Ap World History - Unit 4

Transoceanic Empires

Skill: CCOT (Change and Continuities Over Time)

Reminders/shortcuts used

ST: short term , LT: long term

E: Economical, R: Religious, T: Technology

POW: prisoners of war

C: continuity + NC: No changes

Important Dates:

> 1517: Catholic vs. Protestant (protestant reformation). Questioning of authority

> 16th - 17th centuries: mercantilism (before capitalism took over)

> 1530s: printing press used for literacy 

> 1550 - 1648 - century war

> 1535 - Cortes became ruler

> 1540s - 1680s: Acts of resistance

> 1622 - Njinga released + succession

> 1624 - Njinga became her brother’s successor 

> 1626 - war was created against Njinga

Portuguese Explorations

New technologies:

• Astrolabe - to measure latitude (how long N or S they were)

• Triangular sails (China + Arab) - ship is more agile

• Caravel - more sturdy ships (designed that way)

• Compass - direction + accuracy in locations (specifically N.+ From China)

Other factors that motivated Portuguese through the overseas trade:

 R: 

•  Desire to spread Christianity (looked up to the Pope a lot) → wanted to christianize non - Muslims (Sacred duties)

• Believed that they were saving people's souls + devotion

• Spreading Christianity was CRUCIAL after 1517 - Protestant Reformation → Christianity splits into more branches)

 E:

• Desire for new sources of wealthy (spices/luxury) for merchants to sell (profits) and to season foods

• Direct route to Asia → avoid taxes on luxury goods instituted by ottomans + Italian cities

• Prince Henry funds voyages and has access to them; helps by conquering Ceuta (N. Africa) + made a navigation school for ship builders, mapmakers, etc… 

• Sugar → better farmland

 T:

• Advances in Tech. → finally have the ability to explore → recognition + glory

• Treaty of Tordesillas’ to split newly discovered land between Portugal and Spain to prevent conflict over land.

Portuguese ports:

• Stayed on the coast lines, established ports + created new ones

• S.E. Asia: Pepper + cinnamon

• India: Textiles + Cotton

• Ports: to trade peacefully, conquer Kilwa (modern day indonesia) 

Spanish Conquest of the Americas

Important people:

• La Malinche/Marina: translator, informer, and mistress for Cortes who helped his small army force when they entered the cities through her knowing the native languages of the Yucatan Peninsula + Mayan and Aztec languages (Yucatec and Nahuatul) helping with communication of who Cortes may encounter (and eventually learned spanish)

• Moctezuma: Aztec emperor who dominated tribes in surrounding regions and got killed due to belief of working with cortes (who forced conquistadors out the city)

• Atalhualpa: executed brother (power fight), who later was captured by 200 men → executed but ruled the Inca Empire

Systems + Purpose:

• Encomienda: when a colonist is granted permission to demand tribute from a group of Native Americans in a region (under harsh conditions + attempts to make them convert to christianity)

• Repartimiento: when colonists were allowed to do forced labor amongst Indians within the conditions of working in farms,  public-work projects, mines,etc… (like slavery)

• Hacienda: large rural estate in Spanish-america originating with spanish colonizations in the 1th century (for farm/crops) 

Factors that contributed to the success of the Spanish Conquests

• Native Americans WEREN’T united people → but many competitive people involved → the spanish then found allies amongst these competitive groups

• Spain had firearms, steel armor, weapons, and horses (which were never seen in the Americas before) [Natives were more used to up-close hand in hand fights]

• The 2 empires were CENTRALIZED with a leader → if they got killed the empire starts to self destruct and end up disorganized (more remote groups)

Valuable items:

• Gold + silver

• Why?: generated inflation, loans/debts can be paid with silver, purchase: textiles, spices, silk, etc… ; Asia DEMANDED silver payments

• However: economic status gaps (due to paid amounts differences)

CCOT: Hierarchies changing - gender + religion:

 C:

• Natives converted to Christianity

• Native women were more like wives instead of mistresses

• Fortnums become the highest social class

 NC:

• Still had forced labor at the bottom of the social hierarchy (like slavery)

Cortes vs. PIzzaro in Americas:

Protestant reformation

Causes: Martin Luther criticized the church because… 

> Indulgences → pay to go to heaven 

> Amount of Political Power the church held

> leaders were corrupt

> Pop shouldn’t be the only one to interpret the bible

> Church Hierarchy/leadership

• Why is it necessary?

