Pg -194-241 Notes (Ch4)
Italicized stuff isn’t too important for general review
### Chapter 4: Political Transformations, 1450–1750
#### Landmarks (Timeline Overview, pp. 204–205)
- 1450–1750 European Empires: Focus on expansion of European colonial empires alongside growth of land-based empires (Russian, Chinese, Ottoman, Mughal).
- Visual: Timeline chart showing parallel growth of European colonial empires and Eurasian land empires from 1450–1750.
#### European Empires in the Americas (pp. 204–205)
- Overview: European (especially Iberian) powers built empires in the Americas through conquest and colonization, transforming global power dynamics. This shifted wealth from Asia to Europe, enabling further expansion.
What historic changes did European colonial empires in the Americas bring? - Set in early modern empires, lay a foundation for an ocean away from the imperial center, rather than adjacent territories. Following breakthroughs in the voyages of Columbus and others, the Spanish focused their empire-building efforts, making stunning conquests in the sixteenth century.
- The European Advantage:
- Geography: Countries on the Atlantic rim of Europe (Portugal, Spain, Britain, France) were simply closer to the rich markets than were any potential Asian competitors. Moreover, for its Chinese, Indian, Muslim participants in ocean worlds provided little incentive waters. Europeans, however, were powerfully motivated to do so.
- Marginal Position: In the European world elites of Eurasian increasingly aware of their region's determined to gain access to that world. Once the Americas were discovered, winds filled with trade carried countries closer to the Atlantic than Europe—Portugal, Spain, Britain, France.
- Vocab:
- Atlantic Rim: The coastal regions of Europe facing the Atlantic Ocean, giving Portugal, Spain, England, and France geographic advantages for transatlantic exploration and trade.
- Eurasian World Elites: Leaders in Asia and Europe aware of global trade networks, motivating European expansion.
- AP Exam Tip: Understand the process of European state-building in the Americas.
#### Zooming In: Doña Marina: Between Two Worlds (pp. 208–209)
- Doña Marina (Malinche): Nahua woman who served as Cortés's translator and advisor during the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs (1519). Born around 1500, sold into slavery as a child, gifted to Cortés in 1519.
- Background: Daughter of a Nahua lord; after father's death, mother remarried and sold her to protect half-brother's inheritance. Raised among Maya speakers in Tabasco.
- Role: Quickly learned Spanish; acted as interpreter, advisor, and intermediary. Helped negotiate alliances (e.g., with Tlaxcalans against Aztecs). Gave birth to Cortés's son Martín, first mestizo child.
- Legacy: Viewed as traitor by some Mexicans ("La Malinche" as symbol of betrayal); others see her as victim or empowered figure. Biblical parallel to Joseph (sold into slavery, rises to power). Her choices in larger contexts: survival amid conquest, cultural/linguistic bridge.
- Questions for Analysis: How did Doña Marina's life reflect the experiences of women during the conquest? In what larger contexts might you find a place for her?
- Image Description: Portrait of Doña Marina with Cortés; illustrates her dual role.
- Vocab:
- Mestizo: Person of mixed European (Spanish) and Indigenous American ancestry.
- Nahua: Indigenous group including Aztecs.
- Tlaxcalans: Indigenous allies of Cortés against Aztecs.
#### The Great Dying and the Little Ice Age (pp. 208–209)
- Demographic Impact: Native Americans had no immunity to Eurasian diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza); 90% of population died post-contact. Absence of domesticated animals in Americas meant less exposure.
- Scale: 50–90 million zones dominated by Aztec and Inca empires; Afro-Eurasian world immunities (smallpox, measles, typhus) led to Old World diseases. Therefore, when Native American people came into contact with these Europeans, 90% died. In appallingly short numbers, in many cases losing up to virtually vanished within fifty years of Columbus's arrival. Central Mexico, with a population of about 1 million by 1650 (Native Nahua before Spanish conquest).
- Social Breakdown: Accompanied by the Nahua (Spanish conquest), a great many died from this plague, and many others died of hunger. They could not get up.
- Chief Consequences: Apparent in empires; global significance is empires. Although precise figures are debated, scholars generally agree that pre-Columbian population of Western Hemisphere was substantial, perhaps 50–60 million.
