Ch. III, From Rome To Edo, p. 40 to 63

Chapter III, From Rome To Edo

a. Rome is the prototype for the large modern city (minus fossil fuels)
b. 1.2 million in population by 1,000 years
c. Rome had an empire about the size of USA
d. Latins, Sabines, Etruscans surrounded Rome
e. Rome was located on the banks of the Tiber
f. Tiber water supply got polluted, Rome built water-ways
g. road system allowed armies to move
h. First Punic War, won Sicily, rich farmland
i. farmers had to become full time soldiers
j. 100 BC, Rome conquered most of Europe
k. welfare state, 300,000 got grain rations
l. much $ was spent on entertainment of Rome
m. Circus Maximus, 200,000 seats
n. Forum Romanum: central hub: public buildings, palaces, temples, sacred sites, monuments of conquest
o. majority of Romans chose to live in the city
p. advantages: aqueducts, paved roads, schools, temples, libraries, markets, arenas, public baths
q. insulae, apartment blocks shared by several families
r. building codes regulated heights of apartments, some burned down.
s. naval transport routes & paved roads connected Rome to satellite cities
t. slaves produced food, timber & precious metals
u. Rome had to keep improving its water supply system
v. 9 separate aquaducts were built
w. conquests of armies created affluence/luxury back home
x. France: pottery and wine
y. Spain: copper, olives
z. Britain: Tunisia, tin, gold

Energy needs
a. deforestation led to soil erosion
b. a harbor had to be built in an inconvenient location
c. air pollution: hundreds of fires
d. dirt, animal excrement, and dead bodies in the street
e. open canals of sewage > cholera, typhoid

Recycling
a. bones/ivory into pins
b. hair/animal nerves in war machines
c. broken glass for fuel
d. firewood ran short, bricks were of lower quality

Conquest of Africa
a. 100s of 1000s of tons of grains consumed
b. North Africa/Sahara were conquered
c. wild animals were captured
d. lions, elephants, leopards, panthers, bears were shipped to kill Christians or fight gladiators
e. Tunisia: grapes, olives, dates, wool, leather goods
f. Carthage, 500,000 people
g. set up to collect taxes & protect Rome’s territory
h. 3rd century, Romans felt insecure
i. Hadrian’s Wall across Britain was constructed
j. Ad 306, Constantine became emperor & became a Christian
k. Constantine made December 25th: the holy day of Apollo, the Roman god of the sun, the arts, prophecy and healing into the official birthday of Jesus Christ
l. Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Empire
m. 409: Visigoths occupied Rome for three days & looted
n. Vandals looted Rome, brought loot back to Carthage
o. many reasons for Rome’s decline & fall: invasions, punitive taxes in the colonies, civil wars, corruption, famines & plagues
p. malaria was high in Rome because of water storage
q. deforestation, soil erosion & salinisation played a major part in the demise of the Roman Empire
r. North Africa was permanently changed by Rome’s activities. It became hotter & drier. 
s. Rome was the home of the pope & as Christianity spread across Europe, the religious power of Rome came to grow in a resurgence of its former glory
t. Middle Ages: local, autonomous lives with a much reduced scale of trade of goods
u. Charlemagne became emperor of the new Holy Roman Empire in AD 800
v. he spread education beyond a small social elite
w. Islam introduced a sense of order & religious fervor in the Middle East
x. North Africa, parts of Spain, Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus, Granada had magnificent mosques & palaces
y. cities were very freeing in the Middle Ages
z. prosperity led to social innovation

