The Americas, Europe, China, Mughal, Ottoman, and Africa: Key Themes and Events

Columbian Exchange

The massive transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old and New Worlds after 1492 reshaped global diets, economies, and populations.

Malintzin

A Nahua woman who served as translator, advisor, and cultural broker for Cortés during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.

Aztec Triple Alliance

A military and political union of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan that dominated central Mexico through tribute extraction and warfare.

Tribute System (Aztec)

Subject peoples paid goods like maize, textiles, and feathers to the Aztec capital in exchange for protection and integration.

Chinampa Agriculture

Aztec 'floating gardens' built from lakebed mud enabled up to seven harvests per year, supporting Tenochtitlan's massive population.

The Great Dying

The catastrophic 90% population collapse of Indigenous Americans due to disease, war, and exploitation after 1492.

Encomienda System

A Spanish colonial labor system granting conquistadors rights to Indigenous labor in exchange for Christianization.

Tenochtitlan

The Aztec capital was a sophisticated island city of 150,000 with canals, markets, and temples—larger than most European cities in 1500.

Tlaxcalan Alliance

The Tlaxcalans allied with Cortés against the Aztecs due to long-standing rivalries and resentment of tribute demands.

Smallpox Epidemic (1520)

Introduced by a Spanish slave, smallpox killed the Aztec emperor Cuitláhuac and tens of thousands, crippling Tenochtitlan's defense.

Absolutism (Louis XIV)

Louis XIV of France ruled as an absolute monarch who declared 'I am the state,' centralized power at Versailles, and revoked the Edict of Nantes.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

England's bloodless coup replaced James II with William and Mary, establishing parliamentary supremacy and constitutional monarchy.

Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther's 1517 challenge to Church authority shattered Christendom and sparked religious wars across Europe.

Catholic Reformation

The Council of Trent (1545-63) reformed Church corruption and launched global missionary efforts, including in the Americas.

Witch Craze

Between 1500-1750, ~90,000 people (mostly women) were prosecuted for witchcraft amid religious and social instability.

Inquisition

Tribunals in Spain and Portugal enforced religious orthodoxy by persecuting Jews, Muslims, and Protestants.

Mercantilism

Economic policy aiming to enrich the state through trade surpluses, colonies, and bullion accumulation.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Over 6.5 million Africans were forcibly shipped to the Americas between 1700-1800 to work on plantations.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

Ended the Thirty Years' War and recognized multiple Christian denominations, strengthening state sovereignty.

Enclosure Movement

English landlords privatized communal farmland, displacing peasants and creating a wage-labor force.

Qin Liangyu

A female military commander who led troops for the Ming and ruled a semi-autonomous indigenous polity in Sichuan.

Tusi Chieftain System

Ming policy granting autonomy to non-Han frontier leaders in exchange for loyalty and military service.

Global Indigenous State Formation

The process by which polities like Qin Liangyu's used global goods (silver, guns) to build power within imperial systems.

Ming-Qing Transition

The 17th-century collapse of the Ming and rise of the Qing involved not just Manchu conquest but competition among indigenous states.

Manchu (Qing) Conquest

The Qing emerged from Nurhaci's consolidation of Jurchen tribes and eventually replaced the Ming in 1644.

Banner System

Qing military-social organization grouping Manchus, Mongols, and Han into hereditary units under imperial control.

Silver Inflows (from Americas)

Massive silver imports from Spanish America fueled China's economy and tax system but also caused inflation.

Ming Loyalism

Resistance to Qing rule by figures like Qin Liangyu reflected loyalty to the Ming as a world order, not just a dynasty.

Ethnic Autonomy in Southwest China

Regions like Chongqing were ethnically diverse and governed through indigenous elites, not Han bureaucracy.

Nurhaci

Founder of the Later Jin (Qing precursor), he united Jurchen tribes and challenged Ming authority using both diplomacy and warfare.

