Lesson
2 Cultural Diffusion
What You Will Learn
To describe ways in which people
spread their ideas across the earth
Reading Strategy
Create a flowchart like the one
below. List in order the process by
which Islamic culture spread
around the world.
S
omeone once said, “There is nothing so powerful as an idea
whose time has come.” The person meant that when people
are ready to accept a new idea, great changes can take place.
The world in which we live has been greatly affected by the
spread of ideas. With those ideas have come many other things:
religions, foods, types of clothing, laws, and languages, to name a
few. The greater part of the earth’s surface has been affected by
the spread of cultures, or cultural diffusion. When people move
to a new area they take their culture, or way of life, with them.
Two cultures largely shaped the world we live in today: the European culture and the Islamic culture.
The Islamic Culture
Terms to Know
cultural diffusion
The Islamic culture began in Southwest Asia. It started with a
religion, Islam, whose major prophet was an Arab trader named
Muhammad. Muhammad died in A.D. 632. Then his followers,
called Muslims, began to spread Islam to other lands. In little more
than a hundred years Muslims ruled countries from Spain to India.
Later Islam spread still farther, as you can see from Map 6-2.
Soldiers, scholars, and traders helped spread Islam to other
parts of the world. And many people were willing to accept Islam.
The religion stressed equality of all people, so any person could
become a Muslim. Many people joined the new religion. They
brought their own ideas and way of life with them. Muslims borrowed ideas from the many cultures of the lands they ruled. The
Islamic culture became a mixture of the ideas from many different
groups of people.
Location played an important part in the spread of Islam. Look
at Map 6-2 which shows the spread of Islam. The first Islamic
countries were between Europe, to the west, and India and China,
to the east. At this time Europe was made up of many small lands
ruled by kings. Most of the people were poor, and life was hard. At
this same time, China was the center of a great culture which had
books, fine silk, spices, gold, and many other riches.
A traveler from Europe named Marco Polo visited China from
1271 to 1295. After he returned to Europe, he wrote a book about
his trip. As people read his book and became familiar with this
new land, they wanted the riches of China. So trade began between
Europe and China. As you can see from the map, this trade had to
go through the hands of the Muslims. The Muslims became rich
and very powerful from the profits they made from this trade.
Such wealth and power allowed them to spread their culture.
LESSON 2 Cultural Diffusion
199
Map 6-2
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Spread of Islam to 1500
EUROPE
ea
nS
ia
sp
Ca
N
Black Sea
E
S
Mediterranean Sea
SY
RI
A
W
ASIA
RUSSIA
PERSIA
CHINA
ea
dS
Re
ARABIA
Makkah
(Mecca)
Ruled by Muslims in 632
(death of Muhammad)
PACIFIC
OCEAN
EGYPT
AFRICA
INDIA
ARABIAN
SEA
BAY
OF
BENGAL
Expansion to 750
Expansion to 1500
Much of the world today is still influenced by
Muslim people. North Africa, Southwest Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia are all
areas where the Islamic culture is still strong.
INDIAN
OCEAN
EAST
INDIES
Gunpowder gave the Europeans a great advantage over people who were still using bows and
arrows. With guns and cannons the Europeans
were able to take control of more and more land.
The European Culture
The spread of European cultures came later than
the spread of Islamic culture. In fact, the spread of
European cultures owes much to the Muslims. It
was through the Muslims that Europeans learned
about Chinese inventions such as paper, printing,
the compass, and gunpowder. These inventions
helped Europeans grow more powerful and spread
their cultures all over the world.
The compass, for example, helped European
sailors find new trade routes to China. Once
traders from Europe could sail directly to China
from Europe, they no longer had to buy goods from
the Muslims. All the profits went to Europeans.
This helped European countries become stronger.
Paper and printing meant that Europeans could
write down their ideas and send them anywhere—
in the form of books. And having many copies of
books, printed on a printing press, instead of just
a few copies written by hand, meant that ideas
could spread much faster.
200
LESSON 2 Cultural Diffusion
European Rule
in Africa South
of the Sahara, 1914
Map 6-3
Belgium
France
Britain
Portugal
Germany
Spain
Italy
They eventually took control of whole continents: North America, South America, Africa, and
Australia.
The most important way Europeans spread
their cultures to new lands was by settling there
themselves. After 1800, millions of Europeans
moved to other lands. Between 1900 and 1914,
almost a million people left Europe each year. This
was the greatest movement of people in history.
With the Europeans came their languages, religions, and customs. The culture of the United
States, for example, is largely influenced by British
culture. In turn, the American culture is similar to
the Australian, which also came from the British.
The culture of much of Latin America comes from
Spain and Portugal. As Map 6-3 shows, many
African countries are influenced by the cultures of
the European countries that once ruled them.
Using Your Skills
Recalling Facts
Use Map 6-2, Map 6-3, and the reading to answer these questions.
1.
What is cultural diffusion?
the spread of ideas and culture as people move to new areas
2.
Describe the areas covered by the Islamic culture by 1500.
North Africa, east coast of Africa, Spain, part of southern Europe and Asia, part of India,
and the East Indies
3.
What part did location play in the spread of the Islamic culture?
Muslims lived in Southwest Asia, between Europe and China. This location between two large
regions of trade allowed Muslims to interact with both Europeans and Chinese. Islamic culture
was spread through this interaction.
4.
How did the spread of the Islamic culture help the spread of European
cultures? Europeans learned of Chinese inventions such as gunpowder, paper, printing, and the compass through
Muslims. The Europeans used these inventions to spread their culture.
5.
What was the most important way the Europeans spread their cultures?
The Europeans settled new lands and they took their culture with them.
6.
What were the only two parts of Africa south of the Sahara not ruled by
Europeans in 1914? Liberia and Ethiopia
7.
Which areas of Africa south of the Sahara were ruled by France?
West Africa
By Britain? East Africa and southern Africa
LESSON 2 Cultural Diffusion
201