o Overview
-> Crop diffusion
-> Champa rice
-> Agricultural landscapes
o Crop diffusion
-> Afro-Eurasian exchange spread crops, c. 1200-1450.
-> Merchants and migrants carried seeds and farming skills.
-> Indian Ocean links spread crops between tropical regions.
-> Bananas reached Africa from Southeast Asia before 1200.
-> Their continued spread expanded food supplies in Africa.
o Champa rice
-> Champa rice came from what is now central Vietnam.
-> Introduced to China in the 1000s, it spread after 1200.
-> Early ripening allowed multiple harvests in suitable areas.
-> Drought resistance reduced vulnerability to dry spells.
-> Irrigation and farming skills helped realize these gains.
-> Higher yields supported population growth and urbanization.
o Agricultural landscapes
-> Population growth increased demand for cultivated land.
-> Rice terraces expanded farming onto Chinese hillsides.
-> Irrigation changed water use and supported intensive crops.
-> Clearing forests for fields reduced woodland habitats.
-> Bananas supported denser settlement in parts of Africa.
-> Climate and water access limited where new crops thrived.
o Overview
-> Plague transmission
-> Black Death
-> Demographic consequences
o Plague transmission
-> Expanded trade, c. 1200-1450, also carried pathogens.
-> Mongol rule linked Eurasian routes and eased movement.
-> Caravans and ships carried infected animals and fleas.
-> Yersinia pestis bacteria caused plague, not trade itself.
-> Rodent-flea cycles helped plague persist and spread.
-> Connected ports exposed distant populations to infection.
o Black Death
-> Plague spread west across Eurasia in the 1300s.
-> Black Sea links carried plague into Mediterranean ports.
-> Europe's major outbreak occurred in 1347-1351.
-> North Africa and the Middle East also suffered epidemics.
-> European deaths totaled roughly one-third or more.
-> Mortality varied; recurrent outbreaks hindered recovery.
o Demographic consequences
-> Mass deaths reduced labor supplies and disrupted farming.
-> Abandoned fields reverted to pasture or woodland.
-> Labor scarcity raised workers' bargaining power in Europe.
-> Some elites imposed wage controls to resist higher pay.
-> Serfdom weakened in parts of Europe, not everywhere.