Agricultural and Technological Diffusion

The increase in global interaction through this time period led to the spread of agriculture and technology, and great changes throughout the world.

Origin	Diffusion	Effect
Magnetic compass from China	Europe via the Indian Ocean trade	Increase in maritime trade and exploration
Sugarcane from Southwest Asia	European Crusaders	Increases in Mediterranean island plantations and increases in slave labor
Gunpowder from China	Persia, the Middle East, and eventually Europe by the Mongols	Advances in weapon technology

Travelers

The tremendous amount of long-distance interaction in this period can be illustrated through the travels of three individuals: a Muslim scholar (Ibn Battuta), an Italian merchant (Marco Polo), and a Nestorian Christian priest (Rabban Sauma). Each traveler recorded his observations during his journeys.

	Ibn Battuta 1304–1369	Marco Polo 1253–1324	Rabban Sauma 1225–1294
Background	Muslim scholar from Morocco	Italian merchant from Venice	Nestorian Christian priest from Mongol Empire in China
Places traveled	Throughout Dar al-Islam: West Africa, India, Southeast Asia	Throughout the Silk Road to the Mongol Empire in China.	Began pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Beijing, but diverted when sent by Mongol Ilkhan of Persia to meet with kings of France and England and the pope to negotiate alliances against Muslims.
Significance	Found government positions as a qadi, or judge, throughout the lands he traveled. Demonstrated the widespread influence of Islam and increased European interest in Eastern goods.	Allowed by Kublai Khan to pursue mercantile and domestic missions throughout the empire. Increased European interest in goods from the East.	Did not succeed in attracting the support of Christian Europe to the Mongol cause. Europeans never conquered the Middle East, but instead went around it to reach the Indian Ocean.

Spread of Disease

In addition to religions, technologies, and goods, diseases spread along trade routes. Carried by infected rodents and fleas, the Black Death (bubonic plague) spread from the Yunnan region of southwest China. In the 1340s C.E., Mongols, merchants, and travelers spread the disease even farther along the trade routes west of China. Oasis towns, trading cities of Central Asia, Black Sea ports, the Mediterranean Sea, and Western Europe were all affected. Some scholars estimate that as many as 100 million people, out of a world population of 450 million, died. A third of Europe's population died in the first five years of the plague.

This seemingly apocalyptic event led to many social changes. In Western Europe, for example, the resulting labor shortage led to workers demanding higher wages. Peasants rebelled, weakening the feudal system. Antisemitism led to Jews being scapegoated for the plague, and many Jewish communities were massacred. Christians questioned their faith amid all of the death and seemingly senseless destruction. Self-flagellation (whipping oneself) became popular as a way for people to atone for their apparent sins. The Roman Catholic Church lost much of its seasoned clergy to the plague, and their replacements often lacked proper education and literacy as standards were lowered by necessity.