Topic 4.5

📍Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Develop

📖 AMSCO p.232 - p.126

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Ananya Uppu

Things to Know

Economic Strategies

• Europeans in the 17th century measured the wealth of a country by how much gold and silver it had. This wealth was gained through their strategy of selling as many goods as possible to gain the most gold and silver.
• The accumulation of capital grew as more and more Western European entrepreneurs entered into long-distance markets and eventually led to the Commercial Revolution
• Adding to this rising economy was the creation of joint-stock companies, such as the British-East India Company in 1600 and the Dutch-East India Company in 1602
• Both companies helped the development of maritime empires by allowing exploration and providing resources to colonize and conquer resources.
• The desire of Europeans for enslaved workers combined with Portugal’s discovery of West Africa led to the creation of the Triangular Trade, which eventually led to competition over the Atlantic Ocean.

Changes and Continuities

• The new naval trade networks led to goods being circulated worldwide.
  • Silver from Spanish colonies found its way to Asia, where they were exchanged for porcelain, silk, and steel.
• Monopolies, led by the European nations, supported these trade networks.
  • For example, Spain had a monopoly over tobacco that was grown domestically and in their colonies.
  • The monopoly increased Spain’s profits and allowed them to improve their government.
• Simultaneously Afro-Eurasian markets continued growing, and naval trade provided more opportunities for an increase in artisan labor, leading to global connections via trading ports.

Effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade

• The slave trade led to a decrease in the population of many West African states. As a result of that, they became economically dependent on European goods and lacked resources to help them develop into complex nations.
• However, it eventually led to population growth due to an enriched diet from the Columbian Exchange, introducing crops like maize, peanuts, and manioc, which became dietary staples in Africa.
• There were political changes taking place within the indigenous societies.
  • Indigenous political structures were replaced by Spanish and Portuguese colonial administrations, which were known as viceroys and audiencias.
  • The heavy influence of colonizers in indigenous lands led to an erasure of their history and culture. For example, Mexican conquistadors ordered the burning of Aztec texts, due to which there are little accounts of their culture in their language, Nahuatl.
• The slave trade also led to religious syncretism.
  • Santeria, an African religion, became popular in Cuba and crossed to North America.
  • Similarly, Islam was commonly practiced amongst the enslaved Africans and eventually led to the religion becoming popular in the Americas.
  • Religious syncretism in Spanish colonies involved integrating Catholicism with indigenous beliefs. An example is the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico, which revolves around a woman known for performing miracles.
• Syncretic religions also developed in Afro-Eurasia due to trade interactions.
  • Sufism, a religion that focuses on personal redemption, helped spread Islam in Afro-Eurasia and led to Sikhism, which was influenced by Hindu and Islamic beliefs.
• However, religion became a cause for conflicts as global interactions increased.
  • The strain between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims worsened the relationship between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires.
  • The split between Catholicism, Protestantism, and other official religions, allowed the migration of Europeans into North America as they wished to pursue religious freedom.

Terms to Remember