Part 3 Complete Time Period Review

Chapter 10

Period 4: 1450 to 1750 C.E. – Complete Time Period Review

Impact of Interaction—The Development of a Global Economy

European Exploration

The Ming dynasty had extensively explored the Indian Ocean from 1405 to 1433, but decided to halt the voyages and destroy their ships due to pressure from conservative factions in the court. Other Easterners like Muslims, Indians, and Malays continued to use the Indian Ocean for commerce and trade, establishing effective routes and creating a vibrant trade system. When the Europeans did arrive, the world shifted from a primarily Asian-centered economy to a global economy. 

Europe emerged from an age of isolation with a desire to explore. Major motivations included the search for resources and new trade routes to Asian markets, and the desire to spread Christianity. The Asian goods that Europe purchased, such as pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, were very expensive. Europeans wanted to gain direct access to these goods, increasing supply and lowering prices. Additionally, the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 ended the Byzantine Empire, solidifying Muslim influence in the region and making it less friendly to European traders. The acquisition of technology from China and the Muslim world helped Europeans expand their seagoing capabilities with maritime equipment such as the sternpost rudder, triangular lateen sails, the magnetic compass, and the astrolabe. Portugal was an early leader in European exploration, aided by the development of the caravel, a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship. 

Columbus’s First Voyage

Explorer	Year	Accomplishment
Bartolomeu Dias (Portugal)	1488	Rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa and entered the Indian Ocean
Christopher Columbus (Spain)	1492	Sailed west to reach Asia and instead reached the Bahamas. Sailed around the Caribbean, but thought he had reached an island just off the coast of Asia
Vasco da Gama (Portugal)	1497	Reached Calicut, India in 1498 by rounding Africa
Ferdinand Magellan (Spain)	1519–1522	Sailed around South America to the Philippine Islands where he was killed; his men sailed back through the Indian Ocean and were the first to circumnavigate the globe

Trading-Post Empires

The initial goal of European powers in exploring the Indian Ocean was not to conquer, but to control trade. They wanted to force merchant ships to trade in fortified trading sites and to pay duties for the privilege. By the mid-1500s, Portugal had 50 trading posts from West Africa to East Asia, but by the late 1500s its power had started to decline—the country lacked the administrative and military capabilities to keep up with other European powers. The English and Dutch quickly took Portugal’s place as the dominant seafaring powers with faster, cheaper, and more powerful ships. Their imperial expansion was aided by the use of joint-stock companies, in which investors, rather than royal governments, funded expeditions.

Trading Posts