Part Three

I am grateful that we have moved into the classical/postclassical era in part 3 of our book. The paleolithic and neolithic eras are interesting but without written words so much is unknown. As we moved into the ancient era and now into the classical/post classical era i enjoy that there are so many lessons to be learned from our ancestors.

It is interesting to see how the main trading locations for the silk roads and eventually through the Sahara desert by Camel had such a large affect on the wealth and diversity of Eurasia and Africa. A sea based trading system was created using the predictable monsoon currents. It connected people from China to Africa. Trading was used primarily for luxury goods. This is important to note because, at the time, people still produced for their own consumption. It was unlike the modern world, in that few people actually sold their own labor.

Besides the trading of luxury goods; there was a trade of ideas and religious beliefs. In this way Buddhism spread from India to China and throughout Asia. The Swahili civilization on the coast of the Indian ocean adopted Islam after being exposed to it by Arab traders. Chinese achievements such as paper making, silk production, the magnetic compass, ship building and movable type spread "as the movement of traders, soldiers, slaves, and pilgrims conveyed Chinese achievements abroad"(259).

Slavery continued during the classical era. Originally, most slaves were women. I was unaware that originally in Europe most slaves were from the Slavic speaking regions. That the word "slave" comes from the word "slav".

The shift in power between the Orthodox and Catholic churches were very interesting for me to read. Raised Catholic, I enjoy reading about our history. I was unaware how this shift in power happened as Western Europe began to resemble Europe as we are c familiar with it. I have to wonder how different the world would seem if Byzantium's Orthodox church and it's love of Greek thought had been the dominate Christian religion. Similarly, as I read ahead into chapter 11 I was surprised to see how  from the very beginning there was a rift between Islam and Judaism. Again, I have to wonder how different the world would be if the two religions had not disagreed.