Global History

Doc 1 Questions:

1- Many Christians attributed the Black Death to divine wrath and punishment.  Does Buonaiuti seem to share this view?

2- According to Buonaiuti’s account, what were the economic consequences of plague in Florence?

3- In what ways did extensive mortality resulting from the Black Death affect the social order in Florence?

Doc 2 Questions:

1- What are the chief responsibilities that the emperor delegated to village leaders, and what powers did he reserve for government officials?

2- In what ways was the emperor’s conception of village self-government modeled on the family institution?

3- What seem to have been the most common sources of dispute and social conflict in Chinese villages?  Why might this have been the case?

Compare the two docs together:

1- Compare the kinds of social crises and conflict in each document.  And how does each author propose to “recover” order (if at all) in societies rocked by these kinds of upheavals?

2- What role does the state (if any) play in these crises?  Are these weak or strong states?  Do they speak to constituencies?  What is the role between the individual and the state in these early modern societies?

* Please answer each question from the documents associated.