World History Review: 1450 - 1750 CE

Questions of Periodization (1450 - 1750 CE)

Timeline and Context: This era spans roughly $300$ years ( $1450$ to $1750\,CE$ ) and follows the post-classical period ( $600$ to $1450\,CE$ ). While the previous era saw the rise of civilizations and limited regional trade, the early modern era is defined by the first truly worldwide sustained contact between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.
The Globe Encompassed: For the first time in history, global interactions became constant. This was driven by technological innovations, strengthened political organizations, and newfound economic prosperity, completely altering existing world trade patterns.
Rise of Sea-Based Trade: Sea-based trade grew significantly in proportion to land-based trade. This shift resulted in old land-based empires losing relative power to emerging sea-based powers. This was facilitated by both technological advancements and a willingness of political leaders to invest in maritime ventures.
Emergence of European Power: European kingdoms experienced a dramatic increase in power and prosperity compared to established civilizations in Southwest Asia, Africa, and East Asia, though they did not entirely eclipse them during this period.
Decline of Nomadic Groups: The relative power of nomadic groups—who had previously been essential for trade and cultural diffusion—dwindled as water travel replaced land-based routes.
Transformation of Labor Systems: The colonization of the Americas required massive labor forces. Following the demographic collapse of Amerindian populations due to disease, a vigorous slave trade from Africa was established. Other systems, like the Spanish adaptation of the $mita$ and the $encomienda$ , were also utilized.
The Gunpowder Empires: Land-based empires in the Middle East and Asia (Ottoman, Ming, Qing, Mughal, Russia) gained strength from new weaponry. However, they faced traditional challenges: defending large borders, internal communication, and maintaining large standing armies. By $1750$ , many were becoming less powerful than European maritime kingdoms.

Ming China and the Outside World

Restoration of Han Glory: After driving out the Mongols, the Ming Dynasty focused on internal trade and political administration. While wary of foreigners, they permitted trade in closely supervised ports like Quanzhou and Guangzhou.
Vessels of Trade: Foreigners traded spices, cotton fabrics, gems, and pearls for Chinese silk, porcelain, and manufactured goods.
Admiral Zheng He: Between $1405$ and $1433$ , Emperor Yongle sponsored seven naval expeditions commanded by Zheng He, a Muslim from southwestern China. * Fleet Statistics: The fleet consisted of Chinese junks with $9$ masts, which were the largest ships ever launched to that point, significantly larger than the vessels later used by Christopher Columbus. * Travel Range: The fleet traveled through the Chinese seas to Southeast Asia, across the Indian Ocean to India, the Middle East, and the coast of Africa. * Goals: The voyages aimed to demonstrate Chinese power and reinstitute tribute from foreign peoples. * Outcome: The voyages brought back exotic items (like zebras and giraffes for the imperial zoo) but did not generate net revenue. Upon Emperor Yongle’s death, Confucian bureaucrats halted the voyages in the $1430s$ , redirecting funds to defend against nomadic invasions from the West.

Motivations for European Exploration

Commercial Profit: Being on the outskirts of established trade routes, European cities like Venice and Genoa turned to the sea to build fortunes through water transportation.
Missionary Impulse: Christianity remained a missionary religion. Europeans, being overwhelmingly Catholic by $1450$ , aggressively promoted their faith alongside their search for profit.
National Competition: European monarchs financed transoceanic travel to expand their power and establish direct contact with Asian markets.
Bypassing Intermediaries: Europeans sought to bypass the Ottoman Empire and prior Muslim middlemen in the Middle East to reduce taxes and lower prices for Asian luxury goods.

Portuguese and Spanish Expeditions

Prince Henry the Navigator: Established a school for navigators in Portugal to increase maritime influence and spread Christianity.
Key Portuguese Explorers: * Bartolomeu Dias: In $1488$ , he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, discovering the southern tip of Africa. * Vasco da Gama: Rounded the Cape of Good Hope, reached Swahili cities, and used a Muslim guide to sail to India. This led to Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean for much of the $16th$ century. * Technology: The Portuguese utilized superior weapons, specifically ships armed with cannons, to overpower other vessels.
Christopher Columbus: Sponsored by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Columbus used maps by the Greek geographer Ptolemy to attempt a westward route to Asia. * Calculation Error: Ptolemy’s maps estimated the earth's circumference at $\approx 16,000\,\text{miles}$ instead of the actual $\approx 25,000\,\text{miles}$ . * Discovery: Columbus landed in the Americas, though he publicly maintained he had reached islands off the Asian coast.
Treaty of Tordesillas: A line drawn through the Atlantic by the Pope; Portugal received lands to the east (including Brazil) and Spain received lands to the west.
Ferdinand Magellan: His expedition ( $1519$ – $1522$ ) was the first to circumnavigate the globe. Though Magellan was killed in the Philippines and only one ship returned, the voyage proved the vastness of the Pacific and symbolized the first union of the hemispheres.

