1. Mali
1.1. Strong Government and Military
1.1.1. Mansa was the leader of the government.
1.1.2. The government divided Mali into provinces which each had a governor known as a ferba leading it.
1.1.3. The Mali's military had a defense zone that protected the gold fields.
1.1.4. Mali had a rapid expansion and that was because of their strong Military.
1.2. Religion
1.2.1. The government administrators were Muslim scribes.
1.2.2. The government and the administrators were strongly influenced by the Islam Religion and it played an important role.
1.2.3. The King turned to the Islam religion but he wouldn't force anyone to convert into Islam.
1.2.4. Many people in Mali practiced Islam but they would also combine their local traditions with the Islamic beliefs.
1.2.5. Religious artifact
1.3. Geography and Agriculture
1.3.1. Located in Western Africa by the Niger River.
1.3.2. Mali is 1,240,192 square kilometers.
1.3.3. The Niger River was very useful because it provided them with water and transportation to trade.
1.3.4. Mali also stretches across the Sahel Sahara desert
1.3.5. Mali Empire at its' peak
1.4. Social Structure and Family Life
1.4.1. The order of the social structure goes kings, priests, storytellers/griots, villagers, slaves.
1.4.2. The women weren’t at the bottom of the “pyramid” like other empires would put them.
1.4.3. The whole family lived in one household usually.
1.4.4. The children started working at a young age and the man’s responsibilities are to keep family and livestock alive. The woman’s job is to cook and make clothes.
1.5. Economy and Trade
1.5.1. The Mali Empire is on top of trades routes between the Sahara Desert which contains salt in the north and then the gold mines region in the south.
1.5.2. Families spend more than half their money on food.
1.5.3. The most important industry for trading was gold and salt.
1.5.4. When trading they would travel by camel.
1.6. Science and Technology
1.6.1. More methods of domesticating plants.
1.6.2. .The Mali Empire made and used poisoned arrows in war.
1.6.3. Mali had emperors that were actually astronomers.
1.6.4. They came up with new medicines and treatment using plants
1.6.5. Poisoned arrows
1.7. Arts and Education
1.7.1. This sculpture represents a warrior in military gear.
1.7.2. Art in Mali “serves to support life-sustaining activities” which could be physical or spiritual.
1.7.3. .Education begins for them at 7 then stopped at 16.
