan.

Pearles, and other precious vanities, so great, so glorious ... his head, necke,

■ 1530-1540

breast, armes, above the elbowes, at

Babur's son Humayun rules.

the wrists, his fingers every one with

himself in the culture of the con¬

at least two or three rings; fettered

■ 1540-1555

quered land, establishing libraries

with chaines, or dialled Diamonds,

Afghan chief Sher Shah, who takes Hindustan away from Humayun, and his successors rule.

and schools and encouraging art, music, and literature. A school of

Rubies as great as walnuts, some greater; and Pearles, such as mine eyes were amazed at. Suddenly he

miniature painting became widely

entered into the scales, sate like a

known. Muslim architecture mixed

woman on her legs, and there was put

with Indian to produce marble

in against him, many bagges to fit his

buildings with domes, arches, elab¬ orate decoration, and minarets.

weight." —Sir Thomas Roe, English Ambassador to the Mogul court in 1617

The peace and prosperity dur¬

Jahangir was said to donate

ing Akbar’s reign drew Europeans

his weight in silver to the poor.

■ 1555

Humayun retakes Hindustan, but dies the following year. ■ 1556-1605

Akbar, Humayun's son, rules. Akbar's tolerance of India's many cultures allows him to consolidate his empire.

seeking lucrative trade in Indian goods. With Akbar’s death in 1605,

Akbar, who tolerated other reli¬

■ 1605-1627

his Mogul inheritors continued to

gions, Aurangzeb destroyed Hindu

Akbar's son Jahangir rules.

press for territorial expansion, but

schools and temples, dismissed

often did not govern with his cus¬

Hindu clerks, and reinstated the

tomary efficiency. Military and civil

taxes on non-Muslims. Rebellions

service declined under the 22-year

began, and he found himself bat¬

rule of Jahangir.

tling not only former allies such

■ 1632

son,

as the Rajputans but also the Sikhs

restored state discipline, but his

and a rising Hindu power called

attempts at expansion raised taxes

the Marathas.

Construction begins on the Taj Mahal, built as a mausoleum for Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth.

Shah Jahan,

Jahangir’s

■ 1627-1658

Jahangir's son Khurram, who takes the name Shah Jahan, roles.

on the peasantry, causing many to

By the beginning of the 1700s,

emigrate. Although best known as

European powers were taking a

■ 1658-1707

the creator of the Taj Mahal, in Agra,

serious interest in the riches of India,

Aurangzeb, who overthrows his father and imposes a harsh rule over increas¬ ingly rebellious peoples, reigns.

Shah Jahan rebuilt Delhi as the cap¬

and the British, French, Portuguese,

ital of his empire. When he fell ill in

Danish, and Dutch had set up trad¬

1657, his eldest son, Dara Shukoh,

ing posts along the coast, often bat¬

■ 1760

took over as ruler; Dara Shukoh’s

tling each other for supremacy. By

siblings then turned against him. The

the 18th century, the Mogul Empire

victor, Aurangzeb, killed his broth¬

was reduced to a small kingdom. In

The British defeat the French at the Battle of Wandiwash, increasing British power in India.

ers and imprisoned his father.

1803 the Mogul emperor accepted British protection. Although the

Rebellions and Foreigners

British backed a Mogul emperor

Aurangzeb pushed the Mogul fron¬

until 1857, by the beginning of the

tiers to their greatest extent, but the

1800s English supremacy in India

effort drained his treasury. Unlike

had become a reality. ■

■ 1857

Mogul rule ends; the Indian Mutiny (or Sepoy Rebellion, as it is also known) marks the beginning of Britain's assumption of direct rule in India.

!) COLONIZING

NEW

WORLDS: 1 4 5 5 -1857

France’s North American Colonies 1534-1763

F

~

of

and strained relations with nearby

North America began in

Indians. Cartier did not help mat¬

earnest

when

ters by seizing a tribal chief and sev¬

Jacques Cartier crossed the North

eral of his people the following

Atlantic and entered the Gulf of St.

spring and carrying them back to

rench

exploration

in

1534,

Lawrence. Ships from various coun¬

France against their will—a com¬

tries had fished the waters off New¬

mon practice among European

foundland since 1497, when John

explorers visiting the New World.

Cabot returned to England and

Cartier returned to Canada in

reported great schools of cod there.

1541 and founded a settlement at

But Cartier’s expedition was the first

Quebec. It lasted only two years

to penetrate Canada—a name of

before the colonists headed home,

Indian origin for the land he and his

discouraged by the harsh climate,

countrymen called New France.

the inhospitable Indians, and the

Like Columbus, Cartier hoped

absence of precious metals. Euro¬

to find a passage to the Indies and

peans remained obsessed with find¬

returned to Canada in 1535 to

ing mineral wealth in the New

explore that possibility. At first the

World and paid little attention to

broad St. Lawrence looked prom¬

other resources. By 1600, however,

ising, but it narrowed as he and his

there was a demand in Europe for

crew proceeded westward, and

beaver pelts, used to make hats.

soon they encountered rapids that

A statue of the explorer La Salle overlooks Matagorda Elay in Texas. After voyaging to the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682, La Salle tried to reach if by sea, landing here instead in 1685.

Beaver abounded in the colder

ties with several tribes, notably the

proved impassable. This was no

regions of North America, and that

Huron living between Lake Ontario

passage to India, but the country¬

profitable trade helped spur the

and Georgian Bay. Soon Jesuit mis¬

side along the St. Lawrence looked

development of New France.

sionaries from France were living

fertile and inviting. Climbing a hill

among the Huron and introducing

he dubbed Mont Royal, Cartier

Colonizing Canada

them to Christianity. The French

admired the broad river valley.