Akbar's Sulh-e-Kul

Akbar's policy of 'universal peace' promoted religious tolerance and dialogue among Muslims, Hindus, Jains, and Christians.

Mansabdari System

A ranked imperial service corps integrating Rajputs, Iranians, and Central Asians into Mughal administration.

Din-i Ilahi

Akbar's short-lived syncretic faith blending Islam, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism to elevate the emperor as spiritual guide.

Aurangzeb's Religious Policies

He reimposed jizya on non-Muslims and destroyed temples, reversing Akbar's tolerance and alienating allies.

Baburnama

Babur's memoir blends Central Asian, Persian, and Indian perspectives, offering insight into early Mughal identity.

Dara Shikoh

Shah Jahan's son who translated the Upanishads into Persian and sought Hindu-Muslim unity before being executed by Aurangzeb.

Mughal Art & Architecture

Monuments like the Taj Mahal fused Persian, Indian, and Islamic styles to project imperial grandeur.

Deccan Campaigns

Aurangzeb's costly wars in southern India drained the treasury and sparked Maratha resistance.

Mir Jumla

A diamond merchant who rose to become Mughal governor of Bengal, exemplifying social mobility through commerce and service.

Decline of the Mughal Empire

After Aurangzeb, the empire fragmented into successor states like Hyderabad and Awadh.

Devshirme System

Christian boys from the Balkans were taken, converted, and trained as Janissaries or administrators loyal only to the sultan.

Millet System

Non-Muslim communities (Orthodox, Armenian, Jewish) governed their own religious and legal affairs under Ottoman rule.

Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana)

An enslaved woman who became Suleiman's legal wife and influenced diplomacy, breaking centuries of royal tradition.

Sultanate of Women

A period (1534-1683) when royal mothers and consorts wielded major influence over succession and policy.

Janissaries

Elite infantry recruited via devshirme, they became both the empire's military backbone and a source of political instability.

Gaza Ideology

The belief that Ottoman expansion was holy war, used to legitimize conquest and unify frontier warriors.

Conquest of Constantinople (1453)

Mehmed II's capture of the Byzantine capital made Istanbul the Ottoman heart and symbol of Islamic triumph.

Kanun vs. Sharia

Sultans issued secular laws (kanun) alongside divine Islamic law (sharia) to govern taxation, crime, and land.

Chief Black Eunuch

Enslaved African men who controlled the harem and managed endowments for Mecca and Medina.

Istanbul as Imperial Capital

A cosmopolitan city where Muslims, Christians, and Jews traded, worshipped, and coexisted under Ottoman rule.

Queen Nzinga of Ndongo-Matamba

A 17th-century Angolan ruler who used diplomacy, warfare, and Christianity to resist Portuguese colonization for 40 years.

Kingdom of Kongo

A centralized Christian state that adapted Catholicism into local beliefs and engaged in diplomacy with Europe.

Antonian Movement (Kimpa Vita)

A Kongolese prophetess who taught that Jesus was Black and Kongo was the holy land, challenging Portuguese Church control.

Benin Bronzes

Brass plaques cast from European manillas that depicted royal power, later looted by the British in 1897.

Songhay Empire

A West African Islamic state centered on Timbuktu, destroyed by Moroccan firearms in 1591.

Swahili Coast City-States

Bantu-Islamic trading hubs like Kilwa that connected Africa to Indian Ocean commerce until Portuguese disruption.

Ethiopian-Adal War

A 16th-century conflict where Ethiopia allied with Portugal to defeat Muslim forces, testing faith and sovereignty.

Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

An older network moving ~5 million Africans to North Africa and the Middle East before the Atlantic trade.

Atlantic Slave Trade (African agency)

African elites controlled the supply of captives, negotiating prices and terms with European traders.

Faith Hybridity (e.g., Kongo Christianity)

African societies blended imported religions with local cosmologies to create new spiritual and political forms.