1
Period 3: Global Interactions, c. 1450 to c. 1750
Early Modern 1450 CE Gunpowder Empires Columbian Exchange Asian Isolation
New World Silver/Sugar Enlightenment
1750 CE Mercantilism Scientific Revolution Capitalism
Protestant Reformation
SUMMARY OF THE PERIOD
The Early Modern Period grew out of the exploration of the Chinese and Europeans and the expansion
and use of gunpowder technology. Gunpowder provided monarchs with new technology and more powerful
militaries. It also allowed Early Modern rulers to consolidate greater power away from the nobility and to
recruit and train a new class of educated and efficient bureaucrats to administer their empires. These empires
came in two forms: land-based and sea-based. The European sea-based Empires were Spain, France, England,
Portugal and the Dutch (the Netherlands). These empires colonized the New World and created sea-based
empires of mercantile trade and production. The French, Portuguese, and the Dutch also focused a great deal of
their sea power in the Indian Ocean, taking part in the spice and silk trade fueled by New World silver. In
Western Europe, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses critiquing the practices of the Catholic Church, aided by the
advancement of the printing pressed, spurred the Protestant Reformation that split Northern and Southern
Europe between Catholic and Protestant branches of Christianity. Asian land-based empires also expanded
enormously, including the Ottomans, the Safavids, the Mughals, the Ming/Qing Dynasties, and the smaller but
significant Tokugawa Shogunate.
With the connection of the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) to the New World (the Americas), accelerated by
the colonization of the New World by sea-based empires, the Columbian Exchange began. This was a
biological exchange of plants, people, animals, germs, and diseases. Old World food crops introduced into the
New World, such as sugar and rice, and New World food crops introduced to the Old World, such as corn and
potatoes changed the diets and the environments of the areas where they were present after the
exposure/exchange. Old World animals, such as horses, cows, pigs and goats, impacted the agriculture and
environment of the New World. Massive forced migration of African slaves into the New World (Caribbean,
Brazil, southern US) and migrations of European settlers also had massive demographic effects on the New
World populations. Additionally, smallpox and influenza brought by Old World migrants decimated New
World Native American populations. Silver extraction out of South American and Mesoamerican mines
provided significant income to European monarchs, much of which made its way to purchase Asian luxury
commodities. Sugar was a major cash crop in the Americas and significant amounts of slave labor; initially
Native American and later African migrants were coerced into harsh working conditions on plantations.
Internally in Western Europe, the Scientific Revolution, culminating in Newton’s major developments in
physics and calculus, provided significant intellectual and philosophical developments and the creation of the
scientific method.
As Europeans continued to expand their sea-based empires, many Asian empires, including the Ottomans,
the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Tokugawa Shogunate began to isolate themselves to prevent cultural
influence and to limit trade and technological exchange. This isolation allowed Western Europe to begin to
surpass Asian technologies in business, shipping, and agriculture. As European monarchs continued to
consolidate power, with the assistance of gunpowder technologies and mercantilist economic policies, many
individuals began to question and critique the absolute power that many monarchs were then exercising. This
questioning of the status-quo culminated in the intellectual and philosophical movement known as the
Enlightenment, led by the voices of Voltaire, John Locke, and Montesquieu. This movement influenced the
Atlantic Revolutions of the late 18th century. Additionally, capitalism as an economic system began to take
shape, replacing mercantilism and leading to the massive economic change known as the Industrial Revolution
in the 19th century.
, 2
Key Concept 3.1. Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange
Big Picture: The interconnection of the Eastern (the Old World or Afro-Eurasia) and Western hemispheres (the
New World or the Americas) made possible by transoceanic voyaging marked a key transformation of this period.
Technological innovations helped to make transoceanic connections possible. Changing patterns of long-
distance trade included the global circulation of some commodities and the formation of new regional markets
and financial centers. Increased trans-regional and global trade networks facilitated the spread of religion and
other elements of culture as well as the migration of large numbers of people. Germs (mainly smallpox and
influenza) carried to the Americas ravaged the indigenous peoples, while the global exchange of crops and
animals altered agriculture, diets, and populations around the planet. One of the most significant changes in this
period is the formation of global trade. Due to Columbus’ (in 1492and later) voyages, the New and Old World were
connected, resulting in significant cultural, demographic, commercial and biological exchanges across the globe.
