3: A New World Order - 1500 - 1700
- Page ID
- 282745
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)- Analyze the impact of European expansion on indigenous American populations, Asians, and Africans.
- Understand the changes to geopolitics and the world market with Age of Exploration expansion and Empire growth.
- Compare and contrast land-based and sea-based empires.
- Define “Empire”. What does this term mean in context of the growth of China, Spain, Britain, and the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal territories? How does it affect political and economic development in these areas?
- In what ways were the land-based and sea-based empires similar and different?
- How did interaction with other outside cultures affect the development of these empires?
While Europe certainly made a big impact on the world, particularly during 1500-1700, a number of larger regions of the world in the Asian and African continents also had marked advancement, both with and without European involvement. Asia and Africa had major empires which experienced expansion. Europe tended to have sea-based empires that focused on commerce and naval power while Asia and Africa had land-based empires that focused strengthening agriculture and their armies.
Improvement in ship technology, which started in the Indian Ocean trading network among Asian civilizations made its way to Europe, allowing ships to traverse the Atlantic Ocean. With this technology, Europeans created an Atlantic World by bringing together the American and African continents. This resulted in European colonial establishment and growth, much to the detriment of the indigenous populations in those regions. Although slavery had already been prevalent throughout the African and Eurasian continents prior to 1500, race-based slavery would rise as European colonialism gained traction in the Americas.
This chapter will explore the arrival of the first Europeans to the American continents, including the Spanish, Portuguese, and English. During this time, new plants, animals, foods and crops, and even diseases started to travel across the Atlantic and throughout the world. This process is known as the Columbian Exchange, named for one of the men credited for reaching what would later become known as the New World, Christopher Columbus. Although the Western European countries and nations initially had been looking for a way to circumvent the Afro-Eurasian trade route known as the Silk Road and reach Asian markets from the east, they would end up settling in this New World, exploiting the local populations and claiming the land for themselves, producing raw materials for European production and consumption.
- 3.1: The Atlantic World at 1500
- During the 1400s, the Atlantic World economy was strong and prosperous. While exploring the Atlantic, European sea-based empires came into contact with powerful African kingdoms.
- 3.2: Europeans Enter the Indian Ocean
- This section examines change and continuity in the Indian Ocean after the first arrival of European ships in 1498. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive but were just one of many trading groups in the Indian Ocean world.
- 3.3 Americas and Spanish Arrival
- This section examines the main features of the major civilizations of Mexico and the Andes. There were major advantages that the Spanish possessed to bring down the Aztec and Incan empires within less than two years.
- 3.4: Americas 1500-1800
- The Spanish, Portuguese, and English brought major changes to the Americas. At the same time, there were significant economic, political, and social differences among the colonies that they established.
- 3.5: Atlantic and Indian Ocean Worlds during 1600-1750
- The new global economic order transformed the Atlantic and Indian Ocean societies. In Africa, the slave trade created new powerful empires. By the 1600s, the English and the Dutch replaced the Portuguese as the dominant European power in the Indian Ocean. While the Dutch focused on southeast Asia, the English traded more heavily in India.
- 3.6: Change in China
- The inconsistent supply of silver ultimately created instability and brought down the Ming Empire. However, the new Qing dynasty maintained continuity with the Ming.
- 3.7: The Decline of the Gunpowder Empires
- Similar to China, increased foreign trade weakened the Gunpowder Empires. The Ottoman and Mughal empires entered into decline and the Safavid Empire collapsed.
- 3.8: Japan and Russia
- This section looks at the society and culture of a period of time considered to be a "golden age" of Japan while autocracy and poverty were norm in the Russian Empire.
- 3.9: Chapter Summary and Key Terms
- The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw a massive increase in the interconnectedness between civilizations. Asian, European, and African empires expanded beyond their borders to look for new trading opportunities.
Thumbnail: The Meeting of Cortes and Moctezuma, The Library of Congress, in the Public Domain.