Transoceanic Interconnections and the Rise of a Global World from 1450-1750

Technological Innovations:

Maritime Trade :

Europeans became more interested in the Indian Ocean trade networks, new patterns of trade began to develop.

• Europeans wanted to be involved in Indian Ocean trade but conflicts like the Omani-European rivalry encouraged European nations to finance expeditions like Christopher Columbus’ in search of water routes east.

• Omani European rivalry = Portuguese trading forts being challenged by locals.The omanis are European traders and for them we get into this rivalry.(who can make more money who can innovate more)Omani is all about trade and travel.

• Prince Henry the Navigator encouraged **maritime exploration and trade.**Most famous Portuguese trader prince Henry(paid for expeditions along Africa’s Atlantic coast allowing Portugal to explore further than other European nations.)

• The “discovery “of the new world by Columbus on behalf of Spain encouraged other European nations to fund water exploration and trade.

• This new pattern of long-distance trade and colonization led to the rise of the Maritime Empires - empires based on sea travel and trade rather than purely land expansion.

• first major maritime empire is Portugal, and we see during this time period the Portuguese start to trade and they use Indian ocean trade network

• start to use the Atlantic ocean

• this is important because Spain and Portugal are in a rivalry with one another, Portuguese use eastern hemisphere and they split the hemispheres

  Innovations:

• Various technologies were taken or improved from classical Islamic and Asian technology allowing Europeans to travel longer distances on the ocean than ever before.

• Magnetic Compass - taken from China helped point a ship in the right direction. (use the compass to catch the monsoon winds)

• Astrolabe - Taken from Muslim navigators this let sailors determine how far North or South they were from the equator.

• The Caravel - A small three masted ship developed by the Portuguese made sailing rough seas easier

• Cartography - Map Making

• Lateen Sail - Triangle sail that could catch the wind from any direction allowing ships to sail on the ocean.

• New Ships:

• Carrack - Portugal - square and lateen sails

• Caravel - Portugal and Spain - Lateen sails

• Fluyt - Dutch  - Square

• Newton’s Ideas of Gravity - Increased knowledge of tides

• Astronomical Chart - A map of the stars and galaxies used for navigation

• land based empires big dynasties, have the most power

• Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, we will never have a land based empire so we need to see where we  can get wealthy

• making all of these innovations, Europe becomes more successful

  Long-Term Results:

• rapid expansion of exploration and global trade

• start to see introduction of gunpowder helping these expansions

• Interactions among various cultures inside and outside of Africa brought extensive trade and new technology to Africa.(we see cultural diffusion at once and growth of military)

• The success of European nations encouraged places like Russia to consolidated and grow its military.(having a strong military is important because you will try to conquer others)

  Exploration: Causes and Events

  The Role of States in Maritime Exploration:

• At the beginning of the 1400s, Italy controlled waterways between Europe and Asia, which meant they controlled the flow of goods between the two regions. This encouraged Spain, Portugal, France, and England to search for new water routes to Asia in search of riches, European dominance, and new places to spread Christianity (the three G’s - God, Glory, and Gold!) . European nations were encouraged by Columbus’ “Discovery” of the New World.

• Causes: gold, god, glory

• gold because looking for riches, and god because we want to spread christianity, need to bring in new believers so we can tax them, glory because they want a self journey

• With the discovery of gold and silver in far away places, the economic policy of Mercantilism (sell more than you buy to increase your wealth) drove Europeans deeper into the global exploration game.

• economic system: mercantilism in the easiest form is sell more than you buy

• everything is done for the glory of the mother country (Great Britain)

• mercantilism is not capitalism, your taking the resources for free and selling back to them for profit

• No nation supported exploration as heavily as Portugal. Three people led:

• Prince Henry the Navigator - First European monarch to finance sea travel in search of a all-water route to the East.

• Bartholomew Diaz - First to sail around the tip of Africa.

• Vasco da Gama - Sailed further East than Diaz, all the way to India.

• Portuguese ports in India was the first step towards the creation of their trading post empire.

• Europe becomes extremely rich

• prince henry the navigator, Diaz, Vasco da Gama, expands trade

• explosion of maritime troops

  Portugal & Trading Post Empires:

  Portuguese Dominance:

• In the early 1500s, Portugal has superior weapons and navigational technology.

