Context: Maritime Technology

The first global trade networks were supported by European states as they began to establish colonies and trading post empires, leading to the Columbian Exchange that facilitated growing Afro-Eurasian populations and demand. However, these ports were first founded in the Indian Ocean where technology advanced maritime trade.

Intellectual Advances

• Astronomy: Astronomical charts = Greek & Asian knowledge of stars thru Al-Andalus + 1609 telescope

  • Sailing Down Latitude Method: Know location by recording latitude & altitude thru angle of North Star at home → Keep star at constant angle → Replaced w/ Sun as star disappeared under horizon at equator

• Newton’s Discovery of Gravity: Led to knowledge of tides → accurate prediction of water depth + wind direction & intensity

• Literature: Cardinal’s legends & accounts + Ptolemy = Underestimated ocean’s size

Compass

• Gyroscope: Wheel/disk spins on axis to determine star

• Magnetic Compass: Chinese invention; free-moving magnets follow Earth’s magnetic field

Gunpowder: Aided conquests (like Dutch Sea Beggars/Pirates)

Astrolabe: Islamic innovation; Determines how far north/south of equator

Post-classical Ships

• Junks: 300-400 ft. Chinese “treasure ships” w/ watertightness + pumps to release water/fight fires + many masts, square sails, & few ropes + easy steering

  • Naval Artillery: Heavy lead/stone/iron balls = Guns on waist’s holes reduced recoil + shortened Cannons w/ tapering bronze/brass barrels

  • Stern Rudder: Improved maneuverability

  • After Zheng He: Yuan + Islamic influence = Ming limits private foreign trade + destroys dockyards + rebuilds Great Wall & Confucianism

• Dhows: Small, Arab/Indian, *carvel-built trade ships that dominated Indian Ocean

  • Lateen Sail: Triangular sail caught wind at all directions, proportional, heavy wooden yards limited ship size

Early Modern Ships: Incorporated post-classical ships in Vikings’ clink-built (overlapping planks nailed into hull’s skeleton) ships

• Caravel: 1400s-1600s Portuguese/Spanish expedition ships w/ 75 ft. length + 2-3 masts of lateen sails

  • Carvel-built: Edge-to-edge planks = any length + more flexibility

    • Carracks: 1300s-1600s Portuguese trading ships inspired from caravels in 1500s w/ 150 ft. length + 3-4 masts of lateen & square; bulkier + faster + easier steering + gun platforms + easy to topple

• Fluyt: 1500s-1600s Dutch trading ships w/ 80 ft. length + 2-3 masts of square sails + faster, lighter, & bulkier

• Galleons: 1500s-1700s Spanish war & trade ships w/ 100-200 ft. length + featuring 3-4 masts of lateen & square sails

Context: Motivation for Europe

Wealth

• Trade: Undesirable goods + Indian Ocean spice trade

  • Monopoly: Exclusive rights over supply/trade of goods/services

• Primogeniture laws: Eldest son inherits land = younger siblings unemployed

• Gold & Silver: Measured their wealth

Culture

• Religion: Spread Christianity + Flee from persecution

• Glory: Adventure + converts + competition = wealth

Russia

While serfdom improved in Western Europe, serfs became significantly more oppressed in tsarist Russia from the 1300s-1400s. After Peter the Great’s reign ended, wars made the central government weak and boyars/feudal landlords stronger, increasing punishments, demand for grain, taxes, and control of movement (townspeople couldn’t move businesses). Mirs were village communes that controlled small landholders and peasants.

In response, serfs ran away and became cossacks (runaway serfs and skilled fighters from the Black Sea’s steppes influenced by Mongol descendants), though some were hired to expand Russia. One of the most notable cossacks was Yemelyan Pugachev, who launched the 1774 Pugachev Rebellion against Catherine the Great with peasants, cossacks, and ethnic minorities because she made boyars more powerful in exchange for loyalty. He was killed within a year and Catherine increased oppression.

Portugal

Portugal, surrounded by the Spanish Castile and Aragon Kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, could only expand their influence overseas with trading post empires (control of small outposts rather than large territories). Like the rest of Europe, they wanted to create a monopoly on the Indian Ocean spice trade, but they also wanted to find Prestor John (mythical Christian King from Africa). This goal was attempted by Portuguese merchants who, for only a short period of time, successfully sold cartazes (trade permits to Portuguese coastal cities) through extortion.