- AP^1 Continuity and Change: What large-scale transformations did European empires in the Americas, in Europe, and globally?
- Climate Change: Little Ice Age (global cooling, ca. 1550–1850) exacerbated vulnerabilities.
- Impacts: Wetter conditions in some areas, drier in others; affected food production. In Europe, coupled with sharp population buildup of immigrants.
- Vocab:
- Great Dying: Catastrophic population decline in the Americas due to European-introduced diseases post-1492.
- Little Ice Age: Period of global cooling (ca. 1550–1850) leading to harsher winters, shorter growing seasons, and crop failures.
- Columbian Exchange: Global transfer of plants, animals, diseases, people, and cultures between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.
#### Map 4.1: European Colonial Empires in the Americas (pp. 206–207)
- Key Features:
- Spanish: Dominant in Central/South America (Mexico, Peru, Caribbean); includes Philippines as outlier.
- Portuguese: Brazil.
- French: Quebec, Louisiana, Caribbean islands.
- English: Eastern North America (Jamestown 1607 onward).
- Dutch: Brief holdings in Brazil/Caribbean, New Netherland (New York).
- Questions:
- Which European power controlled the most territory in the Americas? (Spain)
- Compare Map 4.1 with Map 7.3. Which European powers lost colonies by 1830s? Which retained theirs? Which did both? (Spain/Portugal lost most; Britain/France retained North American holdings.)
#### Comparing Colonial Societies in the Americas (pp. 212–213)
- **Main Point: In what different ways did European colonialism take shape in the finding Americas? Empires—Spanish, Portuguese, British, French—generated widely not societies, based on European and African people, cultures, plants, animals, and the introduction colonial strategies were based on their countries' economic interests: mercantilism, which held that governments served on economic interests.
- Key Differences:
- Spanish/Portuguese: Wholly generated not societies, based on European and African people, cultures, plants, animals, and the introduction colonial strategies were based on their countries' economic interests: mercantilism, which held that governments served on economic interests.
- British/French: Sowed semi-feudal and Catholic Spain and a more profoundly changing Protestant England. The kind of economies based on slave labor, in particular regions—settler-dominated agriculture likewise mining.
- North vs. South: Development so too did the character of the Native American influenced—the more densely populated and urbanized villages and Andean civilizations dif- fered. Furthermore, women and men often experienced colonial intrusion in quite district ways. Beyond labor, disease, and death on an almost unimaginable scale, the greatest rewards. Mountains of the greatest rewards. Mountains of the Americas exchange it gave rise to something wholly new in world history: an interacting Atlantic world that permanently linked North and South Europe, Africa.
- Long-Term Benefits: This enormous network of communication, migration, trade animals, all generated by Europeans and has been dubbed the Columbian exchange. It gave rise to something wholly new in world history: an interacting Atlantic world that permanently linked North and South Europe, Africa.
- Vocab:
- Mercantilism: Economic theory that governments should regulate trade to maximize exports and accumulate bullion (gold/silver).
- AP Exam Tip: Understand the effects of the Columbian Exchange.
#### The Columbian Exchange (pp. 212–213)
- Overview: Exchange of plants, animals, diseases, people between Old and New Worlds.
- To Europe/Africa/Asia: Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peppers; grew population from 60–400 million (potatoes in Europe). Tobacco, chocolate as luxuries.
- To Americas: Wheat, rice, sugarcane, horses, cattle, pigs; transformed landscapes and diets.
- Diseases: Smallpox, measles devastated Native populations (90% decline).
- People: Enslaved Africans to Americas; European settlers.
- Image: Florentine Codex illustrations of disease/death among Aztecs.
- Vocab:
- Domesticated Animals: Old World (horses, cattle) introduced to Americas, enabling ranching/hunting cultures.
- AP^1 Causation: What factors caused Europeans less susceptible to the diseases pictured here than the population?
#### The Diminishing Populations of the Americas, the Impact of Little Ice Age, created an acute labor shortage. In sharp with the for immigrants of the colonial era and beyond. Over the centuries, enslaved Africans over the colonized various combinations Africans. Overlay those colonial societies, free Europeans, and enslaved before 1492. Notably, those colonial and their societies, free Europeans, and enslaved before 1492. Notably, those colonial and their societies, free Europeans, and enslaved Africans.