I. In the context of the new global circulation of goods, there was an intensification of all existing
regional trade networks that brought prosperity and economic disruption to the merchants and
governments in the trading regions of the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Sahara, and overland Eurasia.
The key here is the connection of GLOBAL trade. As global trade connections took shape between the Americas and
Afro-Eurasia, regional trade networks in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean increased with the continued expansion
of European sea powers. European use of sea-based, gunpowder military often forced Old World port cities into trade
agreements with the European merchants. The Mediterranean became dominated early on by Ottomans and Venetians, but
Europeans increasingly took control of Mediterranean trade throughout the Early Modern Era. Indian Ocean trade
continued to be a commercial network between Arabs, Indians, and Chinese and Southeast Asians, however Europeans
such as the Dutch, Portuguese, and French began to make local alliances and force people into trade agreements as they
become increasingly involved in the Indian Ocean trade over the period. Trans-Saharan Trade began to slowly be
displaced by African coastal trade. Coastal trade was more profitable, so Trans-Saharan trade decreased as African slave
trading kingdoms were increasingly built along the West Coast rather than in the interior areas. The volume of trade along
the overland Silk Roads network was also decreasing due to the profitability of sea trade; however, the network did not
completely disappear.
II. European technological developments in cartography (professional map making) and navigation built
on previous knowledge developed in the classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds, and included the production
of new tools, innovations in ship designs, and an improved understanding of global wind and currents
patterns — all of which made transoceanic travel and trade possible. The Crusades and the Pax Mongola had
helped spread Islamic and Asian technological developments such as the compass, printing, cartography, and the astrolabe
to Europe which helped spur navigation in the Early Modern
Period. Knowledge of the circular wind and ocean patterns in
the Atlantic Ocean and the seasonal monsoon winds in the
Indian Ocean helped make sea trade more efficient.
Revised maps – Cartography (map making) became
much more precise and the printing press helped
facilitate the distribution of more precise maps. In
1569, Gerardus Mercator presented this map
projection (on the right) and was extremely helpful in
navigation because it has true lines of latitude, despite
major distortions in land size and distances. This
helped navigators be more accurate when sailing
because with the help of a compass and astrolabe,
these maps
, 3
Required examples of innovations in ship designs:
Caravels – Caravels (pictured on the right) were a Portuguese ship
design that utilized lateen sails from the Mediterranean and Indian
Ocean trade. The caravel model was able to sail into the wind,
unlike previous European ships. This technique is known as
“tacking” and allowed Portuguese and other European sailors to
travel southward along the coast of Africa, navigate the Indian
Ocean monsoon winds, and cross the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
Carracks – Carracks were large sailing ships used initially by the
Genoese for commerce and eventually used by Spanish and
Portuguese for global exploration and commerce.
Fluyt – Dutch designed sailing ship that helped significantly expand
European commerce in the Early Modern Period and build the
Dutch merchant marine and commercial empire. By 1670, the Dutch
seaborne empire was responsible for nearly half of all European
shipping.
III. Remarkable new transoceanic maritime (ocean-going)
reconnaissance (exploration and record keeping; knowledge gathering
expeditions, some of which were for trade, but many were just for the sake
of exploration) occurred in this period.
A. Portuguese development of maritime technology and navigational skills led to increased travel to and
trade with West Africa and resulted in the construction of a global trading-post empire. The Portuguese led the
development of Western European trading. Due to the location of Portugal on the Atlantic coast they had a geographic
advantage of venturing into the Atlantic, not to mention that trade in the Mediterranean was dominated by Italian
merchants. Portuguese navigation was fueled by Prince Henry’s School for Navigation, in which studies and technological
developments were put at the forefront of the school’s efforts. Portugal proceeded to set up coastal trading ports along
West Africa for the purchase of slaves as well as all along the Indian Ocean and became major merchants alongside
Arabs, Indians and Chinese in the Indian Ocean. Additionally, Portugal established the colony of Brazil, which became
the major sugar-producing colony in the world in the Early Modern Period.
