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(The Americas to 1500)
Transatlantic Slave Trade
East Asia
The Age of Exploration
Ottoman, Safavid and Mogul Muslim
Empires
The First Global Age
15th to 18th Centuries
Latin America’s Peoples,
Resources, and Social
Hierarchy
Early Modern Europe
Scientific Revolution
and Enlightenment
Absolute and Constitutional
Monarchies
Russia and
Eastern Europe
Fifteenth Century is Turning Point
1. Changing ideas on geography—Those who returned from the
Crusades revealed what Asia had to offer—Clothes, silks, jewels,
spices, etc.
 Marco Polo’s explorations of the 1300s revealed the riches of Asia.
 In 1411, Ptolemy wrote Geography—Greatly affected European
exploration.
2. Technological Advancements
 Mariner’s Compass and
Astrolabe—Better
understanding of location using
quadrants and shooting
position by the stars.
 More efficient ships.
 The Printing Press!
Fifteenth Century is Turning Point
3. Social Changes
 Population explosion after the Black Death.
 New learning—More books—Educated people
were aware that the earth was not flat.
4. Rise of Modern Nation States with Strong Central Governments
 Feudalism replaced with absolute monarchs, who used armies for
conquest and could economically support exploration.
 Henry VII of England, Louis XI of France, Ferdinand and Isabella of
Spain—Competition leads to Exploration!
5. The Reformation
 Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine (Spanish) caused hostilities
and created a rivalry between absolute monarchs for the Americas
to be Catholic or Protestant.
Fifteenth Century is Turning Point
6. Changing Economic
System—Rise of the middle
merchant (trading) class that
had money to invest in
exploration.
 Beginnings of
Commercial Capitalism
(private businesses based
on profit).
 Enclosure Movement—
Property owners begin to
enclose fields with
beginnings of sheep being
farmed for wool—Peasants
displaced—Motivation to
7. Glory, God, and Gold becomes
move to America.
the rally cry of explorers.
Columbus on the Indians’ “Discovery” of the Spanish, 1492
“I [Columbus wrote], in order that they might feel great amity towards us, because I knew that they were a people to
delivered and converted to our holy faith rather by love than by force, gave to some among them some red caps and
some glass beads, which they hung round their necks, and many other things of little value. At this they were greatly
pleased and became so entirely our friends that it was a wonder to see. Afterwards they came swimming to the
ships’ boats, where we were, and brought us parrots and cotton thread in balls, and spears and many other things,
and we exchanged for them other things, such as small glass beads and hawks’ bells, which we gave to them. In fact,
they took all and gave all, deficient in everything. They all go naked as their mothers bore them, and the women also,
although I saw only one very young girl. And all those whom I did see were youths, so that I did not see one who was
over thirty years of age; they were very well built, with very handsome bodies and very good faces. Their hair is
coarse almost like the hairs of a horse’s tail and short; they wear their hair down over their eyebrows, except for a
few strands behind, which they wear long and never cut. Some of them are painted black, and they are the colour of
the people of the Canaries, neither black nor white, and some of them are painted white and some red and some in
any colour that they find. Some of them paint their faces, some their whole bodies, some only the eyes, and some
only the nose. They do not bear arms or know them, for I showed to them swords and they took them by the blade
and cut themselves through ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are certain reeds, without iron, and some of
these have a fish tooth at the end, while others are pointed in various ways. They are all generally fairly tall, good
looking and well proportioned. I saw some who bore marks of wounds on their bodies, and I made signs to them to
ask how this came about, and they indicated to me that people came from other islands, which are near, and wished
capture them, and they defended themselves. And I believed and still believe that they come here from the mainland
to take them for slaves. They should be good servants and of quick intelligence, since I see that they very soon say all
that is said to them, and I believe that they would easily be made Christians, for it appeared to me that they had no
creed [religion of their own]. Our Lord willing, at the time of my departure I will bring back six of them to Your
Highnesses, that they may learn to talk . . . ”
Station 2
Major European Trade Routes and Colonies, about 1750
Station 3
Gunpowder and Gunpowder Empires
Gunpowder and guns were
invented in china in the tenth
century and spread to Europe
and Southwest Asia in the
fourteenth century. However,
the full impact of gunpowder
was not felt until after 1500.
