Early Modern Asia 1450-1750 CE

Question 1

Which three Islamic Empires arose beginning in the 1300s, and owed much of their success to gunpowder?

Answer 1

The Ottomans, the Safavids, and the Mughals were able to expand and defend their empires through the use of gunpowder infantry and artillery. For instance, the Ottomans deployed a huge cannon to destroy the walls of Constantinople in 1453.

Question 2

Where did the Ottoman Empire arise?

Answer 2

The Ottoman Empire arose in the Turkish areas of Central Asia and gradually expanded westward. By the 1400s, the Ottoman armies had occupied much of Anatolia and were poised to conquer Constantinople and expand into Europe.

Question 3

What is the Hagia Sophia?

Answer 3

The Hagia Sophia was a prominent church in Constantinople. Following the conquest of that city by the Ottomans in 1453, minarets were added and it was converted into a mosque.

Question 4

Who were the Janissaries?

Answer 4

Beginning in the mid-1400s, the Ottoman Empire converted captured Christian boys into soldiers for the Ottoman army. The boys were given an education, taught Turkish, and were required to become Muslims.

Many of the Janissaries rose to prominent positions in the Ottoman Empire, and parents often voluntarily gave their children to the Ottomans in the hope that their sons would get a good education.

Question 5

What was the role of women in the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 5

In the Ottoman Empire, lower-class women could be permitted to participate in shop keeping, trade, and other small businesses. Upper-class women, however, were required to strictly observe Muslim customs, such as wearing the veil.

All women were expected to be subordinate to their husbands and fathers, and few received an education or took an active role in politics.

Question 6

By the early 1500s, the Ottoman Empire had conquered much of North Africa. How far inland did their control extend?

Answer 6

Ottoman control was mainly confined to the coast, although they did establish some control over the trans-Saharan trade routes.

In North Africa, as elsewhere, the Ottomans ruled lightly, and much of the day-to-day government was reserved for local rulers known as the pasha.

Question 7

In 1529, the Ottomans laid siege to ______, the farthest incursion of their forces into Europe.

Answer 7

Vienna

The siege of Vienna marked the high point of Ottoman power. Although they were defeated at Vienna, for the next 300 years the Ottoman Empire controlled most of the Balkans, including modern-day Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Greece, and Serbia. A weaker Ottoman force would lay siege to Vienna again in 1683 with similar results.

Question 8

Following the conquest of Constantinople, the Ottomans sought to dominate the Mediterranean by building a large naval fleet. What event marked the end of Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean?

Answer 8

In 1571, an outnumbered Holy League (a coalition of Mediterranean maritime nations including Spain, Venice, and Tuscany) fleet defeated the Ottoman navy in the Battle of Lepanto, off the coast of Greece.

Many historians consider the Ottoman’s defeat at Lepanto one of history’s most decisive naval defeats, and it ended Ottoman dominance of the Mediterranean.

It is thought that Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, fought at Lepanto.

Question 9

What empire controlled Persia between 1501 and 1722?

Answer 9

The Safavid Empire controlled Persia from 1501 to 1722. The Safavid shahs were devoted Shiites, and much of the Persian population followed their example.

Question 10

What invention allowed Babur to conquer India and establish the Mughal Empire?

Answer 10

Babur, a descendant of the Turks and Mongols, led a large force southward from Central Asia to conquer northern India beginning in the late 1520s. Babur owed his victories primarily to gunpowder. He established the Mughal Dynasty, which ruled much of northern India into the 1850s.

Question 11

Who was Akbar the Great?

Answer 11

Akbar the Great was a Mughal leader who ruled northern India in the later half of the 16th century. Akbar centralized the Mughal Empire, established a bureaucracy, and did much to bridge the gap between the Muslims and Hindus under his control.

Question 12

What was the role of women in the Mughal Empire?

Answer 12

In its early years, the Mughal Empire was progressive toward women. Akbar banned the practice of sati (forcing a widow to jump onto her husband’s funeral pyre) and established exclusive market days where women were allowed to shop and participate in public life. Following Akbar’s reign, however, many of these progressive reforms were abandoned.

