1450-1750

Question 1

Chinese Exploration

Answer 1

After establishing authority over China, Ming decided ro refurbish country’s large navy
Zheng He’s expeditions
Muslims, indians, and Malays continued to use Indian Ocean for commerce and trade, establishing effective routes and creating a vibrant trade system
When Europeans did arrive the world shifted rom a primarily Asian-centered economy to a global economy

Question 2

Zheng He’s Expeditions

Answer 2

1405-1433
sponsored seven massive naval expeditions
In order to reinforce Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean, impose imperial control over trade, and impress foreign people with authority of Ming Dynasty
Led by Zheng He
Sailed to Southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, Arabia, and East Africa
Dispensed and received gifts throughout travels
But, Confucian officials convinced Chinese emperor that voyages were too expensive and unprofitable, especially because of renewed concern over the northern Mongol border
So, in 1433 voyages ended, Zheng He’s records were destroyed, and ships were allowed to rot

Question 3

European Exploration

Answer 3

Europe emerged from age of isolation, wanted to explore
Contrast to Chinese, whose voyages were motivated mostly by need to bolster international prestige, European voyages during Age of exploration were motivated mainly by financial interests
Asian goods that Europe purchased including pepper, ginger, cloves, andnutmeg were significantly expensive
Europeans wanted to gain direct access to these goods, increasing supply an flower prices
Other motives included spread of Christianity and desire for adventure

Question 4

Age of exploration: Portugal

Answer 4

Land in Portugal was not ideal farmland, kingdom was impoverished prior to the Age of Exploration
Economic deficiency motivated interest in both accessing luxury goods more cheaply and also in improving Portugal’s finances
While portuguese nobility was interest in conquering Morocco, its monarchy sought to control the spice trade by finding a sea route to India
Also interest in locating the kingdom of Prester John, a supposed Christian ruler somewhere in Africa, to form an alliance against Islam
Portuguese were early leaders in exploration, under leadership of Prince Henry the Navigator, who established Portuguese schools and sponsored expeditions along the West African coastkey innovation of Portuguese navigators was discovery of volta do mar, trade winds that allowed ships to easily sail past the west coast of Africa
Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, Portuguese first arrived in India in 1498
First Indian voyage lost a third of its crew but made 60 times a return on the investment of the expedition
Portuguese wer methodical in their exploration, carefully records winds, sea currents, tides, port locations, and more
Conducted live trials of their cannons at sea, figuring out how to best sink enemy ships and bombard coastal targets
Despite India hosting a gunpowder empire at the time, Portuguese artillery was superior
Instead of bows, which were still in use in many places throughout Afro-Eurasia, they used crossbows and muskets and had better armor
These advantages allowed Portugal to establish a major, lucrative empire

Question 5

Age of exploration: Spain

Answer 5

Spain, having just completed the Reconquista, sought a way to bypass the Portuguese monopoly on sea routes along West Africa
While Portugal would build its empire in the Eastern hemisphere, Spain mainly conquered the Americas
However, Spain did conquered the Philippines (which had first been explored under Ferdinand Magellan) along with several small islands in the Pacific such as Guam
Ferdinand Magellan and his men completed first circumnavigation of the globe (though MAgellan died before he could get all the way back)

Question 6

Age of exploration: The Dutch

Answer 6

Dutch exploration during this period is practically synonymous with Dutch East India Company, massive business conglomerate with monopolies in several areas, served as the right arm of the Dutch Republic
Dutch East India company was a model for British East India Company
Dutch Empire was mainly holdings in the East Indies, Cape Colony (South Africa), and scatter holds in the Americas, India, and China
As with France, high standards of living in Dutch Republic did little to motivate citizens to emigrate abroad to colonial holdings
Some outposts like New Amsterdam were eventually absorbed by rival, expansionist European powers

