AP World History: Unit 4 - Maritime Empires (1450-1750)

Introduction

• Focus on maritime empires
• Causes of European expansion: Technological, Political, Economic

Causes of European Expansion

Technological Causes

• Adoption and innovation of maritime technologies
  • Magnetic Compass (China)
  • Astrolabe (Greek, Arab)
  • Lateen Sail (Arab merchants)
• European innovations in shipbuilding
  • Portuguese Caravel: Small, fast, navigable in shallow waters
  • Importance of understanding wind patterns

Political Causes

• Centralization of power among European monarchs
• Monarchs' role in economic decisions
• Motivation to find sea-based trade routes to Asia

Economic Causes

• Mercantilism
  • State-driven economic system
  • Wealth viewed as a fixed pie
  • Favorable trade balance: Exports over imports
  • Colonies as closed markets for imperial countries
• Joint Stock Companies
  • Limited liability, private investors
  • Facilitated the success of state-merchant partnerships
  • Example: Dutch East India Company (VOC)

Major Players in Maritime Expansion

Portugal

• First to expand, led by Prince Henry the Navigator
• Established trading-post empires
• Focus on controlling trade routes

Spain

• Sponsored Columbus to find western route to Asia
• Established colonies in the New World
• Base in the Philippines for Asian trade

France

• Exploration in Canada, fur trade
• Small trade-focused empire

England

• Explored Americas under Queen Elizabeth I
• Established colonies like Jamestown
• Trading posts in India

Netherlands

• Gained independence from Spain
• VOC dominated Indian Ocean trade
• Monopoly over spice trade

Effects of Maritime Expansion

Columbian Exchange

• Transfer of diseases: Smallpox, Measles, Malaria
• Transfer of foods and plants: Wheat, Olives, Maize, Potatoes
• Transfer of animals: Pigs, Sheep, Horses
• Significant demographic and economic impacts

Resistance to European Expansion

• Tokugawa Japan: Limited European influence, isolated trade
• The Fronde in France: Rebellion against increased taxation
• Maroon Societies: Resisted colonial powers, e.g., Queen Nanny in Jamaica

Growth of African States

• Asante Empire and Kingdom of the Kongo
• Benefited from trade with Europeans
• Expanded military and political power

Changes and Continuities in Exchange Networks

Indian Ocean Trade

• Continued use by Asian merchants despite European presence
• Gujaratis increased Mughal Empire's power

Atlantic System of Trade

• New system, driven by European wealth accumulation
• Sugar and silver were major economic goods
• Labor: Indentured servitude, Encomienda, Chattel slavery

Social and Cultural Changes

Labor Systems

• Mita system adaptation by Spanish
• New labor systems: Chattel slavery, Indentured servitude, Encomienda, Hacienda

Religious Changes

• Spread of Christianity in the Americas
• Syncretism with indigenous beliefs

Changing Social Hierarchies

• Treatment of Jews: Expulsion from Spain and Portugal, welcomed in Ottoman Empire
• Rise of new elites: Casta system in Americas, Qing Dynasty's Manchu elites
• Struggles of existing elites: Russian boyars under Peter the Great

• Review Guide available for more detailed study
• Significant events and shifts in global power dynamics highlighted