1450 to 1750 (Unit 3 and 4)

Question 1

How did the Ottoman
Empire expand starting in
the 14th century?

Answer 1

The adoption of gunpowder weapons led the Ottomans to control much of Southwestern Europe and Anatolia, including Constantinople which they took in 1453 and renamed Istanbul.

The Ottomans enslaved Christians from the Balkans, converted them to Islam and turned them into the best elite fighting force, the Janissaries. This helped them to keep expanding.

Extra Info:
This is an example of how Ottoman imperial expansion in Southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa relied on gunpowder and cannons.

This is an example of rulers consolidating
their power with the development of military professionals. The enslavement of Christian boys was part of the Devshirme System.

Question 2

How did the Safavid
Empire expand starting in
the 16th century?

Answer 2

They raided and conquered neighboring territories using gunpowder weapons. Shah Abbas built up the military with gunpowder weapons and created an enslaved army composed of Christians from the Caucasus region

Extra Info:
This is an example of how Safavid imperial expansion in the Middle East relied on gunpowder and cannons. This is an example of rulers consolidating their power with the development of military professionals.

Question 3

What difference led to
problems between the
Ottomans and Safavids?

Answer 3

The Ottomans were Sunni Muslims and the Safavids were Shi’a Muslims. The difference began as a political divide over who should rule after the death of Muhammad. Both branches eventually believed they were the true representatives of Islam and the other was not.

Extra Info:
This is an example of political and religious
disputes. The rivalry between the Ottomans and Safavids intensified the split between Sunni & Shi’a Islam. This helped to set up that conflict.

Question 4

How did the Mughal
Empire expand starting in
the 16th century?

Answer 4

Babur, the first leader of the Mughal Empire, defeated the Delhi Sultanate in
South Asia. This started the expansion of the empire with gunpowder weapons.
Emperor Akbar helped to legitimize Mughal rule by showing tolerance to the
Hindu majority.

Extra Info:
This is an example of how Mughal imperial
expansion in South and Central Asia relied on gunpowder and cannons. This is an example of rulers using religious ideas to legitimize their rule. Religious tolerance is a religious idea.

Question 5

What was the Safavid-Mughal Conflict about?

Answer 5

This was a series of wars fought over lands in modern Afghanistan. The lands were originally controlled by the Mughals, but when the Safavids took control the Mughals could not get them back. The Safavids were Shi’a Muslims and the Mughals were Sunni. So while the fight was over land, there was a religious aspect to it as well.

Extra Info:
This is a good example of a political and religious dispute that led to rivalries and conflict between states.

Question 6

What does it mean to legitimize and consolidate power?

Answer 6

Legitimizing power refers to the methods rulers use to establish their authority.
Consolidating power is the method rulers use to transfer power from other
groups to themselves.

Extra Info:
This should help you to better understand the discussion of the variety of methods used to legitimize and consolidate power in land-based empires c. 1450-1750.

Question 7

How did rulers use bureaucracies to consolidate their power?

Answer 7

Bureaucracies include thousands of government officials who ensure laws are
kept throughout the empire.

Extra Info:
The use of bureaucratic elites became more
common among rulers who wanted to maintain centralized control over their populations and resources

Question 8

The use of bureaucratic elites became more common among rulers who wanted to maintain centralized control over their populations and resources

Answer 8

The Devshirme system was used to staff their bureaucracy. This began with the enslavement and conversion of Christian boys from the Balkans, but also included education and training in Istanbul. Those who were seen as the brightest were appointed to elite positions in the Ottoman bureaucracy. Their extensive education led them to be excellent and loyal bureaucrats. This also led to the creation of the Janissaries.

Extra Info:
This is an example of the recruitment of
bureaucratic elites and the development of
military professionals.

Question 9

What religious belief helped European monarchs to legitimize their power in this era?

Answer 9

The Divine Right of Kings was the idea that kings were God’s representatives on Earth. This greatly helped to legitimize their rule.