In 1608 Samuel de Champlain

introduced diseases to the Huron,

It was “the most beautiful land,”

founded the first permanent French

however, which made them vul¬

he wrote, “covered with the most

settlement in Canada at Quebec.

nerable to attack by their rivals,

magnificent trees.” By then it was

Champlain understood that the

the Iroquois, who lived in what is

autumn, and he spent the winter in

French would need Indians as allies

now New York State and resented

a fort near what is now the city of

and trading partners in order to suc¬

French intrusions to their north. In

Quebec, enduring harsh weather

ceed in the fur trade, and he forged

years to come, the French and their

196

NOTABLE DATES ■ 1534

Jacques Cartier explores the Gull of St. Lawrence on the first of three pioneering expeditions to Canada. ■ 1608

Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec, the first permanent French settlement in Canada. ■ 1682

Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, reaches the mouth of the Mississippi and claims all the land watered by that river and its tributaries for France under the name of Louisiana. ■ 1685

La Salle lands at Matagorda Bay after failing to locate the mouth of the Mississippi by sea and explores Texas. ■ 1713

France surrenders Newfoundland and other territory in North America to England at the conclusion of Queen Anne's War. ■ 1718

New Orleans is founded by French settlers. Indian allies remained at odds with

and were exploring Lakes Superior

the Iroquois and the English—who

and Michigan. The founding of the

soon supplanted the Dutch in New

Hudson’s Bay Company by the

York and took over the fur trade.

English that same year provided

■ 1759

British forces capture Quebec and take control of Canada in the decisive battle of the French and Indian War.

Despite this ongoing rivalry,

competition for the Canadian fur

which flared up periodically into

trade and encouraged the French to

bloody fighting, the colony of New

broaden their scope. Missionaries

France grew and prospered. Enter¬

sometimes accompanied the voya¬

prising fur traders called coureurs

geurs, many of whom married

du bois, or voyageurs, set out from

women from local tribes, fostering

■ 1763

Quebec and the nearby town of

a mixed race—the Metis.

France surrenders its remaining territory in North America by conceding British control of Canada and transferring the eastern portion of Louisiana to Britain.

Montreal, founded in 1642, and

Meanwhile Montreal, Quebec,

ranged far to the west, traveling

and other settlements along the St.

along rivers or lakes and portaging

Lawrence were gradually increas¬

their canoes from one body of water

ing in population as new colonists

to another. By 1670 the French had

arrived from France and raised fam¬

a trading post at Sault Ste. Marie

ilies. French authorities expanded 197

■ 1762

France cedes New Orleans and all of Louisiana west of die Mississippi to Spain.

the colony by granting territory

rice, tobacco, and other crops. The

opposing settlements and many

to

landlords called seigneurs,

French population of New Orleans

civilians were killed or captured.

who then recruited settlers called

and environs was bolstered in the

After King George’s War ended

habitants and provided them with

mid-1700s by the arrival of several

inconclusively in 1748, the French

homesteads of around a hundred

thousand Acadians, exiled from

tried to halt the westward expan¬

acres in exchange for rent and serv¬

their homeland in Nova Scotia,

sion of the British—who far out¬

ices. The system was based on feu¬

which had long been disputed

numbered

dalism, but unlike serfs in Europe,

between England andvFrance and

Canada—by occupying the Ohio

settlers in New France had a legal

came under British control by treaty

Valley. British colonial authorities

claim to their land and could deed

in 1713.

responded in 1754 by sending mili¬

French

settlers

in

tia under George Washington to

it to their descendents.

challenge the French and their tribal Founding Louisiana After reconnoitering the Great Lakes, French explorers began pushing southward along the Mis¬ sissippi River and its tributaries. In 1673 Father Jacques Marquette and French-Canadian Louis Jolliet, trav¬ eling by canoe with five voyageurs, paddled far down the Mississippi past the mouths of the Missouri and Ohio Rivers before turning back. The venturesome French seigneur Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, reached the mouth of the Mis¬ sissippi in 1682. La Salle claimed for France all the country watered by the Mississippi and its tribu¬ taries, including such great rivers as

Lure of Louisiana

T

allies at Fort Duquesne in presentday Pittsburgh. Washington lost in

he banks are almost uninhab¬ itable, on account of the spring floods. The woods are all those of a boggy district, the country one of canes and briars and of trees torn up by the roots; but a league or two from the river, is the most beautiful country in the world, prairies, woods of mul¬ berry trees, vines, and fruits that we are not acquainted with." —Henri de Jonty's 1693 description of the Mississippi Valley in his account of the founding of Louisiana

French authorities hoped to colonize this area and make good on La Salle's claim, but settlements were few. Ulti¬ mately, Anglo-Americans displaced the Indians and took possession of the fer¬ tile floodplain of the Mississippi.

the Ohio and Missouri, which

a battle at Fort Necessity that inau¬ gurated an epic conflict known to British colonists as the French and Indian War, which was linked to the Seven Years’ War in Europe. At first the French fared better in this struggle because they had superior commanders and far more Indian allies. In 1758, the British gained the upper hand by shipping more troops to North America and ending the forced recruitment of colonists, who responded by enlisting in large numbers. In 1759 British troops captured Quebec and took control of Canada. Elsewhere, savage fighting con¬

extended a thousand miles or more

A Losing Struggle

tinued between British colonists

in either direction.

