The West and the Changing Balance of World Power Chapter 15: Pgs 324- 339

Introduction 1400s: World in period of transition Who takes international trade role? Italy, Spain, Portugal took leadership role Americas couldn’t respond to European invasions Key Question: Why did different civilizations react differently?????

The Decline of the Old Order 1200: ME ran by BE(North) and Arab Empire(South) Turks take BE 1453; Mongols overthrow caliph in 1258 Social/Cultural Change in ME Religious leaders gain power New piety Economic Shifts Centralized power slows: landlords gain more power Lower agricultural yield, less taxes, less trade Gradual decline, not sudden like Rome

The Decline of the Old Order Power Vacuum in International Leadership Ottoman’s not an international trade leader Mongols provide next global leader Encourage interregional trade Exchanges tech/ideas End of empire turned to seaborne trade Chinese Thrust/Withdrawal Ming dynasty: 1368-1644 Push out Mongols first Re-establish tributary links with Southeast Asia State sponsored trade expectations Admiral Zhenghe 1405-1433 led vast, unparalleled fleet

The Decline of the Old Order Former eunuch: why do leaders like them as advisors Fleet of 28,000 troops: scared local leaders 7 expeditions, dies on 7th Did Zhenghe really discover America in 1421?? Reasons to stop exploration: threatened Confucian bureaucrats Dislike of merchants having power Cost What if China kept trading? Lost chance to be world power Little European ships no match Follows Chinese pattern of spending money internally West power is judged on expansion Worked on infrastructure: population increase, manufacturing improves

Rise of the West Surprising? Sources of Dynamism Awed by other bureaucracies Church under attack Warrior aristocrats softened life: tournaments/armor Ordinary Europeans Famine Plague Strikes/peasant uprisings Sources of Dynamism Europe strong Strong regional governments Military innovations: Nonaristocratic soldiers paid by central gov. Growth of cities Church content with capitalism Tech improving

Rise of the West Imitation/International Problems Tech pushes expansion Mongol period: Europe has ideal trade access WE not controlled, internal conflicts leads to improve tech to win battles International factors push expansion Interest in luxury goods European products not in demand, must buy in gold Fear of Muslim threat Need to secure Western ports Need to create sea trade since Muslims control land trade

Rise of the West Secular Directions in Italian Renaissance West’s surge forward: rebirth of culture and political views of Classical Europe Artists: Humanism Artists/Writers: push for own reputation Works now secular and religious Human Values and Renaissance Culture Focus of art changes Subject: people, nature, portraits Vivid, realistic statues: like classic Rome/Greece Change mindset: look outward Build ships, push commerce Governments fund new ventures Human ambition/pursuit of glory: focus on exploration/conquest

Rise of The West Iberian Spirit of Religious Mission Spanish/Portuguese rulers pushing military/religious agenda Goal of armies: push Christianity, kick out Arabs/Jews Government enforces Church codes Inquisition courts to enforce orthodoxy Key: government with religious mission

Western Expansion: Experimental Phase Early Explorations Western route to the Indies Vivaldi's from Genoa sailed off to never return Stick to coast of Africa Post 1430: some navigational problems solved Compass/astrolabe from Arabs Improved mapmaking Geographically inaccurate map give false confidence 1498: Vasco de Gama 1st European to reach Indian Ocean

Western Expansion: Experimental Phase Colonial Patterns How to make expeditions profitable? Henry the Navigator: motivated by science, religious, economic reasons Islands off Africa test ground for colonialism Large agricultural estates Sugar, cotton, tobacco Portuguese bring in slaves Successful early programs led to expansion Forces influencing expansion Inferiorities/fears: Muslims Energy of Renaissance merchants Economic pressures Population surge

Outside the World Network Political Issues in the Americas Resentment for leadership Overextension: difficult to control Other cultures developing: maybe surpassed Expansion, Migration, Conquest in Polynesia 7th-14th centuries: spread eastward: Hawaii Caste system: military leaders/priests dominate No written language: oral history Maori: New Zealand Elaborate art, military/priests great power, slaves Developed in isolation Vulnerable to disease, inferior weapons, cultural disintegration

Outside the World Network Adding Up the Changes Master plan that Europeans would dominate or series of coincidences? Political instability in Americas Tech inferiority Vulnerable to diseases China: opts out of world trade domination Individuals try to improve Europe’s trade deficit Muslims have less impact on Africa Africans don’t benefit from trade with Mongols

Global Connections Global Contacts Key Continuity Muslim traders/missionaries still active Mongols readily shared ideas China made new contacts 1450: who would dominate was in flux Key Continuity Regions require trade to survive Africa: ME SE Asia: China/Muslim traders WE contacts increasing China, India, ME see Africa/Europe as consumer sources