AP REVIEW 1450AD – 1750AD
STAY FOCUSED ON THE BIG PICTURE 
As you review the details of the developments in this chapter, stay focused on some big-picture concepts. As you read, keep in mind the following questions: 
1.	Why did Europe become a dominant power during this time period? Was it because European nations vied for world dominance while other civilizations didn't, or because of technological superiority? Why did some of the European nation-states develop vast empires while others did not? There are lots of legitimate answers to these questions and the content of this review will help you think about some of them. 

2.	What were some of the differences among the ways in which non-European cultures interacted with Europe? What influences contributed to these differences? What were the consequences? You'll notice that European powers penetrated different parts of the globe to different degrees. 

3.	How did the global economy change during this time period? What was the impact on the world's civilizations? As you read, notice how economic considerations drove so much of the world's interactions. Pay attention to how the larger global economy impacted the various regions of the globe. 
MAJOR EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS FROM 1450 TO 1750 C.E. 
During the three centuries covered in this chapter, profound changes occurred on the European continent. These changes affected life on all levels: the way people viewed themselves, the way governments viewed their authority, the way religion intersected with politics and individuality, and the way Europeans thought about and interacted with the rest of the world. As you review the enormous developments in Parts A and B below, think about how they were linked together and impacted each other. 
A. REVOLUTIONS IN THOUGHT AND EXPRESSION IN EUROPE 
By the 1300’s, much of Europe had been Christian for a thousand years. The feudal system had dominated the political and social structures for five hundred years, and the ancient classical civilizations of Greece and Rome had been almost entirely forgotten. 
Life in the Middle Ages was dominated by local issues, concern for salvation, territorial disputes, the Black Death, a lack of education outside monasteries, and small-scale trade. As you read in the last review, near the end of the Middle Ages, countries began to be unified under centralized rule. The Crusades exposed Christians to the advanced Islamic civilizations, increased trade fueled contact with other parts of the world, and universities became great centers of learning. This increased contact with foreign powers and scholasticism exposed Europeans not only to developments in the rest of the world but also to history. Recall that the Byzantine and Islamic Empires had preserved much of the heritage of ancient Greece and Rome, even as they built unique civilizations of their own and made huge contributions to ancient texts, especially in the areas of mathematics and science. As Europe expanded its worldview and interacted more frequently with these two empires, it rediscovered its own past. 
The combination of a rediscovered past and a productive present led to major changes in the way Europeans viewed the world and themselves. These new perspectives led to four massive cultural movements: the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. In a span of just a few hundred years, Europe went from being a backward, isolated, self-involved outpost on the perimeter of the major civilizations to the east to becoming the dominant civilization in the world. 
1. The Renaissance: Classical Civilization Part II 
After the Black Death abated and the population of Europe once again began to swell, the demand for goods and services began to increase rapidly. Individuals moved to the cities. A middle class of bankers, merchants, and traders emerged due to increased global trade. In short, Europe experienced an influx of money to go along with its newfound sense of history. 
Humanism: A Bit More Focus on the Here and Now 
In medieval Europe, thoughts of salvation and the afterlife so dominated personal priorities that life on earth was, for many, something to be suffered through on the way to heaven rather than lived through as a pursuit of its own. As Europeans rediscovered ancient texts, they were struck with the degree that humanity-personal accomplishment and personal happiness-formed the central core of so much of the literature and philosophy of the ancient writers. The emphasis began to shift from fulfillment in the afterlife to participating in the here-and-now. 
The Catholic Church and a focus on the afterlife remained dominant. However, Europeans were fascinated with the ancient Greek and Roman celebrating human achievements in the scholarly, artistic, and political realms. This focus on human endeavors became known as humanism. Its impact was far-reaching because a focus on humans and present-day life leads to a focus on individuals, and a focus on individuality inevitably leads to a reduction in the authority of institutions. 
The Italian States During the Renaissance 
The Renaissance literally means "rebirth," and this was nowhere more apparent than in the arts. In Italy, where powerful families in city-states such as Florence, Venice, and Milan became rich on trade. They financed art on a scale not seen since the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. The Medici family in Florence turned the city into a showcase of architecture and beauty by acting as a patron for some of the greatest artists of the time, including Michelangelo and Brunelleschi. 