Extra Info:
This is an example of how rulers used religious ideas to legitimize their rule.
This belief also helped to consolidate rule because questioning the monarch or rebelling against him was seen as rebelling against God, which most would not do.

Question 10

How did the Qing Dynasty use art to help
legitimize their rule?

Answer 10

Because the Qing were Manchu, not Han Chinese like the majority of people in China, they portrayed themselves in portraits with books to suggest Confucian wisdom which would appeal to the Han Chinese population.

Extra Info:
This is a good example of rulers using art to
legitimize their rule

Question 11

What are some examples of rulers using
monumental architecture to legitimize and consolidate their rule?

Answer 11

The Inca built the Sun Temple of Cuzco with walls covered in gold, and courtyards filled with golden statues. This helped the people to associate their rulers with the gods.

In France, Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles which showed his power. He also forced the French nobility to live in his palace so he could keep an eye on them. This helped to transfer their previously held power to the King.

Extra Info:
These are good examples of how rulers used religious ideas and monumental architecture to further their rule.

Question 12

What are some examples of rulers using
innovative tax-collection systems to generate revenue to forward state power and expansion?

Answer 12

The Mughal Empire used the Zamindar System. Zamindars were elite landowners who were given the authority to tax peasants living on their land on behalf of the imperial government. The zamindars eventually became corrupt, but the system worked for a while.

The Ottomans used tax-farming. They sold the right to collect taxes from their
subjects.

The Aztec Empire used tribute lists. They forced conquered regions to send them goods that they listed out for them.

Extra Info:
These are three good examples of how rulers used tribute collection, tax farming, and other innovative tax-collection systems to generate revenue in order to forward state power and expansion.

Question 13

How did Christianity
in Europe show change and
continuity c. 1450-1750 CE?

Answer 13

The Roman Catholic Church had become corrupt. Some people practiced simony, the buying of Church offices. But more importantly, the widespread practice of selling indulgences began. This means that people were told they could pay money for their sins to be forgiven. A reformer named Martin Luther found that these practices were not in the Bible and created a list of grievances called the 95 Theses. These ideas spread quickly due to the printing press and led to a new Christian movement called the Protestant Reformation and the
creation of protestant churches.

The Catholic Church initiated a Catholic Reformation with the Council of Trent to clean up corruption. They kept their major beliefs.

Extra Info:
The Protestant Reformation marked a break
with existing Christian traditions and both
the Protestant and Catholic reformations
contributed to the growth of Christianity.

Question 14

How did the OttomanSafavid Rivalry lead to the deepening of the split between Sunni and Shi’a Islam?

Answer 14

Safavid leader Shah Ismail declared that the Safavid Empire would be a Shi’a Islamic state. Sunni Muslims in the empire were publicly executed and the Safavid military cursed the first three caliphs to follow Muhammad as illegitimate rulers of the Muslim people.

Extra Info:
This helps to explain how the Safavids intensified the split between Sunni and Shi’a Islam. Religious differences were often used as an excuse to go to war with Sunni or Shi’a neighbors in this era

Question 15

What was Sikhism and how did it develop?

Answer 15

Sikhism was a syncretic blend of Hindu and Islamic doctrines. These religions had lived side by side in South Asia for centuries. Sikhism adopted the belief in a single God from Islam and the cycle of reincarnation after death from Hinduism. Sikhism also got rid of gender hierarchies and the caste system, opting for radical equality.

Extra Info:
Sikhism developed in South Asia in the context of interactions between Hinduism and Islam.

Question 16

How did adoptions and innovations in Maritime technology lead to European exploration?

Answer 16

Adoption of technology
* Magnetic Compass from China
* Astrolabe from Ancient Greece & Arab world (understanding of
Latitude)
* Lateen Sail from Arab World (cut through the wind)

European innovations of technology
* Shipbuilding (Portuguese Caravel). Better able to navigate inland through
rivers and shallow coastal areas. Fast.

