Unit 4 Transoceanic Connections 1450-1750 Flashcards
How did the global balance of power shift during the period 1450-1750?
It shifted from land to sea-based empires, primarily in Europe.
Which maritime technologies did Europe adopt?
- Magnetic compass
- Astrolabe
- Lateen sail
- Astronomical charts
European Ships
- Portuguese Caravel → more navigable and equipped with cannons.
- Portuguese Carrack → carried more cargo and guns.
- Dutch Fluyt → Design for trade and had massive cargo holds.
This new era of ______ empire building was ______.
Sea-based empire & state-sponsored → result of the redistribution of power in European states.
A huge motivator for state-sponsored maritime exploration was the . . .
Increasing desire for luxury goods from Asia → spices such as pepper.
Why did Europe turn to sea-based trade instead of land-based trade?
Land-based empires controlled all the land routes through which those highly desirable goods passed → by the time those goods made it to Europe, they were exceedingly expensive.
Trading Post Empires
Aimed to dominate trade routes and access to valuable goods by establishing trading posts at strategic locations along trade routes to control the flow of goods and collect taxes from merchants.
Prince Henry the Navigator
Sponsored the first European attempt to find an all water route into the Indian Ocean trade network → established major trading post in West Africa for gold.
Vasco da Gama
Established trading posts along all of Africa’s coasts → discovered Calicut in India and established trading posts along the Indian Ocean network.
Christopher Columbus
Ferdinand and Isabella (Spain’s monarchs) sponsored Christopher Columbus’ voyage to India → Discovered the Americas. Columbus’ voyage opened up trade in the Atlantic Ocean and marked the beginning of European colonization.
Causes for Exploration
- Political rivalry
- Envy
- Desire for wealth
- Need for alternative routes to Asia
France sponsored expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a ______ to Asia.
Northwest Passage → gained access to the lucrative fur trade. Samuel de Champlain established the French colony of Quebec.
England’s booming textile industry made them less willing to . . .
Invest in risk overseas ventures → after Queen Elizabeth defeat Spain’s attempt to invade England, she supported westward exploration → established Jamestown in 1607.
The Dutch began competing for ______ around Africa.
Trading posts → dethroned the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean Network. Henry Hudson established the colony of New Amsterdam.
Columbian Exchange
Transfer of new diseases, food, plants, and animals between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
The Columbian Exchange began to occur because of contact between the ______ and the ______.
Old World & New World
Transfer of Disease
Europeans brought diseases such as malaria, measles, and smallpox to the Americas → indigenous people had no immunity → widespread population decline.
What crops did Europeans introduce to the Americas and vice versa?
Europeans introduced wheat, grapes, olives, bananas, and sugar to the Americas. Americans introduced potatoes manioc, and maize to Europe, Africa, and Asia. These foods diversified their diets → longer lifespans.
Some of these foods were grown as ______ on European plantations in the Americas.
Cash crops → growing for export to other places. Europeans planted single crops on massive plantations that used coerced labor.
Sugarcane Cultivation
Grown in Caribbean colonies by enslaved Africans → exported to Europe.
Europeans brought domesticated animals such as _______ which created the foundation for future ranching economies.
Pigs, sheep, cattle, and horses.
These animals caused _______ that put _______ on indigenous farmers.
Soil erosion & strains
What were European motives for imperialism?
- To enrich themselves (Gold)
- To spread Christianity (God)
- Be the greatest state (Glory)
The Portuguese were the first to establish a _______ around _______ and throughout _______.
Trading post empire, Africa & Indian Ocean → used gunpowder to controlling the trade network by force.
Spain set up colonies in the _______.
Philippines
How did Spain run their colonies in the Americas and the Indian Ocean?
Through tribute systems, taxation, and coerced labor.
Who dominated trade in the Indian Ocean during the time period 1450-1750?
The Dutch in Indonesia
The British established trading posts in _______, however they would transform those trading posts into _______.
India & colonial rule.
Continuity in Trade
- Middle Eastern, South Asia, and SE Asian merchants continued to use these trading routes → Europeans increased profits.
- Merchants like the Gujaratis in the Mughal Empire continued to increase their power and wealth in the Indian Ocean trade, despite European dominance.
Resistance to Imperialism in Tokugawa Japan
Japan was politically united by the Tokugawa Shogunate → believed that Europeans threatened this unity.
Expelled Christian missionaries In Japan and implemented an isolationist policy (Sakoku) → limited foreign contact and trade in an attempt to preserve its cultural and political stability.
Resistance to Imperialism in Ming China
Zheng He’s voyages aimed to process most of the maritime trade in the Indian Ocean through China → did not work and China implemented a an isolationist policy as well.
How did maritime promote the growth of the Asante Empire in West Africa?
The were a key trading partner for the Portuguese and British → provided goods like gold, ivory, and slaves. This economic partnership made the Asante wealthy and allowed them to expand their military → used this power to prevent British colonization.
Kingdom of the Kongo
Made strong diplomatic ties with Portugues traders who wanted gold, copper, and slaves. To facilitate this growing economic relationship the king converted to Christianity.
What were colonies in the Americas focused on?
Cultivating cash crops such as tobacco, rice, indigo, and cotton → used slaved labor.
Europeans used used both _______ and introduced _______.
Existing labor systems & new labor systems
Existing Labor Systems
The Spanish used the Inca mit’a system for their silver mining operations.