Question 7

Age of exploration: England

Answer 7

English voyages were mainly concentrated on North America and India
John Cabot, Italian employed by Henry VII, explored coastal North America
Sir Francis Drake carried out second circumnavigation of the world and was the first captain to survive the entire voyage
Unlike other European powers, England strongly favored settler colonies
While it would eventually become a global superpower, England at start of the Age of exploration was a fairly impoverished sector of Europe, which motivated some people to emigrate to its overseas holdings, culture also associated political rights and freedom with land ownership
While British East India Company initially struggled against Dutch counterpart, British eventually gained a secure foothold in INdia, expanding over time until it controlled most of the subcontinent and had shut out European rivals, such as through Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652 to 1784)

Question 8

Age of exploration: France

Answer 8

France likewise focused on spice trade in INdia as well as exploration of North America
Jacques Cartier claimed much of what is present day Canada for France and was first European to travel inland in North America
While settlements were made in what was then called New France, comparative wealth of France itself did not motivated much emigration to rough frontier forts and villages

Question 9

development of global economy: maritime technology

Answer 9

Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 ended Byzantine Empire, solidifying Muslim influence along the Silk Roads, making it less friendly European traders
Acquisition of technology from China and the Muslim world helped Europeans expand their seagoing capabilities with maritime equipment such as the sternpost rudder, triangular lateen sails, magnetic compass, and astrolabe
Portugal was an early leader in European exploration aided by development of the caravel, small, highly maneuverable sailing ship
Lateen sail is old, but popularized during Age of Exploration, let a boat tack against the wind, increasing maneuverability
Proved useful when sailing out into the Atlantic Ocean to catch trade winds, but size was cumbersome during storms
Weakness of lateen sail, harsh requirements of long distance ocean travel, led to Portuguese development of carrack, larger and more rugged sailing vessel
16th century, Dutch developed fluyt, dedicated transoceanic cargo vessel, key factor in rise of Dutch Empire, at height in 17th century, carried roughly half of all European cargo

Question 10

development of global economy: trading-post empires

Answer 10

Initial goal of European powers in exploring Indian Ocean was not to conquer but to control trade, wanted to force merchant ships to trade in fortified trading sites and pay duties for the privilege
By mid 1500s, Portugal had 50 trading posts from West AFrica to East Asia, but b late 1500s its power had started to decline
Country lacked administrative and military capabilities to keep up with other European powers
Death of King Sebastian 1 and a large portion of the Portuguese nobility at the Battle of Alcacer Quibir in 1578 in northern Morocco sparked a succession crisis that destabilized the country
Soon, Spain absorbed Portugal and its empire, with Portugal only regaining independence in 1640
English and Dutch quickly took Portugal’s place as dominant seafaring powers with faster, cheaper, and more powerful ships
Imperial expansion was aided by the use of joint-stock companies, which had investors rather than royal governments funding expeditions
Gujaratis, Javanese, Omanis, and Swahili ARabs continued to enjoy thriving Indian Ocean trade networks even as Europeans began to encroach on the region
In India and elsewhere, however, European powers grew in strength as they blossomed in full-fledged empires
Similar to Mongols, european states would take sides in local civil wars, sponsoring factions that woul weaken a region and leave it indebted

Question 11

Reaction to European Expansion: Ming China

Answer 11

After voyages of Zheng He, Ming China pursued an isolationist foreign policy
Ming restricted European trade to island like Macau, China still benefited enormously from Columbian Exchange
New crops like corn and potatoes led to population growth, offered a cushion against famine, and became staples of regional Chinese cuisine
Influx of New World silver revitalized the Chinese economy,which had suffered from inflation from an oversupply of paper money, but created a trade imbalance that would eventually lead to the Opium Wars
Enactment of Japanese sakoku policy, as well as anti-smuggling efforts by the Spanish, disrupted flow of silver into China, contributing to rise of Qing Dynasty as Chinese economy collapsed