• Afonso de Albuquerque won a battle against Arab traders to win the Port of Malacca (remember - this is like “buying the door” in the Indian ocean!)

• Malacca- port cities, become rare and more important than ever, Portugal dominates trade because they set up trading posts

• Allowed them to dominate the Indian and African costs.

• Went to China:

• Didn’t change China much, but missionaries followed.

• China didn’t like this and eventually close their doors to trade.

  Trading Post Empires:

• In order to ensure a monopoly in the Indian Ocean trade, Portugal built armed trading posts around India and Africa. This made them the first trading post empire - an empire built on trade rather than land.

• this is how they are getting exposed to new products and getting wealthy

• Portuguese Vulnerability:

• Small nation lacking in workers.

• Corruption by merchants and government officials.

• By 17th Century they had major Dutch and English rivals.

• Eventually, Portugal is overpowered by the English in India and the Dutch in Malacca.

• They go to Japanand bring missionaries, but like China Japan closes their doors to this trade.
  Spain in the Philippines and the Lure of Riches:

• Portugal was the first Western European nation to reach the Indian Ocean by sea, Spanish ships were the first to circumnavigate the globe with the expedition sponsored by Ferdinand Magellan. Spain annexed Manila near the Phillipines and it became a Spanish commercial center, with many Filipinos becoming Christian.

• Europeans wanted to find a waterway to Asia mostly to find more gold and silver (mercantilism)

• they found little, however, they came into contact with Amerindians (Indigenous Americans) like the Inca and Aztec.

• This made exploration and colonization profitable.Europeans used slave labor to grow crops and harvest valuable goods.

  China:

• China was invested in **silver trade.**Indian ocean and Africa uses trade for trade but china wants silver for silver.

• Silver was transported on giant Spanish ships called galleons.

• The Chinese government soon shifted to a currency based on silver.

• Silver becomes a dominant force in the global economy making places like Spain and Europe insanely rich.

  French Exploration:

• France started sponsoring expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage (waterway to East Asia and spices!) in the 1500s.

• Jacques Cartier - Sailed from the Atlantic ocean to the northern US.He didn’t find a water-route to Asia but to Canada

• France became heavily involved in the **fur trade.**French exploration is fur trade, big element of mercantilism(beaver furs).

  Quebec(a city in Canada):

• Established Quebec as a French fur trading post.

• Missionaries tried to convert Natives to Christianity. Had a better relationship with natives as a result.

• The French rarely settled permanently.

  England:

• Also searched for a northwest Passage with explorer John Cabot

Jamestown:

• First English settlement in 1607.

• Settled first by joint=stock companies, and later by those seeking religious freedoms.

  Dutch exploration:

• The Dutch also sent their explorer Henry Hudson in search of a northwest passage in 1609

• his explorations were valuable to the Dutch, and they claimed the Hudson River Valley and the island of Manhattan

• They called it New Amsterdam(NYC), the dutch come here and settle down

• port was hugely prosperous because of its location near a major river flowing to the ocean.

  Columbian exchange:

• In the eastern and western hemisphere not only were goods shared but diseases, foods and animals in the Columbian exchange

  Diseases;

• Amerindians (Native Americans) had NO immunity to European diseases because of isolation.

• Resulted in the deaths of 50-90% of indigenous populations due to smallpox, measles, influenza, and malaria.This was one of the greatest population disasters.

  Animals & Food:

• Native Americans ate very little meat.Introduction of new meats like pigs and cows changed American diets.

• the horse was brought to America

• Natives could hunt over larger areas leading to a surplus of food

• Hostile interactions also increased between tribes.

• the food surplus allowed for natives to focus more on art and spirituality

• Europeans took home corn, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, peppers, and **cacao.**Introduction of these new foods led to an increase in population in Europe.

• dominance, more tax money from people, more labor
  Cash Crops & Forced Labor:

  Sugar:

• Portugal focused on sugar while Spain focused on silver.

• Sugar really kickstarts triangular trade and the forced migration of slaves into the new world.

• Sugar cultivation in Brazil required the constant import of slaves from the Kongo and Swahili coast.The profitability of sugar encouraged Spain to focus its colonies on cash crop agriculture as well.