Between 1500 and 1650,
the world experienced a
dramatic increase in the
manufacture of weapons based
on gunpowder. Large-scale
production of cannons was
especially evident in Europe,
the Ottoman Empire, India, and
China. By 1650, guns were also
being made in Korea, Japan,
Thailand, Iran, and, to a lesser
extent, in Africa.
Firearms were a crucial
element in the creation of new
empires after 1500. Spaniards
armed with firearms
devastated the civilizations of
the Aztec and Inca and carved
out empires in Central and
South America. The Ottoman
Empire, Mogul Empire in India,
and the Safavid Empire in
Persia also owed much of their
success in creating and
maintaining their new
weapons. Historians have
labeled these empires the
“gunpowder empires.”
The success of Europeans
in creating new trade empires
in the East owed much to the
use of cannons as well.
Portuguese ships, armed with
heavy guns that could sink
enemy ships as a distance of
100 yards or more, easily
defeated the lighter fleets of
the Muslims in the Indian
Ocean.
Spanish galleon with cannons.
Comparing Cultures — Although gunpowder was invented in China, it was the Europeans who used it most
effectively to establish new empires.
Station 4
The Growth of Mercantilism
During the Age of Exploration, European nations adopted a new economic policy known as
mercantilism. This theory held that a country’s power depended mainly on its wealth. It
contended that there was a fixed amount of wealth in the world. As a result, the goal of every
nation became the attainment of as much wealth as possible in order to build strong navies
and purchase vital goods. According to mercantilist thought, a nation could increase its wealth
and power in two ways. It could obtain as much gold and silver as possible and it could
establish a favorable balance of trade, in which it sold more goods than it bought (more
exports than imports). A nation’s ultimate goal under mercantilism was to become selfsufficient, not dependent on other countries for goods . . .
Mercantilism went hand in hand with colonization, for colonies played a vital role in this new
economic practice. Aside from providing silver and gold, colonies provided raw materials that
could not be found in the home country, such as wood or furs from the Americas. In addition
to playing the role of supplier, the colonies also provided a market. The home country could
sell its goods to its colonies. This call for colonies led to the growth of the Triangular Trade . . .
Mercantilism contributed to the creation of a national identity as countries competed for
control of colonies and, thereby, for control of wealth.
Station 5
Mercantilism, Colonization and the Triangular Trade
Station 5
The Arrival of Europeans
In 1511, the Portuguese seized Melaka and soon
occupied the Moluccas. Known to Europeans as the Spice
Islands, the Moluccas were the chief source of the spices
that had originally attracted the Portuguese to the Indian
Ocean.
The Portuguese, however, lacked the military and
financial resources to impose their authority over broad
areas. Instead, they set up small settlements along the coast,
which they used as trading posts or as way stations en route
to the Spice Islands.
A Shift in Power The situation changed with the arrival of
the English and Dutch traders, who were better financed
than were the Portuguese. The shift in power began in the
early 1600s when the Dutch seized a Portuguese fort in the
Spice Islands and then gradually pushed the Portuguese out
of the spice trade.
During the next 50 years, the Dutch occupied most of
the Portuguese coastal forts along the trade routes
throughout the Indian Ocean, including the island of Ceylon
(today's Sri Lanka) and Melaka. The aggressive Dutch
traders drove the English traders out of the spice market,
reducing the English influence to a single port on the
southern coast of Sumatra.
The Dutch also began to consolidate their political
and military control over the entire area. They tried to
dominate the clove trade by limiting cultivation of the crop
to one island and forcing others to stop growing and trading
the spice. Then the Dutch turned their attention to the island
of Java, where they established a fort at Batavia in 1619.
The purpose of the fort was to protect Dutch possessions in
the East. Gradually the Dutch brought the entire island
under their control.
Impact on the Mainland Portuguese and then Dutch influence was
mostly limited to the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago.
The arrival of the Europeans had less impact on mainland
Southeast Asia. The Portuguese established limited trade relations with
several mainland states (part of the continent, as distinguished from
peninsulas or offshore islands), including Thailand, Burma, Vietnam,
and the remnants of the old Angkor kingdom in Cambodia. By the early
seventeenth century, other European nations had begun to compete
actively for trade and missionary privileges. In general, however, the
mainland states were able to unite and drive the Europeans out.