Question 12

Reaction to European Expansion: Tokugawa Japan

Answer 12

Initially, shogunate allowed foreign trade, which it monopolized fro great financial benefit
However, European influence gradually came to be seen as a threat to shogunate’s power structure, as foreign trade could potentially enrich the daimyo enough to allowed them to unseat the shogunate
The sakoku “closed country”, strictly isolationist foreign policy, was enacted in 1633 and would last until 1853
Highly regulated contact was maintained in the city of Nagasaki with the Dutch, Koreans had limited contact as well
“Dutch learning” from the West primed Japan for Meiji Restoration
Then burgeoning Christian community in Japan was suppressed and all but wiped out

Question 13

Reaction to European Expansion: Kingdom of Kongo

Answer 13

14th century, the Kongo emerged as centralized state along the west coast of central Africa
Powerful king ruled, officials oversaw military, judicial, and financial affairs
1483, small Portuguese fleet arrived and initiated commercial relations
Within a few years the Portuguese developed a close political and diplomatic relationship with the king
Tio improve relations, kings like Afonso I converted to and spread Catholicism across the kingdom, although local version of Catholicism syncretized local religious practices
Portuguese brought great wealth to Kongo, exchanging textiles and weapons for gold, silver, ivory, and slaves
Kongo became a major hub of the transatlantic slave trade and often sourced the slaves it forcibly exported from those captured during Kongo’s expansionist wars
Eventually, Portuguese dealings undermined king’s authority and led to conflict, relations with Portuguese would sour over time leading to a series of wars with the Portuguese
Wars often tied into dynastic succession issues with Kingdom of Kongo over which family, and sometimes which member within the family, should rule
Kingdom never fully recovered from these wars

Question 14

Columbian exchange:

Answer 14

Inclusion of America in global trade Network led to what would later be called Columbian Exchange
Transfer of plants, food, crops, animals, humans, and diseases between the Old World and the New
Exchanged of food crops and animals revolutionized life around the world
New World crops like the potato had a huge impact on food production and population increases from Ireland to China
In the Americas, entire landscapes were stripped to build plantations that grew cash crops like sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco, these agricultural practices degraded the top soil and reduced vegetative cover, leading to flooding and mudslides
Introduction of horses to the Americas had a significant impact on some Native American tribes as they adopted more nomadic lifestyles, ex. Some tries used horses to track and hunt the massive buffalo herds which grazed on the Great Plains
This fostered development of nomadic societies akin to those of the Eurasian steppe
Meanwhile, raising of cattle and pigs dramatically changed the landscape, forests were cut to provide grazing land
Columbian Exchange also led to spread of disease to the Americas, brought by human carriers as well as rats and mosquitoes that Europeans unintentionally rought with them on ships
Also intro of feral pigs may have contributed to spread of disease in Spanish explored North American regions
Smallpox, measles, and other disease to which the natives of the Americas had no immunity devastated their populations
Some estimates of mortality rates for native populations are as high as 90 percent
Loss of life due to disease played a direct role in natives’ inability to fend off European advancement, also led to importation of enslaved Africans to work on plantations
Relying on dwindling native populations as labor force become economically unsustainable, and African slaves were used to meet labor demands

Question 15

Mercantilism: The Role and Impact of Silver

Answer 15

Silver was responsible for stimulating global trade network
Spain controlled the two areas richest in silver production, Mexico and Potosi mines in the Andes, mae use of large numbers of indigenous forced laborers
Spanish were drive by economic theory of mercantilism, mercantile system is used to describe ways in which nation-states enrich themselves by limiting imports and encouraging exports
Goal of mercantilist policies was to achieve a favorable balance of trade that would bring wealth into the country while maintaining domestic employment
Most important objective for mercantilist policies in the 16th century was the growth of a nation’s economic power relative to competing nation-states
Spain used silver to trade for silk and porcelain n Asia, as China used the precious metal as a primary medium of exchange and to finance a powerful military bureaucracy

Question 16

The Role and Impact of Sugar

Answer 16

Intensive labor and specialized skills were required for sugar cultivation
Because smallpox had wiped out so many native in the Americas, enslaved Africans became the main labor force
Slaves worked under excessively harsh conditions – mistreatment, extreme heat, and poor nutrition – which led to a significant number of deaths from disease and abuse
Sugar plantations were in many aspects proto-factories, financed and organized to create a single product in a complex process, foreshadowing organization of mechanized production in upcoming Industrial Revolution

