Study questions for Jones Intro and Chapters 1 Readings: Jones, Eric. (2003). The European Miracle: Environments, Economies and Geopolitics in the History of Europe and Asia. pp xxii xxxv, Chapter 1 Sample Objective section questions 1. Place check marks ( ) in the table below to describe Jones view of pre-industrial Europe. How did Europe compare to China (and to some extent India and the Middle East) according to Jones during the period of roughly 1100 1600? Pre-industrial ( 1100 1600 ) Europe v China according to Jones Characteristic Europe It s a tie! China Higher average living standard Greater gap between rich and poor More domestic animals per capita (and larger animals) Cattle, not pigs, dominate Greater energy production & use per person Many resources are available from hinterlands and colonies. Greater rate of parasite infestation (parasites infecting humans) More very large public government works Greater population density r-strategy adopted (re-productive strategy) K-strategy adopted (re-productive strategy) High birth rates Marriage typically comes at a relatively young age Very severe natural disasters Nuclear families, rather than extended families, are the main unit Don t take risks. The key to survival is strategies that ensure someone in the family will survive natural disasters. 1
# s 2 7 are more from the lectures that will accompany the Jones readings than from the readings themselves. 2. What is the name of part 1, part 2, and part 3, of the plow shown at right? Don t worry about part 4. 3. Assuming the plow is used in England, to what era does the plow most likely belong? a. the pre-roman era b. the Roman era c. the Middle Ages d. the late 1800 s after the advent of the farm tractor 4. It s the year 1000 AD and you are watching a plow being pulled across a field in France. What is most likely pulling this plow? Put yer backs into it ye mangy curs, a. a team of draft gerbils or back in the plastic ball ye go!!! b. a team of oxen c. a team of humans d. a team of draft horses e. a steam powered tractor f. a rope that goes around a tree (to change direction) then winds around the axle of a water wheel 5. It s the year 1670 AD and you are watching a plow being pulled across a field in France. What is most likely pulling this plow? axleman a. a team of draft gerbils b. a team of oxen c. a team of humans plowman rope d. a team of draft horses bucket plow boy e. a steam powered tractor f. a rope that goes around a tree (to change direction) then winds around the axle of a water wheel 6. Which of the following are advantages horses have over oxen as draft animals? Check ( ) any and all that apply. Members of the opposite sex dig horses. If you are a medieval babe and want to date a medieval dude, show up to his house with a pair of horses. Same thing if you are medieval dude wooing a medieval babe, medieval hermaphrodite wooing, etc.. Horses are cheaper to feed and care for. Hay is for Horses. Oats are for Oxen. Horses can work much longer hours than oxen. Horses can pull faster, therefore allowing them to plow more in a work day. 2
7. Which of the following is an advantage oxen have over horses as draft animals? Check ( ) any and all that apply. Members of the opposite sex dig oxen. If you are a medieval babe and want to date a medieval dude, show up to his house with a pair of oxen. Same thing if you are medieval dude wooing a medieval babe, medieval hermaphrodite wooing, etc. Oxen are cheaper to feed and care for. Oxen, especially bullocks (steers) also give milk. Oxen can pull faster, therefore allowing them to plow more in a work day. Back to questions you should be able to get after reading Jones Intro & chapter 1. 8. Jones is talking about Oriental Despotism again. To which area(s) does he apply the term? Check ( ) any and all that apply. Medieval China Medieval India Medieval France Medieval Northern Italy Medieval England Medieval Sweden Dr. Tochkov s Asian Economics course 9. On the map of Asia below, indicate (draw a line around) at least 3 Core areas as defined in lecture. Also indicate the name of each core (ex. Russia, Atlantis, New Zealand, etc.). A very cool and large map of Asia goes here. 10. On the map of Europe below, indicate (draw a line around) at least 3 Core areas as defined in lecture. Also indicate the name of each core (ex. Russia, Atlantis, New Zealand, etc.). A very cool and large map of Europe goes here. 11. During the High and Late Middle Ages ( 1000 AD 1450 AD), technological progress in Europe was: a. almost non-existent. The technology at the end of the period was almost identical to that at the beginning of the period. b. was overall negative. Many arts were forgotten and many advanced techniques fell into disuse over the period. c. was relatively high and steady for human history prior to the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Industrialization. d. was relatively high and steady even when compared to the modern era. 12. Yikes! You are living in England and a bunch of Viking raiders have just landed. There here to pillage, loot, and pirate some DVDs. Ok. Just kidding about the DVDs. What is the mostly likely year? This one is a bit more from lecture than the readings. a. 300 AD b. 600 AD c. 900 AD d. 1200 AD e. 1450 AD f. 1970, 74, 75, and 77 AD (the Minnesota Vikings 4 Super Bowl appearances) 3