- Climate Change: Little Ice Age (ca. 1550–1850) brought cooler temperatures, erratic weather.
- Europe: Harsh winters, crop failures; contributed to Thirty Years' War, English Civil War.
- China: Droughts (1637–1641), floods; Ming collapse.
- General Crisis: Wars, revolts (e.g., Ming dynasty fall, English Civil War 1642–1651).
- Vocab:
- Thirty Years' War (1618–1648): Devastating European conflict over religion/politics.
- AP Exam Tip: Be sure to understand the Columbian Exchange's global economic, environmental, and cultural effects. How did the climate change? How did the C exchange transform societies in the Americas?
#### In the Lands of the Aztecs and the Incas (pp. 214–215)
- Spanish Conquest: In the urbanized central Mexican heartland of the Aztec Empire and the Andean highlands of the Inca Empire, the Spaniards imposed a conquest society based on a huge forced labor tribute system known as the encomienda.
- Encomienda: System granting Spanish colonists land and Indigenous labor in exchange for "protection" and Christianization (often exploitative).
- Economy: Large rural estates (haciendas) for silver mining, agriculture; native people rather than enslaved Africans. Most labor was coerced, despite directly required by gold or silver authorities not removed legal.
- Society: By seventeenth century, hacienda system took shape, from slavery. By owners of large estates directly employed the peons who worked low wages, high taxes, and large debts over their lives or their livelihood.
- Gender Dynamics: On this economic base, a hierarchical society while acknowledging replacing the racial and cultural different Native Americans and Africans as well as growing numbers of multicultural people. At the top of this colonial society were the male Spanish settlers who were aristocratic or at least aspired to be. One Spanish official commented in 1619: "The Spaniards from the able and rich to the humble and poor, all themselves saw not as colonists but as residents of a Spanish kingdom, subject to the Spanish monarch yet separate.
- Vocab:
- Hacienda: Large Spanish colonial estate worked by peons (Indigenous laborers).
- Encomienda: Spanish system of tribute labor from Indigenous peoples.
#### Economy and Society in Colonial Spanish America (pp. 214–215)
- Social Structure: Hierarchical, race-based (casta system).
- Top: Peninsulares (Spain-born whites), Creoles (American-born whites).
- Middle: Mestizos (European-Indigenous mix).
- Bottom: Indigenous, Africans.
- Gender: Indigenous women increasingly excluded from courts or codes or codes took their menfolk. This made it more difficult to maintain female rights. In 1804, for example, Maya legal owners of a piece of land, but the Spanish translation omitted the women's names altogether. At the local level, Indigenous male authorities. Both Andean and Maya women continued to leave personal property to their female descendants. Maize, beans, and squash persisted as the major elements of the Indigenous diet in Mexico. Christian saints in many places blended easily.
- AP Exam Tip: Understand consequences, the Aztec and Inca empires.
#### Comparing Main Point: In what different ways did European colonialism take shape in the Americas? (pp. 212–213, extended)
- Spanish/Portuguese: Extractive (mining, plantations); multiracial societies.
- English/French/Dutch: Settler colonies in North America/Caribbean; more family-based farms.
- Differences in Native Impact: Dense populations (Aztecs/Incas) led to more labor extraction; sparser North American groups to displacement.
- Women/Men: Experienced differently; e.g., women as household servants, men in fields.
- Snapshot: Ethnic Composition of Colonial Societies in Latin America (1825) (Table from p. 219):
| Group | Highland Spanish America (%) | Portuguese America (Brazil) (%) |
|----------------|------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| Europeans | 18.2 | 23.4 |
| Multiracial | 28.3 | 17.8 |
| Africans | 11.9 | 43.8 |
| Native Americans | 41.7 | 9.1 |
- Source: Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith, Modern Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 25.
- AP Exam Tip: How did ethnic composition differ with Latin America?
#### Empire Building: Politics and Administration (pp. 220–221)
- Spanish/Portuguese: Highly centralized; viceroyalties (e.g., New Spain, Peru); Catholic Church key in conversion/education.