Question 17

State Building: Ottoman Empire

Answer 17

Emerged from a group of semi-nomadic Turks who migrated northwest to Anatolia in the 13th century
Military might and gunpowder weapons drove the Ottomans to power
An elite fighting force of slave troops composed of Christian males, called Janissaries, formed professional backbone of Ottoman military
1453, Ottomans conquered Constantinople and brought end to Byzantine rule
Sultans like Mehmed the Conqueror and Suleiman the Magnificent created an absolute monarchy
Islamic religious scholars and legal experts served administrative functions in the government
As empire prospered, sultans grew more distant and removed themselves from government administration
Vizier headed bureaucracy and often had more control and actual power than the sultan
Political succession was often problematic, as many new sultans would execute their brothers to eliminate challenges to their authority

Question 18

State Building: Ottoman Empire - Capital city

Answer 18

Capital city of Istanbul, formerly Constnatinope, Christian cathedral Hagia Sophia was converted to a grand mosque
City also had aqueducts, flourishing marketplace, rest houses, religious schools, and hospitals
Large merchant and artisan class conducted business, but its work was closely regulated by the government

Question 19

State Building: Ottoman Empire - women’s influence

Answer 19

Sultan’s harem, consisting of wives, concubines, female servants, was influential in Ottoman politics and society
Members of the harem were often of slave origin and non-Muslim, enslavement of Muslims was forbidden
Wives and concubines were awarded status when they produce male heirs to the sultan’s throne, educated in the Quran, reading, sewing, and music
Sultan’s mother served as an advisor to the throne, overseeing the imperial household and engaging in diplomacy

Question 20

State Building: Ottoman Empire - decline

Answer 20

Empire reached its peak in the mid 1600s but became too large to manage
Effectiveness of administration edcline, was plagued by corruption
Ottomans struggled to keep up with ongoing European military naval advancements
Ottoman taxation system was inefficient patchwork of various approaches, empire typically maintained local tax practices of territories it absorbed

Question 21

State Building: Safavid Dynasty

Answer 21

Safavids replaced the Timurid Empire, a dynasty of Turkicized Mongols, and reunified a politically fragmented IRan
Ruled from 1501-1736
First native dynasty since 7th century
At its height, empire stretched from eastern Turkey to western Pakistan an dAfghanistan, incorporated large portions of IRaq
Safavid state was ruled by the Shah, system was blend of royal absolutism mixed bureaucratic checks and balances to minimize corruption and fraud
Sha’s orders required seconding by prime minister, who himself was audited by a deputy who reported to the Shah
Economy was agricultural, but Silk Road trade also plate important role
Shah Abbas I forced the Portuguese from the Persian Gulf in 1602 with aid of British East India Company, was able to negotiate trade agreements with British, Dutch, and French traders
However, sea routes discovered by Europeans during Age of Exploration meant overland Silk Road trade deline, as did money it brought to the Safavid Dynasty
European merchants also gradually came to monopolize trade routes in the Indian Ocean
By early 18th century, series of revolts and loss of territory led to downfall of the Safavid Dynast