13. Ou-oh! Instead of studying, you spent the weekend watching re-runs of the Vikings 4 Super Bowl appearances. Now you are in your European History class and the instructor is talking about the rise of Nation-States in Western Europe. What time period is she most likely talking about? a. 100-250 AD b. 850 1000 AD c. 1350-1500 AD d. 1946-1990 AD 14 22. Indicate the characteristics of each region according to Jones. Place a check ( ) in each row. The first one has been done for you. Characteristic during the Middle Ages Europe Asia 13.5. Rhymes with stirrup sort of 14. Higher average incomes 15. Greater income inequality 16. Rulers have more absolute power 17. States have more contact & competition with their neighbors 18. States are typically larger in size 19. Empires are more typical and stable 20. There are only a few relatively large natural geographic cores 21. Higher birth rates. 22. Older average age at 1st marriage 23. In his book, The European Miracle, Jones puts forth a major thesis, one that we will not examine in depth this semester. What is that thesis? a. The different disaster environments of Europe and Asia (ex. local floods & fires vs country wide typhoons) resulted in two different types of states. b. By random chance, European written languages were based on alphabets whereas many Asian languages were logographic, i.e. based on pictures and symbols. The greater flexibility of the alphabet system made it easier for Europe to store and disseminate learning. c. China and India suffered from a 1 st mover disadvantage. They expended great effort to invent new technologies, whereas Europe could copy these technology with little cost. Also, China and India became accustomed the 1 st iteration of their inventions. Europe, in contrast, saw the inventions with an open eye and made many minor improvements. d. The Muslim world, in effect, sacrificed itself to save Europe. In the 1200s, the Muslim Abbasid fought the Mongols and stopped them from entering Europe. No one stopped the Mongols from entering China. Later, the Muslim Ottoman Empire defeated the Byzantine Empire and thereby took pressure off of Western Europe. 4
24. The Black Death was pretty rough on Europe. Estimates are that between about 1347 and 1350, the Black Death killed almost half of the population of western Europe according to recent estimates. Is there any way, posited by some historians, in which the Black Death may have actually benefited Europe? a. Yes. The bacteria that caused the Black Death, killed off another bacteria which was potentially even more fatal and fast spreading. The Black Death protected Europe from the White Horror. b. Yes. The Black Death shrunk the size of European armies and thereby reduced warfare in Europe for the next century or so. Many have argued that, considering the entire period from 1347 to 1500, the Black Death saved more lives than it cost. c. Yes. The Black Death destroyed people but not land or physical capita. The survivors had much more land and capital per person as a result. This allowed them to, after the initial shock of the Black Death, live much better. d. No way. They call it the Black Death after all. It s not the Black Hurt feelings that I ll soon get over. 25. Check out the political map on the following page. Fill in the names of each of today s European countries. You can write the name of each country on the map and/or make a key below the map (ex. 35: Albania) Note: On an exam I will NOT ask for any of the following countries: Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad (actually part of the Russia), Belarus, Moldavia, Romania, Bulgaria (sorry Dr. Tochkov), Macedonia, Albania (sorry Dr. Nikaj), Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, or Vatican City, Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, and Atlantis. 26. Jones roughly defines Western Europe as Europe north and west of a line drawn from Trieste to Leningrad. Figure out where Trieste and Leningrad are. Hint: Leningrad was called Saint Petersburg prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Maybe the name was changed back after the fall of the Soviet Union. 27. Now, draw a line from Trieste to Leningrad. 27. Next, draw a line from Trieste to Gdansk. This line is sometimes used by historians as a rough demarcation between Western Europe and the Rest of Europe 28. One last line. Draw a line from Trieste to Riga. This line is sometimes used by historians as a rough demarcation between Western Europe and the Rest of Europe 5
Sample Essay question Just something to ponder for now. I ll give you a list of possible essay questions about 1 week prior to our exam 1. 1. Why, according to Jones, were the various Chinese dynasties so much larger, in terms of land and people under their control, than political units in Europe? 6