The First Global Age: Europe
and Asia
1415-1796
By: Akeya Hinkson A Period
The Search for Spices
Europeans Explore the Seas
• The Crusades introduced Europeans to many luxury goods from
Asia.
• When the Mongol empire united much of Asia, Asian goods flowed
to Europe along overland trade routes.
• The Black Death and the breakup of the Mongol empire destroyed
trade.
• The most valued items were spices, such as cinnamon, cloves,
nutmeg, and pepper.
• Spices were used to preserve food, add flavor to dried or salted
foods, and make medicines and perfumes.
• The chief source of spices was the Moluccas, an island chain in
present-day Indonesia, which Europeans called Spice Islands.
• In the 1400s, Muslim and Italian
merchants controlled most trade between
Asia and Europe.
• To gain direct access to the riches of Asia,
Portugal and Spain, sought a route to Asia
that bypassed the Mediterranean.
• Improvements in technology helped
Europeans conquer the vast oceans of the
world.
Portugal Sails Eastward
• Portugal led the way in exploration.
• The Portuguese seized Ceuta on the North African coast.
• Henry the Navigator gathered many sea experts for an exploration
of the western coast of Africa.
• After Henry died, Bartholomeu Dias continued Henry’s journey and
rounded the southern tip of Africa.
• The tip became known as the Cape of Good Hope, it opened the
way for a sea route to Asia.
• In 1497, Vasco da Gama led four ships that reached the great spice
port of Calicut on the west coast of India.
• In 1502, he forced a treaty of friendship on the ruler of Calicut.
• As a result, the Portuguese seized key ports around the Indian
Ocean to create a vast trading empire.
Columbus Sails to the West
• In 1492, Columbus sailed west with three
ships: the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa
Maria.
• Columbus found a route to continents
previously unknown to them.
• Spain and Portugal pressed rival claims to
the land Columbus explored.
• Pope Alexander IV created the Line of
Demarcation, dividing the non-European
world into two zones (Eastern and
Western)
• The Search Continues
• Ferdinand Magellan charted a passage
known as the Strait of Magellan.
• He renamed the Balboa’s South Sea, the
Pacific Ocean.
• The Spanish hailed Magellan’s crew the
first people to sail around the world when
they reached Seville.
• The European age of exploration set off a
period of growing global interdependence
that still continues today.
• As trade increased, conflicts between
Europe and other civilizations would
become more pronounced.
• Many conflicts emerged in Asia.
Diverse Traditions of Southeast
Asia
Geography of Southeast Asia
• Southeast Asia is made up of two major regions.
• First, mainland Southeast Asia, several peninsulas that jut south between
India and China.
• Second, island Southeast Asia, more than 20,000 islands scattered
between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
• Separated from the rest of Asia by mountains and high plateaus.
• Southeast Asia’s river valleys were home to early civilizations; They are: the
Irrawaddy, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red.
• Island Southeast Asia is a seaborne trade between China and India.
• Monsoons, shaped trading patterns in the southern seas.
• Southeast Asian ports became important centers of trade and culture.
• International trade network linked India, Southeast Asia, and China to East
Africa and the Middle East.
• The key products of Southeast Asia were spices.
Impact of India
• Buddhism was one of the many exports from India that had an effect
on the people of Southeast Asia.
• Buddhist monks and scholars introduced Theravada beliefs.
• Trade brought prosperity as merchants exchanged products.
• Indians carried a third religion after Hinduism and Buddhism, that
Asians were introduced to, that was Islam.
• Traders spreaded Islamic beliefs and Muslim civilization throughout
the islands of Indonesia and as far east as the Philippines.
• The prevalence of Islam in lands surrounding the Indian Ocean
contributed to the growth of a stable, thriving trade network.
New Kingdoms and Empires
• The blend of Indian influences with local
cultures produced a series of kingdoms
and cultures in Southeast Asia.
• The new kingdoms and empires were
know as: the kingdom of Pagan, the
Khmer Empire, and the empire of Srivijaya
Vietnam Emerges
• The heart of northern Vietnam was the Red River delta.
• The river irrigated fertile rice fields, which provided food
for a growing population.
• In 111 B.C., Han armies conquered the Vietnam region.
• During that time, the Vietnamese absorbed Confucian
ides.
• Theravada, Mahayana, and Daoism helped shape
Vietnamese society.
• In 939, as the Tang dynasty collapsed in China, Vietnam
was able to break free from China.