Africa, India, and Southeast Asia

Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) was the first monarch to sponsor sea travel, specifically in Africa for its gold and slave trade. This replaced the overland slave trade. After Prince Henry’s reign, Bartholomew Diaz briefly sailed to the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. However, in 1498, Vasco de Gama was the first to sail around West Africa into the Indian Ocean, and he began to establish Portuguese territory and ports by defeating Kilwa and Mombasa forces with superior naval technology. Portuguese India (1509-1515) would defeat Arab soldiers with a Turkish-Egyptian-Venetian fleet at the Battle of Diu and be governed by Afonso de Albuquerque. Through a series of wars with Mamluks, Gujarats, and Calicut with Venetians, ports spanned from Hormuz (Persian Gulf) to Goa (West India) and Portuguese Malaccan factories with institutionalized vessel licenses and permits. However, despite their religious and economic zeal, European influence barely changed processes in the Indian Ocean because they still had to pay preestablished Mughal-controlled taxes.

East Asia

The Portuguese were less prominent in East Asia, but were still able to trade after the seizure of Zheng He’s fleets. Following the merchants came the Dominican, Franciscan, and Jesuit missionaries, with the Jesuits impressing the scholar Chinese scholar gentry with scientific knowledge. However, little conversions were made and missionaries were banned. In Japan, Catholic missionaries once again followed Portuguese merchants, burning Buddhist shrines. In response, Japan banned Catholicism, most foreign books, and travel, including both the merchants and missionaries.

Decline

Portugal’s influence eventually began to wane as the small country lacked workers and ships. Many merchants worked independently. Corruption among leaders led to the British and Dutch taking political dominance in India and Malacca respectively.

Rise in the Americas

A new wave of colonialism begins in Brazil in 1500.

Africa

Development of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Leaders of African coastal states like the Dahomey, Kongo, and Asante Kingdoms raided and sold surrounding tribes and the lowest members of society (prisoners of war, servants, criminals) to Europeans as slaves. In exchange, these kingdoms obtained firearms. This gave them a military advantage over other tribes. However, it also made them dependent on Europeans who depleted their populations (before the Columbian Exchange brought yams and manioc). Although King Afonso of Kongo traded slaves, he found Europeans capturing elites without his involvement, making the slave trade less controllable. Additionally, more women were left behind as the majority of slaves were men, creating a gender imbalance that increased polygyny (practice of marrying multiple wives).

Middle Passage: Slaves’ journey through the Atlantic Ocean to America

Before departing, enslaved people were placed in pens called barracoons. Their ears were cut off as proof of purchase, Captured African peoples were given little to no food, water, and movement. 10-15% of them died before reaching the Americas. Men placed under deck were forced to dance to curb rebellions. Many feared the Europeans were cannibals and committed suicide, believing their souls would return home.

Triangle Economy:

• Slaves from West Africa → Tobacco, rice, indigo from South Carolina → Clothes & guns from Liverpool, England

• Slaves from West Africa → Sugar & molasses from West Indies → Rum & iron from New York

Spain

Morale from the Reconquista and demand for pepper led to Christopher Columbus’ 1492 expedition to sail westward in search of a new route to India. Instead, he landed in the Bahamas and met the Taino people, slowly developing the Columbian Exchange (eastern and western hemispheres’ exchange of diseases, foods, animals, and people) over centuries. In attempt to find gold and convert the Native people in Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) for two decades, they found little value and enslave the Taino people to Spain.

Later, in 1521, Hernan Cortes, with the help of conquered tribes, overthrows the Aztec Empire to establish New Spain and replace Tenochtitlan with Mexico City. Then in 1533, another conquistador named Francisco Pizarro kills the last ruler of the Incan Empire, Atahualpa, completing his conquest in 1572.

Economic Systems

The Spanish began implementing a new system called the encomienda system (encomenderos/landowners coerce Native Americans to extract natural resources for food and shelter). In Zacatecas and Potosi, Spaniards revitalized the Incan mit’a system (mandatory state service for a set period of time) to force Native laborers to work in silver mining centers. They were paid little, initially with basic commodities (crops, animals, clothes) and then gold pesos. Laborers were put in harsh conditions, having to use mercury to split ores. The hacienda system (conquistadors were granted farmland and estates) kept landowners loyal and tobacco plantations profitable.

