Major turning point in human history… The Worlds of the 15 th Century

Human Communities Paleolithic: Australia, Siberia, parts of Africa and the Americas Australia and Northwest coast of North America Both – very different Agricultural Village Societies: North America, Africa (south of equator), South America, SE Asia Avoided oppressive authority

Herding Peoples Turkic warrior Timur (Timerlane) tried to restore the Mongol Empire ca His army devastated Russia, Persia, and India Died in 1405 while preparing invasion of China His successors kept control of area b/t Persia and Afghanistan for 100 years Timur’s conquest was the LAST great military success of Central Asian nomads

1500s – China and Europe Ming Dynasty Disrupted by Mongol rule and plague Recovery Confucian learning Yongle = Encyclopedia (wisdom of past) Reestablished civil service examination Highly centralized government Court eunuchs Planted 1 billion trees Yongle commissioned massive maritime fleet Possibly the most prosperous civilizations of it time

Europe Pop began to rise again in 1450 State building BUT fragmented with many independent states The Hundred Years’ War ( ) Renaissance – reclamation of classical Greece Began in Italy ( ) Greater naturalism in art – da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo “humanist” scholars to explore secular topics

Europe cont… Maritime voyaging 1415 – Portuguese voyages 1492 – Columbus Vasco da Gama Small in comparison to Chinese voyages Europeans were seeking wealth, converts, and allies Used violence to carve out empires Chinese voyages ended – European ones increased Rivalry b/t states increased competition China had everything it needed/Europeans wanted more China’s food produced internally

Islamic World 4 major states or empires Islamic Heartland: Ottoman and Safavid Empires 1. Ottoman Empire lasted from 14 th to 20 th century Huge territory Anatolia, eastern Europe, Middle East, North African coast Sultans claimed the title “caliph” and the legacy of the Abbasids Attempted to bring unity to Islamic world Aggressive towards Christian lands = Constantinople in 1453, siege of Vienna in 1529, Europeans feared Turkish expansion 2. Safavid Empire emerged in Persia from a Sufi religious order Established after 1500 and imposed Shia Islam as official religion Sunni Ottoman Empire and Shia Safavid Empire fought periodically between

Islamic Heartland cont.. 3. The Songhay Empire – rose in West Africa Islam was limited to urban elites Sonni Ali followed Muslim practices but was also regarded as a magician with much charm Major center of Islamic learning/trade 4. Mughal Empire – India, created by a Turkic group that invaded India in 1526 Gained control over most of India Tried to create partnership between Hindus and Muslims Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara continued to flourish in south

The age of these 4 great Muslim empires is sometimes called a “second flowering of Islam” Energy, prosperity, cultural brilliance Spread of Islam to SE Asia Malacca – major Muslim port city in fifteenth century Mulaccan Islam blended with Hindu/Buddhist traditions

The Americas - Aztecs Seminomadic people who migrated southward from N. Mexico and est. themselves on an island in Lake Texcoco by 1325 Capital = Tenochtitlan Loosely structured 5-6 million people Trade included slaves – sacrifice

Incas Andes mountains – 2500 miles long Emperor was absolute ruler 80 provinces with an Inca governor Quipus recorded population data Quechua – language Cuzco – capital Everyone performed labor (mita) Both practiced “gender parallelism”

Religion Christendom = divided into RC and Eastern Orthodoxy Buddhism linked people in China, Korea, Tibet, Japan, and parts of the Southeast Asia Islam brought people together through the annual hajj, yet conflict still existed.

Trade Trade was almost everywhere Silk Road network was contracting Ocean trade pick up in the West Atlantic/Indian Ocean

Looking to the Modern Era Modern human society emerged first in Europe in the nineteenth century and then throughout the world Core feature – industrialization Massive pop increase Favor urban wealth over rural landowning elites States become more powerful The Modern Revolution was just as important as the A.R. Revealed new economic inequalities

Western Europe After 1500, Western Europe became the most innovative, prosperous, powerful part of the world Spread of European languages and Christian religion throughout the world Initiated the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution Isms: liberalism, nationalism, feminism, socialism Rest of the world was confronted by powerful, intrusive Europeans