New Labor Systems
- Race-based chattel slavery → individuals were treated as property (owned) → slavery became hereditary.
- Indentured servitude → individual signs a contract to work a period of time without salary → used to repay debt or the cost of passage.
- Encomienda system → indigenous people were forced to provide labor for the Spanish in exchange for food and protection (similar to feudalism).
- Hacienda system → large Spanish-owned estates where indigenous laborers were forced to work the fields → crops were exploited and sold on a global market.
What is the difference between the encomienda system and the hacienda system.
Encomienda was focused on controlling the population, while hacienda was focused on food exports.
How did slavery represent both continuity and change?
Continuity:
1. African slave trade
2. Cultural assimilation
3. Domestic work → slaves became domestic servants.
4. Slaves held power → military/political positions in the Islamic world.
Change:
1. Agricultural work → males were purchased more, impacting African demographics.
2. Trans-Atlantic slave trade larger
3. Racial prejudice → slavery became identified with blackness, justifying its brutality.
Mercantilism
State-driven economic system that emphasizes the build-up of mineral wealth by exporting more than they imported → increased competition among states.
Why was mercantilism a powerful motivator for establishing and growing empires?
Encouraged the establishment of colonies as a source of raw materials and markets for manufactured goods → boosted the wealth and power of the mother country.
Joint-Stock Companies
Limited liability business, chartered by the state and funded by investors → allowed investors to pool capital, share risks, and fund overseas exploration.
- Investors could only lose the money they invested
- Government granted it trade monopolies
- Privately funded
How did states and merchants depend on each other through mercantilism?
State used merchants to expand its influence, while merchants relied on states to grant them trade monopolies → used joint-stock companies to expand empires.
Dutch East India Company (VOC)
Chartered in 1602 by the Dutch state while granted the company a monopoly on trade in the Indian Ocean.
- Company’s investors became rich
- Imperial government was able to expand its power and influence throughout the Indian Ocean
British East India Company
Chartered by the Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 to establish trade with South and SE Asia.
- Gradually gained political and economic power in India
While French, British, and Dutch used _______, Spain and Portugal used _______.
Privately-funded joint stock companies & state-funded methods
Change during the period 1450-1750
- Atlantic system of trade → movement of goods, wealth, and laborers between the East and West.
- Increased demand for sugar
- Silver mining
- satisfied Chinese demand for silver which developed their commercialized economy further
- Used to purchase Asian goods such as silk, porcelain, and steel → more profits. - Coerced labor → indigenous labor, indentured servitude, enslaved Africans
Continuity in the period 1450-1750
- Afro-Eurasia markets thrived
- Overland routes continued to be controlled by Asian land-based powers (China)
- Peasant and artisan labor
Social Effects of the African Slave Trade
- Gender imbalance
- Change in family structures → increased polygyny
- Cultural synthesis → Africans brought their own culture, language music, and food to the Americas.
Effect of Belief Systems
- Christian missionaries from Spain and Portugal brought Roman Catholicism to the Americas, while the British and Dutch offered different denominations (Protestantism) → changed American social structures, legal systems and politics.
- Africans brought Islam
Fronde
Resistance movement in France. Louis XIV established an absolutist monarch and wanted to expand → increased taxes among French subjects. The nobility, whose power was threatened by the growing monarchy, led peasant rebellions.
Queen Ana Nzinga’s Resistance
Resistance movement in Africa. Nzinga ruled over Ndongo and Matamba → concerned about Portuguese presence in West Africa. She allied with the Dutch to fight Portuguese armies.
Pueblo Revolt
Resistance Movement in North America. Pueblo people suffered abuses from oppressive Spanish missionaries → coerced labor and disease. Organized a revolt against Spanish → temporarily removed Spanish, however they reclaimed control.
Maroon Societies
Enslaved resistance movement in the Caribbean → small populations of free blacks. British colonial authorities failed to fight back against resistance from maroon in Jamaica → treaty recognized their freedom.
Stono Rebellion of 1739
British colonial resistance movement in South Carolina (major producer of rice and indigo) by enslaved people → stopped by British colonial armies.
Response to Jews
Expelled from Portugal and Spain → emigrated to the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II. Jews rose to prominence in the Ottoman court, while others contributed to economics and culture. However, they were restricted to certain areas and had to pay the jizya.
Ethnic Diversity in the Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was established outsiders → sharp ethnic division between Manchus and Hans. The Qing continued to use imperial bureaucracy, however the highest positions were given to Manchus. Hans also had to wear their hair in queue → represented foreign dominance.
Ethnic Diversity in the Mughal Empire
Akbar established religious tolerance → did not implement the jizya and funded the construction of religious buildings for Christians, Hindus, and Muslims.
Casta System
Spanish conquistadors imposed a new social hierarchy in the Americas → peninsulares (born in Europe), → Creoles (born in the Americas), Mestizos (European & indigenous), Mulattoes (European & African), Native Americans, African slaves → eliminated existing cultural groups.
Russian Boyars
Aristocratic landowning class that held great administrative power in Russia → Peter the Great removed their power to consolidate his power.
Ottoman Timars
Land-grants made by Ottoman state to an aristocratic class in exchange for military service → aristocrats who controlled the timars became wealthy through taxation → Ottoman sultans took over of timars and converted them to tax farms → revenue for the state.