Question 22

State Building: Mughal India

Answer 22

1526, Babur, descendant of Turkic nomads, began conquest of India, unifying he subcontinent’s regional kingdoms and establishing the Mughal Empire
First Battle of Panipat marked the establishment of the Mughal Empire and also marked its annexation of the Delhi Sultanate
Babur’s grandson Akbar continued his legacy, ushered in a period of economic stability and religious harmony
Akbar created a religion called the Divine Faith, which combined elements of Islam and Hinduism together and legitimize his rule as head of state and religion
Initiated a policy of cooperation with Hindu rulers and Hindu population by encouraging intermarriage
Also abolished the jizya (non-Muslim tax) and promoted Hindus to high-ranking government positions
Akbar and descendants, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, were great patrons of the arts
Emperor Shah Jahan oversaw construction of Taj Mahal
Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan’s son, seized the throne with a neglectful and corrupt bureaucracy and pushed to extend Muslim control of India
Sought to rid India of all Hindu influence, purify Islam, and reinstate the jizya (non-Muslim tax)
His many wars drained the treasury, peasant uprisings and revolts by both Muslim and Hindu princes weakened the empire
At his time, India had become a major overseas destination for European traders looking to fulfill demand for cotton, with a weakened empire, those traders were able to increase their influence in the region
Tax collects in Mughal Empire known as zamindars, zamindars were aristocratic landowners who collected revenue from the peasants that worked the land
Over time, title of zamindar became more generic and applied to different types of landowners, highborn and low born, also took on more roles, moving from tax collectors to public functionaries, even gaining judicial powers over small-scale issues like petty theft
Zamindar system was later adopted with modification, by the British when they ruled India

Question 23

State Building: Songhai

Answer 23

1400s, West African state of Songhair emerged to take power over weakened Mali Empire
Leader, Sunni Ali, consolidated his empire by appointing governors to oversee the provinces, building a large army, and creating an imperial navy to patrol the Niger River
Lucrative trans-Saharan trade flowed through city of Gao, which brought salt, textiles, and metal in exchange for gold and slaves
Songhai emperors were Muslims who supported the construction of mosques, schools, and an Islamic university at Timbuktu
Though Islam served as the cultural foundation of the empire and a key element in establishing cooperation with Muslim merchants, traditional African religious beliefs were not fully abandoned
Just as Europeans were making inroads into Africa, Songhai Empire began to lose control of its subjects
Empire went into decline and was defeated by Moroccans in 1591, made easier by the use of firearms by the Moroccans

Question 24

State Building: Spanish and Portuguese Colonies in the New World

Answer 24

Spanish conquistadors led the way in conquest of the Americas
Primary Spanish settlements, New Spain (Mexico) and New CAstile (Peru), were each governed by a viceroy, who reported directly to the Spanish king
1494, Treaty of Tordesillas
Along with goal of increasing wealth through creation of an empire, Spain desired to expand the influence of Christianity
Catholic missionaries came to the Americas alongside the conquistadors and built mission churches to convert indigenous Americans, many of whom adopted Christianity but blended it with their indigenous religions
For the most part, however, these Spanish missionaries forcibly imposed European culture on the natives
Social result of the conquest of this new empire was a multicultural and ethnically mixed population
Peninsulares, came directly from the Iberian peninsula
Creoles, American born descendants of peninsulares
Mestizos, mixed European and indigenous American descent
Mulattos, mixed European and African descent
At the bottom of the social order were the indigenous Americans, Africans, and mixed class of zambos

Question 25

1494, Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 25

agreement between Spain and Portugal based on an earlier decree by Pope Alexander VI
divided control of any future American territories
Spanish controlled the land west of the agreed upon line of demarcation, and the Portuguese controlled the territory east of the line

Question 26

State Building: Qing Dynasty

Answer 26

By the 1640s, the Ming Dynasty had declined and been taken over by a peasant army, which established short-lived Shun Dynasty
Manchu, a community of hunters, fishermen, and farmers from the lands to the northeast of China, soon ousted the Shun and established the Qing Dynasty
Thus, China came under the rule of foreigners for the second time (first being Yuan Dynasty)
Manchus established and expanded their rule through military conquest
Like Genghis Khan, who reorganized Mongol army to diminish the importance of tribal allegiances, Manchu leader Nurhaci created a large army consisting of units called banners, which were organized on a social basis
Each banner was comprised of a set of military companies, but also included families and slaves of soldiers
Banners were led by a hereditary captain, many of whom came from Nurhaci’s own lineage
When Manchu army defeated new groups, they were incorporated into several banners to decrease their potential for insubordination
Manchu had adopted elements of Chinese culture generations before the conquest
Unlike mongols, they incorporated traditional Chinese practices into government, including use of Confucian civil service exam system to fill government positions
Like Mongols, Manchu wanted to preserve their own ethnic and cultural identity, they forbade intermarriage between Manchu and Han Chinese, barred Chinese from traveling to Manchuria and learning their language, and forced Chinese men to wear their hair in a braid called a queue as a sign of submission
Qing Dynasty created multiethnic empire
Expanded into Taiwan in 1683, increased control of Mongolia through 1690s, established administrative oversight of Tibet in 1720
Final area to be annexed was Chinese Turkestan in 1750s
Manchus ruled Tibet and Turkestan relatively leniently, local religious leaders such as Dalai Lama in tibet were allowed to remain in place, and men were not forced to wear the queue
By this time, expanding Qing and Russian empires were nearing each other, resulted in Manchu and Russian leaders approving the 1689 Treat of Nerchinsk, which defined borders and regulated trade

