AP World History Review #5: 1450 to 1750

scholasticwhimsy:

A lot of stuff happened, and it’s 20% of your exam.  The main idea is that Western was really growing, while Asia began to fall behind. (It’s getting late, so I’m changing my writing style)

Power Shifts:

The power shifted away from Asia and towards the west during this time. This is due to the political disunity in China, so Europe got its chance to shine. By this time, the world was pretty connected through trade and was experiencing a lot of globalization. Cultural beliefs were spreading like wildfire. New empires also emerged, like Spain, Portugal, England, Ming, Russia, and the Netherlands just to name a few. This was happening while empires like the Aztecs and Incas were falling apart. 

Global Economy:

Since the global economy was changing, the gap between the rich and poor grew.This created unequal relationships between people. The most common social stratification model is nobles, merchants, working class, peasants. The bright side is that countries got new foods and animals! The Americas didn’t just have llamas anymore! Europe fell in love with the potato. It was great, until you remember that a lot of diseases were spread too…

Western Europe:

They were a mixture of absolute monarchies and parliamentary monarchies, but both were politically stable. The Protestant Reformation was also occurring around this time, which was led by Martin Luther and John Calvin. They were basically protesting the Roman-Catholic Church. The Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment also occurred. The Enlightenment actually happened in Europe first because the universities there encouraged free thought. Both the Protestant Reformation and Enlightenment argued that love was an important part of marriage. This was also the time when Europe returned to rational thought and exploration. 

Trade and Inventions:

• Han Dynasty: lateen sails (sail in any direction) and astrolabe (measured distance of stars above the horizon)
• China in General: magnetic compass, gunpowder, magnetic compass
• Arabs: better knowledge of position of stars

Trade become a lot more competitive, and a lot of merchants became wealthy with new trade routes and easier navigation. People also had an easier time accessing luxury goods like silk and spices.

Triangular Trade Route:

Slaves from Africa were taken to America, where sugar, tobacco, and cotton were taken to Europe, and then textiles and rum were taken to Africa..

Columbus:

His journey was financed by Ferdinand and Isabella. He landed on the West Indies in 1492. He thought he had reached India, but he didn’t (that’s why they’re called Indians). 

Colonization:

It was started in the Caribbean. You should know the Treaty of Tordesillas (or as I always read it as Tortillas but you know), which was the Pope drawing the line of demarcation in 1494. 

• Spain: was a leader in the colonization. They were pretty much in it for the money and religion-spreading.They were pretty harsh colonizers, and they treated their colonists poorly. The Spanish were Catholics. 
• England: joined in the 1500s; their goals were kind of to annoy Spain. They harassed Spanish colonies and attempted to take treasure away from Spain.They began to establish colonies in the 1600s. Ranoake is their most famous failed early colony in North America. They eventually landed in Asia, where they opened a port in Malacca.
• France: They colonized Canada mainly for furs. They later explored the Mississippi River in the 1600s. They didn’t really get into colonization until later in the game, but they too focused on money. They didn’t really care about long-term civilizations. 
• Netherlands: (Dutch) They had the Dutch East India Company, and they invaded Indonesia, where they maintained their presence for hundreds of years. There, they ran pepper and spice plantations. Henry Hudson also explored North America (Hudson River, anyone?)

Changing Views:

The world became a lot more focused on trade and wealth. Churches were lending moneys. Monarchies were setting up trading companies. Mercantilism emerged, which is basically commercialism.  

Politics:

• Spain: was super pro-exploration. Some big things that Spain did during this time was expel the moors–ending Islamic rule in Southwestern Europe, closing ties with the Catholic Church, and literature and art work during the Renaissance. 
• Russia: was a hot mess during this time period. They were politically weak after the Mongolian rule. And then they got stuck with Ivan the Terrible, who executed anyone who disagreed with him. They were also still following feudalism, while the rest of Western Europe began to move on. Eventually, toward the late 1600s, they got Peter the Great, and he created Russia’s first navy and a secret police. He was followed by Catherine the Great, who reduced strict punishments and added new territories.
• France: They were largely Catholic, and the huguenots left for the Americas (when Henry IV came into power)(protestants). Henry IV put forth the Edict of Nantes which brought forth an era of toleration. Their monarchy was strong and stable. Then, they got Henry IV, and he was four at the time when he took the throne, so, you know. He built Versailles to prove his power, and France was almost constantly at war under his rule. He was known as the “Sun” King. 
• England: They’re most remembered for their Elizabethan age, which was from the 1550s to the 1600s. It was a time of commercial expansion and exploration of the new world. Literature and art was also prevalent during this time. A lot of puritans were executed during this time though due to religious wars. 
• Japan: They had centralized authority during this time. Peace happened because of dictatorship. Feudalism ended in 1603 though thanks to the Shogunate family. Their ruling was known as the Great Peace. 

Major Trends:

• Populations skyrocketed.
• Renaissance, Protestant Reform, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment
• Humanism–focus on the human endeavors
• Arts and Writing, like Shakespeare
• New Scientific advances, like Kepler’s idea of planetary motion
• Slavery replaced the popularity of serfdom
• Colonies made empires wealthy
• Neoconfucianism started