Age of Exploration and Isolation1400-1800Chapter 3

Section 1Europeans Explore the East

Traditional Eurasian Trade Routes

Europeans Begin to Explore the East

• Beginning in 1400’s, desire to explore called 3 G’s (Gold, God, Glory)

A. Other countries wanted trade controlled by Italy and Arabs for three centuries

• Spices most valued item• Quicker route to Asia meant they could take

out middleman (Arabs, Italians)B. New technology – compass, faster ships, astrolabe, better mapmaking skills made traveling by ship easier, safer• Most new technology came from Muslims

and ChineseC. Sparked by Renaissance curiosity and sense of adventureD. Desire to spread Christianity• Europeans saw this as their sacred duty to

convert others

Europeans Explore the EastPortugal Leads the WayA. Leader in developing and applying new sailing technologyB. Had strong government support led by Prince Henry

(Henry the Navigator)C. 1419 Henry established a sailing school for sailors, ship

makers, navigators to perfect their trade• By 1460 Portugal was the first country to establish trading

outposts along the coast of Africa and push into the Indian Ocean

• Traded Africans European goods for gold and ivory

Europeans Explore the East• Portuguese needed to reach

Asia by sea and had to sail around the southern tip of Africa

• 1488 Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope and explored the southeast coast of Africa

• 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed to Calicut, India and returned to Portugal with silk, spices and gems that was worth 60 times more than the cost of the voyage

• His voyage gave Portugal a direct sea route to Asia

Europeans Explore the East• Spain Also Makes Claims• 1492 Spain sent Christopher Columbus to find a

route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic• Columbus thought he reached the Indies, really

opened the way for European colonization of the Americas

• Immediate impact was that it increased tension between Spain and Portugal

Europeans Explore the East• 1494- Treaty of

Tordesillas Pope stepped in to keep peace between two countries

• Line drawn from North to south across globe dividing eastern and western hemispheres

• Portugal gets everything east of Line of Demarcation

• Spain given all lands west of Line of Demarcation

Europeans Explore the East• Trading Empires in the Indian Ocean• Portugal took control of the spice trade from Muslim

merchants after da Gama’s voyage1. 1509 extended control over region by defeating

Mughal navy off the coast of India2. 1510 Portuguese capture port city of Goa, India; it

became center of their trading empire3. 1511 Portuguese seize control of Strait of Malacca,

gave them control of the spice Islands• Portugal began to break the Muslim domination of

Eastern trade• Brought back goods at 20% of the prices charged by

Arab and Italian traders• More Europeans could afford items

Europeans Explore the East• Success of Portugal attracted other European

countries• 1521 Spain claimed Philippine IslandsDutch Traders• Around 1600 the Dutch and English became a

sea powers• English and Dutch began to take away Portuguese

power• Each country formed an East India Company• Each company had power to print money, make

treaties and raise armies• Dutch East India Company most powerful in

region• 1619 Dutch establish trading post in Java and took

Straits of Malacca and Spice Islands from Portugal• Dutch began to expand across the region and their

capital in Europe, Amsterdam became a leading commercial center

• By 1700 Dutch controlled most trade in Indian Ocean

Dutch Trading Empire in the 1700’s

Europeans Explore the EastBritish and French Traders• By 1700 English and French began to gain a

foothold in region• English focused on India and developed a

successful business in the cloth trade (established British East India Company)

• France tried to establish a foothold in India but was not as successful

• European countries took control of port cities but their influence did not extend beyond the ports

• Their influence was not felt by most people in Asia

Section 2China Limits European Contact

China Limits European Contacts China was the dominant power in Asia and

Europeans wanted to trade with themMing Dynasty 1368-1644 Ming Dynasty ruled China Korea and Southeast Asia paid tribute (payment by

one group to another to show submission) to Ming emperors, China expected Europeans to do the same

Hongwu was the first Ming emperor after he defeated the Mongols in 1368

A. Reformed agriculture by increasing rice production, encouraged growing cash crops (cotton, sugarcane) and encouraged fish farming

B. Encouraged a return to Confucian traditions and moral standards

C. Improved government by returning to a merit based government system

When problems developed Hongwu became a ruthless tyrant executing all of his enemies

China Limits European Contacts• After death of Hongwu his son Yonglo

took over• He moved royal court to Beijing (built the

Forbidden City)• Also had a curiosity of the outside world• 1405 began seven voyages of exploration

and trade under commander Zeng He• Expeditions traveled long distances,

many ships, many people and huge ships• Trips were used to show Chinese

superiority, because of voyages 16 countries sent tribute to China

• Chinese officials complained that voyages wasted money and after 1433 China began a period of isolation

China Limits European Contacts• Trade policies of 1500’s reflected

isolation• To keep influence of outsiders to a

minimum • Only the government could conduct

trade through 3 ports- Canton, Macao and Ningbo

• European demand for goods led to smuggling

• Helped improve economy of China- led to increase in manufacturing of ceramics and silk making

• Commerce and manufacturing seen as lower class jobs and not held in high regard in China, kept China from industrializing