The treaty under which France lost

and Indian allies of the French

Known as Louisiana in honor of

Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and

until peace was negotiated in

King Louis XIV, this vast country

other territory to Great Britain—

1763. France renounced to Britain

extending from the Appalachians

as England became known after

not only Canada but also all of

to the Rocky Mountains went

its union with Scotland in 1707—

Louisiana east of the Mississippi

largely unsettled by the French, and

brought an end to Queen Anne’s

except New Orleans, having ceded

both Spain and England contested

War,

one of several conflicts

it and the western portion of

La Salle’s claim. Nonetheless,

between the two powers that cul¬

Louisiana to Spain the year before.

France made something of his ini¬

minated in the British conquest of

The French adventure in North

tiative by planting settlements along

Canada. These wars were related to

America had come to an end. ■

the lower Mississippi River, notably

hostilities in Europe but hit home

the town of New Orleans, founded

with brutal intensity in North

in 1718. French planters there

America, where colonists enlisted

imported African slaves to raise

Indian allies in merciless raids on 198

By 1750 North America was divided between France, Britain, and Spain, with the exception of unexplored territory and coastal Alaska, recently colonized by Russian fur traders.

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Memphis.'

TERRITORY

j.I.

and average citi¬

Captains of Industry

Antitrust Act of 1890, but it went

zens would have greater economic

The industrial revolution that began

largely unenforced until the 1900s.

power. Their arguments were soon

in Europe in the early 1800s did not

Another challenge to the eco¬

adopted by Democrats, who were

reach the U.S. until mid-century and

nomic power of capitalists came

losing support to Populists in the

Populist

movement.

did not extend beyond New York

South. In 1896 the Democrats nom¬

and a few other northern cities until

inated William Jennings Bryan of

after the Civil War. Despite the late start, the U.S. was the world’s lead¬ ing manufacturer by 1890, thanks in part to a huge influx of foreign workers. Between 1876 and 1900 nearly ten

million immigrants

arrived in America, settling mostly in urban areas like New York and Chicago, where they made up the vast majority of the population. This abundant supply of immigrant

America in 1900 e stand on the threshold of \ \ /a new century ... big with ▼ V the fate of the great nations.... Is America a weakling, to shrink from the world-work of the great world pow¬ ers? No. The young giant of the West stands on a continent and clasps the crest of an ocean in either hand. Our nation, glorious in youth and strength, looks into the future with eager eyes and rejoices as a strong man to run a race."

workers kept the cost of labor down —Theodore Roosevelt, speaking before

Nebraska for President. Democrats had trumped Populists, who nom¬ inated Bryan at their own conven¬ tion and lost their political identity. Bryan was defeated by Republi¬ can William McKinley despite car¬ rying nearly all the states in the West and South. Bryan’s sermons against the gold standard failed to sway many voters in the populous North¬ east and Midwest, where McKin¬ ley wooed insecure workers by

and boosted profits. Shrewd capi¬

the Republican Convention that nomi¬

promising a “full dinner pail” for

talists invested those profits in new

nated him for Vice President in 1900.

the unemployed. The economy did

plants and equipment, increasing

improve under McKinley—a gold

the efficiency of their operations

from labor. By the 1880s national

rush in Alaska helped ease the cur¬

and dominating their markets.

organizations like the Knights of

rency crunch—and the focus shifted

One such captain of industry was

Labor and the American Federation

from the nation’s problems to its

John D. Rockefeller, whose Stan¬

of Labor were joining local unions

strengths. Unlike heavily industri¬

dard Oil Company controlled 90

in staging strikes for higher wages

alized Britain, which had to import

percent of the nation’s oil business.

and a shorter workday. (Many peo¬

food, the U.S., with its vast western

Another was Andrew Carnegie.

ple worked ten hours a day, six days

farming areas, fed its fast-growing

His U.S. Steel Corporation owned

a week.) Organized labor lost most

population and exported surplus

mines that extracted the iron, fac¬

strikes: The majority of workers did

grain to Europe. This combination

tories that made the ore into steel,

not belong to unions, and owners

of agricultural and industrial out¬

and railroads that carried it to mar¬

had the support of state and federal

put made the U.S. potentially the

ket. Some inventors became capi¬

authorities that sometimes called in

greatest power on Earth.

talists, including Thomas Edison,

troops to put down strikes.

who formed a company to provide electric power to cities.

In 1893 the nation suffered a severe financial panic that left one274

The Spanish-American War The emergence of the U.S. as a

world power was personified by the man McKinley appointed Under¬ secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt of New York. Roosevelt helped propel the nation into war with Spain by urging American support for Cuban rebels fighting against Spanish colonial rule. When the battleship Maine mysteriously exploded in February 1898 while docked in Havana Harbor, lurid press reports blamed Spain, increas¬ ing pressure on a reluctant McKin¬ ley to go to war.

in April, Roosevelt widened its scope by ordering Commodore George Dewey to prepare for naval action against Spanish forces holding the Philippines. Dewey promptly seized the Philippines, and Roosevelt enlisted in the Army and organized a unit called the Rough Riders that helped defeat Spanish forces in Cuba. The U.S. also obtained Puerto Rico, Guam, and other islands from Spain. called

emember the Maine!” Americans chanted after that bat-

tleship blew up in Havana Harbor in early 1898, “To hell with Spain!” In fact, there was no evidence implicating Spain in the ^ship’s destruction, which was probably an accident. But

Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt argued that Spain had no business trying to hold on to Cuba, where rebels were agitating for independence. “We will have this war for the freedom of Cuba,” he declared, adding privately that war with Spain would be in the inter¬ est of the U.S. and provide a good test for the nation’s armed forces. To his credit, Roosevelt volunteered to fight in the conflict he helped

Shortly before the conflict began

Critics

R

Rough Riders in Cuba

the

promote, resigning as undersecretary to organize a mounted regiment called the Rough Riders, which mingled prominent easterners like Roo¬ sevelt with rough-hewn westerners. He chose his friend Leonard Wood to serve as colonel but took command of the regiment himself in Cuba after Wood was promoted. In July 1898 Roosevelt and his men took part in the Battle of San Juan, charging up Kettle Hill while other troops led the attack on San Juan Hill. The regiment lost 15 men killed and 76 wounded in this American victory, part of a campaign that forced the surrender of Spanish forces at Santiago in August. Roosevelt reveled in his exposure to combat. “All men who feel any power of joy in battle,” he wrote, “know what it is like when the wolf rises in the heart.” But he later defied his popular reputation as a freeswinging Rough Rider by relying as President on shows of force that

Spanish-

achieved national objectives without war. ■

American War imperialist, and in fact the U.S. dominated Cuba for years to come and kept troops in the Philippines. But Roosevelt offered no apologies. He believed the U.S. had as much right to flex its muscle as any European nation and would do better managing the affairs of other countries than would old imperial powers such as Spain. His exploits in Cuba helped make him McKinley’s choice as running mate in 1900. Less than a year after McKinley won reelection, he was assassinated by an anarchist, and Theodore Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fully embrace the

Roosevelt (center) charges with his Rough Riders, most of whom actually fought on foot.

nation’s role as a world power. ■ U's A. /J

0 ERA: AGE

OF

IMPERIALISM

WORLD

SURVEY

T

1750-1917 he forces of imperialism,

■ Alaska

cils called zemstva that could set

industrialization, and inde¬

On March 30,1867, U.S. Secretary

regional policies. He reformed

pendence swept around

of State William Seward bought

laws, eliminating corporal punish¬

the globe from 1800 to 1900.

615,230 square miles of Alaska

ment. State-sponsored education

Some countries gained ground,

from Russia for 7.2 million dollars.

spread, and literacy increased. The

others lost it; some fought to

With the decline of the fur trade,

military, which had suffered dur¬

retain their nationhood, while oth¬

the new territory was widely re¬

ing the Crimean War, instituted

ers changed hands.

garded as useless, and the public

promotion by merit. And the vast

derisively referred to it as “Seward’s

trans-Siberian railroad was built,

Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox.”

stimulating the country’s economy.

■ Canada By the mid-19th century, Canada

Over the next 30 years, a few

But the tsar’s greatest reform was

existed as a number of separate

white settlers moved to Alaska, but

the emancipation of Russia’s tens

provinces. As immigrants moved in,

the U.S. generally ignored its new

of millions of serfs in 1861. The

as the power of the U.S. grew, and

holdings until 1897. In that year

serfs also received land. The eman¬

as Canadian politicians saw the

news of a gold strike in Canada’s

cipation did not eliminate social

need to secure the northwest for

Klondike region, followed by dis¬

injustices in Russia, but it did win

expansion, a coalition of Canadian

coveries of gold in Nome and Fair¬

Alexander a legacy as a reformer.

leaders agreed to form a union. In

banks, triggered a massive gold

1867 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,

rush. With virtually no local gov¬

■ Mexico

and Canada East and West (now

ernment in place, Alaska was in

After losing territory to the U.S. in

Quebec and Ontario) became the

chaos. In the next few years it finally

1848, Mexico was in disarray. Lib¬

Dominion of Canada under the

gained a criminal code, a taxation

erals

British North America Act. In 1869

system, and plans for an internal

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and.

the country purchased the North¬

railroad. In 1906 it received a ter¬

drove him from power in 1855. A

west Territories from the Hudson’s

ritorial representative in Congress.

few years later, Benito Juarez, a lib¬

Bay Company, and in 1871 British

turned

against

President

eral of Zapotec Indian descent, ■ Russia

became

With the addition of western

Nineteenth-century Russia had

ahead with a controversial program

lands, a transcontinental railway

fallen behind its European coun¬

of reforms that included separating

became a primary goal. The Cana¬

terparts socially, politically, and

church and state and confiscating

Columbia joined the union.

president and

pressed

dian Pacific Railway reached Van¬

technologically.

Tsar

church property not used for wor¬

couver in 1887, giving the country

Alexander II came to power intent

ship. In 1860 Juarez defeated Mex¬

access to the Pacific. Between 1891

on change. In his 26-year reign

ican conservatives who revolted

and 1914 more than three million

Alexander greatly reformed and

against his policies, but rebels in

immigrants followed the railway,

modernized Russian society. He

exile then encouraged the French

settling east to west.

created local elected political coun¬

Emperor

In

1855

- 276 -

Louis

Napoleon

to

intervene on their behalf. In 1861,

intervention in the Americas. In

took a number of military, social,

after Juarez suspended payment of

1866 Napoleon bowed to U.S. pres¬

and economic reforms. He mod¬

foreign debts, France, Britain, and

sure and withdrew his forces; Juarez

ernized the army, expanded indus¬

Spain sent troops to Mexico. Britain

regained power and captured Max¬

try, and increased production of

and Spain soon withdrew, but

imilian, who was tried by court-

crops such as cotton and indigo.