• tobacco, cacao, but sugar is the biggest one

  African presence in the Americas:

• The forced movement of African people is known as the **African Diaspora(**diaspora communities, during this time africans travel from their countries because of the triangular trade)

• language was not able to be brought into the new world(change their language to communicate)

• music helped people keep their hopes up

• Food - Greatly influenced N.  America cuisine.

  Trading posts in Africa & Asia:

• AFRICA: Trading posts were set up in Africa by the Portuguese and then other European powers after Prince Henry the navigator traveled around Africa.

• some African rulers realized there was a military advantage to exchanging guns for slaves and grew wealthy

• European influence in West African art which depicts Europeans as “intruders”

• The Asante Empire and the Kingdom of the Kongo grew in influence after trade with Europe.

• The Portuguese takeover of ports on the Swahili coast threw the African region into long term decline.

• JAPAN: Japan tolerated the Christian missionaries that came from Portuguese and Dutch traders until the influence of Christianity grew too strong.(in the case of Europe, they are going to japan to expand christianity)

• In 1587, the Japanese government banned Christian worship.

• By 1630, foreign influence was very limited with foreign books and travel banned by the government.

• isolated

• only start to accept western influence with Meiji

• shintoism is getting avoided

• CHINA: Ming Dynasty worked to limit outside influence by restricting trade. Believed they were superior to the rest of the world.

• prohibited foreign trade

• destroyed dockyards and limited the size of ships

• reconstructed the great wall

  European rivalries:

• The growth of maritime trade resulted in the growth of European rivalries(many nations fighting for more economic, religious, and political power.)

• India had numerous European powers set up show in it’s border.

• The British East India Joint-Stock Company traded with the Mughal Empire(making treaties with local rulers)

• with time Great Britain controlled most of the Indian subcontinent.

• Portugal controlled a small trading post near Goa before being pushed out by the British in the 20h century.

• France controlled Pondicherry, a city in South East India until the British victory in the Seven Years’ War pushed France out of Indian in 1763.

• Great Britain was on the way to establishing a truly global empire with trading posts in the New World, Africa, and India.

• joint stock companies are the ones that are working on behalf of the British government and British people

  Europe in the Americas:

• New Spain: Established by Hernando Cortez and the Spanish Empire after the defeat of the Aztec Empire.(Aztecs weakened by disease, Spanish melted treasures to send back home)

• The Spanish had overthrown the Inca by 1572

• Spain VS Portugal - Had tensions in the new world.TREATY OF TORDESILLAS in 1494(Divided south America, Spain got all to the West and Portugal got the East including Brazil.)

• France VS Great Britain - in North America.Great Britain pushed France out of Canada in the French and Indian War.

• Portugal has more ports, Spain has more territory.

• mercantilism over took this idea of trade

  Europe in Indian Ocean trade:

• Taxes on merchants

  Portugal in Indian Ocean trade:

• superior navy, set up armed trading posts

• Beat the Gujaratis, the Mamluks of Egypt, and the Zamorin of Calicut to establish dominance.

• taxes on the people

  The Indian Ocean Slave Trade:

• existed before the Atlantic slave trade

• African slaves were taken to North Africa, the Middle East and India.(slaves had different fates, some created diasporic communities, laborers in the house)

• Dutch and Portugal will slowly become weaker in the Indian ocean trade network

• Britain gets better with military and gets wealthier

  Silver & Gold:

• mercantilist policies were important in Europe

• Columbus thought there was lots of gold in the new word (Hispaniola) but it was scarce in the Caribbean so they just kidnapped indigenous people.

• silver was discovered in Mexico & Peru, silver mining bloomed in Mexico & Peru

• Indigenous people were dying from disease

• Spain reimagined the Incan mit’a system(way of taxation), young boys had to extract silver from the mines at designated times

• The Spanish empire used the wealth from silver to build up its military, but eventually inflation from silver negatively impacted their economy.

  Coerced & Forced Labor:

• **Spain - Hacienda and Encomienda Systems.**Hacienda - Indigenous people were forced to work agricultural farms in the new world to grow wheat, fruit, vegetables, sugar (forced).Encomienda - Landowners encouraged indigenous people to work for them in exchange for shelter (coerced).