• Many WEREN’T educated

He summarized his ideas in 95 theses

Major differences b/t the Church and Luther’s systems:

> Social structure (all equal vs. clergy as higher rank)

> Interpretation of bible (everyone vs. Church) → loss of power, didn’t need church officials

> Loss of hierarchy

** Printing press: more books + more access to education, more literacy (1530s)

Short and long term effects of the protestant reformation

Company States

Mercantilism:

• Economic System, based on wealth of empire (how much gold/silver they had - treasury)

•  colonies provided raw materials to the mother country (ideally for self sufficiency) 

• Raw materials: silver, metals, cotton, fur, metals etc… → they could purchase for a low price but sell for high (PROFITS!!) 

• Ideally to sell/export rather than import/purchase

• Although some smuggled items

*** colonies were ONLY ALLOWED to purchase from the mother country ***

Political + religious situations play in the economic competition b/t european states: 

• The division b/t Catholic vs. protestant (Split in catholic church)  implied that they would compete and choose beliefs → states fought over religion OFTEN → Religious disputes b/t states → more serious economic competition 

 Ex:

• Britain vs. Spain

• Netherlands revolted against Spain bc the want of being Protestant AND independent

   → Caused disputes in the economies

Institutions British/Dutched developed to stabilize/facilitate economies/exploration:

• Britain: created a bank to manage currency at a fixed rate (stable economy)

• Dutch: also made a bank bc they would always pay their debts → built trust with others

*** Both created trade companies to manage trade

Stock exchange: BOURSE → buy/sell shares/ ownership in a company (like a market)

Joint stock companies, why successful in the Netherlands/Britain?:

Join stock: company with multiple owners/shareholders that own shares (partial ownership)

• Netherlands: successful in agriculture; need/wanted more resources → Spice islands (indonesia)

• BOTH Britain and Netherlandscraeted/focused on financial institutions (stability), which the Joint Stock would use these to grow. (Bank → loans, Bourse + Exchanges → Sell stocks)

• **Company states are DEVOTED to making PROFIT while being owned by PRIVATE individuals and have sovereign prerogatives (ie. make war + peace)

Atlantic trade + transatlantic slave trade

Triangular Trade(TT) + Middle Passage(MP):

• TT: the process of Africans being transported and shipped to the Americas and were traded in for manufactured goods → being transported and sold into the W. Indies, or New Engliand and Africa: exchanging merchandise for the enslaved (ideally for sugar and Molasses

• MP: Known as N and S America, considered the “middle leg” of the trade routes; cruelly characteried bc many were placed in a large dark hold of the ship, and being beaten/whipped by merchants and diseases came upon them → many committed suicide or died 

Roles of leaders in Af.

• Captured slaves to later be purchased (europeans didn’t know the area of their territory)

Ships that carried the slaves:

  Ex: L’Aurore

• Physical structure:barricado - 9 ft wall to split enslaved men from women, crew, and children; Iron crate grid - shackles in line with firearm, chained together in groups of ~ 5

• Why was it designed that way?: dehumanization, prevent rebellion, PURPOSEFULLY weakened them to prevent fighting back (they were barely fed) 

Plantation Economy/motivations:

• Plantation economy: System  that depended on slave labor, Goal: to cultivate cash crops for money/profit

• Motivation: merchants wanted profits → willing to trade with people to gain goods to then sell, slave labor was free

• Why?: natives (also slaves) died due to exposure to disease, Africans were easy to distinguish → couldn’t oftenly escape (also didn't know the new land area as well) + had immunity (due to previous exposures)

Major Effects on societies in Africa and for those taken abroad:

CCOT : how the atlantic trade affected/established slave trade networks in Af.

Columbian Exchange:

Microbials, plants, animals brought b/t old and new world:

Positive/negative effects on the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia

Resistance to Colonization

Actions to resist slavery/ trade (1540s - 1860s) - general

~ Large revolts

~ Tried to maintain/remember religious practices

~ Killed European colonists

~ Many jumped off the boats (mutinies)

~ Slow production by breaking tools and working slowly

~ Run away → Flee and create a separate community “marrons”

Specific groups/ people and how they resisted:

Comparisons of resistance: