Heimler's History: Unit 4 - Expansion of Sea-Based Empires

Key Topics

• Economic strategies used by sea-based empires
• Effects on political, religious, and cultural dynamics

Economic Strategies

Mercantilism

• Dominant economic system for European colonizers
• Key Principles:
  1. Wealth measured in gold and silver
  2. Aim for favorable balance of trade (more exports than imports)
  3. Colonies serve the mother country with raw materials

Joint Stock Companies

• Financed colonial expansion through pooled investments
• Key Examples: British East India Company, Dutch East India Company
• Spain and Portugal financed by monarchy

Commercial Revolution

• Shift to trade goods for gold and silver
• Notable for the influx of gold and silver from the Americas
• Chinese traded luxury goods like silk for silver

Triangular Trade

• System of trade in the Atlantic:
  • Europe to Africa: Manufactured goods
  • Africa to Americas: Enslaved people
  • Americas to Europe: Raw materials (e.g., sugar, lumber)

Trade Monopolies

• Exclusive trading rights granted by governments
• Example: Spanish monopoly on tobacco in the Americas

Traditional Regional Markets

• Continued trade of peasant and artisan goods
• Examples: Silk (China), Cotton (India), Wool and Linen (Western Europe)

Cultural and Social Changes

African Slave Trade

• Weakened African states, e.g., Kingdom of the Congo
• Demographic shifts: more women due to loss of males
• Rise of polygyny and population decline
• Population growth due to new foods from the Columbian Exchange (maize, manioc)

Belief Systems and Cultural Erasure

• European intolerance towards indigenous beliefs
• Cultural destruction, e.g., book burnings by Hernan Cortes
• Introduction of European languages

Spread of Religion

Syncretism

• Blending of traditional beliefs with new religions
• Africans combined indigenous beliefs with Christianity
• Indigenous Americans integrated Christianity into their traditions

Religious Conflicts

• Sunni-Shia divide intensified by Ottoman-Safavid conflict
• Protestant Reformation split Christianity into Catholics and Protestants

Conclusion

• Overview of key points from topic 5, Unit 4
• Encouragement to support and subscribe to Heimler's History