Period 3: Global Interactions, c. 1450 to c. 1750
Early Modern 1450 CE Gunpowder Empires Columbian Exchange Asian Isolation
New World Silver/Sugar Enlightenment
1750 CE Mercantilism Scientific Revolution Capitalism
Protestant Reformation
SUMMARY OF THE PERIOD
The Early Modern Period grew out of the exploration of the Chinese and Europeans and the expansion
and use of gunpowder technology. Gunpowder provided monarchs with new technology and more powerful
militaries. It also allowed Early Modern rulers to consolidate greater power away from the nobility and to
recruit and train a new class of educated and efficient bureaucrats to administer their empires. These empires
came in two forms: land-based and sea-based. The European sea-based Empires were Spain, France, England,
Portugal and the Dutch (the Netherlands). These empires colonized the New World and created sea-based
empires of mercantile trade and production. The French, Portuguese, and the Dutch also focused a great deal of
their sea power in the Indian Ocean, taking part in the spice and silk trade fueled by New World silver. In
Western Europe, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses critiquing the practices of the Catholic Church, aided by the
advancement of the printing pressed, spurred the Protestant Reformation that split Northern and Southern
Europe between Catholic and Protestant branches of Christianity. Asian land-based empires also expanded
enormously, including the Ottomans, the Safavids, the Mughals, the Ming/Qing Dynasties, and the smaller but
significant Tokugawa Shogunate.
With the connection of the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) to the New World (the Americas), accelerated by
the colonization of the New World by sea-based empires, the Columbian Exchange began. This was a
biological exchange of plants, people, animals, germs, and diseases. Old World food crops introduced into the
New World, such as sugar and rice, and New World food crops introduced to the Old World, such as corn and
potatoes changed the diets and the environments of the areas where they were present after the
exposure/exchange. Old World animals, such as horses, cows, pigs and goats, impacted the agriculture and
environment of the New World. Massive forced migration of African slaves into the New World (Caribbean,
Brazil, southern US) and migrations of European settlers also had massive demographic effects on the New
World populations. Additionally, smallpox and influenza brought by Old World migrants decimated New
World Native American populations. Silver extraction out of South American and Mesoamerican mines
provided significant income to European monarchs, much of which made its way to purchase Asian luxury
commodities. Sugar was a major cash crop in the Americas and significant amounts of slave labor; initially
Native American and later African migrants were coerced into harsh working conditions on plantations.
Internally in Western Europe, the Scientific Revolution, culminating in Newton’s major developments in
physics and calculus, provided significant intellectual and philosophical developments and the creation of the
scientific method.
As Europeans continued to expand their sea-based empires, many Asian empires, including the Ottomans,
the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Tokugawa Shogunate began to isolate themselves to prevent cultural
influence and to limit trade and technological exchange. This isolation allowed Western Europe to begin to
surpass Asian technologies in business, shipping, and agriculture. As European monarchs continued to
consolidate power, with the assistance of gunpowder technologies and mercantilist economic policies, many
individuals began to question and critique the absolute power that many monarchs were then exercising. This
questioning of the status-quo culminated in the intellectual and philosophical movement known as the
Enlightenment, led by the voices of Voltaire, John Locke, and Montesquieu. This movement influenced the
Atlantic Revolutions of the late 18th century. Additionally, capitalism as an economic system began to take
shape, replacing mercantilism and leading to the massive economic change known as the Industrial Revolution
in the 19th century.
, 2
Key Concept 3.1. Globalizing Networks of Communication and Exchange
Big Picture: The interconnection of the Eastern (the Old World or Afro-Eurasia) and Western hemispheres (the
New World or the Americas) made possible by transoceanic voyaging marked a key transformation of this period.
Technological innovations helped to make transoceanic connections possible. Changing patterns of long-
distance trade included the global circulation of some commodities and the formation of new regional markets
and financial centers. Increased trans-regional and global trade networks facilitated the spread of religion and
other elements of culture as well as the migration of large numbers of people. Germs (mainly smallpox and
influenza) carried to the Americas ravaged the indigenous peoples, while the global exchange of crops and
animals altered agriculture, diets, and populations around the planet. One of the most significant changes in this
period is the formation of global trade. Due to Columbus’ (in 1492and later) voyages, the New and Old World were
connected, resulting in significant cultural, demographic, commercial and biological exchanges across the globe.
