The Europeans definitely arrive on scene and plan to stay - a lot of colonies will last until the late 20th century. For this particular topic there are 5 BIG empires that were built on global trade. Some Asian nations, specifically Japan and China, begin to return to isolationist policies to limit contacts with the west. And, it will be important to understand how new labor systems, like chattel slavery and the encomienda system play a role in maintaining these empires.

For this topic you should be able to:

(GOV) Explain the process of state building and expansion among various empires and states in the period from 1450 to 1750.

Europeans established new trading posts in Africa and Asia, which proved profitable for the rulers and merchants involved in new global trade networks. Some Asian states sought to limit the disruptive economic and cultural effects of European-dominated long-distance trade by adopting restrictive or isolationist trade policies.

• Asian states that adopted restrictive or isolationist trade policies:

  • Ming China

  • Tokugawa Japan

• Driven largely by political, religious, and economic rivalries, European states established new maritime empires, including the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, and British.

• The expansion of maritime trading networks fostered the growth of states in Africa, including the Asante and the Kingdom of the Kongo, whose participation in trading networks led to an increase in their influence

(ECN) Explain the continuities and changes in economic systems and labor systems from 1450 to 1750.

• Despite some disruption and restructuring due to the arrival of Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch merchants, existing trade networks in the Indian Ocean continued to flourish and included intra-Asian trade and Asian merchants.

• Indian Ocean Asian merchants:

  • Swahili Arabs

  • Omanis

  • Gujaratis

  • Javanese

• Newly developed colonial economies in the Americas largely depended on agriculture, utilized existing labor systems, including the Incan mit’a, and introduced new labor systems including chattel slavery, indentured servitude, and encomienda and hacienda systems.

(SIO) Explain changes and continuities in systems of slavery in the period from 1450 to 1750.

Slavery in Africa continued in its traditional forms, including incorporation of slaves into households and the export of slaves to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean regions.

• The growth of the plantation economy increased the demand for slaves in the Americas, leading to significant demographic, social, and cultural changes.