Study Well

06/03/2024

Sugar. It’s been a vital part of our diet for thousands of years. However, its history is also intertwined with the history of slavery in the Americas. How did this happen?

06/02/2024

As the world became more connected in the 17th century, intrepid traders set aside their overland caravans and took to the seas in search of new goods and trading partners. In this episode, we’ll look at how trade relationships started by the Silk Road went global as merchants established new trade routes across oceans, and how those new global connections fueled economic growth ... and the slave trade.

06/01/2024

The dawn of international trade didn’t just start the transport of goods and people between continents. It also brought on significant unintended consequences, both positive and negative. In this episode Study Hall World History, we track the effects of disease and the arrival of different animals and plants through the Columbian Exchange.

05/31/2024

We think about climate change as a modern problem, but people living in the early modern centuries had to deal with it too. The Little Ice Age caused famine, floods, drought, and disease that destabilized major empires. In this episode, we’ll talk about the Little Ice Age, its impacts on empires and their governments, and how it kicked off a period of massive global migration.

05/30/2024

The Silver Trade marks one of the earliest examples of a global trade network, bringing together peoples from around the world, but also destroying a dynasty and enslaving tens of thousands of people. Let’s look at the ups and downs of early modern fiscal policy.

05/29/2024

What happens when a 15th-century empire wants to grow, but are running out of resources? You start exploring, of course! In this episode, we’ll talk about the beginning of the Age of Exploration, including how empires like China, Portugal, and Spain used exploring the world as a way to find new resources and spread ideas.

05/28/2024

When we think of empires throughout modern history, we talk about the ones that popped up in Europe and Asia. However, many of the civilizations in North, Central, and South America developed into powerful empires as well. In this episode of Study Hall: World History, we’ll look at the Aztec, Mali, and Songhai and investigate what they have in common with the rise–and fall–of other empires around the world.

05/27/2024

Just as we saw gunpowder’s impact last week, this episode we will see how the development of the printing press and the rise in literacy caused unexpected changes across Afro-Eurasia. Most of us think we know the story of the printing press, but when it comes to reading, there are some myths this video needs to blow up.

05/26/2024

Why did Europe, the Middle East and Asia transition away from medieval political structures like feudalism and Nomadic Empires and towards more centralized governments with powerful monarchs and loyal bureaucracies? The answer has more to do with guns and money than you would think.

05/25/2024

Empires come and go, but people are always looking for a deal. Even as the Mongols disappeared into history, the trade networks that they helped develop continued to grow and evolve. Welcome to the global bazaar.

05/24/2024

If you’ve ever swapped books with a friend or bought groceries at a store, you’ve participated in trade. But for medieval empires like the Mongols, trying to trade goods with other countries and cultures was a lot more complicated. Let’s take a look at how the Mongol empire developed trade routes, like the Silk Road, and how the development of trade changed the way we live and interact with one another.

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
1:41 - The origins of the Silk Road
5:41 - The Pax Mongolica and Yasa
6:56 - Ortoghs
8:43 - The Yam System
10:13 - Conclusion

05/24/2024