• Inca Mit’a - Young men were forced to work in silver mines (forced)

• African Slave Trade - New World.Slaves taken from Africa. Indigenous peoples in the new world could too easily escape and were dying too quickly.

• chattel slavery is just slavery

• indentured slavery is a contract

• Peninsulares, creoles, mestizos, native American Indians, enslaved persons

  Economic Strategies and the Commercial Revolution:

• The shift towards a global economy using gold and silver is known as the Commercial Revolution which was marked by four things: development of European overseas colonies, opening of new trade routes, population growth, inflation(Price revolution)

• mercantilism falls under the commercial revolution

• Currency of Portuguese (silver) and Spain (gold)

• Joint-Stock Companies like the British East India Company and Dutch East India company financed trade and exploration.(companies allowed investors to buy portions of corporations which would finance trade, offered limited liability to individuals so a lot of people.)Driving force behind exploration(low risk),protected

• The Dutch became very wealthy as they were pioneers in finance.Had a stock exchange, had banks to trade currencies

• Over lending led to an economic bubble which burst, hurting the British economy.

• Dutch is in southeast Asia

  Changes for Indigenous People:

• Systems in Latin America were replaced by those of the Spanish and Portuguese.Spanish is the main language.Spain appointed Viceroys to act as the arm in the new world, with audiencias to be the royal court or appeals.

• Religion:Many African religions were brought to America creating religious syncretism with existing Christian beliefs.Christian missionaries were so successful that Roman Catholic Christianity is the most dominant religion in Latin America.

  Internal and External Challenges to State Power:

• Metacom’s War (King Philip's War)Final effort of indigenous people to push Great Britain out of New England.Ended with the subjugation of the Wampanoag people to the English. (External)

• Fronde Rebellion in France.Nobles whose power was weakened rebelled against King Louis XIV- they lost(internal)

• Maratha Rebellion in Mughal India.Hindu warrior group against the Mughal Empire created the Maratha empire ending in the Mughal empire declining (internal).

• Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish in modern New Mexico.Natives vs settlers.Spanish conquered the area in 1692. (External)

• **Resistance to Portugal in Africa - External.**African ruler Ana Nzinga aligned with Portugal to try and protect her kingdom from neighboring kingdoms and the slave trade(if you conquer someone else’s kingdom you have access to economy and people sell it to the europeans and become rich).Eventually it fell apart and instead allied with the Dutch freeing many slaves.

• Resistance in Russia - Internal.Nobles grew powerful after wars weakened the Russian gov’t.Heavily taxed **serfs.**Runaway serfs banded together and became known as Cossacks.Pugachev’s Rebellion was a peasant uprising against Catherine the Great who gave the nobles even more power over the serfs.Cossacks, led by Yemelyan Pugachev gathered forces to challenge her power.They were put down by Catherine who used this as an excuse to gather more total power against her people.

• Slaves in the Caribbean fought to gain freedom in the Maroon Wars (external) from England.Maroons were descendants of runaway slaves and they formed independent settlements under Queen Nanny.

• In England, we see the Glorious Revolution (internal) a bloodless revolution.

• Catholic James I of England was anti-protestant which made people mad.Protestants invited the nephew and son in law of James I, William of Orange and his wife Mary II, to invade England.The  Glorious Revolution strengthened the power of Parliament.

  Changing Social Hierarchies:

• Expulsion of Jews from Spain & Acceptance of them by the Ottoman Empire

• In 1492 the Alhambra Decree ordered the expulsion of practicing Jews from the Spanish kingdom and its territories.The Ottoman Empire practiced religious tolerance during this time.

• Restrictive policies against Han Chinese  by Qing China

• After the defeat of the Ming Dynasty by the Qing Dynasty in 1644 – the Manchus would put forth different policies on the traditional Han Chinese citizens.(change the way their hair looked, change dress, or else were killed)

• Ottoman Timariots, Timariots could be removed and transferred when the sultan deemed it necessary, were still taxed.

• Russian Boyars, under Peter the Great he replaced the boyars because he didn’t trust them

• European Nobility, during 1500s and 1600s, some nobles gradually lost their power as the growing economic importance of the merchant classes increased.