The Conquest of the Americas

Hernan Cortes: In $1519$ , Cortes led a small group of Spanish soldiers to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and defeated the empire using gunpowder technology and the spread of disease.
Francisco Pizarro: Attacked and defeated the Inca Empire shortly after the fall of the Aztecs.
Key Factors in Conquest: * Gunpowder: Advanced European metallurgy allowed for the creation of guns and cannons. * Disease: Smallpox epidemics decimated the Aztec army and other Amerindian populations who had no built-up resistance.

French and English in North America

Timing: They arrived primarily in the $17th\,century$ , exploring areas ignored by Spain.
French Settlement: Concentrated in the St. Lawrence River area (Canada) and the Mississippi River valley down to the Gulf of Mexico. They primarily focused on the fur trade, which required mobility.
English Settlement: Concentrated along the Atlantic coast. English colonies were more heavily populated than others because the government allowed trading companies to manage and encourage settlement.

The Triangle Trade and the Columbian Exchange

Triangle Trade: A circular network connecting North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. * Leg 1: Europe to Africa (hardware, guns, Indian cotton). * Leg 2 (Middle Passage): Africa to the Americas (slaves transported under inhumane conditions). * Leg 3: Americas to Europe (plantation goods: sugar, tobacco, cotton).
The Columbian Exchange: The global transfer of plants, animals, and diseases. * Old World to New World: Horses, cows, pigs, wheat, barley, sugar cane, melons, grapes, bananas, coconut palms, coffee, goats, chickens. * New World to Old World: Corn (maize), potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squash, beans, pineapples, peppers, tobacco, chocolate, and cassava. * Demographic Impact of Disease: Amerindians lacked immunity to measles, diphtheria, typhus, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever. Population in the Western Hemisphere dropped from $\approx 67\,\text{million}$ in $1500$ to $\approx 13\,\text{million}$ by $1700$ . Syphilis was the only major disease to travel from the Americas to the Old World.

Maritime Technology and Revolution

Weaponry: Forging of the first guns and cannons allowed Europeans to intimidate and defeat foes.
Ship Design: Use of deep drafts and round hulls was ideal for Atlantic travel.
Navigation Tools: * Compass: Adapted from the Arabs (who learned it from the Chinese). * Astrolabe: An Arab invention used to determine latitude relative to the equator.
Cartography: Advance in mapmaking, including the Mercator Projection, which distorted land size at the poles but remained accurate for navigators in the middle latitudes.

Political Transformation and Absolute Monarchy

Transition from Feudalism: Monarchs in Spain, England, and France curbed the power of the nobility by imposing taxes and amassing large standing armies.
Absolutism: The belief that the king holds all power, reinforced by the Divine Right Theory, which states kings act as "God’s lieutenants upon earth." * France: Cardinal Richelieu undermined the nobility. Louis XIV ("the Sun King") centralized power at the Palace of Versailles, famously stating "L'etat c'est moi" (I am the state).
Constitutionalism: Limits on ruler's power. * Magna Carta ( $1215$ ): List of noble rights in England. * English Civil War ( $1640s$ ): Parliament defeated King Charles I, establishing the supremacy of a limited government. * The Netherlands: Shared a model where wealthy merchants participated in government.

Social and Gender Structures in Europe

Rise of the Bourgeoisie: A new class of "town dwellers" who gained wealth through trade and often allied with monarchs.
Increasing Wealth Gap: Trade created a widening divide between the rich bourgeoisie and the urban/rural poor.
Marriage Changes: Young people began choosing their own spouses rather than having them arranged. Marriages were delayed until people finished apprenticeships or settled into business, leading to more independence from parents.

Comparative Colonial Models

Spain and Portugal: Used viceroys as personal representatives of the king. They established a hierarchical class system: * Peninsulares: Europeans born in Spain (highest status). * Creoles: Europeans born in the Americas. * Mestizos/Mulattoes: Mixed European/Amerindian and European/African heritage. * Native/African: Bottom of the hierarchy; subjected to the $encomienda$ and $mita$ systems.
English: Allowed for more independence and representative bodies like Parliament. They practiced "salutary neglect" and were more concerned with profit than religious conversion.

Comparative Muslim "Gunpowder" Empires

Ottoman Empire (Sunni Muslim): Based in Turkey; controlled the Dardanelles and Mediterranean. Used Janissaries (Balkan Christians captured and trained as elite soldiers). Famous ruler: Suleiman the Magnificent.
Safavid Empire (Shi'a Muslim): Based in modern-day Iran. Believed in the "Hidden Imam." Lacked a navy and forced conversions to Shi'ism.
Mughal Empire: Ruled a majority Hindu population in the Indian subcontinent. Akbar attempted to reconcile faiths, while Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal. Introduced Sikhism (a blend of Islam and Hinduism).
Shared Problems: Inadequate transportation, unruly warrior elites (like Janissaries), and the rise of European competition.

