Establishment of Maritime Empires

Motives for European Expansion

  • European states developed maritime empires driven by the desire for:
    • Gold: Enriching themselves through trade and resource extraction.
    • God: Converting people to Christianity.
    • Glory: Becoming the greatest state in the world, leading to rivalry among European powers.

European Powers and Their Empires

  • Portuguese:
    • Established a trading post empire around Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean.
    • Dominated trade routes by using heavily armed caravels and carracks.
    • Focused on controlling the trade network by force.
  • Spanish:
    • Set up operations in the Philippines.
    • Established full-blown colonies, unlike the Portuguese who focused on trading posts.
    • Employed tribute systems, taxation, and coerced labor similar to their practices in the Americas.
  • Dutch:
    • Took over as the dominant power in the Indian Ocean trade using advanced ships called "flouts".
    • Utilized similar methods as the Portuguese to control the trade network.
  • British:
    • Initially struggled to establish dominance in India due to the power of the Mughal Empire.
    • Established trading posts along the Indian coast.
    • Later transformed these posts into full colonial rule in the 18th century.

Continuity in Trade Networks

  • Despite European domination, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian merchants continued to participate in the Indian Ocean trade.
  • European entrance increased profits for many merchants who had long used the network.
  • Established merchants like the Gujaratis continued to thrive and increase their wealth.

Resistance to European Intrusion

  • Tokugawa, Japan:
    • Initially open to trade but later concerned about the threat to national unification.
    • Expelled Christian missionaries and suppressed Christianity due to fears of cultural fracturing and the destabilizing influence of European powers.
  • Ming, China:
    • Sought to control maritime trade through policies like Zheng He's voyages.
    • Implemented isolationist trade policies, limiting sea-based trade.
    • Expelled the Portuguese due to bribery and underhanded tactics, further isolating China.

Growth of African States

  • Asante Empire (West Africa):
    • Traded with the Portuguese and British, providing goods like gold, ivory, and enslaved laborers.
    • Became wealthy & expanded military power, resisting British colonization for a long time.
  • Kingdom of the Congo:
    • Established diplomatic ties with Portuguese traders, exchanging gold, copper, and enslaved people.
    • The king and nobles converted to Christianity.
    • The economic relationship with Portugal initially enriched the kingdom.

Labor Systems in the Americas

  • Colonial economies in the Americas were structured around agriculture, utilizing both existing and new labor systems.

Existing Labor Systems

  • Inca Mit'a System:
    • The Spanish adopted the Inca system of mandatory labor for state projects.
    • Used it primarily for silver mining operations.

New Labor Systems

  • Race-Based Chattel Slavery:
    • Enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas to work on plantations.
    • Chattel meant enslaved people were considered property.
    • Slavery became hereditary and race-based, identifying it with blackness.
  • Indentured Servitude:
    • Laborers signed contracts (indentures) to work for a set period, often seven years, in exchange for passage to the colonies.
  • Encomienda System:
    • The Spanish coerced indigenous Americans into working for colonial authorities in exchange for food and protection.
    • Similar to feudalism.
  • Hacienda System:
    • Large agricultural estates owned by elite Spaniards, where indigenous laborers were forced to work.
    • Focused on the economics of food export.

Development of Slavery

  • Continuity:
    • The African slave trade existed before the rise of maritime empires in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean networks.
    • Enslaved people were often assimilated into the cultures they were sold into.
    • In the Islamic world, many enslaved Africans became domestic servants, and some held military or political positions.
  • Change in the Americas:
    • Europeans purchased more male than female enslaved people (2:12:1), impacting demographics in African states.
    • The Transatlantic slave trade was much larger, with over 12,500,00012,500,000 Africans transported over 350350 years.
    • Slavery became racially based in the Americas, justifying brutality because enslaved people were dehumanized.