European Footholds in Southeast
Asia and India
Portugal’s Empire in the East
• Portugal was the first European power to gain a foothold in Asia.
• In 1510, they seized the island of Goa off the coast of India, making
their major military and commercial base.
• Albuquerque then moved to end Muslim power and turn the Indian
Ocean into a “Portuguese lake.”
• In 1511, Albuquerque took Malacca, massacring the city’s Muslims
and making the Europeans hated and feared.
• In less then 50 years, the Portuguese had built a trading empire with
military and merchant outposts, rimming the southern seas.
• For most of the 1500s, Portugal controlled the spice trade between
Europe and Asia.
• Despite their sea power, the Portuguese remained on the fringe of
Asian trade.
•
Rise of the Dutch
• The Dutch were the first Europeans to challenge
Portuguese domination in Asia.
• The Netherlands soon fell under Spanish rule in
the early 1500s.
• Later, the Protestant northern provinces won
independence.
• The Dutch used their sea power to set up
colonies and trading posts around the world.
• In 1602, a group of wealthy Dutch merchants
formed the the Dutch East India Company.
Spain Seizes the Philippines
• While the Portuguese and Dutch set up
bases on the fringes of Asia, Spain took
over the Philippines.
• Within about 50 years, Spain had
conquered and colonized the islands.
• The Philippines became a key link in
Spain’s overseas trading empire.
Mughal India and European Traders
• Besides producing spices, India was the world leader in textile
manufacturing.
• It exposed large quantities of silk and cotton cloth.
• The Mughal empire was larger, richer, and more powerful than any kingdom
in Europe.
• Several weak rules held the throne in the early 1700s.
• Corruption became widespread, and the central government eventually
collapsed.
• Both the English and French East India Companies made alliances with
local officials and independent rajahs.
• By the mid-1700s, the British and the French had become locked in a bitter
struggle for global power.
• In 1756, war between Britain and France erupted in Europe.
• The fighting soon spread, involving both nations’ lands in Asia and the
Americas.
Encounters in East Asia
The Manchu Conquest
• In 1644, the victorious Manchu armies seized Beijing
and made it their capital.
• The Manchus set up a new dynasty called the Qing.
• He expanded China’s borders to rule the largest area in
the nation’s history.
• New crops from the Americas, such as potatoes, and
corn, boosted farm output, which in turn contributed to a
population boom.
• The Qing dynasty turned out to be the world’s greatest
empire.
Korea and Isolation
• The Choson dynasty, embraced Confucian
ideas.
• Like the Chinese, Koreans felt that Confucian
learning was the most advanced in the world.
• A Japanese invasion in the 1590s and when the
Manchus conquered Korea before overrunning
Ming China, led the Koreans to turn inward.
Japan and Foreign Traders
• In 1543, the Portuguese reached Japan.
• A growing number of Japanese adopted Christianity.
• By 1638, the Tokugawas had barred all western merchants and
forbidden Japanese to travel abroad.
• Japan maintained its policy of strict isolation for more than 200
years.
• Isolation had a profound effect on Japan.
• Without outside influence, Japanese culture turned inward.
• In 1853, Japan was forced to reopen contacts with the western
world.
• Renewed relations unleashed an extraordinary period of change
that helped Japan emerged as a major world power.
Regents Questions
• 1. Korea greatly influenced the development of early
Japan by
• A. acting as a bridge for ideas from China
• B. providing Japan with the technology for
industrialization
• C. serving as a barrier against Chinese aggression
• protecting Japan from early European exploration
Answer: Choice A
• 2. In Japan between 1603 and 1868, the most notable
action taken by the Tokugawa Shogunate was the
•
•
•
•
A. military conquest of China
B. development of extensive trade with the Americas
C. formation of cultural links with Europe
D. virtual isolation of the country from the outside world
Answer: Choice D.
• 3. Feudalism in Western Europe was similar to
feudalism in Japan in that
•
•
•
•
A. power was based on class relationships
B. equality among the social classes
C. direct democracy
D. monotheism
Answer: Choice A.
• 4. A valid generalization about early Japanese culture is
that Japan
• A. had a strong influence on the development of culture
in Korea
• B. spread Shinto throughout Asia
• C. maintained a uniquely individual culture while
borrowing much from other cultures
• D. imported almost all of its cultural ideas from China,
resulting in nearly identical cultures
Answer: Choice C.
• 5. Feudal societies are generally characterized
by
•
•
•
•
A. an emphasis on social order
B. a representative government
C. many economic opportunities
D. the protection of political rights
Answer: Choice A.