Unlike medieval paintings, which depicted humans as flat, stiff, and out of proportion with their surroundings, paintings of the Renaissance demonstrated the application of humanistic ideals learned from the ancients (Remember E.T. paintings versus Mona Lisa). Painters and sculptors such as Leonardo da Vinci depicted the human figure as realistically as possible. Careful use of light and shadow made figures appear full and real. Many artists were so committed to this realism that they participated in autopsies to fully understand the structure of the human body.   Artists also employed a technique known as linear perspective, developed by Tommaso Masaccio and Fillipo Brunelleschi, in which nearby objects were drawn bigger while far objects were drawn smaller, so that the painting had a three-dimensional quality where the lines of perspective merged into a distant focal point. This use of perspective was a huge development toward realism. 
The Catholic Church noticed the developments in artistic techniques, and soon the greatest artists were hard at work adorning the great palaces and cathedrals of Italy. For four years, 1508 to 1512 C.E., Michelangelo painted the now-famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while lying on his back on scaffolding. Meanwhile, Renaissance architects borrowed heavily from the Greek and Roman traditions to build huge domes on cathedrals in Florence and Rome. 
The artistic movement that engulfed the Italian city-states also spread northward and westward through much of Western Europe, although it was generally more subdued, and often more religious than it was on the Italian peninsula. While highly realistic in style, most northern renaissance paintings were religiously motivated and therefore even secular paintings or portraits were filled with religiously symbolic objects and color choices that resonated with the Christian faithful. 
Western Writers Finally Get Readers 
Moveable type wasn't invented in Europe until the mid-1400s, when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. Prior to Gutenberg's invention, the creation of books was a long and laborious task, so few were made. Those that were made were usually printed in Latin, the language of scholars and the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, the typical person didn't read. 
With the invention of the printing press, all that changed. Books became easy to produce and thus were far more affordable. The growing middle class fueled demand for books on a variety of subjects that were written in their own native languages, such as German or French. The book industry flourished, as did related industries such as papermaking, a craft that was learned from the Arabs (who learned it from the Chinese---gotta love those trade routes!). More books led to more literate and educated people. As a result, people desired more books, which continued to make them more educated, which again increased their desire for books, and so on. 
Many of the first books and pamphlets that were published were practical or political in nature. In 1517 C.E., MachiaveIli, for example, published The Prince, a how-to book for monarchs who wanted to maintain their power. But the printed word extended well beyond the courts of nobles. It changed life for the developing middle class because reading became a casual endeavor. Books were printed for no purpose other than entertainment or diversion, and this led to literature that increasingly focused on the daily lives of regular people, while humanizing traditional institutions such as the military or the nobility. 
Literature blossomed in the Renaissance of northern Europe, especially in the Low Countries (today known as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium) and in England. The Renaissance also produced William Shakespeare, arguably the most famous European writer from this time. Shakespeare's works reflected the period well because they not only exemplified humanism in its extreme-focusing on character strengths and flaws, comedy and tragedy-but also illustrated the era's obsession with the politics and mythology of classical civilization. His play Julius Caesar and his poem Venus and Adonis are among his many works that explored the Classical world. 
2. The Protestant Reformation: Streamlining Salvation 
You might recall from the previous chapter that during the Middle Ages (600-1450), the Roman Catholic Church was an extremely powerful force in Europe. While political power was diffused under the feudal system, and while the various European princes and political powers frequently clashed with the pope, emperors and princes knew that their power increased if the Church blessed their reign. As a consequence, the pope wielded considerable political power. 
The church was the one institution that the people of Western Europe had in common. It was a unifying force, an institution believed to be sanctioned by God. 
The church understood the power it had over the faithful. When it needed to finance its immense building projects plus pay for the huge number of Renaissance artists it kept in its employ, it began to sell indulgences. An indulgence was a piece of paper that the faithful could purchase to reduce time in purgatory (the place Roman Catholics believed they would go after death in order to be cleansed for unresolved earthly sins). Because purgatory was not a happy place to go, people greatly valued the concept of reducing their time there. Selling indulgences was not only a means of generating income but also a way for the church to maintain power over the masses. 
During this time, land-owning nobles grew increasingly resentful of the church, which had amassed an enormous amount of power and wealth and exploited a huge number of resources at the expense of the nobles. This resentment and mistrust fueled anti-church sentiments. The selling of indulgences propelled the frustration into the ranks of the peasant class and helped set the stage for confrontation. The selling of indulgences also confirmed to many the corrupt nature of the church. 
Martin Luther: Monk on a Mission 
In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 theses on a church door-a list that was distributed quickly and widely by aid of the new-fangled printing press. His list outlined his frustrations with current Church practices, including the church's practice of selling indulgences, which he said amounted to selling salvation for profit. Luther's frustrations had been building for some time. He had traveled to Rome, and was unnerved by the worldly nature of the city and the Vatican (the seat of the Catholic Church), which was in the midst of getting a Renaissance makeover-upgrades that were clearly paid for with money from churchgoers in far-away places. 
