Maritime Empires and Their Global Impact

Dec 20, 2024

Mindmap

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

Causes of European Expansion

Technological Causes

  • Adoption and innovation of maritime technologies:
    • Magnetic Compass: Originally from China, adopted by Europeans.
    • Astrolabe: From Greece and the Arab world, for latitude measurement.
    • Lateen Sail: Used by Arab merchants, enabled sailing with wind from various directions.
  • European innovations in shipbuilding:
    • Portuguese Caravel: Smaller, faster ships capable of navigating inland rivers and shallow waters.
    • Understanding of regional wind patterns improved.

Political Causes

  • Centralization of power under European monarchs:
    • Monarchs grew more powerful, playing significant roles in economic decisions.
    • Desire for new trade routes due to high costs of land-based trade through Asian empires.

Economic Causes

  • Mercantilism: Economic system viewing wealth as finite, measured in gold and silver.
    • Goal: Favorable balance of trade (more exports than imports).
  • Joint Stock Companies:
    • Limited liability, state-chartered businesses funded by private investors.
    • Example: Dutch East India Company (VOC), dominating Indian Ocean trade.

European Maritime Empires

Portugal

  • Trading Post Empire:
    • Established around Africa and Indian Ocean.
    • Fast ships like caravels, utilized cannons to control trade.

Spain

  • Colonization in the New World:
    • Sponsored Columbus to find a western route to Asia.
    • Transatlantic trade and full colonization (e.g., the Philippines).

France

  • North America:
    • Settlements in Canada focusing on fur trade.

England

  • Colonization:
    • Roanoke Island, later Jamestown.
    • Interest in India; initially limited to trading posts.

The Netherlands

  • Dutch VOC:
    • Dominated Indian Ocean trade through strategic location control.

The Columbian Exchange

Diseases

  • European introduction of smallpox, measles, malaria devastated indigenous populations.

Food and Plants

  • Wheat, olives, rice, bananas introduced to Americas.
  • Maize, potatoes introduced to Europe, Africa, Asia, leading to population growth.

Animals

  • Introduction of horses revolutionized transportation and agriculture in the Americas.

Resistance and African States

Asian Resistance

  • Japan: Tokugawa shogunate limited European influence, expelled Christian missionaries.

European Resistance

  • The Fronde: French nobility rebellion against increased taxation and monarchial power.

Enslaved Resistance

  • Maroon Societies: Runaway slave communities, e.g., in Jamaica under Queen Nanny.

African States

  • Asante Empire: Grew from trade of gold, ivory, slaves.
  • Kingdom of the Congo: Diplomatic ties with Portugal, trade of gold, copper, slaves.

Networks of Exchange

Indian Ocean

  • European power increased but traditional merchants like Gujaratis continued trading.

Atlantic System

  • Introduction of new goods (sugar, silver), labor systems (chattel slavery).

Labor Systems

Americas

  • Mita System: Adapted by Spanish for mining, not for public welfare as Incas intended.
  • Chattel Slavery: Race-based, hereditary slavery.
  • Indentured Servitude: Contract-bound labor for a period.
  • Encomienda and Hacienda: Systems controlling indigenous labor, land.

Cultural and Social Changes

Religious Syncretism

  • Blending of Christian with indigenous and African beliefs (e.g., Vodun).

Changing Social Hierarchies

  • Treatment of Jews: Expulsion from Spain and Portugal, welcomed in Ottoman Empire.
  • Casta System: Racial hierarchy in Spanish colonies.
  • Rise of new elites: Qing's Manchu bureaucrats, Spanish with Casta system.
  • Elite struggles: Russian boyars' power reduced by Peter the Great.

These notes summarize key points from Unit 4's focus on the development of maritime empires, their causes, and effects across political, economic, and social spectra.