Historiography, Columbian Exchange & Triangle Trade

• Historiography examines how history is written, including historian's methods, perspectives, and biases.
• It highlights how interpretations of historical events change due to new evidence or cultural shifts.
• Early European historians viewed exploration heroically, but modern views critique it as conquest and exploitation.
• This field helps reveal biases and evolving interpretations of history.

The Columbian Exchange

• This refers to the transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Americas, Europe, and Africa after 1492.
• Crops like potatoes and maize were introduced to Europe.
• Old World diseases such as smallpox spread in the Americas.
• Enslaved people were transferred from Africa to the Americas.
• It transformed global agriculture, economies, and demographics.
• This exchange contributed to European dominance and the decline of American indigenous societies.

Triangle Trade System

• This was a three-way transatlantic trading network between Europe, Africa, and the Americas (16th-19th century).
• European merchants traded manufactured goods for enslaved people in Africa
• Enslaved people were shipped to the Americas via the "Middle Passage".
• Raw materials from the Americas were sent to Europe
• It fueled European economies and entrenched the Atlantic slave trade.
• It devastated African societies and shaped the economic structure of the Americas.

Syncretism

• This is the combination of different cultural traditions into a new hybrid identity or culture.
• African Americans developed a unique cultural identity blending African and American influences.
• It shows how cultures interact and adapt, creating unique social identities.

"Gunpowder Empires"

• This term refers to the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires (15th-18th centuries).
• These empires used gunpowder-based military technology.
• They centralized power through advanced firearms, cannons, and administration.
• The Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople in 1453 using gunpowder weaponry.
• Military advancements contributed to state-building and reshaped Afro-Eurasia.

Din-i Ilahi

• It was a syncretic religious movement created by Mughal Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century.
• It combined elements of Islam, Hinduism, and other religions.
• Akbar aimed to unify his religiously diverse empire.
• The movement failed to gain widespread acceptance.
• Din-i Ilahi is an example of religious tolerance and imperial strategies for unification.

Chinese Social Pyramid

• During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Emperor was at the top
• Scholars and bureaucrats were next, with peasants, artisans, and merchants at the bottom.
• Merchants ranked low despite wealth due to Confucian values.
• It reinforced Confucian ideology, maintained social order, and influenced governance for centuries.

Imjin War

• The Imjin War took place between 1592-1598
• Japan, under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, invaded Korea to conquer Ming China.
• Korea, supported by the Ming Dynasty, repelled the invasion.
• Naval tactics led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin were instrumental in the victory
• The war devastated Korea, weakened the Ming Dynasty, and led to Japan's isolationism.
• It shaped East-Asian geopolitics and demonstrated naval power's importance.

Gun Hunt

• It refers to Tokugawa Japan's policy of weapon control in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• The aim was to disarm peasants and centralize power under the shogunate.
• The government confiscated firearms and restricted sword ownership.
• It established the Tokugawa Shogunate's stability (Edo period).
• It contributed to Japan's military weakness compared to Western powers.

Printing Press

• Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid-15th century.
• It revolutionized communication by making books more accessible.
• It spread Renaissance ideas and fueled the Protestant Reformation.
• It accelerated scientific progress.
• The printing press democratized knowledge and weakened the Catholic Church's information control.
• It contributed to the rise of literacy and education in Europe.

Enlightenment

• It was an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries.
• The Enlightenment emphasized reason, individual rights, and scientific inquiry.
• Thinkers such as John Locke, Voltaire, and Montesquieu challenged traditional authority.
• They advocated for democracy, secularism, and human rights.
• It influenced the American and French Revolutions.
• The Enlightenment shaped modern political and philosophical thought.

Historiography examines history writing, methods, and biases. The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas, Europe, and Africa post-1492. The Triangle Trade System was a transatlantic network between Europe, Africa, and Americas.