- Council of the Indies: Spanish body overseeing American colonies.
- British North America: Decentralized; royal charters to companies/individuals; elected assemblies; less religious control (Protestant emphasis on Bible literacy >75% white males literate by 1770s).
- Differences: British had no elaborate imperial bureaucracy; assemblies contested governors' prerogatives.
- Grand Irony: Long-established relationships between north and south lay in reversal of Mesoamerican and centers of wealth, power, commerce, innovation colonial era, as the Spanish and Portuguese. That pattern continued, for much of the nineteenth century however, the balance in North America. In the table, more democratic colonial world became the United States. What had once been powerful than a divided, unstable, and much less prosperous Latin internationally.
- Empire Building I: Politics and Administration.
- Paris on the Role of Religion: Differences in the role of religion in the colonies.
- Vocab:
- Viceroyalty: Administrative division in Spanish empire (e.g., Viceroyalty of New Spain).
- Creoles: American-born descendants of European settlers.
#### Settler Colonies in North America (pp. 220–221)
- Overview: Emerged in northern British colonies (New England, New York, Pennsylvania). Lands regarded as unpromising (vs. Spanish New World). Until at least the eighteenth century, these British colonies remained far less prominent on the world stage than those of Spain or Portugal.
- Society: British settlers came from a semi-feudal, more rapidly changing society. Had experienced considerable conflict between Catholics and Protestants, rise of merchant capitalism distinct from nobility, emergence of Parliament challenging royal authority. Although brought much of their English culture.
- Image: Engraving of settler farms; men working land, woman collecting water; small family farms by European immigrants.
- AP Exam Tip: Notice organizational features that paragraph your essays, such as direct comparisons, the ranking of evidence.
#### Empire Building: Labor Systems (pp. 218–219)
- Indentured Servitude: Early labor in British colonies; 50–75% of white immigrants bound for 4–7 years.
- North America: Family farms; women as household servants.
- Slavery: Transformed; by 1700s, majority in South Carolina, Chesapeake.
- Sugar Colonies: Portuguese/Spanish/British/French/Dutch in Caribbean/Brazil provided regions lacked the great wealth until the Brazilian gold and Peru silver discoveries in the sixteenth century. Sugar, diamonds a little later. Sell. Europeans found a very profitable substitute: a spice, a sweetener, a preservative, and in sculpture where it was used as decoration that served a domestic market in its towns and mining camps, these Spanish Empire colonies produced almost exclusively for export, while importing their food.
- Scale: Large-scale sugar production pioneered by Arabs in Mediterranean, then to the Americas (1570–1670). Atlantic island planters along northeast coast of Brazil dominated world market for sugar. Then British, French, Dutch turned their Caribbean territories into highly monopoly producing colonies, breaking the Portuguese and.
- Transformations: Sugar decisively transformed Brazil and the Caribbean. Its production, which involved both growing the sugarcane and processing it into crystals and molasses, was very labor-intensive and could proceed in large-scale, almost industrial labor-intensive and could proceed in large-scale, almost industrial labor. It was perhaps the first modern industry in that it produced for an international setting and mass market, using capital and expertise from Europe, with production facilities located in the Americas. However, its most characteristic feature—the massive use of.
- Racial Dynamics: In Brazil had more enslaved people were voluntarily set their free. In the plantation complex of the Americas: as indicated in Snapshot. The largest group at the time was the product of European energy as colonies, which in Portugal but called mulattoes, a high degree and term widely African used in the eighteenth century extended beyond the Caribbean complex of the Americas: as tobacco, cotton, rice, and indigo some major crops, but the social outcomes of these plantation had colonies were quite different from those further south. Because European women had joined the colonial migration to North America at an.
- AP Exam Tip: How was the organization and class structures of settler communities different from those of sugar colonies? What evidence do you find in this image?
#### Causation and Comparison (pp. 218, 221, etc.)
- Sugar Transfer: How did sugar transform Brazil and the Caribbean? How did the plantation societies of Brazil, those southern colonies in British America?
- AP Exam Tip: Examples of treatment by men and after the conquest.
