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Introduction
The 14th century was an age of dynamic interaction between the great
cultures of the world. But some of the promise of the previous century was cut
short by climate change, plagues, and peasant revolution. Even so, obstacles to
progress in China, the Islamic world, and Christendom created opportunities for
previously marginalized parts of the world. The empires of Mali and Java, for
example, flourished in this period. The "scythe" of this century was death itself,
which swept through many parts of the world, either by disease or through imperial
expansion.
For MILLENNIUM's filmmakers, the 14th century
demonstrates an important aspect of world history: its dissynchronous nature.
In other words, not all parts of the globe experience things simultaneously.
Certainly this was true in the 14th century when Europe and China were laid low
by disease, climatic change, and socio-political dislocation, even as in Africa
(Mali), Central Asia (Uzbekistan), and Indonesia (Java) empires flourished.
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