AP World History Unit 4 - Maritime Empires Vocabulary

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to maritime empires and European expansion during the period of 1450 to 1750, as discussed in the lecture notes.

Maritime Technologies

European adoption and innovation of maritime technologies facilitated their ascendancy on the world stage.

Magnetic Compass

A maritime technology adopted by Europeans, first developed in China, used for navigation.

Astrolabe

A maritime technology adopted by Europeans from ancient Greece and the Arab world, helped sailors know their latitude.

Lateen Sail

A maritime technology adopted by Europeans, used by Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean, enabled them to take wind on both sides.

Portuguese Caravel

A ship design that was smaller than massive merchant ships, better able to navigate inland through rivers and shallow coastal areas.

Growth of State Power

European monarchs were growing far more powerful, centralizing power and playing a significant role in economic decisions.

Mercantilism

A state-driven economic system that characterized imperial European states, aiming to get as much of the world's wealth as possible.

Favorable Balance of Trade

A main goal of mercantilist states, organized economies around exports and avoided imports to accumulate gold and silver.

Joint Stock Company

A limited liability business, often chartered by the state, funded by private investors to finance exploration.

Dutch East India Company (VOC)

A joint stock company chartered by the Dutch state in 1602 with a monopoly on the Indian Ocean trade.

Prince Henry the Navigator

Brought together sailors, mapmakers, and shipbuilders to figure out how to sail down the Atlantic Coast Of Africa.

Trading Post Empire

The Portuguese strategy to set up bare bones trading posts factories in all these places which served to control trade throughout the region.

Christopher Columbus

Sponsored by the Spanish crown to sail across the Atlantic in search of a western route to spice trade, but instead ran into the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

Refers to the transfer of new diseases, food, plants, and animals between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

The Great Dying

Refers to when European states were growing exceedingly wealthy and powerful through their empires in The Americas, the introduction of these diseases meant that indigenous populations were.

Tokugawa Japan

Resisted western powers in the Indian Ocean by almost completely isolating itself from European commerce, only maintaining trade with the Dutch.

The Fronde

Series of rebellions in France in response to absolutism and increased taxation, led by French nobility and peasants.

Maroon Societies

Communities of runaway slaves in The Caribbean and Brazil that resisted colonial authorities.

Asante Empire

In West Africa, they provided goods like gold, ivory, and enslaved people to European traders, expanding their military and political power.

Kingdom of the Congo

In Southern Africa, made diplomatic ties with the Portuguese and provided them with things like gold and copper, and again, enslaved people.