Extra Info:
This helps to explain how cross-cultural
interactions resulted in the diffusion of
technology and facilitated changes in
patterns of trade and travel from 1450-
1750.
* Knowledge, scientific learning, and
technology from the Classical, Islamic,
and Asian worlds spread which helped
Europeans to innovate and develop
their own navigational tools.
* Developments in tools and ship design
as well as improved understanding of
regional wind and current patterns
made transoceanic travel possible.
The wind patterns in the Atlantic were an
incredible challenge for explorers, once they understood the seasonal patterns and were able to use the tools Steve mentioned, they were able to move south of the Equator around Africa and explore the Indian Ocean.

Question 17

What political changes in Europe inspired exploration?

Answer 17

The Growth of State Power
* European monarchs were centralizing power and shifting power away from traditional nobles.

Extra Info:
The growth of state power and wealth helps
to explain why states began to sponsor
transoceanic maritime exploration.

Question 18

What economic changes in Europe motivated exploration and the
expansion of empires?

Answer 18

Nobles were still wealthy and demanded Asian goods like spices, but they were
increasingly expensive. So they decided to cut out the middle-man.

Mercantilism:
— An economic theory based on the idea that there was a finite amount of wealth in the world, and each country wanted the largest share of wealth. This led countries to hoard large amounts of silver and gold.
— Mercantilism demanded that states maintain a favorable balance of trade which meant they were taking in more gold and silver than they sent out. (More exporting of goods; less importing.)

Colonies:
— Colonies were essential to mercantilism because they created a closed market for
exports from the imperial parent country, which enriched it.

Joint-Stock Companies:
— limited liability businesses that were often chartered by states and funded by private investors. Investors only risked what they put into a voyage (instead of funding an entire ship), so if a voyage was unsuccessful—they would not lose their entire savings.
— The partnership of states and merchants led to incredible success.
— One well-known joint-stock company was the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Chartered in 1602, this company dominated Indian Ocean trade and expanded Dutch influence. Investors grew rich.

Extra Info:
This section explains how rulers employed economic strategies to consolidate and maintain power throughout this period. Mercantilism helped European rulers expand and control their economies, and claim overseas territories. Joint-Stock companies were used by merchants to finance exploration and were used by rulers to compete against one another in global trade.

Question 19

How did Portugal create a Maritime Empire and what was it like?

Answer 19

Prince Henry the Navigator brought together sailors, map makers, and
shipbuilders to figure out how to sail down the Atlantic Coast of Africa to access
West African gold. They continued past West Africa to the Indian Ocean.

The Portuguese created a trading post empire around the coast of Africa and
throughout the Indian Ocean. They set up trading posts called factories to control
trade throughout the region. Their use of caravels and gunpowder weapons helped
them to achieve this.

Extra Info:
These are examples of the
causes and effects of maritime
exploration by European States.

Question 20

How did the Spanish create a Maritime Empire and what was it like?

Answer 20

The Spanish crown sponsored Christopher Columbus’s voyages to find a western route to Asia for the spice trade. Columbus found the Americas, and voyages from Spain grew in number until they had colonized the lands.

They had lands in the Americas and the Philippines. In both places they demanded tribute and used coerced labor.

Question 21

What did French exploration look like in this period?

Answer 21

The French went west to find a North Atlantic sea route to Asia. They didn’t find it but they created a French presence in Canada that led to a lucrative fur trade. They did not colonize, but focused on trade.

Extra Info:
This is one example of states looking for Northern Atlantic crossings. The English and Dutch also did this to try to find routes to Asia.

Question 22

Describe English attempts at exploration and colonization before 1750.

Answer 22

As Spain weakened, the English started exploring the Americas. Sir Walter Raleigh established England’s first colony on Roanoke Island called Virginia. It was a disaster. In 1607 Jamestown was established in the Americas more successfully.

The British had also established trade in India but weren’t strong enough to defeat the Mughals… yet.

Extra Info:
These are examples of the causes and effects of maritime exploration by European States.

Question 23

What led the Dutch to create a maritime empire and what was their empire like?