The Qing Dynasty and the Jesuits

Manchu Conquest: Overthrew the Ming in $1644$ , establishing the Qing ("Pure") Dynasty. They maintained ethnic identity (forbidding intermarriage and requiring Chinese men to wear queues) but ruled under the Mandate of Heaven.
Prosperity: Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong oversaw a "golden age." Qianlong cancelled taxes because the government had a treasury surplus.
Jesuit Interaction: Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits impressed the court with European science (correcting calendars) and gadgets (chiming clocks). Contact was curtailed after the Pope condemned "ancestor worship."

Tokugawa Japan

Shogunate: The Tokugawa family unified Japanese daimyos in the early $17th\,century$ . The government (bakufu) was based in Edo (Tokyo).
Alternate Attendance: Daimyos were required to spend every other year at the shogun's court to limit their ability to raise private armies.
Isolation (Sakoku): Fearful of Spanish-style conquest and Christian influence, the shogunate closed Japan in the $1630s$ , forbidding travel and expelling Europeans.

The Russian Empire and Peter the Great

State of Russia: A vast, feudalistic empire with no navy and minimal infrastructure.
Westernization: Peter the Great toured Europe to study shipbuilding and government styles.
Reforms: * Military: Professionalized the army and built a navy from scratch. * St. Petersburg: Moved the capital to a new "Window on the West" on the Baltic Sea. * Bureaucracy: Created the Table of Ranks to replace nobility titles with merit-based positions.

Africa and the Slave Trade

Songhay Empire: Large empire in West Africa organized under Sunni Ali; defeated in $1591$ by a Moroccan army with muskets.
Kingdom of Kongo: Central African state with a trading relationship with Portugal; early convert to Christianity.
Mercantilism: Economic system where the mother country accumulates gold and silver through trade. The slave trade was a crucial part of this "Great Circuit." * Destination: Most slaves were sent to Brazil or the Caribbean for sugar production. * Gender Split: Most slaves to the Americas were male; most slaves to the Middle East/India were female (concubines).

Demographic and Environmental Shifts

Population Data ( $1000$ to $1700\,CE$ ): * Europe: Grew from $\approx 36\,\text{million}$ to $\approx 120\,\text{million}$ . * Americas: Decreased from $\approx 67\,\text{million}$ to $\approx 13\,\text{million}$ . * Africa: Increased to $\approx 60\,\text{million}$ (maize/cassava from the Americas supported growth). * Asia: Doubled to $\approx 415\,\text{million}$ .
Environmental Impact: * Soil Exhaustion: Reliance on single cash crops (sugar) depleted the soil. * Deforestation: Huge areas cleared for pastures, plantations, and timber for shipbuilding. Shortages led to the increased use of coal in England.

European Intellectual Movements

Renaissance: Highlighting humanism (human capabilities) over religion. Supported by patrons like the Medici family.
Scientific Revolution: Shift from geocentric (Ptolemy) to heliocentric (Copernicus, Galileo). Isaac Newton formulated laws of gravity and light.
Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther’s $95\,\text{Theses}$ ( $1517$ ) challenged Catholic indulgences. Facilitated by Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press ( $\approx 1450$ ).
Enlightenment: Application of scientific reason to politics. John Locke argued government based on the "consent of the governed" and the duty of citizens to rebel against unjust monarchs.

Questions & Discussion

Which empires gained in power?: Spain, Portugal, England, France, Ottoman, Qing, Russia.
Which empires lost power?: Aztec, Inca, Swahili city-states, Songhay, and nomadic groups.
Difference between 1450-1750 and 600-1450: The later period is defined by global connection (Eastern and Western hemispheres), the dominance of sea-based trade, and the use of gunpowder.
Problems of Gunpowder Empires: Like empires from $600\,BCE$ – $600\,CE$ , they struggled with border defense, internal communication, and high maintenance costs for armies.
Impact of Gutenberg’s Press: It allowed Reformation ideas to spread rapidly; without it, the Renaissance and Maritime Revolutions would not have been possible.
John Locke’s Ideas: Rulers derive authority from the consent of the people; citizens have a duty to rebel if laws are overstepped.
Social Effects of Columbian Exchange: Creation of new racial hierarchies in the Americas (Mestizos, Mulattoes) and the destruction of indigenous societal structures.
Economic Effects of Columbian Exchange: Prosperity for European merchants, the rise of the plantation economy, and the expansion of global trade networks including the silver trade (Manila Galleons).