#### Additional Key Vocab Across Pages
- Casta System: Spanish colonial racial hierarchy based on ancestry.
- Peninsulares: Spain-born elites.
- Mestizaje: Mixing of races/cultures in Latin America.
- Haciendas/Peones: Estates and bound laborers.
- Enslaved Labor: Backbone of plantation economies (sugar, tobacco).
- Protestant Reformation: Influenced British colonial emphasis on literacy/individualism.
222-241:
### Empire Building in Russia and China (1450–1750)
#### Main Point
- Unique strategies: Russian & Chinese empires expanded via contiguous land-based territories, unlike European overseas empires.
- Larger impact: Transformed Eurasian steppes/Siberia into integrated regions; influenced global trade, migration, and cultural exchanges.
#### Russian Empire Expansion
- Origins & Strategies:
- From small Moscow-centered state (1480); expanded via Mongol cities & Cossack incorporation.
- Cossacks: Semi-independent warrior bands (escaped serfs, criminals); pledged "eternal submission" for autonomy; key in Siberian conquests.
- Incentives: Furs (sable, ermine) for global trade; economic/social improvements over homeland (e.g., lower lords/officials' terms).
- Military: Long-range steppe warfare; powder weapons; demanded yasak (tribute in cash/furs) or iasak ("tribute people" for labor).
- Impacts:
- Incorporated diverse groups (Baltic, Ukrainians, Germans); enslaved many Siberian natives.
- Built forts, trading centers; involved hunters, peasants, clergy, exiles.
- By 1800: World's largest contiguous empire; wood line for protection.
- AP Tip: Causation—What motivated Russian expansion? (Furs, security from nomads, Christianity/civilization).
#### Chinese Empire Expansion (Ming/Qing Dynasties)
- Ming (1368–1644):
- Restored Han Chinese rule post-Mongol Yuan; promoted Confucian learning, banned Mongol names/dress.
- Expanded into Mongolia (reduced population via plague); maritime voyages (Zheng He, 1405–1433: Indian Ocean fleets).
- Relocated capital to Beijing; built Forbidden City.
- Qing (1644–1912):
- Manchu (non-Han) conquest(); adopted Chinese bureaucracy/language but enforced obedience.
- Incorporated Mongols/Tibetans/Muslims; quelled rebellions via wide garrisons.
- Yongle Emperor (1402–1424): Sponsored encyclopedia (11,000+ volumes); promoted agriculture.
The Manchu conquest refers to the overthrow of the Ming dynasty by the Manchu people from northeast Asia, leading to the establishment of the Qing dynasty
- Strategies:
- Tribute system: Integrated nomads via marriages, garrisons; banned ocean voyages post-1433.
- Cultural: Confucian exams for officials; resettled nomads as farmers.
- Impacts:
- World's most prosperous civilization; controlled Central Asia (Xinjiang, Tibet).
- Trade: Porcelain, silk; limited European contact.
#### Comparisons: Russia vs. China
| Aspect | Russia | China (Ming/Qing) |
|-----------------|---------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Expansion Type | Land-based (steppes/Siberia) | Land-based (Central Asia) |
| Key Groups | Cossacks, exiles | Manchus, garrisons |
| Motivations | Furs, security, Christianity | Tribute, Confucianism, security |
| Incentives | Autonomy, economic gain | Cultural assimilation |
| Legacy | Largest contiguous empire | Stable bureaucracy, isolation |
### In the Islamic Heartland: Ottoman & Safavid Empires
#### Ottoman Empire
- Expansion (1450–1750):
- From small Anatolian state to vast empire (Map 4.5); peaked under Suleiman (1520–1566).
- Conquered Constantinople (1453: end of Byzantium); expanded into Balkans, Hungary, North Africa.
- Siege of Vienna (1683): Failed; marked peak.
The 1683 Siege of Vienna was the Ottoman Empire’s big push to capture the Habsburg capital and open the way deeper into Central Europe. They surrounded the city for two months, but a coalition of European forces — most famously led by Polish King John III Sobieski — broke the siege in a decisive battle.