I. In the context of the new global circulation of goods, there was an intensification of all existing
regional trade networks that brought prosperity and economic disruption to the merchants and
governments in the trading regions of the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Sahara, and overland Eurasia.
The key here is the connection of GLOBAL trade. As global trade connections took shape between the Americas and
Afro-Eurasia, regional trade networks in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean increased with the continued expansion
of European sea powers. European use of sea-based, gunpowder military often forced Old World port cities into trade
agreements with the European merchants. The Mediterranean became dominated early on by Ottomans and Venetians, but
Europeans increasingly took control of Mediterranean trade throughout the Early Modern Era. Indian Ocean trade
continued to be a commercial network between Arabs, Indians, and Chinese and Southeast Asians, however Europeans
such as the Dutch, Portuguese, and French began to make local alliances and force people into trade agreements as they
become increasingly involved in the Indian Ocean trade over the period. Trans-Saharan Trade began to slowly be
displaced by African coastal trade. Coastal trade was more profitable, so Trans-Saharan trade decreased as African slave
trading kingdoms were increasingly built along the West Coast rather than in the interior areas. The volume of trade along
the overland Silk Roads network was also decreasing due to the profitability of sea trade; however, the network did not
completely disappear.
II. European technological developments in cartography (professional map making) and navigation built
on previous knowledge developed in the classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds, and included the production
of new tools, innovations in ship designs, and an improved understanding of global wind and currents
patterns — all of which made transoceanic travel and trade possible. The Crusades and the Pax Mongola had
helped spread Islamic and Asian technological developments such as the compass, printing, cartography, and the astrolabe
to Europe which helped spur navigation in the Early Modern
Period. Knowledge of the circular wind and ocean patterns in
the Atlantic Ocean and the seasonal monsoon winds in the
Indian Ocean helped make sea trade more efficient.
Revised maps – Cartography (map making) became
much more precise and the printing press helped
facilitate the distribution of more precise maps. In
1569, Gerardus Mercator presented this map
projection (on the right) and was extremely helpful in
navigation because it has true lines of latitude, despite
major distortions in land size and distances. This
helped navigators be more accurate when sailing
because with the help of a compass and astrolabe,
these maps
, 3
Required examples of innovations in ship designs:
Caravels – Caravels (pictured on the right) were a Portuguese ship
design that utilized lateen sails from the Mediterranean and Indian
Ocean trade. The caravel model was able to sail into the wind,
unlike previous European ships. This technique is known as
“tacking” and allowed Portuguese and other European sailors to
travel southward along the coast of Africa, navigate the Indian
Ocean monsoon winds, and cross the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
Carracks – Carracks were large sailing ships used initially by the
Genoese for commerce and eventually used by Spanish and
Portuguese for global exploration and commerce.
Fluyt – Dutch designed sailing ship that helped significantly expand
European commerce in the Early Modern Period and build the
Dutch merchant marine and commercial empire. By 1670, the Dutch
seaborne empire was responsible for nearly half of all European
shipping.
III. Remarkable new transoceanic maritime (ocean-going)
reconnaissance (exploration and record keeping; knowledge gathering
expeditions, some of which were for trade, but many were just for the sake
of exploration) occurred in this period.
A. Portuguese development of maritime technology and navigational skills led to increased travel to and
trade with West Africa and resulted in the construction of a global trading-post empire. The Portuguese led the
development of Western European trading. Due to the location of Portugal on the Atlantic coast they had a geographic
advantage of venturing into the Atlantic, not to mention that trade in the Mediterranean was dominated by Italian
merchants. Portuguese navigation was fueled by Prince Henry’s School for Navigation, in which studies and technological
developments were put at the forefront of the school’s efforts. Portugal proceeded to set up coastal trading ports along
West Africa for the purchase of slaves as well as all along the Indian Ocean and became major merchants alongside
Arabs, Indians and Chinese in the Indian Ocean. Additionally, Portugal established the colony of Brazil, which became
the major sugar-producing colony in the world in the Early Modern Period.