Political Systems

To govern the colonies, viceroys (administrators of the Spanish crown) and audiencias (royal court of settlers that appealed policies) were established, as slow communication allowed for the Spanish crown to be less politically involved and creoles (Spanish Americans) to want more independence.

Cultural Developments

The new domination of Spaniards completely changed social hierarchies in Central and South America. The casta system divided the colonies based on race: Peninsulares (Spaniards) on top, followed by Criollos (Spanish Americans), the castas (mixed-race peoples) Mestizos (Native and White), Mulattoes (Black and White), and Zambos (Native and Black), and Native Americans and enslaved African people on the bottom. Classes were assigned at baptism. The lower classes were assigned the highest taxes and tribute despite systemic poverty. Intermarriage was a way to move up in society.

This interaction of different cultures led to syncretism (blending of cultures to create a new one). A notable example is Voodoo or Vodun (“spirit” in Fon), which originated in the Dahomey, Yoruba, and Kongo Kingdoms, was a traditional African faith that spread to Haiti and blended with Roman Catholicism. Santeria (“Way of the Saints” in Spanish) spread from an African faith to Cuba and eventually the rest of the Americas. Candomble (“Dance to honor gods” in Bantu) spread from Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu faiths to Brazil. The Virgin of Guadelupe was revered for her ability to perform miracles.

Philippines

Ferdinand Magellan dies in the Philippines on his 1522 government sponsored expedition, but in 1565, his fleet defeats and takes control of the state. Galleons at the newly established capital Manila exchanged silver for luxury goods, attracting Chinese merchants and converts. China began to use silver as a main form of currency.

Spain: The Columbian Exchange

The eastern and western hemispheres’ exchange of diseases, foods, animals, and people) over centuries.

East → West

Animals: Mesoamericans initially ate little meat

• Pigs: Reproduced quickly & had diverse diet

• Cow: Beasts of burden for agriculture & cargo b/c llamas are weak

• Horses: Agricultural Plains Native Americans → pastoral nomads hunting bison b/c more wealth (more horses = more power), & time for art & spirituality

• Chickens

• Goats

• Sheep

Crops

• Okra & Rice: Brought by enslaved African people & made into gumbo

• Sugarcane: Grown in Brazil’s vast tropical climate

• Wheat

• Oranges

• Lettuce

• Grapes

Diseases: Spread in conquest + famine (reduced farmers) + leaders’ deaths = Majority of Native American deaths b/c lacked immunity & little contact w/ animals meant little Native diseases

• Smallpox: rats

• Measles

• Typhus

• Bubonic Plague

• Influenza

• Malaria: mosquitoes

Culture: Reinvented social hierarchies

• African Diaspora: All across West & sometimes East Africa as slaves

  • Creoles: Gullah & Geechee in coastal South Carolina & Georgia ; Language barriers = mixed African + European syntax, esp. Caribbean

  • Music: Communication to endure workdays + escape plans + sometimes blending w/ Christianity = Invented banjo = Inspired future gospel + blues + jazz + rock & roll + hip-hop + rap + reggae music

• Technology: Alphabetic writing & firearms

West → East

Crops: Influx of highly caloric foods = Better nutrition & diversity = Overpopulation = Migration to Americas & utilization of unused lands

• Potatoes: Ireland, Southeast & East Asia

• Chilis: India

• Yams & Manioc: Africa

• Corn: Persia

• Tobacco & Cacao: Luxury crops

• Blueberries

• Beans

• Peanuts

• Avocadoes

Animals: More textiles & food

• Turkeys

• Llamas

• Guinea pigs

• Alpacas

Culture

• Rubber: Erasers

• Quinine: Early malaria treatment

Renewed Interest in Exploration

Americas

After Spain found success in the Aztec and Incan Empires through coerced Native and African labor in silver, gold, sugar, and tobacco plantations, other European countries sought to establish colonies and find the Northwest Passage (route from America to Asia).

