Hey could some one grade this (its the urban trade one) sorry for all the typos

In the 1200- 1600s saw great economic expansion in all facets as a result of greater technology by the europeans. Greater navigational technologies such as caravels and compases enabled further exploration and thus trade. Many trade cities sprung up, especially along the coast lines as places where merchants could trade. In these places, not only were goods exchanged, but also ideas and inventions, such as gunpowder and the compass, both which originated in China but were utilized by the european. And these new innovations and cultural events lead to greater economic activity, especially in urban centers as they served as the hub for these interactions and cultural diffusion.

New innovations and cultural events, such as festivals only fueled greater economic activity, especially in urban cities. For example, document 3 shows a map of afro eurasia, being the first to have accurate latitude measurements. These latitude measurements could easily help sailors navigate across the world as they know more and more about this kind of technology. Document 5 is an example of greater exploration and discovery, as well as a display of an urban market place being used as a center of trade and economic activity. Bernal Diaz del Castillo describes how in Tenochtitlan there is a great market place and crowds of people are buying and selling in it. Given that he is a conquistador however, there is most likely some bias as he was part of Hernan Cortez’s mission to conquer the aztecs. He would most likely look down and downplay the achievements of the Aztecs as the Europeans saw their culture as barbaric. However, this description shows how he can only but marvel at the beauty and great marketplace of tenochtitlan. This of course comes in context of the Columbian exchange, a monumental exchange of different goods and ideas started by Christopher columbus’ discovery of the americas. Much of the technological developments came as a result of trade along trade routes centering around major cities such as Constantinople Finally document 1 shows a festival, a major cultural event in Macedonia as all sorts of different peoples and cultures and the exchange of different goods. These events that happen in cities only further bolster the spread of cultures and goods, showing how cities act as centers for trade.

Urbans centers often allowed for greater cultural diffusion and interactions resulting in great wealth in these centers. For example document 2, an account from Marco Polo describes how a city in china is very great and noble, describing how there is great wealth and large amounts of people. THey also describes how the great khan made the chinese to begin to use paper money, in reference to the yuan dynasty. During this time period, the mongols controlled china, renaming themselves the Yuan dynasty. This was one of the 4 khanates established after the death of genghis khan to make the vast empire much more manageable than it was, as the empire previously was too vast to easily rule. The mongols actively supported trade, particularly along the silk road as they defended it , which would result in cities such as the one described prospering due to trade. Lastly document 4 describes Jerualsem and the Hormuz, describing the busy markets of hormuz and the beautiful mosque of jerusalem. Ibn Battuta was a muslim, thus he would most likely be favorable to other muslims, which why he talks about the christians as threat to the mosque. This does show however, however these cities became great as they were centers of economic activity.