Among Luther's many complaints was his insistence that church services should be conducted in the local languages of the people, not in Latin, a language that the German people didn't understand. 
To help in this effort, he translated the Bible into German so that it could be read and interpreted by everyone, as opposed to making people dependent on the Church for biblical understanding. Luther's most significant claim was that salvation was given directly by God by faith alone, not faith and works like the Catholic Church believed.  Luther suggested that the Bible teaches that people could appeal directly to God for forgiveness for sins and salvation. This revolutionary concept significantly reduced the role of the Church as the exclusive middleman between God and man. In essence, the Church was marginalized to an aid for salvation as opposed to the grantor of salvation. 
Pope Leo X was outraged, and ordered Luther to recant. Meanwhile, Luther's ideas were spreading through much of northern Europe as the printing presses continued to roll. When Luther refused to recant, he was excommunicated. When he was allowed to address church leaders and princes at the Diet of Worms (1521), he refused to abandon his convictions. The pope called for his arrest, but a nobleman from Luther's hometown protected him, and Luther continued to write and spread his ideas. 
Christianity Splits Again 
The consequences of Luther's actions were enormous. Luther's followers began to refer to themselves as Lutherans, and began to separate themselves from the Catholic Church. What's more, other theologians began to assert their own biblical interpretations, 'some of which were consistent with Luther's; others were wildly different. Once the floodgates were opened, Luther had no control over the consequences. 
John Calvin from France led a powerful Protestant group by preaching an ideology of predestination. Calvinist doctrine stated that God had predetermined an ultimate destiny for all people, most of whom God had already damned. Only a few, he preached, would be saved, and those people were known as the Elect. Calvinist teachings spread, and were as influential to successive Protestant Reformations as were the doctrines of Luther. Calvinism, for example, greatly influenced religious development in Scotland under John Knox, and in France with the growth of the Huguenots. 
In time, the Reformation spread to England, motivated by political as well as religious reasons.  King Henry VIII did not have a son as heir to his throne and sought to abandon his wife, Catherine of Aragon, because of it. When the pope denied an annulment of the marriage, Henry VIII renounced Rome and declared himself the head of religious affairs in England. This sat well with those in England who already were becoming Protestants, but much of England remained Catholic. Nevertheless, Henry pushed forward and presided over what was called the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church. Henry VIII went on to marry five more wives and to father a son, who died young. His daughter Elizabeth, also a Protestant, rose to the throne, but more on that later when we discuss political developments in England. 
The Counter-Reformation: The Pope Reasserts His Authority 
During the Catholic Reformation (also known as the counter-reformation) of the sixteenth century, the Catholic Church itself reformed, while also succeeding in winning back some of the souls it had lost to the fledgling Protestant denominations. 
At first, the Catholic Church responded ineffectively to the new religious trends. But when Luther refused to recant and German princes started to convert to Lutheranism, the Catholic Church began to institute reforms, which were led by Spain, a dedicated Catholic country. By banning the sale of indulgences, consulting more frequently with bishops and parishes, and training its priests to live the Catholic life instead of merely preaching it, the Catholic Church regained some of its lost credibility. However, the counter-reformation was as much about reaffirming as it was about reforming, and the Church made it clear that it was not bowing to Protestant demands, but rather clarifying its position. Weekly mass became mandatory, and the supreme authority of the pope was re-established. During this time, a former Spanish soldier and intellectual, Ignatius Loyola, founded the society of Jesuits, which was influential in restoring faith in the teachings of Jesus as interpreted by the Catholic Church. The Jesuits practiced self-control and moderation, believing that prayer and good works led to salvation. The pious example of the Jesuits led to a stricter training system and higher expectations of morality for the clergy. Because of their oratorical and political skills, many Jesuits were appointed by kings to high palace positions. 
A group of church officials known as the Council of Trent presided over the counter-reform period from 1545 to 1563, dictating and defining the Catholic interpretation of religious doctrine and clarifying the Catholic Church's position on important religious questions, such as the nature of salvation. During this period, "heretics" were once again tried and punished, and the Catholic Church re-established Latin as the language to be used in worship. 