French forces persisted. On May

martial and executed.

5, 1862, Mexican troops repulsed

After Ali’s death in 1849, his suc¬ cessors, known as the khedives,

the French in the Battle of Puebla—

■ Egypt

were unable to continue his reforms

a victory that inspired the Mexi¬

The history of Egypt in the 19th

and began to fall into debt to Euro¬

can festival known as Cinco de

century can be divided into two

pean financiers. This debt was

Mayo (Fifth of May).

parts—before the Suez Canal and

greatly increased by the cost of the

Louis

Napoleon

sent

more

after the Suez Canal.

Suez Canal, which was completed

troops. They captured Mexico City

In the first part of the 1800s the

in 1869. Eventually, Egypt was

and installed Napoleon’s puppet,

Ottoman Turks joined the British

forced to sell many of its shares in

Prince Maximilian of Austria, as

in ousting Napoleon’s troops from

the canal to the British. Increasingly,

emperor. Juare£ continued to wage

Egypt. In following years, a forward-

Egypt came under European dom¬

guerrilla warfare against the regime

looking soldier, Muhammad Ali,

ination. Nationalists staged a revolt

with support from the U.S., which

became pasha. After eliminating the

against the outsiders in 1882, but

had protested the French occupa¬

Mamluks, Ottoman vassals that had

were crushed by British forces. By

tion as a violation of the Monroe

controlled Egypt before Napoleon’s

1900 Britain was in firm control of

Doctrine, prohibiting European

invasion, Muhammad Ali under¬

the country. ■

ERA: GLOBAL

CONFLICT

T

Global Conflict 1900-1945 he 20th century, especially in Europe and America, dawned in promise tempered

by apprehension as a Victorian-era worldview collided with new realities—strange, even threatening—that had already begun to supplant the old and familiar. Industri¬

alization jeopardized craftsmanship. Women were restive, agitating for the vote. Authors wrote of estrangement from an unwinding society. Yet there was much to wonder at. Only just into the new century, a couple of Americans proved that humans could fly. The horseless car¬ riage gradually came to be seen not as a cart missing its four-legged motor, but as rapid trans¬ portation for everyman. As people struggled with such developments, undercurrents of political self-determination and nationalism surfaced around the world. In their wake came upheaval and violence on a scale never before seen as the world plunged into a conflict hopefully described at its conclusion as “the war to end all wars.” An economic cataclysm soon followed the mil¬ itary one, as the injurious effects of a collapse in the United States’ economy spread relentlessly around the world. Throwing millions out of work, the Great Depression created global dis¬ content that fostered the visions of two of history’s wickedest dictators. Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union was one. The other was Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany’s Third Reich, who almost Single-handedly dragged the world into a conflict even deadlier ,

.

i

i

i

i

i •

sumed in flames during the Nazi invasion of

than the one that had ended just two decades before.

■

1903

Wilbur and Orville Wright become the first to achieve sustained controlled flight in a heavier-than-air craft.

■

1908

Henry Ford introduces the Model T; whose assembly-line produc¬ tion makes it ubiqui¬ tous on American roadways.

■

Norway in April 1940.

■

1914

Serbian nationalists assassinate Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

278

German infantrymen sprint pasta building con-

1917

In April the U.S. enters World War I. Six months later, V. I. Lenin instigates a Bolshevik coup against the provi¬ sional government of Russia and declares a Communist state.

■

1919

The Treaty of Versailles ends World War I, extracting billions in reparations from a defeated Germany.

■

1922

Fascism is on the rise as Benito Mussolini marches on Rome in October.

■

1929

Buoyed by speculation with borrowed money, the U.S. stock market crashes in October, beginning the slide into the Great Depression.

■

■

1932

New Zealand scientist Ernest Rutherford splits the atom, becoming the first to create a nuclear reaction.

27 9

1939

World War II begins when Germany invades Poland. Two years later, Japan draws in the U.S. by attacking its fleet at Pearl Harbor, turning the tide of war.

■

1945

Germany surrenders; Japan follows after atomic bombs destroy the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

GLOBAL

CONFLICT:

its cylinders rather than outside, as

1 900-1 945

most steam engines do. In 1878, German inventor Niko¬

Revolution in Transit

laus Otto devised the first success¬ ful internal combustion motor, which Gottlieb Daimler subse¬ quently developed into the fore¬ runner of today’s gasoline engine. Daimler adapted a horse-drawn carriage

1900-1930

I

to

accommodate

his

single-cylinder motor, thereby build¬ ing the first four-wheel automobile.

N THE WORLD OF TRANSPORTA-

America’s first family car, and the

In 1889 he installed a two-cylinder

tion, 1903 was a prophetic year.

Wright Flyer, as the first self-

motor in a vehicle built from

Henry Ford established the

propelled aircraft was named,

the ground up as an automobile.

Ford Motor Company in Detroit,

would evolve into aerial con¬

Equipped with a four-speed trans¬

Michigan, and on December 17

veyances that would shrink the

mission, it could chug along at 10

near Kitty7 Hawk, North Carolina,

Earth. Around the world in 80

miles an hour.

Orville Wright became the first per¬

days? Try less than eight days.

son to pilot an aircraft other than a balloon in powered flight.

