4.4: Maritime Empires Established 1450-1750 a

The Portuguese established trading empires along the African coast, focusing on the capture of trade routes and the establishment of coastal trading posts.

What type of empire did the Portuguese establish along the African coast?

By exchanging gunpowder weapons for enslaved people

How did Portuguese traders often gain cooperation from African leaders?

It led to increased warfare and the destabilization of local societies, as African states increasingly relied on firearms for conflicts.

What was a major consequence of Portuguese gun trade with African states?

The Portuguese introduced Christianity and European cultural practices, significantly influencing local traditions and governance.

What cultural impact did the Portuguese have in the Kingdom of Kongo?

Japan implemented a policy of isolation, limiting contact with foreign powers and restricting trade.

How did Japan initially respond to Portuguese and Dutch influence?

Japan sought to preserve its cultural identity and prevent foreign influence, fearing that Christianity and Western ways would undermine its social order.

Why did Japan eventually close itself off from most European contact?

The British East India Company expanded its control through political manipulation, economic dominance, and military power, establishing a strong foothold in India.

What was the primary method the British used to increase their influence in India after the 7 Years’ War?

The Marathas and local rulers.

Who helped the British East India Company expand its control in India?

An agreement in 1494 between Spain and Portugal that divided newly discovered lands outside Europe, establishing spheres of influence for each nation.

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?

The encomienda system.

What labor system in Spanish America granted landowners control over Indigenous labor in exchange for religious instruction and protection?

It required Indigenous communities to provide a certain number of workers for public projects, often under harsh conditions.

What was a key feature of the Mit’a labor system as used by the Spanish?

The Mit’a system was exploited by the Spanish by enforcing harsh labor demands on Indigenous communities, often leading to extreme hardship and population decline among the Indigenous people.

How was the Mit’a system exploited by the Spanish in the Americas?

A system in Spanish America where landowners controlled large estates and relied on Indigenous or mestizo labor, often under oppressive conditions, to produce crops and goods for profit.

What was the Hacienda system?

Chattel slavery is a system in which individuals are treated as personal property to be bought and sold. It involves the complete ownership of people, often resulting in forced labor and inhumane conditions.

What is chattel slavery?

The Atlantic slave trade escalated due to the rise of plantation economies in the Americas, which created a high demand for labor. Additionally, European colonial powers implemented large-scale trafficking of enslaved Africans to meet this labor demand, driven by economic profit and agricultural expansion.

Why did the Atlantic slave trade escalate compared to earlier African slave trading systems?

Why did British colonists eventually move away from indentured servitude?

British colonists moved away from indentured servitude as the availability of land increased, the cost of indentured servants became less favorable compared to enslaved workers, and the demand for a more reliable, long-term labor source grew with the expansion of plantation agriculture.

The Middle Passage refers to the brutal sea journey undertaken by enslaved Africans from West Africa to the Americas, where they were sold into slavery. This voyage was characterized by overcrowding, disease, and high mortality rates among the captives.

What was the Middle Passage?

Enslaved Africans in the Americas developed resistance communities, creating networks of support, cultural preservation, and resilience in the face of oppression.

What form of community development occurred among enslaved Africans in the Americas?