Question 13

Where is the Taj Mahal?

Answer 13

The Taj Mahal is located in northern India at Atta. The high point of Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal was constructed as a tomb by Mughal Shah Jahan for his wife. The Taj Mahal blends traditional Indian architecture with the domes and arches featured in Islamic architecture.

Question 14

What Chinese dynasty expelled the Mongols and reestablished an independent China?

Answer 14

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, a warlord who’d led forces against the Mongols, established the Ming Dynasty. Under the Ming, Confucian tradition and bureaucracy were restored. The Ming Dynasty lasted until 1644.

Question 15

Zhu Yuanzhang’s son Yongle built what edifice in Beijing?

Answer 15

Yongle, who ruled from 1402 to 1424, built the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing to serve as the Ming Empire’s seat of power and the imperial residence.

Question 16

What Ming admiral sent exploring expeditions to the coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea?

Answer 16

Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He, a Chinese admiral and diplomat, commanded several expeditions that sailed as far as the eastern coast of Africa.

The expeditions stopped after the Confucian scholar-gentry convinced Yongle’s successors that funds were better spent securing the Empire’s northern borders from renewed Mongol incursions.

Question 17

_____, a hard white translucent ceramic, proved one of China’s most popular exports during the Ming Dynasty.

Answer 17

Porcelain

China developed porcelain, which was used in creating vases and dishware. A luxury good, it proved popular internally and in Europe.

Most fine dishware today is known as china because of the dominance of the Ming Dynasty in the creation of fine dishware.

Question 18

The _____ Dynasty replaced the Ming in 1644.

Answer 18

Qing

Taking advantage of some 200 years of internal Ming weakness, the Manchus conquered China in 1644. A nomadic tribe, the Manchus quickly adapted to internal Chinese ways, including adopting the Confucian bureaucracy, and established the Qing Empire. The Qing would rule China until 1911.

Question 19

What areas did the Qing add to the Chinese Empire?

Answer 19

The Qing were expansionist. To the north, they conquered Manchuria, Mongolia, and much of Central Asia. To the south, the Qing reduced Nepal, Tibet, Burma, and Vietnam to either direct subjects or tributary states.

Question 20

Under the Qing, Europeans were restricted to trading at which port?

Answer 20

The Qing were trade protectionists and restricted the Europeans to the city of Canton, a condition that would remain until the 1800s.

In addition to porcelain and silk, tea proved exceptionally popular with Europeans. The Chinese exported large amounts of it to Europe. Because they imported few goods, China had a very favorable balance of trade.

Question 21

The Qing Emperor _____ is widely considered the dynasty’s most effective ruler.

Answer 21

Kangxi

The Emperor Kangxi ruled from 1661 to 1722. A dynamic ruler, Kangxi reinvigorated the Chinese bureaucracy with a renewed emphasis on Confucianism and submission to imperial authority, revised Chinese law, and launched several successful military campaigns. Unlike many of his successors, Kangxi was deeply concerned with China’s technological progress when compared with the European states.

Question 22

How was Japan governed between 1185 and 1573?

Answer 22

Japan was nominally under the control of shoguns, including the Ashikaga Shogunate that ruled from 1336 to 1573. The shoguns’ influence steadily declined, however, and Japan became a feudal state governed by semi-independent landowners (known as daimyos) with their own private armies staffed with samurai warriors.

By the late 1400s, the system began to break down, and Japan descended into the Era of Independent Lords.

Question 23

What was the Era of Independent Lords?

Answer 23

Beginning in the 1460s, Japan entered into a period of civil war, which lasted until the late 1500s. Inter-daimyo conflict was common, and the shogun was too weak to assert control.

Armies of samurai attacked each other, and several became independent warriors (and often bandits) after the death of their master or because they deserted. The independent warriors were known as Ronin.

Question 24

Oda Nobunaga began the process of reunifying Japan in the 1560s. What invention enabled him to defeat his adversaries at Nagashino in 1575?