The result? The Catholic Church staged an amazing comeback from a substantial threat. The counter-reformation proved successful in containing the spread of Protestantism. By 1600, southern Europe (especially Italy, Spain, and Portugal), France, and southern Germany were heavily Catholic. Northern Germany and Scandinavia were mostly Lutheran. Scotland was Calvinist, as were pockets within central Europe and France. And England, as mentioned previously, was Anglican. The divided continent resulted in wars, of course. But more on that later. 
3. The Scientific Revolution: Prove It or lose It 
Prior to the Scientific Revolution most of the world believed, as Aristotle asserted, that Earth was the center of the universe and that the sun, stars, and planets revolved around the Earth. There certainly were numerous inconsistencies observed by scientists with regard to this theory, but most scientists continued to attempt explaining the inconsistency rather than investigating the theory itself. 
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church and the political structure reinforced the lack of scientific investigation (They wanted people in the dark). The church focused everyone's attention on salvation, while the feudal system focused everyone's attention on mundane, local concerns. In other words, the lives of the vast majority of Europeans, including the nobility, were not engaged in big-picture concepts beyond that of military conquest and eternal salvation. 
But as Europe changed dramatically due to the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, educated Europeans began to examine the world around them with new vigor. The results were revolutionary. 
The Copernican Revolution: Revolution within a Revolution 
Just as the counter-reformation was gaining momentum, Nicolaus Copernicus developed a mathematical theory that asserted that the Earth and the other celestial bodies revolved around the sun and that the Earth also rotated on its axis daily. This was pretty shocking stuff to many in the" establishment." Although most educated people had accepted the world was a sphere for centuries, even well before Columbus's voyage in 1492, the Earth's position at the center of the universe was widely accepted. Copernicus's heliocentric theory of the solar system brought about much debate, and much skepticism. In 1543, Copernicus published The Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies to prove his points, but it wasn't until Galileo that the Copernican model really took off. 
In 1632, Galileo published his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World. He wrote the work in Italian in order to reach a wider audience and hopefully defeat the defenders of Ptolemy (the system that promoted the Earth as the center of the universe). One by one, Galileo answered objections. He showed how the rotation of the Earth on its axis produced the apparent rotation of the heavens, and how the stars' great distance from the Earth prevented man from being able to see their changed position as the Earth moved around the sun. His proofs made it difficult to continue accepting the Ptolemaic model, which just so happened to be the model sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church. The church quickly summoned Galileo before the Inquisition in Rome for teaching doctrine contrary to Holy Scripture and he was forcefully compelled to recant. His book was placed on The Index, a list of banned heretical works, where astonishingly it remained until 1822. Nevertheless, while under house arrest, Galileo continued to research and document his findings. 
The Scientific Method: In Search of Truth 
Recall that during the High Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, the scholastic method of reasoning was deemed the most reliable means of determining scientific meaning. Scholasticism was based on Aristotelianism and therefore used reason as the chief method of determining truth. Sometimes reason led to heresies, other times reason was used to explain and complement faith, as was the case with Thomas Aquinas. 
The scientific method was born out of the scholastic tradition, but it took it to considerable new levels. Reason alone wasn't good enough. Under the scientific method, one had to prove what the mind concluded, document it, demonstrate it for others, and open it up to experimentation. At its highest stage, the scientific method required that any underlying principles be proven with mathematical precision. 
Copernicus and Galileo, of course, were two fathers of the scientific method, but it took more than a century for the method to be widely used. There were many contributors. Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) built an observatory and recorded his observations and Francis Bacon (1561-1626) published works on inductive logic. Both asserted that scientists should amass all the data possible through experimentation and observation and that the proper conclusions would come from these data. Then, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) developed laws of planetary motion based on observation and mathematics. Sir Isaac Newton took it one step further. In The Mathematical Principles of Natllral Philosophy (1697), he invented calculus to help prove the theories of Copernicus, Galileo, Bacon, and others. He also developed the law of gravity. Together, these men and others developed a widely used system of observation, reason, experiment, and mathematical proof that could be applied to every conceivable scientific inquiry. 
All of this led to the Industrial Revolution, which will be discussed in the next review. You need to understand that the Scientific Revolution led to a major rift in society. While many Christians were able to hold on to their beliefs even as they studied science, many also began to reject the Church's rigid pronouncements that conflicted with scientific findings. Many of these people either became atheists (believing that no god exists) or Deists (believing that God exists, but plays a passive role in life). 
Deism: God as a Watchmaker 
The Scientific Revolution contributed to a belief system known as Deism, which became popular in the 1700’s. The deists believed in a powerful god who created and presided over an orderly realm but who did not interfere in its workings. The deists viewed God as a watchmaker, one who set up the world, gave it natural laws by which to operate, and then let it run itself (under natural laws that could be proved mathematically). Such a theory has little place in organized religion. 
