Maritime Empires Link Regions

Maritime Empires Link Regions You grow your peanuts And plenty millet The king sets a hand on everything And says it is not yours anymore! In the deepest of your sleep The king beats his drum And says wake up! You are not free anymore — —Anonymous West African griot (storyteller) song Essential Question: E.cropean nations, How were the empires of European states established between 1450 to 1750, and what economic and labor systems fueled them? driven largely by political, religious, and economic rivalries, established new maritime empires and administered trading posts in Asiaand Africa and colonies in the Americas. Asian trade frequently exchanged silver and gold for luxury goods such as silk and spices, while newly developed colonial economies in the Americas often depended on agriculture. American plantations relied on existing labor systems and also introduced new labor systems. Among these were indentured servitude, arrangements through which servants contracted to work for a specified period of years in exchange for passage. Another was chattel slavery, a system in which individuals were considered as property to be bought and sold. The appalling shock of free people being seized and enslaved is captured in the griot (storyteller) song of the West African Wolof people. The growth of the plantation economy increased the demand for slaves in the Americas, leading to significant demographic, social, and cultural changes. State-Building and Empire Expansion The explorations of European states (see Topic 4.2) were the foundation of maritime empires. States claimed lands and established the basis of an empire in the areas they explored. Trading Posts in Africa and Asia Certain regions of East and West Africa were the targets of European conquest during the late 15th century. Portuguese ruler Prince Henry the Navigator was keenly interested in navigational technology. (See Topic 4.2.) He financed expeditions along Africa’s Atlantic Coast and around the Cape of Good Hope, exploring African coastal communities before other European powers. With the cooperation of local rulers, first Portuguese and then other European traders set up trading posts along Africa’s coasts. Some local rulers traded slaves to the Europeans in exchange for gunpowder and cannons, giving those coastal governments a military advantage when battling neighboring villages. Some African city-states grew wealthy by selling enslaved Africans to Europeans. In particular, the Kingdom of Dahomey grew stronger because it raided other villages to enslave people, and sold them to European merchants. African States In central West Africa, Portuguese explorers, traders, and missionaries made inroads into the Kongo and Benin kingdoms. Artwork from these societies bears signs of European as well as African cultural influences. As early as the 16th century, Benin artisans incorporated images of the European “intruder” into their carvings and sculptures. Yet the expansion of maritime trading networks supported the growth of some African states, including the Asante Empire and the Kingdom of the Kongo. Their participation in trade led to an increase in their influence. In 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (see Topic 4.1) invaded the Swahili city-states of East Africa, most of which were thriving commercial centers in the Indian Ocean trade. The Portuguese took over trade in Kilwa, Mombasa, and other city-states by sending heavily armed ships and building fortresses. This takeover threw the region into a devastating decline. Japan Just as European states were expanding their trade networks, Japan was sharply restricting its networks. Japan had tolerated the first Portuguese and Dutch traders and missionaries in the mid-16th century. Thousands of Japanese converted to Christianity. Some Christians, intolerant of other faiths, destroyed Buddhist shrines. In response, in 1587, the Japanese government banned Christian worship services. Over the next 40 years, Japan took additional steps to persecute Christians and limit foreign influences. By the 1630s, the government had expelled nearly all foreigners, banned most foreign books, and prohibited Japanese people from traveling abroad. For more than two centuries, Japan was partially isolated from the rest of the world. They allowed some Dutch merchants to live on a small island in Nagasaki harbor, in almost total seclusion. In addition, Japan continued some trade with the Chinese, mostly carried out by regional lords who were far from the capital city with easy access by sea to Korea, Taiwan, and Okinawa. The Japanese thought that they were through with the “uncouth” Europeans. However, Europeans and Americans would return in the mid-19th century. China After the voyages of Zheng He in the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty tried to limit outside influence on China by restricting trade. The Ming prohibited private foreign trade, destroyed some dockyards, limited the size of ships that could be built, and began reconstructing the Great Wall. These changes were part of a broader pattern of conservatism under the Ming to undo the influence of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty that ruled China before them. For example, the Ming reemphasized the importance of Confucianism and reinvigorated the traditional exam system. Many of the limits on trade were eventually reversed, and China resumed its important role in global trade. European Rivalries on Five Continents European rivalries fueled by political, economic, and religious motives shaped the expansion of empires. Several powers established trading posts in India: ¢ The British East India Company had begun a commercial relationship with the Mughal Empire in the 17th century. ¢ Portugal controlled a coastal trading post in the southwestern state of Goa. ¢ France controlled Pondicherry, a city in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu. During the mid-18th century, France respective allies, competed for power on War. Britain’s victory in that war in 1763 Portuguese remained in India until driven and Great Britain, along with their five continents in the Seven Years’ drove the French out of India. The out in the mid-20th century. British in India At first, British trading posts in India were typical of those established by Europeans in India and elsewhere. The East India Company (EIC) established small forts on the coasts that focused solely on making a profit through trade. Limited by the power of India’s Mughal Empire, the EIC posts controlled very little territory. However, the EIC then began to expand. It took advantage of the tensions between Muslims and Hindus in India and began to increase its political power through treaties with local rulers. With the help of European-trained Indian private forces called sepoys, the East India Company moved inland, spreading its influence. Ultimately, Britain intervened in India politically and militarily to such an extent that it controlled much of the subcontinent. The British Global Network The British also set up trading posts in West Africa, where the Asante Empire limited their impact. Trading posts in Africa, India, and elsewhere paved the way for globalization. Each post became a node, an intersection of multiple points serving as a trade center for goods from many parts of the world. Europeans in the Americas Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 15th century, the Aztec Empire in Mexico and the Inca Empire in South America each included 10 million to 15 million people. However, the spread of European diseases caused their populations to plummet. Both empires collapsed quickly when attacked by Spanish forces. 220 WORLD HISTORY MODERN: AP® EDITION In Mexico, helped by groups that the Aztecs had conquered, Cortés’s forces overthrew the Aztec by 1521 and established the colony of New Spain. The Spaniards melted down the Aztecs’ treasures and sent the gold back home. They destroyed Tenochtitlan and built their own capital, Mexico City, on its ruins. In the Andes of South America, Francisco Pizarro and his crew attacked the Inca and captured their Atahualpa if the Inca would However, in 1533 the Spanish had completed their conquest ruler, Atahualpa. Pizarro offered to release fill a large room with gold. The Inca complied. killed Atahualpa anyway. By 1572, the Spaniards of the Inca Empire. Spain Versus Portugal In the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, Spain and Portugal divided the Americas between them. Spain reserved all lands to the west of a meridian that went through eastern South America. Portugal reserved all lands east of this line. This arrangement put Brazil under Portugal’s rule, while Spain claimed the rest of the Americas. Spanish and Portuguese Colonies, c. 1600 1 Mexico Mexico City* ATLANTIC Fon. OCEAN “s = an AZTECS é co. Caribbean L Sea 4 a "a . Treaty of . Tordesillas, 1494 ; af z> VENEZUELA PACIFIC | | | | | | | | | *>,___ . OCEAN * 3 pepe inaseg ©O oUF > BRAZIL Spain | | l | | | | | l | l | | | l ! [| Portugal 0 500 Miles -——— 0 500 Kilometers i we - i MARITIME EMPIRES LINK REGIONS 221