Silk production
---------------------
A moth lays 500 or so eggs and then dies
Baby worms hatch from the eggs are fed mulberry leaves for one month until they are fat
The worms spin cocoons
The cocoons are steamed to kill the growing moth inside
The cocoons are rinsed in hot water to loosen the threads
Women would unwind the cocoons and then combine six or so fibers into silk threads
The threads are woven into cloth
The cloth is then pounded to make it softer
Why it was valuable to the Chinese
-------------------------------------------------
Silk cloth was extremely valuable in Ancient China. Wearing silk was an important status symbol. At first, only members of the royal family were allowed to wear silk. Later, silk clothing was restricted to only the noble class. Merchants and peasants were not allowed to wear silk. Silk was even used as money during some Ancient Chinese dynasties.
Why it was secret
-------------------------
Silk became a prized export for the Chinese. Nobles and kings of foreign lands desired silk and would pay high prices for the cloth. The emperors of China wanted to keep the process for making silk a secret. Anyone caught telling the secret or taking silkworms out of China was put to death.
Hope all this helps :)
It helps to avoid various legal limitations.
The forces used by the Christian or Latin leaders in Syria were formed from a conglomeration of sources. Both the feudal system and changing conditions throughout the crusades made this necessary. The knights as discussed in the topic page on chivalry composed one portion of the army. It is important, however, to realize that while their influence remained important in the military tactics of the crusader states, their numbers dwindled towards the end of the crusades as the idea of the knight became increasingly associated with nobility and heredity of the title. When the influence of the knights was the weakest, other sources were found to supplement the knight in the army.
Answer: <u><em>Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. All were enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by white Democratic-dominated state legislatures after the Reconstruction period. The laws were enforced until 1965</em></u>
<u><em /></u>
In Aztec social hierarchy, people who are called "Serfs" are the ones expected to support the upper class. They belong to the lowest social class in the Aztec culture and required to do labors for the nobles. As for the Incas, "Commoners" (farmers, artisans, servants, etc.) are required to support the higher class for they do not practice slavery. Majority of Inca's population belongs to the commoner class.
