16.4 The Long-Term Effects of Global Transformation

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe how the challenges of the fourteenth century affected the structure of European society
• Explain the reaction of religious communities throughout Afro-Eurasia to the challenges of the fourteenth century

As they recovered from plague, famine, and political conflict, people across many regions during the fourteenth century took the opportunity to rebuild and rebound. Although some empires fell and once-thriving trade routes were abandoned, other entities emerged to take their place and establish the foundations of a truly modern global society. As the crises of the fourteenth century came to an end, geopolitical boundaries shifted, religions expanded into many new areas, and social traditions transformed to meet the needs of an ever-expanding world. Many social and political structures of the fourteenth century, such as the Mongols’ dominance and the economic and land-ownership conventions that made up the feudal system, ultimately ceased to exist. Although it may be tempting to assume the modern world has little in common with the fourteenth century, the growth of globalization—the interconnectedness of societies and economies throughout the world as a result of trade, technology, and the adoption and sharing of various aspects of culture—defined the later medieval period and the fourteenth century in particular as transregional exchange continued to expand.