Aircraft and automobiles are

In the early 1900s the horse still reigned, and automobiles were

possible due to the internal com¬

It would be difficult to overstate

bustion engine, which got its start

the significance of these events.

in Europe in the latter part of the

Ford’s Model T would become

19th centurv and burns fuel inside

An airship noses out of a Dosseldorf hangar in 1914. Germany pioneered commercial avia¬ tion with such aircraft and commissioned 126 of them for use in World War I.

expensive, unpopular, and fragile.

that propelled the car to speeds

The cheapest car cost twice a

above a hundred miles an hour.

worker’s annual pay, which bought

And it carried a 15-year warranty.

an incomplete vehicle without

NOTABLE DATES

■

1903

On December 17, Orville and Wilbur Wright become the first to fly an air¬ plane. Henry Ford establishes the Ford Motor Company.

bumpers or headlights (purchased

Earthbound No More

separately). Cars were smelly and

In 1901, when the Ford Motor

noisy, prompting attempts in some

Company was merely a gleam in

cities to ban them. They hadn’t the

Henry Ford’s eye, Wilbur and

■

power to climb a steep hill, and they

Orville Wright, bicycle-building

broke down regularly.

brothers from Ohio, were deeply

William C. Durant combines Buick, Cadillac, and Oidsmobiie to farm General Motors.

1908

But this would pass. By 1913,

immersed in the mysteries of flight.

the American demand for cars

In a wind tunnel of their own

prompted Ford to boost produc¬

■

design, they were testing model glid¬

tion with the first continuously

ers, trying to develop a full-size

moving assembly line. While Ford

wing that produced sufficient lift to

French pilot Louts Bleriot is the first to fly an airplane across the English Channel, a distance of 24 miles.

concentrated on cars for every-

stay airborne.

man—“I will build a car for the

Succeeding in that, they tackled

great multitude,” he had promised

perhaps the thorniest issue con¬

in 1903—others aimed for speed

fronting them—-how to control an

and luxury.

aircraft in flight. In 1902 the Wright

■

1909

1911

Cal Rodgers completes the first trans¬ continental flight between New York and Pasadena, California. The trip takes 49 days, many of which are spent in repairs after 16 crashes.

In 1908 Italy produced the Isotta

brothers solved that problem as

Fraschini Tipo FE car. With a four-

well, producing a manned glider

■

cylinder engine developing a mere

that would climb, dive, and turn at

eight horsepower, the Tipo FE had

the will of the pilot.

Henry Ford adds a moving assembly line in his factory.

a top speed of 56 miles an hour. By

The next year the Wrights built

1926 French manufacturer Bugatti

a lightweight gasoline motor and

had built the Type 35B. With a

a new aircraft to mount it on, and

supercharger to pump more fuel

they took their flying machine, dis¬

into itsl30-horsepower engine, this

assembled, to Kill Devil Hills, near

fabled machine could accelerate to

Kitty Hawk on North Carolina’s

130 miles an hour.

Outer Banks. There, on December

On the luxury front, Cadillac

17,1903, Orville piloted the Wright

came out with the Model 30 in

Flyer a grand distance of 120 feet.

1912. Chief among its innovations

The brothers had achieved what

was the Delco electrical system,

had eluded all others: sustained,

which included a battery to power

controlled, powered flight of a

electric lights and the piece de

heavier-than-air machine.

starter

Where the Wright brothers led,

motor. The days of hand cranking

others soon followed. Not three

the engine were numbered. The

years later, Parisian Alberto Santos-

1929 Duesenburg J was the premier

Dumont, a Brazilian by birth and

automobile of its era. Beautifully

well experienced in lighter-than-air

customized, fast, and fabulously

conveyances called dirigibles, flew

expensive—$ 18,000 when the first

an aircraft of his own design 240

orders were taken—the Duesen¬

yards at an altitude of 20 feet and

burg had a 265-horsepower engine

a speed of 23 miles an hour.

resistance—an

electric

-281 -

■

1913

1923

U.S. Army Air Service pilots Oakley Kelly and John McReady fly a Fokker T-2 nonstop across the United States in just under 27 hours.

■

1924

Model T automobiles account for onehalf of the world's vehicles.

■

1926

Francis Davis, co-inventor of practical power steering, first installs the system on a 1921 Pierce Arrow. Power steering would not become commonplace in cars until the 1950s.

■

1927

Charles Lindbergh claims the Orteig Prize with his awe-inspiring solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.

Vimy, the largest biplane built in England, in 1917. Such flying machines could take on extra fuel instead of bombs, greatly increas¬ ing their range, perfect for the broad expanses of water that seemed a special attraction for aviators. Less than a year after the end of World War I, two Royal Air Force pilots, John Alcock and A. W. Brown, became the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic. After taking off from Newfoundland in a modified Vimy bomber, they crash-landed in an Irish bog just a little more than 16 hours later.

Lucky Lindy Flies All Alone Ground crew push Charles Lindbergh's plane, the Spirit of St Louis, into position for takeoff on his epochal 1927 solo flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France.

Corps Airplane No. 1, it was the

But all this was mere prelude to the

world’s first military aircraft, but by

greatest aeronautical achievement

no means the last. Just five years

between the two World Wars:

later, Europe would be embroiled

Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight from

French inventor Louis Bleriot

in World War I, and aircraft would

New York to Paris in May 1927.

developed a monoplane with a 28-

see extensive use, first in recon¬

Lindbergh was a mail pilot in

horsepower engine in 1909. In it he

naissance and then in combat.

made the first flight across the Eng¬

In wartime, technology often

lish Channel—a 24-mile excursion

advances rapidly, and aviation in

that took 37 minutes.