a. medieval cities were made for walking
b. many social interactions occurred
c. different workers had guilds 
d. defensive walls were a prominent feature of medieval cities
e. the Gothic church was a great innovation of the 12th century
f. Suger, abbot of St. Denis near Paris 
g. space & light needed to be used for worship in Christianity
h. Britain had a rich variety of Gothic cathedrals
i. cathedral windows told biblical stories/ about the salvation of Christ
j. Cistercians helped develop & improve farming and rural living
k. swampy areas were drained/cleared for agriculture
l. inadequate sanitation led to outbreaks of plagues
m. medieval towns were self-sufficient 
n. organic waste went back to the soil
o. Chimneys appeared in the 13th century
p. widespread use of windmills
q. horse power was used in farming/transport
r. market gardens, forests, orchards, farmland, grazing land were in cities
s. innermost zone: horticulture, milk production
t. second zone: wood products, firewood/timber
u. third zone: intensive crop rotation
v. fourth zone: fallowing, dairying
w. medieval city state depended on the country-side for food supply
x. industrial/commercial goods were sent to the country-side
y. levels of agricultural production became more efficient
z. Venice, Milan, Florence, Siena, Pisa in N. Italy were born. Their economies were dominated by trade/banking.

Constantinople
a. a fortress city
b. fell to Sultan Mehmed II & his Ottoman armies
c. massive walls were destroyed by cannons
d. walls were taken down & used as building materials
e. Johannes Gutenberg began printing Luther’s German Bible in 1450
f. Greek/Roman classics were translated
g. architecture was the supreme art
h. idea of public space
i. Venice: traded salt, glass, manufactured goods
j. Venice was built on a swamp with oak piles
k. Venice had to increase its ship building
l. deforestation of the Alps caused massive soil erosion
m. Amsterdam became Europe’s leading shipbuilding center
n. Hanseatic League: Luebeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Danzig grew larger & more powerful, came to control the Baltic
o. after 1500, cities of Spain including Madrid grew on the back of colonial trade with America
p. Spain extracted 185 tons of gold & 16,000 tons of silver from its South American colonies
q. South America: Teotihuacan, Tikal, Tetnochtitlan
r. sophisticated food production/distribution schemes
s. city-region was self-sufficient, farmers worked communally & fed entire population

The Rise Of Beijing
a. the cities of the European Middle Ages were small compared to Far East
b. Chinese had a great tradition of city building
c. Xian, next to Silk Route, built during Tang Dynasty
d. Xian, one million people @ peak
e. Emperor Zhu Di: capital of China went from Nanjing to Beijing
f. China’s Grand Canal was repaired and enlarged
g. the Pearl River Delta produced most of Beijing’s rice
h. timber from Jianxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Annam, Vietnam
i. Beijing was burned by lightening, upset the emperor

The Story Of Edo
a. Edo dated back to the 10th century
b. Kyoto was more important than Edo
c. government was transferred to Edo, Kyoto became less important
d. Edo: well watered, fertile agricultural region-lots of fish/crustaceans
e. Edo period: ocean going ships were outlawed
f. kabuki, lively & highly stylized form of dance was developed
g. ukiyo-e, sensual form of painting became popular
h. porclein/lacquerware thrived
i. advances in printing/education led to a highly literate population
j. Neo-Confucianism: importance of morals, education and hierarchy

Hierarchy
a. samurai, top: became martial arts teachers, scholars, writers, poets, artists
b. merchants, artisans, peasants

Edo period
a. highly sustainable period
b. clean/hygienic 
c. extensive reuse & recycling of waste materials
d. old kettles/pots/pans were repaired
e. ceramics were repaired
f. tubs, barrels, lanterns, locks, inkpads, pots, pans, wooden footwear, umbrellas, mirrors were fixed
g. 4,000 old clothes dealers 
h. candle wax drippings were made into new-candles
i. wood ash was used as fertilizer
j. only one small trading post in Nagasaki
k. USA took serious interest in Pacific
l. Commodore Perry came in steam powered ships demanding trade
m. Japan began to trade commercially with other nations
n. “modernization,” western political, social and economic systems
o. 1872, railway between Tokyo and Yokohama
p. 1889, Japan’s constitution
q. Japan strengthened its military power & signed treaties with the West
r. Japan dominated Russia, China & Korea

Old Cities
a.quality of craftsmanship
b. beautifully detailed architecture
c. local identity
d. civic pride
e. compactness
f. muscle, wind, and water powered cities
g. a sense of continuity
h. stone and brick: lasting quality
i. Rome: unsustainable
j. Edo, sustainable