1333

1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340

political events

Poland's Wladyslaw I Lokietek dies March 2 at age 72 after a 13-year reign in which he has reunited the principalities of Little and Great Poland, suppressed the magistrates of Kraków, saved Danzig (Gdansk) from the margraves of Brandenburg with help from the Teutonic Knights, and given the knightly order its first major setback (1332) to lay the foundations for a strong Polish monarchy. The diminutive Wladyslaw is succeeded by his 23-year-old son, who will reign until 1370 as Casimir III (Kazimierz Wielk) (see Pomerania, 1335).

The Battle of Halidon Hill near Berwick-upon-Trent July 19 gives England's Edward III revenge for his late father's defeat at Bannockburn in 1314 (see 1332). Accompanied by his wife, Philippa of Hainaut, he supports his vassal Edward de Balliol's claim to the Scottish throne and has laid siege to Berwick, whose defenders have agreed to surrender if not relieved by July 20. A Scottish army of about 1,155 cavalry and 13,500 infantry marches to relieve the siege under the command of Scotland's regent Archibald Douglas but Edward holds the high ground and blocks their approach as they come across swampy ground and try to proceed uphill. Using tactics similar to those employed last year at the Battle of Dupplin Moor, Edward's archers protect his three dismounted divisions, firing arrows into the advancing Scots. An English force estimated to number only 10,000 disperses the Scots, losing only one knight, one esquire, and 12 infantrymen (about 4,000 Scotsmen are killed, including Archibald Douglas). Berwick capitulates July 20 (see 1334).

The 13-year-old Mongol prince Togon-temür ascends the throne to begin the final reign of the Yuan dynasty. More interested in exploring the religious cult of Lamaism and dallying with the women of his harem, the new emperor will leave government affairs to his anti-Chinese minister Bayan, who will decree that only Mongols may hold public office, suspend civil service examinations, and prohibit Chinese from wearing certain colors or using certain ideographs, including those for "long life" and "happiness" (see 1339).

The Japanese emperor Godaigo escapes from Oki Island with help from confederates and gains support from Ashikaga Takauji, 28 (see 1332); the regent Takatoki Hojo is besieged at Kamakura by Gen. Yoshisada Nitti and commits suicide July 5 along with 873 soldiers and retainers. Godaigo regains power from the shōgunate, takes territory from the samurai, levies high taxes, and starts to rebuild the imperial palaces. The death of the Japanese regent Takatoki Hojo ends the Kamakura period that began in 1185 and ushers in the Muromachi period that will continue until 1568. The new era will be marked by the disintegration of the shōgun's effective control and the rise of independent feudal domains (hans) governed by local warlords (daimyos), but the peace will be short lived (see 1335).

human rights, social justice

The power of Japanese women will wane in the Muromachi period. Heretofore a woman inherited her husband's property upon his death and took full responsibility for his debts.

exploration, colonization

Traveler Ibn Battutah arrives at the Indian border on the Indus River September 12, or so he will later claim, having gone with a caravan through Bukhara, Samarkand, Balkh, and other ancient Central Asian towns and crossed the Hindu Kush (see 1325). Now 29, he has acquired a harem of wives and concubines plus a large retinue of attendants (see 1334).

medicine

A pestilence, which will be called the Black Death as of in 1758, starts in China as starvation weakens much of the population and makes it vulnerable to a form of bubonic plague (see 1340). Europe had a plague epidemic in the 6th century, and this one started in the Gobi Desert in the late 1320s, possibly in connection with a global warming that will later be remembered as the Little Ice Age. China's population will fall from about 120 million to 90 million in this century, and the plague will take an even more fearsome toll in Western Europe (see 1340).

religion

The former antipope Nicholas V dies at Avignon October 16.

agriculture

Wheat cultivation has gained in Japan during the 148-year Kamakakura period to supplement millet and rice crops. Japanese farmers have begun using more horses and oxen to help them in the fields.

food availability

Famine grips China following a severe drought.

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