World War I was no exception. Air¬

1926. Some years earlier, Raymond Orteig, a New York hotelier, had

Harriet Quimby

An alternative to heavier-than-

planes flew progressively higher and

air flight was the airship, in essence

faster. Armament evolved from an

a balloon filled, at this time, with

occasional brick thrown by one

hydrogen and outfitted with engines

pilot at another, to pistols, and on

and rudders for steering. German

to machine guns firing between

airships, called zeppelins after their

spinning propeller blades. Airplanes

—Harriet Quimby after her solo flight

inventor Count Ferdinand von Zep¬

made heroes of some pilots. Man¬

across the English Channel

pelin, are perhaps the best known.

fred von Richthofen, Germany’s

In 1910 Germany established the

Red Baron, shot down an amazing

adventurous New York magazine

world’s first well-financed airline

80 enemy planes. America’s top

writer, became the first American

company. Called Delag, it operated

World War I ace, Eddie Ricken-

woman to earn a flying license.

four airships that, during the next

backer, destroyed 26.

five years, carried some 34,000 pas¬ sengers on 1,588 flights.

Aircraft became larger in order

I

was annoyed from the start by the attitude of doubt on the part of the spectators that I would never really

make the flight."

In 1911 36-year-old Harriet Quimby, an

The following year she sailed for France to meet aviator Louis Bleriot, from whom she borrowed an airplane

to carry heavy payloads of bombs

to become the first woman to fly across

In 1909, just a year before Delag

to drop on enemy trenches. Ger¬

the English Channel. Quimby took off

began carrying passengers, the U.S.

many had the Gotha bomber, which

from Dover, England, on a foggy April

Army had purchased an improved

carried a crew of three. Great

Wright Flyer. Designated Signal

Britain’s Vickers Ltd. introduced the 282

morning. Only 59 minutes later she touched down on a French beach.

offered a standing prize of $25,000 to the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. Several pilots had died in their

Mass Production Comes of Age

efforts to claim the prize, but Lind¬ bergh was undaunted. He secured

As HAVE MANY OTHER TITANS OF INDUSTRY, HENRY FORD DEPENDED

/ % on inventors who had preceded him in developing his revolu-

financial backing from a consor¬ tium of St. Louis businessmen, and in early 1927 he commissioned the Ryan Aircraft Company of San Diego, California, to produce a custom-built plane. Ready in just 60 days, it was named the Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh favored max¬ imum fuel capacity for his plane, sacrificing comfort and safety fea¬ tures to get it. When he took off for New York in Spirit, its huge fuel tanks blocked his view.

tionary advances in mass production. Eli Whitney had come -A.

JL. up with a device that followed a pattern to shape parts so

nearly identical to each other that they could be used interchangeably in larger assembly—guns for the U.S. Army, in Whitney’s case. Called the milling machine, Whitney’s invention made mass production possible by substituting unskilled machinery operators for master crafts¬ men who, try as they might, could not reproduce parts accurately enough for one to be used in place of another. Nor did Ford invent the assem¬ bly line. George Eastman used an assembly line of sorts to develop film and print pictures, and Ransome Olds, father of the Oldsmobile, first adapted the

The morning of May 20 arrived cold and rainy at Long Island’s Roosevelt Field. Despite having not slept in 30 hours, Lindbergh taxied his plane onto the soggy,

idea to automobile production. Ford’s contribution was to animate the assembly line with a conveyor belt, which brings work to the workers at a steady

grass airstrip and gunned the

pace without interruption. When

engine. So heavily laden with fuel

the moving assembly line was

was the Spirit of St. Louis that it

inaugurated in 1913, it allowed

barely cleared the telegraph wires

the Ford Motor Company to bolt

off the end of the airstrip. Fending

together a Model T in 728 min¬

off sleep the entire flight, Lind¬

utes. In less than two years, the

bergh spotted the glowing lights of

time required to produce a car dropped to 93 minutes. Later, the inter¬

Paris after dark on the evening of

val between Model Ts dropped to a mere 24 seconds. This huge increase

May 21 and landed at Le Bourget

in productivity helped Ford reduce the price of a Model T from $950

aerodrome. He had been airborne

in 1908 to as low as $280 during its 19-year production run.

33.5 hours. Lindbergh

Henry Ford pilots the first horseless carriage he ever built along a street in Detroit, Michigan,

The conveyor-belt assembly line had some drawbacks. The men who became

famous

labored there found the work tedious and monotonous. Furthermore,

overnight—among other things a

Ford gradually increased the speed of the conveyor system to raise

popular dance, the Lindy, was

production. The result was huge turnover in the labor force. To stanch

named

feat

the hemorrhage of workers, Ford in 1914 more than doubled the then

focused public attention on the air¬

prevalent wage to five dollars a day and reduced the workday from

plane as never before. There can

nine hours to eight. These high wages—perhaps industry’s first “golden

be little doubt that Lindbergh’s

handcuffs”—assured a ready supply of labor, and the shorter working

flight in the Spirit of St. Louis

hours, besides appealing to the employees, allowed Ford to run his fac¬

opened the public’s eyes to the

tory three shifts each day instead of two, increasing by one-third the

potential of air travel as had no ear¬

number of cars he could produce in a 24-hour period. ■

for him—and

his

lier aeronautical achievement. ■ {283

A GLOBAL

CONFLICT:

1900-1945

On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. World War I had begun.

