Mediterranean Exchange

2. Sources
David Attenborough
“The Wastes of War” – episode 3 of
The First Eden: The Mediterranean
World and Man
William H. McNeill
The Rise of the West: A History of the
Human Community
Diffusion Theory

3. Regional History
Fernand Braudel
The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean
World in the Age of Philip II
The Mediterranean legacy in Europe included
cultivated crops and its associated consumption
habits; monotheistic religion; urbanism; the
language, laws, and pretensions of the state as
mental and cultural tools; the prestige of the written
word; and the instruments of chronology.
The Mediterranean culture ceased to be dominant
in the 15th or 16th century, but the new Atlantic
culture absorbed much of it and transmitted its
elements to the Americas, and Australasia.

4. The Rise of the
West
The Mediterranean World

11. The Rise of the
West
Diffusion
Theory

12. The Rise of the
West
Diffusion Theory
Diffusion of skill and knowledge from one
community to its neighbors and neighbors’
neighbors constitutes the central process
of human history. William H. McNeill

13. The Rise of the
West
Diffusion Theory
Ever since significant differences in skills
arose among separate human groups,
borrowing back and forth has taken place
whenever someone saw a real or apparent
advantage in doing so. William H. McNeill

14. The Rise of the
West
Diffusion Theory
Sometimes . . . Ideological principles
required borrowers to deny that they had
imitated strangers.
The literary record . . . tends to divide
humankind into separate . . . watertight
compartments. William H. McNeill

15. Themes from The Wastes of War
The Taming of the Horse
Warfare and Migration
The Triumph of Islam
A militant religion
Cordoba
The Animal Myths of
Europe
Christianity and superstition
The “Dark Ages”
The Christian Crusades
Europe confronts, and learns
from, a higher civilization
Eastern animals move
West
The Black Death
The Destruction of the
Forest
Merino sheep and the
Spanish mesta
power, wealth, destruction
Warfare and more
environmental waste
The Venetian Empire
1571 - Islam repelled at
Lepanto

16. Dates from The Wastes of War
410-50 Barbarian invasions of Europe
622-32 Mohammed and rise of Islam
711 Arab invasion of Spain
1095 Pope Urban II calls 1st Crusade
1097-1271 Krak de Chevaliers
1347 Black Plague hits Europe
1571 Battle of Lepanto

18. The Rise of the
WestConsequences of Migrations
Warfare
What pushes people out of a region?
Spread of Diseases
Demography & History
Cultural & Technological Exchanges
Diffusion
From East to West
Environmental Change
Destruction by civilizations

19. The Rise of the
West
Historical Role of the Horse

20. The Rise of the
West
Economic value of animals
The Mesta

21. The Rise of the
West
Historical consequences of disease

22. The Rise of the
West
Military rise of Islam

23. The Rise of the
West
Political & economic aspects of the Crusades

24. The Rise of the
West
Lessons of
Krak de
Chevalier
•Military
•Economic
•Social

25. The Rise of the
WestConsequences
of Lepanto
•Military
•Environmental
•Political
•Follow the
money

27. The Rise of the
West
Islamic
Iberia
Spain &
Portugal

28. The Rise of the
WestTechnology transfer

29. The Rise of the
West
Europe: Ignorance &
Fear of the Natural World

30. The Rise of the
West
Destruction of
the Environment

31. The Rise of the
West
The Mediterranean World

32. The Rise of the
West

33. The Rise of the
West
The Columbian Exchange