Entrepôts: Malacca, Cairo & Kilwa Trade Hubs

• Entrepôts served as major trade hubs where goods from different regions were exchanged, acting as middle points in global trade networks.

Strait of Malacca

• Connects the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, making it a key route for Asian trade
• Merchants from India, China, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia passed through it
• Facilitated the trade of goods: spices, silk, and porcelain
• Control of the Strait influenced global trade
• Narrow waterway connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea
• Key trade route for merchants from India, China, and Southeast Asia, for exchanging spices, silk, and luxury goods.
• Strategic location led Srivijaya to economic success before becoming contested by powers like the Portuguese.

Cairo

• A major hub in North Africa connecting Mediterranean trade with goods from the Indian Ocean and sub-Saharan Africa
• Crucial for spices, gold, and textiles
• Location linked Europe to Asia and Africa

Kilwa

• Located on the East African coast as part of the Indian Ocean trade network
• Traded gold, ivory, and slaves from Africa to Asia for ceramics, silk, and spices from the East

Zheng He

• Chinese admiral during the Ming Dynasty (early 1400s)
• He was a Muslim eunuch, giving him a unique role in Chinese politics and diplomacy
• Commanded a fleet of massive ships (the largest in the world at the time) on seven voyages
• Expeditions reached Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa
• The voyages' purpose was to demonstrate Chinese power, bring back tribute, and expand trade, not conquest
• After Zheng He's death, voyages stopped due to their expense and a shift in focus towards defending China's northern border from nomadic invasions

Columbian Exchange

• Coined by historian Alfred W. Crosby in 1972
• Describes the exchange of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Americas and the rest of the world
• Crosby blamed European diseases like smallpox, measles, and influenza for the decimation of indigenous populations due to their lack of immunity

Venice and Genoa

• Both cities were major trading powers in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages
• Venice focused on trade with the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world, controlling spice trade routes from Asia
• Genoa specialized in trade with western Europe, had some involvement in North African trade, and acted as a financial hub

Causes of European Expansion in the 15th Century

• Economic motives: Desire for wealth, especially spices, gold, and other luxury goods from Asia and Africa
• Religious motives: Aimed to spread Christianity and counter Islamic expansion
• Technological advances: Improved ships (caravels), navigation tools, and maps facilitated long voyages
• Political competition: European states like Spain and Portugal competed for power and influence

1453 and the Fall of Constantinople

• Marks the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire
• Disrupted traditional trade routes between Europe and Asia as the Ottomans controlled key passageways
• Forced Europeans to look for alternative sea routes to Asia, initiating the Age of Exploration

Islamic Empires

• Ottomans: A powerful Islamic empire based in modern-day Turkey from 1299 to 1923, known for its military conquests and cultural achievements
• Devshirme: A system where Christian boys were taken, converted to Islam, and trained as soldiers or administrators
• Janissaries: Elite Ottoman soldiers, originally recruited through the devshirme system, who played a key role in military conquests
• Ulama: Islamic scholars influential in law, education, and maintaining religious traditions
• Sepoys: Indian soldiers employed by European powers, particularly the British, during their colonial expansion in South Asia

Establishing the Islamic Empires

• Ottoman Empire: Established through military conquests
• Centralized monarchy with strong Islamic laws
• Safavid Empire: Built on Shi'ism and led by Shahs, using religion to unify Persia
• Mughal Empire: Founded by Babur in India, blended Islamic and Indian traditions, and ruled through a strong centralized bureaucracy

Cultural Advances

• Ottomans: Architecture (e.g., Hagia Sophia), literature, and the arts flourished
• Safavids: Persian carpet weaving and miniature painting
• Mughals: Iconic structures like the Taj Mahal and advancements in Indian art and music