Answer 23

The Dutch gained their independence from the Spanish. After creating the Dutch East India Company they began challenging Spanish and Portuguese control in the Indian Ocean. They also settled in the Americas with New Amsterdam. Eventually they had a monopoly over the Indian Ocean spice trade.

Extra Info:
Driven largely by political, religious, and economic rivalries, European states established new Maritime empires, including the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, and British. Economic disputes led to rivalries and conflicts between states.

Question 24

What was the Columbian Exchange?

Answer 24

The transfer of new diseases, food, plants, and animals between the Eastern and
Western hemispheres. It was an environmental phenomena, not trade.

Question 25

What diseases were transferred to the Americas from Afro-Eurasia and what were their effects?

Answer 25

Smallpox, measles, and malaria found their way to the Americas through humans and disease vectors like mosquitoes. Because Native Americas had never been exposed to them before they had not developed any immunity. 90 % of those who were infected died. This led to the Great Dying of the indigenous population.

Extra Info:
European colonization of the Americas led to the unintentional transfer of disease vectors like mosquitoes and rats. The spread of diseases was catastrophic for the indigenous population.

Question 26

What Afro-Eurasian foods were introduced to the Americas and what was the effect?

Answer 26

From Europe: wheat, olives, grapes, etc. From Africa and Asia: rice, bananas, sugar.

As these diversified the diet of Native Americans, lifespans slowly increased.

Extra Info:
Afro-Eurasian fruit trees, grains, and sugar were brought by Europeans to the Americas

Question 27

What American foods were introduced to Afro-Eurasia and what was the effect?

Answer 27

Maize (corn) and potatoes were introduced leading to healthier populations with longer lifespans. After 1700 there was a population explosion.

Extra Info:
American food became staple crops in various parts of Afro-Eurasia. Populations in Afro-Eurasia benefited nutritionally from the increased diversity of American food crops.

Question 28

What foods were brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans?

Answer 28

Okra and rice.

Extra Info:
Some foods were brought to the Americans by enslaved Africans. As the slave trade increased and kidnappings became more common, parents often braided rice or other foods into their children’s hair so they might have something to survive on if they were taken.

Question 29

How did the Columbian exchange lead cash cropping and what was it?

Answer 29

A demand for crops grown in the Americas (often transferred there through the Columbian Exchange) led to cash cropping. Cash cropping is when farmers focus on a specific crop to export, like sugar grown in the Caribbean by enslaved people for markets in the Middle East and Europe.

Extra Info:
Cash crops were grown primarily on plantations with coerced labor and were
exported mostly to Europe and the Middle
East.

Question 30

What kinds of animals were a part of the Columbian Exchange and what was the impact of the transfer?

Answer 30

Europeans introduced pigs, sheep, cattle, and horses to the Americas. These animals could be used for agricultural work and hunting to better feed indigenous populations.

Extra Info:
Afro-Eurasian domesticated animals were brought by Europeans to the Americas.

Question 31

Why and how did Japan resist the intrusion of western powers?

Answer 31

Tokugawa Japan began to resist European power when large numbers of Japanese converted to Christianity and started to be seen as a threat by the Shogun who had recently unified the country. He kicked out Christian missionaries and suppressed western religion, sometimes violently. Japan almost completely isolated itself from European powers, but continued trading with the Dutch.

Extra Info:
State expansion and centralization led to resistance from an array of social, political, and economic groups on a local level.

Question 32

What was the Fronde Rebellion? Why did it happen?

Answer 32

In France, the king had centralized power by removing power from the nobles and making himself an absolute monarch. The Fronde was a rebellion that started in 1648 against increased taxes. They led a six year long rebellion that was eventually crushed.

Question 33

How did enslaved Africans in the Americas resist authorities in the Americas?

Answer 33

Enslaved people who ran away formed maroon societies. Some famous ones were in the Caribbean and Brazil. These were usually small villages that lived outside of the grasp of imperial authorities. When British colonial troops tried to crush one such community in Jamaica, Queen Nanny led a rebellion against them and won. Eventually the British and the Maroons signed a treaty recognizing their freedom.

