Political Transformations Empires and Encounters 1450 1750 I

Political Transformations: Empires and Encounters 1450– 1750

I. European Empires in the Americas A. The European Advantage 1. Geography 2. Need 3. Marginality 4. Rivalry 5. Merchants 6. Wealth and Status 7. Religion 8. American collaborators

I. European Empires in the Americas B. The Great Dying and the Little Ice Age 1. Demographic collapse of Native American societies 2. Pre-Columbian Population: 60 – 80 million people 3. European and African diseases 5. Coincided with Little Ice Age

I. European Empires in the Americas C. The Columbian Exchange 1. Labor shortage 2. Migrant slaves created new societies 3. American food crops 4. American stimulants 5. Exchange with the Americas 6. The Columbian Exchange

II. Comparing Colonial Societies in the Americas A. In the Lands of the Aztecs and the Incas 1. Spanish conquest, early 16 th century 2. Commercial agriculture and mining 3. Rise of a distinctive social order

II. Comparing Colonial Societies in the Americas C. Colonies of Sugar 1. Lowland Brazil and the Caribbean 2. Arabs introduced sugar production to Mediterranean 3. Sugar transformed Brazil and the Caribbean 4. Mixed-race workforce; racial systems evolved

II. Comparing Colonial Societies in the Americas D. Settler Colonies in North America 1. New colonial society 2. British settlers more numerous 3. England mostly Protestant 4. Traditions of self-government 5. North America gradually became dominant

III. The Steppes and Siberia: The Making of a Russian Empire A. Experiencing the Russian Empire 1. Conquests brought devastating epidemics 2. Pressure to convert to Christianity 3. Large-scale settlement of Russians (Siberia) 4. Discouragement of pastoralism

III. The Steppes and Siberia: The Making of a Russian Empire B. Russians and Empire 1. Imperial expansion 2. Rich agricultural lands, furs, minerals 3. Long-term Russian identity problem 4. Colonization experience different from the Americas

IV. Asian Empires A. Making China an Empire 1. Qing dynasty, 1644– 1912 2. Nomads of the north and west 3. China evolved into a Central Asian empire 4. Impoverished Central Asia

IV. Asian Empires B. Muslims and Hindus in the Mughal Empire 1. Mughals united much of India between 1526 and 1707 2. Emperor Akbar, r. 1556– 1605 3. Mughal toleration provoked reaction among some Muslims 4. Aurangzeb’s policy provoked Hindu reaction

IV. Asian Empires C. Muslims and Christians in the Ottoman Empire 1. Ottoman Empire transformed Turkish life 2. Long conflict between Sunni Ottomans and Shia Safavids, 1534 – 1639

IV. Asian Empires C. Muslims and Christians in the Ottoman Empire 3. Significant cross-cultural encounter 4. Christians in the Balkans 5. Jewish refugees – more opportunities 6. Devshirme 7. Threatened Christendom 8. Some Europeans admired Ottoman rule