Section 2 Flashcards
1450–1750 – How did various states consolidate power during this period?
States centralized authority through bureaucracy, tax systems, standing armies, and religious legitimation (e.g., divine right, mandate of heaven).
1450–1750 – What were the effects of state consolidation in this period?
Greater political stability, expansion of empire borders, increased economic control, but also more conflict and oppression.
1450–1750 – How did land-based empires expand during this period?
Through conquest using gunpowder weapons, centralized administration, and control over agricultural regions (e.g., Ottoman, Mughal, Safavid).
1450–1750 – How did maritime empires develop and expand during this period?
Through naval exploration, trade dominance, and colonization (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, British).
1450–1750 – How did land-based and maritime states increase their influence differently?
Land-based empires expanded by controlling territory and people, while maritime empires expanded by controlling sea routes and establishing trading posts and colonies.
1450–1750 – What were some key state rivalries during this era?
Ottomans vs. Safavids, Spain vs. Portugal, later Britain vs. France; competition for trade and territory increased global conflict.
1450–1750 – How did trade competition affect the global balance of power?
It shifted power toward European maritime states who controlled global trade routes and colonial wealth.
1450–1750 – How did gunpowder affect state conflict?
It made wars more destructive and allowed states with superior firearms and artillery to dominate others.
1450–1750 – What technologies and influences enabled European exploration?
Improved maps, astrolabe, magnetic compass, caravel ships, and knowledge from Islamic and Chinese sources.
1450–1750 – What political and economic factors motivated European maritime exploration?
Desire for trade with Asia, spreading Christianity, acquiring wealth and power, and Renaissance curiosity.
1450–1750 – How did networks of exchange change during this period?
They became truly global—linking Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas for the first time via the Atlantic and Indian Ocean systems.
1450–1750 – What were the consequences of these changing networks?
Massive cultural exchange, colonization, forced labor systems, environmental transformation, and the rise of Europe.
1450–1750 – What stayed the same in exchange networks?
Silk Roads and Indian Ocean trade continued; many goods like spices, textiles, and precious metals remained key commodities.
1450–1750 – What changes occurred in major belief systems?
Christianity split (Protestant Reformation), Islam continued expanding, syncretism occurred in colonies, and missionary work increased.
1450–1750 – What stayed the same in belief systems?
Religions remained central to political legitimation and social order.
1450–1750 – How did belief systems affect politics and society?
Religions justified authority (divine right, Islamic caliphates), shaped law and social hierarchy, and influenced colonial policies.
1450–1750 – How did literary and artistic cultures develop in this period?
Drama, poetry, and painting became more accessible to the public, especially with the help of the printing press.
1450–1750 – What were the effects of the printing press?
Spread literacy, religious and political ideas (e.g., Reformation), helped form national languages and identities.
1450–1750 – How did the Atlantic slave trade differ from other coerced labor systems?
It was race-based, transoceanic, and dehumanizing on an industrial scale; it involved permanent, hereditary slavery.
1450–1750 – How did the encomienda and hacienda systems work?
Spanish colonial systems where indigenous people were forced to labor on land owned by colonists in exchange for supposed “protection.”
1450–1750 – How did serfdom in Russia compare to slavery?
Serfs were tied to land and owed labor, but were not chattel property; however, the system was still coercive and hereditary.
1450–1750 – What was the Ottoman devshirme system?
Christian boys were taken from their families, converted to Islam, and trained as soldiers or administrators for the Ottoman state.
1450–1750 – How did European presence affect trade in South and Southeast Asia?
Europeans established ports and trading companies (e.g., Dutch in Indonesia), but local powers often retained control inland.
1450–1750 – How did European presence affect labor and trade in the Americas?
Led to forced labor (slavery, encomienda), mass death of indigenous peoples, and extraction of silver and sugar for global markets.
