Chapter 22
Historical Terms and Concepts to Know *Who, what, where, why, when, how,
so what?
Trading Cities
Macro Polo
Ibn Battuta
Mongol-Christian
Diplomacy
Rabban Sauma
Sufi Missionaries
Christian Missionaries
John of Montecorvino
Cultural Exchange
Spread of Crops
Sugarcane
Gunpowder Technologies
Little Ice Age
Bubonic Plague



Origins
Spread
Social and
Economic Effects
Population Decline
Hongwu
Ming Centralization
Mandarins and Eunuchs
Economic Recovery
Cultural Revival
Taxes and Armies
Italian States
France and England
Spain
Russia
Italian Renaissance Art
Renaissance Architecture
The Humanists
Humanist Moral Thought
Renaissance Europe and
the larger world
Zhengo He
Chinese Naval Power
Portuguese Exploration
Slave Trade
Indian Ocean Trade
Christopher Columbus
Discussion Questions
Read the selection from Ibn Battuta on page 572. What can we learn about the status of
women from this account?
Read the passage from John of Montecorvino on page 575. What brought him to China?
How successful was he in his venture and what explains the results of is efforts?
In what ways was humanism representative of the Renaissance? How was it different from
traditional European thought? Does humanism mean something different today?
Examine the map on pages 568–569. What factors explain this surge in exploration? Who
were the key figures? What was the influence of the exploration?
What was the significance of the Chinese decision to end the journeys of Zheng He? Why
did Yongle send Zheng He out in the first place? Compare Zheng He’s journeys of
exploration to their European equivalent. Why were the Chinese journeys stopped? What
did this change mean for China?
Chapter 22
Why would a relatively poor nation like Portugal have played such an important role in
exploration? Why were they the first of the European nations to explore? Why did they
stop?
Discussion Questions
Read the selection from Ibn Battuta on page 572. What can we learn about the status of
women from this account?
Read the passage from John of Montecorvino on page 575. What brought him to China?
How successful was he in his venture and what explains the results of is efforts?
In what ways was humanism representative of the Renaissance? How was it different from
traditional European thought? Does humanism mean something different today?
Examine the map on pages 568–569. What factors explain this surge in exploration? Who
were the key figures? What was the influence of the exploration?
What was the significance of the Chinese decision to end the journeys of Zheng He? Why
did Yongle send Zheng He out in the first place? Compare Zheng He’s journeys of
exploration to their European equivalent. Why were the Chinese journeys stopped? What
did this change mean for China?
Why would a relatively poor nation like Portugal have played such an important role in
exploration? Why were they the first of the European nations to explore? Why did they
stop?
Historical Terms and Concepts to Know *Who, what, where, why, when, how,
so what?
Trading Cities
Macro Polo
Ibn Battuta
Mongol-Christian
Diplomacy
Rabban Sauma
Sufi Missionaries
Christian Missionaries
John of Montecorvino
Cultural Exchange
Spread of Crops
Sugarcane
Gunpowder Technologies
Little Ice Age
Bubonic Plague
 Origins
 Spread
 Social and
Economic Effects
Population Decline
Hongwu
Ming Centralization
Mandarins and Eunuchs
Economic Recovery
Cultural Revival
Taxes and Armies
Italian States
France and England
Spain
Russia
Italian Renaissance Art
Renaissance Architecture
The Humanists
Humanist Moral Thought
Renaissance Europe and
the larger world
Zhengo He
Chinese Naval Power
Portuguese Exploration
Chapter 22
Slave Trade
Indian Ocean Trade
Christopher Columbus