In Vietnam, a civil war temporarily divided the country into two
separate states, one in the south and one in the north. After their arrival
in the mid-seventeenth century, the European powers began to take sides
in local politics. The Europeans also set up trading posts for their
merchants.
By the end of the seventeenth century, however, it had become
clear that economic opportunities were limited. Most of the posts were
abandoned at that time. French missionaries tried to stay but their efforts
were blocked by the authorities who viewed converts to Catholicism as a
threat to the prestige of the Vietnamese emperor.
Why were the mainland
states better able to resist
European challenges than the
states in the Malay Peninsula
and the Indonesian
Archipelago? The mainland
states of Burma, Thailand, and
Vietnam had begun to define
themselves as distinct political
entities. They had strong
monarchies that resisted
foreign intrusion in contrast to
the non-mainland states that
had less political unity . . .
Station 6
China in the Age of Exploration
. . . By the time Portuguese ships dropped anchor off the Chinese coast in 1514, the Chinese
had driven out their Mongol rulers and had united under a new dynasty . . . One Ming ruler,
Yonglo, had intense curiosity about the outside world. In 1405, well before Europeans began
to sail beyond their own borders, he launched the first of seven voyages of exploration. He
hoped they would impress the world with the power and splendor of Ming China . . . The
voyages ranged from Southeast Asia to eastern Africa. From 40 to 300 ships sailed in each
expedition . . . So why, when the Chinese were leading world exploration, did the
explorations of European nations help lead to European dominance in the world rather than
Chinese dominance? The answer lies with Chinese unity. Chinese scholar-officials
complained that the voyages wasted valuable resources that could be used to defend
against barbarians’ attacks on the northern frontier. After the seventh voyage, in 1453,
Chinese officials decided to withdraw into isolation . . .
Ming Relations with Foreign Countries China’s official trade policies in the 1500s reflected
its isolation. To keep the influence of outsiders to a minimum, only the government was to
conduct foreign trade. In reality, though, trade flourished up and down the coast. Profitminded merchants smuggled cargoes of silk, porcelain, and other valuable goods out of the
country into the eager hands of European merchants. Usually, Europeans paid for purchases
with silver, much of it from the mines of the Americas. Chinese industries such flourished,
manufacturing and commerce increased, BUT China did not become highly industrialized for
two main reasons. Firstly, the idea of commerce offended China’s Confucian beliefs.
Merchants, it was said, made their money “supporting foreigners and robbery.” Secondly,
Chinese economic policies traditionally favored agriculture. Taxes on agriculture stayed low,
while taxes on manufactured goods and trade skyrocketed.
Station 7
Japan in the Age of Exploration
“Japan Unites Under the Tokugawa In the 1300s, the unity that had been achieved in Japan
in the previous century broke down. Shoguns, or military leaders, in the north and south
fiercely fought one another for power. The whole land was torn by factional strife and
economic unrest. It would be centuries before Japan would again be unified . . . BUT in 1600,
Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated his rivals and founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, which held power
until 1867. Japan enjoyed more than two and a half centuries of stability, prosperity, and
isolation, during which time Japanese culture flourished. One example is haiku poetry and
kabuki theater . . . Europeans began coming to Japan in the sixteenth century, and the
Japanese welcomed the traders. They were particularly interested in the Portuguese muskets
an cannons, which would eventually challenge the way of life of the samurai . . .
Japan in Isolation Within a century, however, the aggressive Europeans were no longer
welcome. Christian missionaries had much success in converting the Japanese to Christianity
and scorned traditional Japanese beliefs. Because so many of the rebels of a 1637 rebellion
had been Christian, the shoguns ruthlessly persecuted Christians. These policies eventually
eliminated Christianity in Japan and led to the formation of an exclusion policy. The
persecution of Christians was part of an attempt to control foreign ideas. Under the
Tokugawa, most commercial contacts with Europeans ended. One port, Nagasaki, remained
open to foreign traders, but only to Dutch and Chinese merchants. For more than 200 years,
Japan remained basically closed to Europeans. In addition, the Japanese were forbidden to
leave, so as not to bring back foreign ideas. Japan would continue to develop, but as a selfsufficient country, free from European attempts to colonize or to establish their presence.”
Station 8
Columbian Exchange
Station 9
Station 9