AMSCO 2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity Notes

1 min read•june 18, 2024

📖 AMSCO p.121 - p.126

Image Courtesy of Sandra

Crop diffusion

The emergence of trade networks allowed new types of agricultural products to spring up from Europe to the Mediterranean Basin

Important Agricultural Products

Champa rice = drought-resistant rice originating from Vietnam introduced into Champa states and given to China created through terrace farming; it also helped with population growth
Sugar and Citrus crops = new crops spread through the Arabian Peninsula along with Islam and Arabic language
Bananas = Nutrient-rich food passed to Sub-Saharan Africa from across the Indian Ocean that caused population growth
- To grow these farmers increased land cultivation which also contributed to population growth

Consequences of Exchange Networks

Environmental Degradation
- As population growth increased, pressure was placed on resources as issues like overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion
- This in turn caused some reduction in agricultural output in Europe during “Little Ice Age”
Epidemics (Disease)
- Bubonic Plague (Black Death): As trade developed across European and Asian continent, disease spread along routes as infected animals with fleas traveled across them
- Additionally, rodents spreading throughout the trade routes brought the Black Death
Population Increase
- Advancements in agricultural production led to growing populations which caused a need for more agricultural production
- Efforts to satisfy these agricultural changes led to more resources needed to sustain growing populations, which placed more pressure on resources
- These pressures caused issues like environmental degradation which could have contributed to a consequential decline in population
Relationship between Population and Agricultural Changes
- Agricultural advancements lead to population growth and as population increases the resource strain may cause a decline, and new advancements may cause the population to increase again
- This cycle repeated in a cause and effect relationship throughout this period

Term	Definition + Significance
Champa rice	Quick maturing, drought resistant rice that was given to China from modern day Vietnam (Champa state) that was viable through terrace farming which increased land use in places where land was previously thought unusable
Environmental Degradation	Environmental deterioration through depletion of resources like air & water and disturbance to environments and ecosystems
Bubonic Plague	Also known as Black Death, the disease that spread through Europe from Eurasian trade networks that killed one-third of the population and diminished the workforce necessary to sustain agricultural production
Crop migration	New crops were introduced into new areas they were not originally in due to movement of people and goods along trade routes
Agricultural advancement	New techniques such as terrace farming allowed for increased agricultural production, more capacity to feed larger populations, and sustain urban development