The failure didn’t just save Vienna; it marked a turning point. From that moment, the Ottomans shifted from being on the offensive in Europe to slowly losing territory over the next two centuries.
- Strategies:
- Devshirme: Christian boys converted/trained as Janissaries (elite infantry).
Devshirme (Ottoman Turkish for “collection” or “gathering”) was a forced recruitment system used by the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th to the 17th century. It involved taking young Christian boys — mainly from the Balkans and parts of Anatolia — converting them to Islam, and training them for service in the empire’s elite military and administrative corps.
- Millet system: Religious communities (e.g., Orthodox Jews) self-governed; paid jizya tax.
- Tolerance: Granted autonomy to Christians/Jews; intermarriage rare.
- Governance:
- Sultan as caliph; centralized bureaucracy; land grants (timars) to soldiers.
- Cross-cultural: Ruled diverse populations (19% Christians in core areas).
- Decline Factors: Overexpansion, corruption; lost Hungary post-1683.
- AP Tip: Understand impact of 1453 conquest (political turning point in Europe/Asia).
#### Safavid Empire (Persia)
- Origins: Shia Islam (1501–1736); Shah Ismail unified Iran vs. Sunni Ottomans.
- Strategies:
- Shia version of Islam; forced conversions; rivalry with Ottomans (e.g., Chaldiran 1514).
- Absolute monarchy; silk trade monopoly.
- Governance: Centralized; Persian culture dominant; tolerant of minorities but Shia-focused.
- AP Tip: Compare Ottoman/Safavid religious policies (Sunni vs. Shia; millet vs. forced conversion).
#### Comparisons: Ottoman vs. Safavid
| Aspect | Ottoman | Safavid |
|-----------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Religion | Sunni; tolerant millets | Shia; conversions |
| Expansion | Balkans/Europe/N. Africa | Persia/Caucasus |
| Legacy | Multi-ethnic tolerance | Shia-Sunni divide |
### On the Frontiers of Islam: Mughal & Songhay Empires
#### Mughal Empire (India)
- Origins: Babur (1526); peaked under Akbar (1556–1605).
- Strategies:
- Conquests via gunpowder; tolerant policies (abolished jizya; interfaith marriages).
- Mansabdari: Rank-based nobility (zamindars collected taxes).
Zamindars: local landholders or officials in the Mughal Empire who collected taxes and revenue from peasants and farmers.
- Cultural synthesis: Persian/Hindu art (e.g., Taj Mahal for Mumtaz Mahal).
- Governance: Centralized but diverse (20% Muslim); Akbar's Din-i Ilahi (syncretic faith).
- Decline: Emperor Aurangzeb (1658–1707) reversed tolerance; rebellions fragmented empire.
- AP Tip: Examine Akbar's policies (religious tolerance, centralization).
#### Songhay Empire (West Africa)
- Origins: Originated along the middle reaches of the Niger River
- Strategies:
- Conquered Mali/former empires; trans-Saharan trade (gold, salt).
- Islamic scholarship: Timbuktu universities (astronomy, law).
- Military: Cavalry, river-based (Niger).
- Governance: Centralized; promoted Islam but tolerated locals.
- Decline: Moroccan invasion (1591) with gunpowder; fragmented into states.
#### Comparisons: Mughal vs. Songhay
| Aspect | Mughal | Songhay |
|-----------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Religion | Tolerant syncretism | Islamic scholarship |
| Economy | Taxes, agriculture | Trans-Saharan trade (gold/salt)|
| Decline | Internal revolts | External invasion |
### Overall Comparisons (1450–1750 Empires)
- Similarities: Gunpowder tech; land-based expansion; religious legitimation (Christianity/Islam/Confucianism); tolerance for diversity to sustain rule.
- Differences: European (overseas, exploitative); Asian (contiguous, integrative); Impacts: Eurasian empires fostered trade/cultural exchange; led to later fragmentation (e.g., Ottoman decline, Qing isolation).
- Big Picture: Set precedents for modern imperialism; legacies in borders, trade routes (e.g., Russian Siberia, Mughal art).
- AP Exam Focus: Causation (motivations: resources/security); Comparison (strategies/consequences); Change/Continuity (e.g., Islamic fragmentation post-1500).