Question 27

State Building: Russian Empire

Answer 27

After hundred of years under mongol tributary rule, Russia emerged as empire in its own right
Mongols had forced Russian princes to submit to their rule nad provide them with tribute and slaves
Russian princes collected khan’s taxes and suppressed uprising, gaining power int he process
Muscovite princes were able to defeat their rivals for power
Ivan III, grand prince of Moscow, stopped paying tribute to Mongols and in 1480 began building his own empire
Established strong central government and ruled as absolute monarch, tsar, who was also head of Russian Orthodox Church
Tsar claimed his authority to rule came directly from God
After series of Muscovite princes, Romanov family came to power in 1613 and ruled Russia for next 300 years
Peter the Great, 1862 to 1725, fascinated with Western technology, instituted a policy of rapid modernization
Needed skilled technicians and industrial experts to carry out his modernization plans, established schools to produce them
Greatly reformed military by strengthening the navy and introducing system of ranks
Created interlocking military-civilian bureaucracy composed of 14 hierarchical ranks which functioned as quasi-meritocracy
Russian nobles started at the bottommost rank and rose up through service to the tsar
Catherin the Great later reformed the system to make promotion automatic after seven years, resulting in the bureaucracy shifting from those striving on merit to those serving out their time
Peter’s obsession with westernizing Russia was best demonstrated by his insistence that all Russian men wear Western clothes and shave their beards, imposing heavy taxes on those who refused to comply
Construction of a new capital city, St. Petersburg, provided better access to the West

Question 28

State Building: Japan: Tokugawa Shogunate

Answer 28

Tokugawa Ieyasu established Tokugawa shogunate in 1600 after a period of civil war that began in 1467
Fighting had broken out among various daimyo over succession of the shogun, supreme military leader of Japan
He hoped to stabilize the country and end unrest by increasing control over the daimyo
Required that they spend every other year at the capital, Edo, where he could more easily monitor them and prevent rebellion
Relationships with outside world became closely controlled
Japanese were forbidden from going abroad and constructing large ships
Euroepans were expelled from Japan, and foreign merchants were not allowed to trade in Japanese ports, only exception was a small number of Chinese and Dutch ships
Despite restrictions, Japanese economy grew, as agricultural production increased and population grew
In comparatively peaceful era, samurai warrior class took on more administrative responsibilities
CAtholicism made some important inroads in Japan by 1580, with over a hundred thousand Japanese converts, but government ended these missions and outlawed the religion
Government even went as far as to torture and execute missionaries who did not leave, as well as Japanese Catholics who didn’t renounce their religion
Dutch merchants continued to be the principal source of information about Europe during this time, keeping Japanese up to date with important scientific and technological developments
Knowledge gleaned from the Dutch became termed “Dutch learning” in Japan

Question 29

State Conservation of the Environment

Answer 29

Early awareness of resource conservation
Tokugawa shogunate laws restricted timbering operations, mandated that new trees be planted when old ones were cut
Louis’ XIV’s forestry program was intended to manage France’s timer resources
Although programs were economically motivated, idea that a nation’s natural resources be managed by government would plan an important role in development of environmental management programs in the future
Programs also signaled the growth of state power