Extra Info:
Slave resistance challenged existing authorities in the Americas.

Question 34

How did the Asante Empire in west Africa thrive c. 1450-1750?

Answer 34

They traded items like ivory, gold, and enslaved people to Europeans. The wealth they accrued helped them to expand their military and consolidate political power in the region.

Extra Info:
The expansion of maritime trading networks fostered the growth of states in Africa, including the Asante and the Kingdom of Kongo, whose participation in trading networks led to an increase in their influence.

Question 35

How did having a trade relationship with the Portuguese change the Kingdom of Kongo in southern Africa?

Answer 35

To facilitate trade, their leaders converted to Christianity. Trade, initially, led to the expansion of the Kongolese state’s power and wealth.

Question 36

What continuities were maintained in Indian Ocean trade networks even after the arrival of Europeans?

Answer 36

Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian merchants continued to trade. Europeans entering the market actually increased Asian profits and for some, they got stronger. For example, the Gujarati merchants increased the wealth of the Mughal Empire through trade with Europeans.

Extra Info:
Despite some disruption and restructuring due to the arrival of Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch merchants, existing trade networks in the Indian Ocean continued to flourish and included intra-Asian trade and Asian merchants.

Question 37

What continuities were maintained on the Silk Roads c. 1450-1750?

Answer 37

The Silk Roads were still controlled by various Asian land-based powers like Ming and Qing China as well as the Ottoman Empire.

Extra Info:
One big change that eventually emerged was that the Portuguese became a new transoceanic and regional shipping service once they realized they would never be able to fully control Asian trade. They would pick up goods in one state and exchange them for goods in another. They would be paid for this service and buy goods to ship back to Europe.

Question 38

What continuities were maintained by Asian peasant and artisan laborers c. 1450-1750?

Answer 38

Peasants and artisan laborers continued to increase production as demand for their goods grew in Europe. For example the
production of cotton in South Asia and silk in China.

Extra Info:
Peasant and artisan labor continued and
intensified in many regions as the demand for food and consumer goods increased.

Question 39

Describe the new trading system that included the western hemisphere?

Answer 39

The Atlantic System was new. It was the movement of goods, wealth, and laborers between the eastern and western hemispheres that led to vast increases in wealth.

Extra Info:
The Atlantic trading system involved the
movement of goods, wealth, and labor,
including slaves.

Question 40

What were some of the main trade goods that came from the Americas and what impact did they have?

Answer 40

Sugarcane grown on plantations. Silver mined by coerced labor in the Americas made Spain very rich and satisfied China’s demand for silver.

Extra Info:
The new global circulation of goods was
facilitated by chartered European monopoly
companies and the global flow of silver especially from Spanish colonies in the Americas, which was used to purchase Asian goods for the Atlantic markets and satisfy Chinese demand for silver.

Question 41

How was trade in the Atlantic system maintained?

Answer 41

Labor was mostly coerced: forced indigenous labor, indentured
servitude, and African slavery. Silver flowed. Trade was handled by joint-stock companies.

Question 42

What was the Mit’a system?

Answer 42

Native Americans were forced to work for part of the year in Spanish mines, similar to the Inca Mit’a system. However, the Inca Mit’a was for public benefit while the Spanish Mit’a was for private gain.

Extra Info:
Newly developed colonial economies in the
Americas largely depended on utilizing existing labor systems including the Incan mit’a.

Question 43

What was chattel slavery and what changes did it lead to?

Answer 43

Slavery in which the enslaved person is owned like property. In the Americas it was race-based and hereditary.

Changes:
– A slave trade existed in the older Afro Eurasian trade networks before 1500, but it wasn’t race-based.
– Difficult agriculture in the Americas led to the reliance on enslaved males, which changed the demographics of African states. This also led to a gender imbalance in West Africa and the rise of polygyny
(men marrying more than one woman).
– The size of the trans-Atlantic slave trade was massive in comparison with earlier systems.
– Blackness became identified with enslavement and a justification for brutality.
– Cultural synthesis took place in the Americas like the development of creole languages in the Caribbean and Brazil, which were a mix of European, African, and Indigenous languages.

