Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)

Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)

• Expansion and Control: Gunpowder technology improved warfare, aiding empires' expansion.
• Political Structure: Empires maintained controls, often using religious justification (e.g., Divine Right, Mandate of Heaven).
• Religious Influence: Major religions spread, supporting rulers' authority.
• Decline of Nomadic Empires: Opened opportunities for land-based empires to grow.
• Ottoman Empire: Conquered Constantinople (1453), consolidated power through caliphate title, Devshirme system, and tax farming. Often clashed with Safavids.
• Safavid Empire: Emphasized loyalty through Ghulams (slave soldiers). Religious differences led to conflicts with Ottomans.
• Mughal Empire: Expanded religious freedoms under Akbar, used Zamindars for taxation, and built the Taj Mahal. Declined after Aurangzeb's death (1707).
• Qing Dynasty (China): Established by Manchus (1644), reintroduced civil service exams. Restricted Han Chinese, used art for legitimization.
• Tokugawa Shogunate (Japan): Unified Japan (1600). Initially open to trade, then restricted foreign influence.
• Inca Empire: Famous for Mita labor, extensive roads, and human sacrifices. Conquered by Spain after Atahualpa's capture.
• Aztec Empire: Used a tribute system and practiced human sacrifices. Fallen to Spanish, Mexico City built on the ruins.

Administrative Systems

• Bureaucracies: Used by rulers, like Mughal Zamindars, Chinese civil service.
• Divine Right of Kings (Europe)/Mandate of Heaven (China): Justified rule as divinely sanctioned.
• Military Elites: Janissaries (Ottoman Empire), Samurai (Japan).

Maritime Empires (Sea-Based Empires)

• Key Characteristics: European dominance in exploration and trade routes to Asia. Relied on colonies, trade routes, and overseas wealth.
• Technological Advancements: Ships (Caravel, Fluyt, Carrack) and navigational tools (astrolabe, magnetic compass, lateen sail).
• Spanish Empire: Encomienda and Hacienda systems for indigenous labor. Treaty of Tordesillas divided Americas.
• Portuguese Empire: Pioneered trading posts in Africa, established Brazil colony.
• British Empire: Won Seven Years' War, gained control of Canada and India.
• French Empire: Suffered from economic instability.
• Dutch Empire: Trading posts in Southeast Asia, introduced stock exchange and joint-stock companies.

Transoceanic Interconnections

• The Columbian Exchange: Biological transfer between Old and New Worlds.
  • To Americas: Horses, pigs, wheat, smallpox.
  • To Afro-Eurasia: Corn, potatoes, cacao, tomatoes.
  • Diseases: Smallpox devastated indigenous populations (up to 90%).

Labor Systems

• Atlantic Slave Trade: Driven by demand for cash crops. Middle Passage transported enslaved people.
• Demographic Impacts: Polygamy in Africa due to demographic imbalance.
• Social Hierarchy: Racial caste systems in Latin America (e.g., Peninsulares, Criollos).
• Indentured Servitude: Workers bound to labor for a set period.

Trade and Economic Systems

• Mercantilism: European economic ideology; believed wealth was finite, driving colonial expansion.
• Joint-Stock Companies: Shared financial risks and profits (British and Dutch East India Companies).
• Triangular Trade: Connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas; intensified violence in Africa and fueled European economic growth.

Socio-Political and Religious Changes

• Protestant Reformation (1517): Martin Luther's 95 Theses challenged the Catholic Church.
• Social Hierarchies:
  • Casta System (Latin America): Hierarchical social order based on race and birthplace.
  • Ottoman Millet System: Religious communities self-governed.
  • Mughal Rajput System: Integrated Hindu rulers into administration.
• Renaissance and Enlightenment: Renaissance, scientific revolution, and enlightenment fostered religious tolerance in places like the Netherlands.