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

Overview

• Focus on maritime empires and developments from 1450 to 1750.
• Key themes include European expansion causes, maritime technology, state power growth, and economic motivations.

Causes of European Expansion

Technological

• Adoption and innovation in maritime technologies:
  • Magnetic compass (from China)
  • Astrolabe (from Greece and Arab world)
  • Latin sail (from Arab merchants)
• European innovations, e.g., Portuguese Caravel:
  • Smaller, faster ships equipped with cannons.
  • Improved understanding of regional wind patterns.

Political

• Growth of state power:
  • Monarchs gained more power at the expense of nobility.
  • Centralization of power led to significant economic decisions.
  • Desire to bypass land-based trading empires to avoid high costs of spices.

Economic

• Mercantilism:
  • State-driven economic system aimed at maximizing exports over imports.
  • Colonies existed to serve the economic interests of imperial countries.
• Joint Stock Companies:
  • Limited liability businesses chartered by the state.
  • E.g., Dutch East India Company (VOC) with a monopoly in Indian Ocean trade.

Key Players in Maritime Expansion

Portugal

• Led by Prince Henry the Navigator.
• Established a trading post empire along the African coast and Indian Ocean.
• Use of fast ships like the Caravel and Carrack with cannons.

Spain

• Sponsored Columbus to find a western sea route to Asia.
• Established colonies in the New World with transatlantic trade.
• Set up operations in the Philippines with colonial governance.

France, England, and the Dutch

• France explored North Atlantic, established presence in Canada (fur trade).
• England, post-Queen Elizabeth I, established colonies in Americas and trading posts in India.
• Dutch became prosperous, challenging Spanish/Portuguese control and dominating Indian Ocean trade.

Effects of Maritime Empire Building

Columbian Exchange

• Exchange of diseases, food, plants, and animals between hemispheres.
• Diseases like smallpox devastated indigenous populations (the Great Dying).
• New foods and animals transformed diets and agriculture.

Resistance

• Asia: Tokugawa Japan resisted Western influence and Christianity.
• Europe: The Fronde in France, rebellion against absolutist monarchy.
• Africa/Caribbean: Maroon societies in Caribbean resisted colonial powers.

African States

• Expansion of maritime networks also benefited African states like Asante and Kingdom of Congo.
• Diplomatic and trade relationships enriched these states.

Changes and Continuities in Networks of Exchange

Indian Ocean Network

• European mass entry and power grabs.
• Continuity in long-established trade by Middle Eastern, Asian merchants.

Atlantic System

• New system post-Columbus, substantial wealth and power shift to Europeans.
• Goods: sugar and silver became paramount.
• Labor: Coerced labor systems included indigenous, indentured, and African slaves.

Labor Systems

Continuities

• Use of existing labor systems like Mita (adapted by Spanish).

Changes

• Chattel Slavery: Race-based, hereditary slavery.
• Indentured Servitude: Contract labor for set periods.
• Encomienda and Hacienda Systems: Control over indigenous labor and land.

Cultural and Social Changes

Religious Changes

• Spread of Christianity in Americas through missionaries.
• Syncretism blended Christian and indigenous beliefs.

Social Hierarchies

• Ethnic/Religious Diversity: Differing treatment of Jews in Spain/Portugal vs. Ottoman Empire.
• Rise of New Elites: Casta system in Spanish colonies, Qing dynasty preference for Manchu bureaucrats.
• Struggles of Existing Elites: Russian boyars vs. Peter the Great.

Conclusion

• European states established maritime empires, shifting global power dynamics.
• Expansion led to resistance, changed trade networks, labor systems, and social hierarchies.