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

Causes of European Expansion

Technological Developments

• Adoption of Maritime Technologies:
  • Magnetic compass (China)
  • Astrolabe (Ancient Greece, Arab world)
  • Lateen sail (Arab merchants)
• Innovations:
  • Shipbuilding: Portuguese Caravel
  • Understanding of regional wind patterns

Political Changes

• Growth of state power and monarchies
• Centralization of power
• Demand for spices and goods from Asia
• Incentive to find sea routes to Asia to bypass land-based empires

Economic Factors

• Mercantilism: State-driven economic system focused on wealth as a pie; goal was to maximize exports, minimize imports
• Joint-Stock Companies: Limited liability businesses funded by private investors; mutual reliance between states and merchants
  • Example: Dutch East India Company (VOC)

Main Players in Maritime Empires

Portugal

• Led by Prince Henry the Navigator
• Focused on African gold trade, then Indian Ocean
• Trading Post Empire: Controlled trade through strategic posts

Spain

• Sponsored Christopher Columbus
• Colonization efforts in the Americas
• Established transatlantic trade and colonization in the Philippines

France, England, and the Dutch

• France: Access to fur trade in Canada
• England: Established colonies in Virginia, interested in Indian Ocean trade
• Dutch: Established trade dominance in Indian Ocean, colonized New Amsterdam

Effects of Maritime Empires

Columbian Exchange

• Transfer of diseases, food, plants, and animals between hemispheres
  • Diseases: Smallpox, measles, malaria
  • Foods: Wheat, rice, sugar (to Americas); maize, potatoes (to Europe)
  • Animals: Horses (significant impact on agriculture and hunting in Plains)

Resistance to European Powers

• Tokugawa Japan: Initially open, later isolated to suppress Christianity
• France (The Fronde): Rebellions against increased taxation, rise of monarchy
• Maroon Societies: Runaway slave communities in Caribbean and Brazil

African States' Prosperity

• Asante Empire: Wealth from gold, ivory, enslaved people
• Kingdom of Kongo: Diplomatic ties with Portugal

Changes and Continuities in Networks

Indian Ocean

• European entrance with significant power grabs
• Continued use by Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian merchants
• Gujarati Merchants: Increased power and wealth for Mughal Empire
• Silk Roads: Controlled by Asian land-based powers

Atlantic System

• Completely new trade system
• Goods: Sugar, silver (exported from Americas)
• Labor: Coerced labor, African slavery

Labor Systems in the Americas

• Mita System: Spanish adapted Inca system for silver mining
• Chattel Slavery: Race-based, hereditary
• Indentured Servitude: Laborers bound by contracts
• Encomienda System: Labor for food/protection
• Hacienda System: Land ownership dominant

Religious and Social Changes

Christianity in the Americas

• Catholic missionaries and conversions
• Religious syncretism: Blending of Christian and indigenous beliefs

Changing Social Hierarchies

• Treatment of Jews: Expulsion in Spain/Portugal vs. tolerance in Ottoman Empire
• New Political Elites: Casta System in Americas, Manchus in Qing China
• Struggles of Existing Elites: Russian boyars under Peter the Great

Resources

• AP World Heimler Review Guide: Comprehensive study resource for class and exam preparation.