• Government supported agriculture• Taxes were low on agriculture and high

on manufacturing

China Limits European ContactsQing Dynasty• By 1600 Ming rule began to weaken, government corruption, civil

strife, famine and high taxes led to rebellion• 1644 Manchus from northeast China seized power and ruled until 1900• People resisted rule by non-Chinese Manchus 1. Kept order by keeping traditional social structure and restoring

Chinese prosperity2. Expanded China into Taiwan, Central Asia, Mongolia and Tibet3. Lowered taxes and reduced government expenses4. Welcomed Jesuits into royal court to learn about European life5. Kept policy of isolation from foreign trade

China Limits European Contact

• Foreign countries that wished to trade with China had to trade only in special ports and pay tribute

• The Dutch accepted the Chinese restrictions and the Chinese accepted the Dutch as trading partners

• The Dutch brought silks, porcelain, and tea

• By 1800 tea made up 80% of shipments from China to Europe

• The British refused to follow the Chinese trade restrictions

• China rejected their offers by sending a letter to the king of England that they did not need the British

China Limits European Contact• 1600s and 1700s were a time of peace and

prosperity in China and the lives improved for most Chinese people

Most Chinese were farmers and under the Qing irrigation and the use of fertilizer increased

Also new crops from the were introduced by European traders (corn, sweet potatoes)

Food production increased and the population exploded

Chinese families favored sons over daughters• Sons were in charge of religious rituals, and raised

their own families in their parents homes• As their parents grew older they help them farm• Females were not as valued but they did have the

responsibilities of children’s education and managing family finances

Section 3Japan Returns to Isolation

Japan Returns to Isolation• 1300’s Japanese unity was shattered

by warring shoguns • By 1467 the country was separated

into hundreds of separate domains• 1467-1568 known as period of

“warring states”• Samurai took control of feudal states

and offered peasants protection for their loyalty

• Warrior chieftains known as daimyo and used samurai as warriors

• Emperor in Kyoto was just a figurehead with no power

• Daimyo lived in fortresses and fought each other for control of land

Japan Returns to Isolation• Many daimyo tried to seize and

control power• Oda Nobunga –was the first to use

soldiers with muskets to defeat rival samurai (1575)

• Toyotomi Hideyoshi- took control and tried to conquer Korea, when he died the troops returned to Japan (1590)

• 1600 Tonkugawa Ieyasu takes control of country by defeating his rivals and earning the loyalty of other daimyo

• He moved the capital to Edo (Tokyo)• Kept daimyo tamed and helped

centralize power in Japan• To keep daimyo in check he made

them live in the capital every other year and when they were gone they had to leave their families behind as hostages, had them help build his castle in Edo

• Founded Tokugawa Shogunate that held power until 1867

Japan Returns to Isolation• Japan enjoyed over 250 years of stability under Tokugawa

shoguns• Farmers produced more food and population rose, even

though they lived lives of miserySociety was very structureda. Ruler was shogun and supreme military commanderb. Below him was the landholding daimyo who controlled

samurai warriorsc. Artisans and peasants were next with merchants at the

bottom• 4/5 of society were peasants• Merchants became more important as the economy

expanded• Confucian ideas ruled society and the ideal citizen

depended on agriculture not commerce• However the farmers paid the most in taxes, many

abandoned land and moved to cities for economic opportunity

• Mid 1700’s Japan shifted from a rural to an urban society • Edo was the largest city in the world

Japan Returns to Isolation• Contact Between Europe and Japan• Europeans began to arrive in the 1500’s• 1543 first Europeans were shipwrecked

Portuguese sailors and merchants soon followed with clocks, tobacco, firearms

• Japanese welcomed traders and missionaries

1. Europeans introduced new technologies and ideas

2. Japanese merchants eager to expand their markets welcomed Europeans

3. Daimyo welcomed traders for their guns to gain an advantage over their rivals

• Guns changed the tradition of the Japanese warrior whose principal weapon was the sword

• Cannons changed the way castles were built

• Fortified castles attracted merchants and artisans and caused the growth of towns across Japan

Japan Returns to Isolation• 1549 first missionaries came to Japan• Catholic Jesuits, Franciscans and Dominican

missionaries came to convert the Japanese• By 1600 they had converted over 300,000

Japanese• Missionaries teachings went against traditional

Japanese beliefs and by 1612 Christianity was banned and Tokugawa Shoguns focused on ridding the country of them

• 1637 situation came to a head after rebellion led by Christians

• All Christian missionaries were kicked out of China and all Japanese had to demonstrate faithfulness to some branch of Buddhism

Japan Returns to Isolation• Persecution just one part of attempt to control foreign ideas• Shoguns did not like the introduction of European ways, but

they wanted European trade• 1639 Japan sealed the borders of the country except one port,

Nagasaki (a man made island in the harbor)• Only Dutch and Chinese were allowed to trade there• Tokugawa shogunate had a monopoly on all trade for over 200

years• During this time Japan remain basically closed to outsiders and

Japanese were forbidden to leave• During this time Japan developed a self-sufficient country free

from European intervention

Dejima