AP ILLUSTRATED EXAMPLE: The formation of land-based and sea based empires
(1450-1750)
Key facts for land based empires:
1) The domain of land empires was contiguous (connected, as in the contiguous 48 states).
2) Land empires expanded dramatically in size.
3) You need to be able to locate and explain the main features of these land based empires:
Manchus (Qing China), Mughals (Muslim rule in India), Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire,
Safavid Empire
Key facts for sea based (maritime) empires:
1) The domain of sea based (maritime) empires was separated by seas and oceans.
2) Sea based empires expanded dramatically in size as European empires established
hegemony in Latin America and spread their influence to Africa and Asia. European influence in
Asia and Africa from 1450-1750 was primarily limited to coastal regions and small enclaves.
This changed during the period of the New Imperialism from 1750-1914.
3) You need to be able to locate and explain the main features of these sea based empires that
formed in the time period from 1450-1750: Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, British, French, Dutch.
4) Be sure to review the development of coercive labor in the Americas: encomienda, Mita,
slavery.
Map #1 Land Based Empires: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Songhai. (Shade in the Ming).
Map #2 The Russian Empire of Peter the Great
Peter the Great (r.1689-1725)
Map #3 The Spanish and Portuguese Empires (1450-1750). This is much easier to see on the
color slide. Spain’s empire included Mesoamerica, the SW of the present day U.S., the shaded
region of western South America, and the Philippines. The Portuguese empire included eastern
South America (mostly Brazil), and coastal enclaves in Africa, India, and Indonesia.
Map #4 The 16th Century Dutch (Netherlands) Empire. Write down the lands that this included.