Answer 24

Nobunaga was the first warlord to use gunpowder weapons extensively and defeated his adversaries at Nagashino in 1573.

Nobunaga completed the unification of much of southern and central Japan before he committed ritual suicide in 1582. He was followed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who completed the conquest of much of the remainder of Japan from his capital at Osaka.

Question 25

Which shogun completed the reunification of Japan?

Answer 25

Tokugawa Ieyasu completed the Japanese reunification. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, his young son succeeded him. Tokugawa Ieyasu revolted in 1600 and completed Japanese reunification by 1615 after forcing Hideyoshi’s son to commit ritual suicide.

Question 26

What family dominated Japanese affairs from 1600 to the middle of the 1800s?

Answer 26

From 1600 until the Meiji Restoration, Japan was under the control of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Ruling from Edo (modern-day Tokyo), the Tokugawa took the title of shogun, broke up the large daimyo estates, and dominated the Emperor.

Question 27

Why was Nagasaki important to Japan?

Answer 27

A trading city, Nagasaki was the only Japanese city Westerners were allowed to enter. Suspicious of Western ideas and Christianity, the Tokugawa Shogunate closed off Japan to all but the Dutch, who were permitted to trade at Nagasaki.

Some Western ideas and technologies (such as gunpowder and clocks) were adopted by the Tokugawa, but for the most part Japan remained a closed and isolationist society.

Question 28

How much mobility was there between social classes in Tokugawa Japan?

Answer 28

Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate was rigid, and a renewed emphasis on Confucianism meant there was little opportunity to move upward between classes. Weapons were also restricted; only the samurai could own swords, and the availability of gunpowder weapons was sharply curtailed.

Among the upper classes, women were allowed to follow artistic and cultural pursuits, but were rarely educated and had no control over their property. Lower-class women labored beside their husbands in the fields and were honored as mothers and wives.

Question 29

What is Kabuki theater?

Answer 29

Kabuki theater became popular during the Tokugawa Shogunate among the urban populace and featured acrobatics, sword fights, and plays set in cities. Theater-goers were often urban and middle-class.

Question 30

Who was Francis Xavier?

Answer 30

Francis Xavier was a Jesuit priest who arrived in Southeast Asia in the early 1540s. Xavier travelled through Asia and attempted to establish Catholicism throughout the region. Despite his travels, most Asian empires proved hostile to Christianity, and the religion was banned in many regions.

Question 31

Which royal family ruled Russia beginning in 1613?

Answer 31

From 1613 to 1917, Russia was ruled by the Romanovs. As the leader of the Russian state, the Romanov monarch was known as the Tsar.

Question 32

What reforms were instituted by Peter the Great (1672-1725)?

Answer 32

Nearly 7 feet tall and of indomitable energy, Peter the Great was dedicated to melding Russia into a European power. He built the first Russian navy, expanded Russia’s army, and introduced factories to Russia.

Old nobles, known as boyars, were forced to shave their beards, and women were allowed to remove their veils. Peter founded St. Petersburg as a second Russian capital, intending it to serve as the model of a European city.

Question 33

Who were the boyars?

Answer 33

Prominent from the 10th to 17th Century, the boyars were old Russian noble families. As part of his campaign to modernize Russia, Peter the Great forced the boyars to wear Western clothing, shave their beards, and serve in the army. He also forced the boyars to construct houses to his specifications in his new capital city of St. Petersburg.

Question 34

How did the legal condition of the serfs in Russia differ from their Central European counterparts during the 17th and 18th centuries?

Answer 34

Although both Central European and Russian serfs had few rights, in Russia the serfs were not tied to the land. They could be forced to work in mines or factories and sold off at any time.

Question 35

What Russian Tsarina is considered Russia’s only Enlightened Despot?

Answer 35

Catherine the Great (1729-1796) allowed some religious freedom and limited adoption of printing presses. She corresponded with Voltaire and is considered Russia’s only Enlightened Despot. After a peasant rebellion, her reforms ceased.