The Point of No Return Serbia hardly seemed likely to spark

World War I

the conflagration that would soon spread far and wide. Landlocked and agrarian, Serbia was a poor country and a hotbed of national¬

1914-1918

D

ism—at best a prize of questionable value. Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm

uring the opening years

The act of terrorism for which

did not expect that a wider war

|of the 20th century, civil

the Black Hand is most infamous

would evolve when he encouraged

unrest was much in the air.

is the assassination of Archduke

Austria-Hungary to act against Ser¬

Revolutions occurred in Russia

Franz Ferdinand. Heir to the throne

bia after the assassination of the

(1905-07), Turkey (1908), Mexico

of Austria-Hungary, the archduke

archduke in Sarajevo.

(1910), and China (1911). These

was to visit the Bosnian city of Sara¬

War spread like a virulent infec¬

revolutions had mostly local con¬

jevo on June 28, 1914, to inspect

tion because of a system of alliances

sequences. But another, founded on

nearby military maneuvers. The

established

the nationalistic aspirations of Serbs

Black Hand determined to kill him,

in the Balkans, would plunge the

despite the Serbian government’s

world into a cauldron of conflict. In 1903 Serbian army officers

fear that the murder could result in war with Austria-Hungary.

killed King Alexander, an unpopu¬

As the archduke and his wife

lar autocrat of the first order, and

motored through Sarajevo, a con¬

established a democracy. Impelled

spirator lobbed a grenade at his

by nationalistic fervor, the govern¬

open car. His driver swerved, and

ment sowed unrest among Serbs in

the missile hit the side of the car,

neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina

injuring several officers riding in

and Austria-Hungary in an effort

attendance. When Franz Ferdinand

to unite all Serbs into a single state.

left the hospital after he visited the

To prevent this outcome, Austria-

injured members of his party, his

Hungary invaded Bosnia in 1908.

car happened to pass by one of

Three years later 11 Serbs, in¬

the conspirators. He fired a pistol,

cluding army officers of high rank

killing the archduke and his wife.

and some government officials,

When Austria demanded that Ser¬

formed the Black Hand secret

bia hand over the perpetrators,

society. Its intent was to unify all

Prime Minister Pasic refused, say¬

Serbs through the violence of ter¬

ing that doing so “would be a

rorism. Within three years, the

violation of Serbia’s Constitution

Black Hand had established a

and criminal law.”

strong network of revolutionary cells throughout Bosnia and had more than 2,500 members, most of them junior officers in the army.

Kneeling on platforms built into a barge, Ser¬ bian marksmen fire at Austrian soldiers entrenched on the banks of the Danube River as the vessel floats downriver.

284

between

European

countries in years past. Russia,

majority of its army through Bel¬

although not formally allied with

gium to defeat France from the

NOTABLE DATES

Serbia, supported that country in

north before Russia had a chance

its argument with Austria-Hungary

■

to mobilize. With France subdued,

and mobilized its armed forces

Germany calculated that Britain

upon learning of the declaration of

and Russia would stay out of the

war. But a secret agreement, known

conflict. France had Plan XVII, by

as the Triple Alliance, which dated

which it earmarked four military

back to 1882, obliged Germany,

divisions to recapture Alsace and

Austria-Hungary,

Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassi¬ nated. Austria-Hungary, Germany, Rus¬ sia, France, and Great Britain become major players as war begins. President Woodrow Wilson asserts U.S. neutrality, japan enters the war against Germany. Germans rout the Russians in the Battle of Tannenberg. The German advance against the French stops at the Marne River. Trench warfare begins. The Ottoman Empire sides with Germany.

Italy to

Lorraine, provinces lost to Ger¬

defend each other against attack

and

many in 1871, after the Franco-

from Russia or France. Thus Ger¬

Prussian War.

1914

many declared war, first on Russia,

Neither plan survived contact

then on France. Germany’s invasion

with the enemy. After a month of

■

of Belgium on August 4, 1914,

battle, French opposition to the

brought Great Britain into the war.

German advance halted it well short

Germany and France in parti¬

of Paris. German defenders turned

German submarines fill British waters. Britain blockades German ports. On the Eastern front, Germany expels Russia from Poland. Italy attacks Austria-Hungary, ending its alliance with Germany.

cular had detailed war plans for just

back the French in Alsace-Lorraine.

this eventuality. The Schlieffen Plan

Mutually thwarted, the two sides

called for Germany to send the vast

dug in—the Germans to defend

■

1915

1916

In the war's longest battle, Germany attacks at Verdun in February; the conflict rages six months. British and German navies fight to a draw in the Battle of Jutland, the only major naval engagement of the war. Russians defeat Turks in the Caucasus. Lawrence of Arabia engineers revolt against Turks in the Middle East. Battle of the Somme sees first use of tanks; there are 60,000 British casualties on the first day alone.

■

1917

German U-boats begin unrestricted attacks on shipping. The U.S. declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. Lenin arrives in Petrograd. The First Division becomes the first U.S. unit to reach France. British forces capture Jerusalem.

■

1918

Germany launches spring offensive to reverse setbacks of 1917. U.S. troops win their first major battle, at Cantigny. French and American troops open the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the Allies' last major push, Kaiser Wilhelm abdi¬ cates as Germany falters. The new Republic of Germany signs an armistice. 285

MAJOR BATTLES A'**

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The Allied nations and Central powers clashed throughout Europe and beyond. Major battles on the Western Front appear in the inset.

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