Europe and Indian Ocean

The widespread usage of silver currency led to the Commercial Revolution (the transformation from regional-scale bartering to global-scale capitalism) where capital (material wealth that can generate more wealth) flowed from entrepreneurs to laborers. This contributed to the growing bourgeoisie (middle class) that was able to consume more luxury goods. High interest became commonplace. However, this also led to the Price Revolution (1500s-1600s inflation in Europe and China due to massive flow of wealth and increased demand). Merchants of the bourgeoisie began investing in joint-stock companies (companies where investors buy stocks to share profits and risks). Limited-liability (principal that investors were not responsible for debts beyond their investment) further protected investors. This encouraged financial bubbles (financial schemes, notably in France and England, that promised return of investment and led to a buying frenzy that jacked up prices across the economy).

Netherlands

Southeast Asia

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was formed in 1602 with the power

Americas

Henry Hudson was sent to America in 1609, successfully claiming the Hudson River on the east coast but also failing to find a Northwest Passage. The port city New Amsterdam on the island of Manhattan became a node for the fur trade and tobacco from Virginia, exporting it to the Netherlands and returning with manufactured goods.

England

North America

John Cabot was sent in 1497 to find the Northwest Passage. Though unsuccessful, he claimed the east coast of Newfoundland to Chesapeake Bay. Sea dogs (English pirates) also sailed along the American shore. Although much weaker than their neighbors, the English navy was able to destroy 2/3 of the Spanish Armada in 1588. This gave England the much needed morale to expand their territory. In 1607, the first successful English American colony Jamestown (named after King James I) was founded on the James River.

The first slave revolt in the present-day United States was the Gloucester County Rebellion by African slaves and White indentured servants. It was unsuccessful, and the conspirers were arrested.

Metacom’s War or King Philip’s War from 1675-1678 was the last major effort by Native Americans to reclaim New England. The Wampanoag allied with the Nipmuc and Narragansett against the English, who sided with the Pequot and Mohegan. The war ended with Wampanoag persecution.

Jamaica

In 1655, the English overthrew Spanish control in Jamaica. The Maroon Wars would take place from 1728-1740 and 1795-1796 between Maroons (escaped descendants of enslaved African peoples) unified by Queen Nanny (a Maroon woman) and English colonizers.

England

James II was crowned king of England in 1865 and executed anti-Protestant measures. So, his nephew and son-in-law William of Orange and his wife Mary II launched a rebellion and took charge. They began the Glorious Revolution or Bloodless Revolution, which strengthened parliament (autocratic to constitutional monarchy) and ending Catholic rule in England.

India

The Maratha Kingdom (originating from a group of Hindu warriors), through a series of wars from 1680-1707, ended Mughal rule, lasting until 1818. However, in 1763, the defeat of France in the Seven Years’ War led to England’s rise in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu. The East India Company (joint-stock company), whose territory was limited by the Mughals, took advantage of Muslim and Hindu tensions by allying with sepoys (privately-European-trained Indian forces). They eventually expanded to become the de-facto government of India.

France

North America

Also inspired by the Northwest Passage, Jacques Cartier was sponsored to sail to North America in the 1500s-1600s. He claimed Canada as New France and established St. Lawrence. Then, from 1608 (the establishment of the capital Quebec)-1616, Samuel de Champlain organized conversion schools and okay relations with Native Americans in the fur trade, which made him deem the northwest passage less necessary. Because the French rarely settled permanently, their colonies grew slowly as La Salle colonized all of the land east of the Mississippi River.

In 1701, the Iroquois and French sign the Great Peace of Montreal to end decades of fighting after the Iroquois’ former allies, the British, attempted to aggregate further conflict in hopes of obtaining more land. However, in 1763 of the Seven Years’ War, the French were driven out of Canada.

France

When Louis XIV was crowned in 1643 at the age of four, Mother Anne and chief minister Cardinal Jules Mazarin took his place before he reached adulthood. During this time, Mazarin increased taxes for recent wars, with nobles and judicial Parlements pushing the burden on the bourgeoisie. Mobs began to destroy government officers’ property in the Fronde Rebellion. Because France was busy fighting Spain, they signed the Peace Parlement, with Mazarin mass arresting leaders and fleeing. This made Louis XIV distrust the nobility, pushing harder to sustain an autocratic kingdom. Stability returned to France in 1653.