1.7.4. Most of the art from the Mali Empire has been found near the city of Djenne and along the Niger River
2. Aztec
2.1. Strong Government and Military
2.1.1. Kings or Emperors were the main ruler of the Aztec Empire who would make important decisions.
2.1.2. When an emperor died the new one was chosen by a group of nobles who would choose a good leader.
2.1.3. They had laws against murder, stealing,being drunk, and property damage.
2.1.4. The head of the Aztec Military was also the king, so he made important decisions about war.
2.2. Economy and Trade
2.2.1. The Aztec's relied on agriculture and farming for trade.
2.2.2. The Aztec's used cocoa beans as a form of currency.
2.2.3. The Aztec marketplace is called Tianquiztli and it was the center of trading.
2.2.4. The Largest Marketplace was called Tlatelolco and had 60,000 people per day.,
2.2.5. Aztec Empire Peak
2.3. Religion
2.3.1. Religious Artifact
2.3.2. They believed that it took the gods 5 tries to create the world.
2.3.3. The god Nanauatl was the sun.
2.3.4. The Aztecs followed the Mesoamerican religion.
2.3.5. They believed natural disasters were caused by religion.
2.4. Social Structure and Family
2.4.1. The four social status' were nobles, commoners, serfs and slaves.
2.4.2. Priests had there own social structure and couldn't have alcohol.
2.4.3. Thee noble class was made up of military leaders and government leaders, priests and lords.
2.4.4. Serfs worked on the land while slaves worked as punishment.
2.5. Arts and Education
2.5.1. The Aztec's were one of the oldest civilizations to have mandatory education.
2.5.2. The divided the schools by the students social class.
2.5.3. Children learned from the huehuetlatolli which taught Aztec sayings.
2.5.4. Girls attended different schools where they were taught how to run a household.
2.5.5. Aztec Art
2.6. Technology
2.6.1. The Aztec's created drills made with either bone or reed.
2.6.2. They made a weapon called an atlatl which was easier to throw than a spear.
2.6.3. The Aztec military used a macuahuitl made of volcanic glass to hurt the enemy without killing them.
2.6.4. They made canoes to transport goods across water.
2.6.5. Aztec Technology
2.7. Economy and trade
2.7.1. The Aztec economy relied on trading their crops.
2.7.2. A Tianquiztli was in a temple in the middle of a city used for trading.
2.7.3. The largest marketplace Tlatelolco held up to 60,000 people each day.
2.7.4. They used cocoa beans as the Aztec currency.
3. Ottoman Empire
3.1. Strong Government and Military
3.1.1. Government was always one ruler - One family ruled the Ottoman Empire for over 7 centuries
3.1.2. Slave-based military
3.1.3. Millet System - Non-muslim communities had a limited amount of power within the Ottoman Empires overall government
3.1.4. The Sultan was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, derived from the Islamic spiritual authority
3.1.5. Highly pragmatic
3.2. Religion
3.2.1. Religious Artifact
3.2.2. Islam was the official religion of the Ottoman Empire
3.2.3. Had a millet system for non-muslims
3.2.4. Islamic Warrior Code
3.2.5. Government was based off of islamic structure
3.3. Geography and Agriculture
3.3.1. Ottoman Empire at its Peak
3.3.2. (As seen above) The Ottoman Empire spanned a lot of Europe and almost completely surrounded the mediterranean sea
3.3.3. The Ottoman Empire was one of the biggest, longest lasting, and most powerful empires in history
3.3.4. The Ottoman Empire at its peak was 7.6 million square miles
3.3.5. Agricultural exports made up 90% of their total exports. They grew things like figs, grapes, and olives (Mediterranean Crops)
3.4. Social Structure and Family Life
3.4.1. There were four major social classes - Men of the Pen (highly educated), Men of the Sword (military), Men of the Negotiation (merchants), and Men of the Husbandry (farmers)
3.4.2. Because of the millet system Muslims were overall higher up in the social classes (they were also the majority)
3.4.3. There was a very complicated social structure in the Ottoman Empire due to the fact that they had multiple religions in their Empire
3.4.4. The main religion of the Ottoman Empire was Islam, but to keep the peace they let people who practice other religions continue practicing however they would like - however, they have to pay more taxes
3.5. Economy and Trade
3.5.1. Agrarian Economy
3.5.2. Majority of the population earned their money from small families
3.5.3. 40% of taxes came from small families
3.5.4. There was a ton of artillery trade, majority of it was traded across the Mediterranean Sea
3.6. Science and Technology
3.6.1. New Technology
3.6.2. By the 14th century the Ottoman Empire has acquired gunpowder artillery, making them one of the first Empires in history to use gunpowder artillery
3.6.3. Many astronomical advances took place in the Ottoman Empire - The Constanople Observatory helped many astronomers of the 1500's get a better understanding of the sun and world they are living on
3.6.4. Physics was also a huge turning point in the Ottoman Empire due to introduction of astrophysics and lights reflection and refraction
3.6.5. An astronomical clock that was able to strike at any time the user set it to was created by a Ottoman inventor in 1559
3.7. Arts and Education
3.7.1. Art
3.7.2. The Great Byzantine Church was turned into an imperial mosque when Constantinople was taken over, many Ottoman architects used this building as inspiration
3.7.3. Many artistic influences came from surrounding areas, and lands that they had already captured
3.7.4. Many sultans were very gifted in the arts. Suleyman the Magnificent employed many artists which during his time as Sultan is when art is said to have reached it full potential
3.7.5. The Ottoman Empire had a palace school where all the heirs of the throne would go, at this school all the potential heirs for the throne would be separated from those deemed "unfit"
4. FRANCE
4.1. Strong Government and Military
4.1.1. - French government was an absolute monarchy
4.1.2. - The armies of Louis XIV were impressive and dominant in power. In the late 1600s, France was the first to distribute uniforms to their soldiers.
4.1.3. - Mercantilism was heavily applied in the French government
4.1.4. - France allied with the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s.
4.2. Religion
4.2.1. - The Protestant reformation, started by Martin Luther, lead to the separation of Western christianity into different divisions.
4.2.2. - The main religion in the French Empire was catholicism until the Protestant reformation
4.2.3. Religious Artifact
4.2.4. - In 1598, Henry IV created the Edict of Nandes in order to give protestants more religious tolerance.
4.2.5. - Between 1562 and 1598, conflicts rose between Roman Catholics and Huguenots, and the French Wars of Religion took place.
4.3. Geography and Agriculture
4.3.1. - The expansion of population and agriculture in the French empire descreased the amount of fur-bearing animals available for trading
4.3.2. - France was in control of certain parts of North America and the Caribbean.
4.3.3. - The French empire’s agriculture changed drastically due to the French revolution
4.3.4. French Empire at it's peak
4.3.5. - In 1788, a hailstorm caused France to have its worst harvest in forty years.
4.3.6. - By the 1700s, France controlled more of North America than Great Britain did at the time
4.4. Social Structure and Family Life
4.4.1. - Prior to the French Revolution, France was divided into 3 estates: Clergy, nobility, and common people
4.4.2. - France was a monarchy, and those who were royal/clergymen were treated far better than common people. For example, clergy and nobles didn't have to pay taxes
4.4.3. -10% of taxes collected by the first and second estate were given to the first estate
4.4.4. - Many French people believed in the existence of witches during this time
4.5. Economy and Trade
4.5.1. - France had 2 main trade networks: fur trade and slave trade
4.5.2. - France's slaves were imported to Hispaniola to cultivate sugar
4.5.3. - France traded for fur in North America with objects such as cloth, copper pots, and firearms
4.5.4. - Mercantilism helped to increase imports
4.6. Science and Technology
4.6.1. - In 1666, Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded the Acadamie des Sciences
4.6.2. - The Scientific Revolution in France helped set a foundation for more modern science
4.6.3. - Some inventions used by the French empire include canals, printing presses, and watermills.
4.6.4. - The most advanced technology that was used during the French revolution was the guillotine
4.6.5. French new technology
4.7. Art and Education
4.7.1. - The French Renaissance marked a historical new beginning for art. During this time, famous paintings such as the Mona Lisa, the Sainte Anne, and the Saint Jean Baptiste were created.
4.7.2. - Education during the French empire went as far as doctor's degrees
4.7.3. - The French revolution reformed education in France, including the creation of the Committee of Public Instruction
4.7.4. - The style of art called "empire style" originated in the French empire. Many other art styles also originated in France.
4.7.5. French art: The Mona Lisa