Early Modern Europe

• Jesuits: Catholic missionaries who played a major role in Counter-Reformation efforts
• Thirty Years' War: A religious and political conflict (1618-1648) in Europe that ended with the Peace of Westphalia
• Mercantilism: Economic system where colonies exist to benefit the mother country through trade and resources
• Republicanism: A government without a monarch, where power rests with elected officials
• Constitutionalism: A system where the ruler's power is limited by law (e.g., England after the Glorious Revolution)
• Cossacks: Eastern European warrior communities known for their independence and role in Russia's expansion

Absolutism

• A system where monarchs held total control (e.g., Louis XIV of France)
• Evolved as rulers centralized power, weakened nobles, and aligned with the church
• England's constitutional monarchy (after 1688) and the Dutch republicanism were examples of governments that limited royal power

Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment

• Copernican hypothesis: Earth orbits the Sun, challenging the Church's geocentric view
• Law of universal gravitation: Newton's theory that all objects attract each other based on mass and distance
• Empiricism: A method emphasizing observation and experimentation
• General will: Rousseau's idea that the collective good outweighs individual interests
• Economic liberalism: Adam Smith's belief in free markets and minimal government interference
• Salons: Social gatherings, often led by women, where Enlightenment ideas were discussed
• Enclosure: The privatization of common lands in England, transforming agriculture
• Public sphere: Spaces where citizens discussed politics and society, promoting democracy
• Shift from religious explanations to scientific inquiry
• New inventions and theories reshaped thought
• Emphasized reason, equality, and tolerance
• Voltaire critiqued absolutism, while Montesquieu supported checks and balances

Africa and the Slave Trade

• Chattel: Enslaved people treated as property
• Age-grade systems: African social structures grouped people by age for responsibilities and rights
• Swahili: A coastal culture and language blending African, Arab, and Asian influences
• Shore trading: Europeans traded goods along the African coast rather than venturing inland
• Sorting: Trade practice where goods were "sorted" by European traders in exchange for enslaved people
• Cowrie shells: Used as currency in West African trade
• West Africa had complex trade systems (e.g., salt and gold) and kingdoms like Mali
• Sudan had Islamic states that combined trade and religious governance
• Swahili city-states were drawn into global trade but weakened by European dominance
• Ethiopia resisted colonial incursions by leveraging its Christian identity

Economic, Social, and Political Structures

• West African kingdoms controlled trans-Saharan trade routes dealing with gold, salt, and slaves
• States were often centralized, with leaders using wealth to solidify rule
• Islamic influence shaped education and culture, especially in cities like Timbuktu
• In the Sudan, states combined Islamic governance with traditional African structures
• Trade and religious scholarship connected societies to networks in North Africa and the Middle East

Absolutism in Europe

• France: Absolutism evolved under Louis XIV, who centralized power
• Austria: Absolutism developed as the Habsburgs reconsolidated, focusing on army and Catholic unity
• Prussia: Frederick William built a militarized state.

Scientific Revolution’s Intellectual and Social Changes

• Shifted European thought from religious explanations to scientific reasoning
• Thinkers challenged the geocentric model and formulated laws of universal gravitation
• Encouraged a reliance on observation, experimentation, and mathematics
• Weakened the Church's authority over intellectual life and promoted individual pursuit of truth
• Creation of scientific societies fostered collaboration and spread ideas

Ottoman Empire

• Expanded through military conquest, including capture of Constantinople in 1453
• Centralized monarchy, ruled by a sultan
• Strong Islamic legal system and efficient bureaucracy

Safavid Empire

• Persia was unified religiously under Shi’a Islam, which set it apart from Sunni neighbors.
• Used religion and military power to centralize authority.

Mughal Empire

• India Empire began with victory at the Battle of Panipat in 1526
• Blended Islamic and local traditions
• Centralized administration that emphasized tolerance, especially.

Entrepôts like Malacca, Cairo, and Kilwa served as major trade hubs. The Strait of Malacca connected the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea. Cairo linked Mediterranean trade with goods from the Indian Ocean and Africa. Kilwa was located in East Africa.