Extra Info:
Slavery in Africa continued in its traditional
forms, including incorporation of slaves into
households and the export of slaves to the
Mediterranean and Indian Ocean regions.

The growth of the plantation economy increased the demand for slaves in the Americas leading to significant demographic changes.

Some notable gender and family restructuring occurred, including demographic changes in Africa that resulted from the slave trades. The mixing of African, American, and European cultures and peoples led to cultural synthesis.

Question 44

What was indentured servitude?

Answer 44

Used mostly by the British in North America, it was a system where servants were bound to work for seven years and then could go free.

Extra Info:
Newly developed colonial economies in the Americas largely depended on agriculture and introduced new labor systems including chattel slavery, indentured servitude, and encomienda and hacienda systems.

Question 45

What was the Encomienda System?

Answer 45

The Spanish divided indigenous Americans among Spanish settlers and they were forced to provide labor in exchange for food and protection. It’s a bit like feudalism.

Question 46

What was a Hacienda?

Answer 46

They were huge plantations on which Native Americans were forced to work. This was about land ownership and forced labor.

Question 47

How did Christianity change c. 1450-1750?

Answer 47

Christian Missionaries, mostly Jesuits, spread Christianity to the American colonies. While some converted to traditional Catholicism, others created
syncretic forms of faith blending Christianity with indigenous practices. Africans in the Americas also blended their animistic
beliefs and practices with Christianity creating syncretic religions like Vodun.

Extra Info:
In some cases, the increase and intensification of interactions between newly connected hemispheres
expanded the reach and furthered development of existing religions, and contributed to religious conflicts and the development of syncretic belief systems and practices.

An example of conflict is that syncretic faiths were often disapproved of by the Catholic Church who brought the inquisition to the Americas to root out heresies.

Question 48

How did the treatment of Jews show diversity in how minorities were treated in this time period? (1450 to 1750)

Answer 48

After the Reconquista to remove Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal also kicked out all Jews. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire opened its doors to Jewish people fleeing persecution.

Extra Info:
Many states, such as the Mughal and Ottoman empires, adopted practices to accommodate the ethnic and religious diversity of their subjects or utilize the economic, political, and military
contributions of different ethnic or religious groups. In other cases, states suppressed diversity or limited certain groups’ roles in society, politics, or the economy.

Question 49

What was the new social hierarchy of the Americas like?

Answer 49

The Casta system was imposed by the Spanish. Rank was based on ancestry and race, and was based on the purity of Spanish blood. This led to a small group of Spanish elites being at the top of the social hierarchy.

Extra Info:
Imperial conquests and widening global
economic opportunities contributed to the
formation of new political and economic elites, including in China with the transition to the Qing Dynasty and in the Americas with the rise of the Casta system.

The Casta system had some flexibility within it as wealth and power could often raise someone of mixed race into the tier of those with “pure Spanish blood.”

This is also an example of how the growth of the plantation economy and the increased demand for enslaved labor in the Americas, led to significant demographic, social, and cultural changes.

Question 50

How did the Qing dynasty create a new system of elites?

Answer 50

They held the best bureaucratic jobs for those who were ethnically Manchu, which meant the majority of the population could not hold them. This led to Manchu elites in China.

Question 51

What kind of struggle existed in Russia as the czar centralized power?

Answer 51

Elites like the boyars, in Russia, had held onto considerable power for centuries, but Peter the Great became an absolute monarch leading nobles to rebel. The outcome was the abolition of the rank of boyar. Additionally, anyone who had a position of power had to get it directly from the state.

Extra Info:
The power of existing political and economic elites fluctuated as the elites confronted new challenges to their ability to affect the policies of the increasingly
powerful monarchs and leaders. The Rebellion of the Fronde is another example of this.