4. The Enlightenment: Out of the Darkness, Into the light 
While the scientists put forth revolutionary ideas, the philosophers and social critics had a revolution of their own. The Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries focused on the role of mankind in relation to government, ideas which greatly influenced the framers of the U.S. Constitution. Because the U.S. Constitution has since been a model for so many others across the globe, it's safe to say that the writers of the Enlightenment period changed the world. 
First a Little Background: Divine Right 
During the High Middle Ages and through the Renaissance and counter-reformation, the Church allied itself with strong monarchs. These monarchs came to power by centralizing authority, uniting the people under a common banner of nationalism, forming a great empire by promoting exploration and colonization (much more on this later), and ruling with absolute authority. Because the vast majority of their populations were Christian, the best way to rule absolutely was to align oneself with God. Monarchs became convinced that God had ordained their right to govern, and that meant that people had a moral and religious obligation to obey them. This concept was known as the divine right of monarchs. James I of England summed it up this way: "The king is from God and the law is from the King." His statement made it pretty clear that an illegal act was an ungodly act. 
Because the pope also claimed to be ordained by God, the question of ultimate authority became very confusing indeed. During the Reformation, monarchs who resented the power of the Church supported the reformists (Luther, Calvin, and others). Other monarchs, particularly in Spain and France, allied themselves with the Church during the counter-reformation. In both cases, monarchs claimed to have divine right. Divine right could be used to support either position because the bottom line was that God supported whatever the monarchs chose. 
The Social Contract: Power to the People 
During the seventeenth century, philosophers and intellectuals began to grapple with the nature of social and political structures, and the idea of the social contract emerged. The social contract held that governments were formed not by divine decree, but to meet the social and economic needs of the governed. Philosophers reasoned that because individuals existed before governments did, governments arose to meet the needs of the people, not the other way around. Still, because different philosophers looked at human nature differently, they disagreed about the role of government in the social contract. 
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), who wrote Leviathan, thought that people by nature were greedy and prone to violent warfare. Accordingly, he believed the role of the government under the social contract should be to preserve peace and stability at all costs. Hobbes therefore advocated an all-powerful ruler, or Leviathan, who would rule in such a heavy-handed way as to suppress the natural war-like tendencies of the people. 
John Locke (1632-1704), who wrote Two Treatises on Government, had a more optimistic view of human nature, believing that mankind, for the most part, was good.  Locke believed that all men were born equal to one another and had natural and unalienable rights to life, liberty, and property. Since mankind was good and rational, and thus capable of self-rule, Locke believed the primary responsibility of the government under the social contract was to secure and guarantee these natural rights. If, however, the government ever violated this trust, thus breaking the social contract, the people were justified in revolting and replacing the government. 
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) took the social contract theory to its furthest extreme, arguing that all men were equal and that society should be organized according to the general will, or majority rule, of the people, an idea he outlined in his famous work The Social Contract (1762). He argues the essence of freedom is to obey laws that people prescribe for themselves. Needless to say, Rousseau's beliefs not only had a tremendous effect on revolutionary movements in the colonies of the European empires, but also inspired the anti-slavery movement. 
In addition to philosophers, there were many Enlightenment writers. Voltaire espoused the idea of religious toleration. Montesquieu argued for separation of powers among branches of government. In all cases, Enlightenment writers didn't presume that government had divine authority, but instead worked backward from the individual and proposed governmental systems that would best serve the interest of the people by protecting individual rights and liberties. 
While the real fruits of the Enlightenment were the revolutionary movements in the colonies and later in Europe, the new political ideas had an effect on the leadership of some eighteenth-century European monarchs. The ideals of tolerance, justice, and improvement of people's lots in life became guidelines for rulers known as Enlightened Monarchs. 
B. EUROPEAN EXPLORATION AND EXPANSION 
Exploration before the late fifteenth century was largely limited to land travel. Ships were used on the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean trade routes for centuries, but they were linked up to land routes through Persia, Arabia, northern Africa, or central Asia on the Silk Road. 
The increase in European trade encouraged a search for new, efficient trade routes on the seas. Portugal led the way because it was strategically situated near the coast of Africa, had long-standing trade relations with Muslim nations, and, most important of all, was led by a royal family that supported exploration (the head of the royal family was known as Prince Henry the Navigator). In 1497, Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, explored the east African kingdoms, and then went all the way to India, where he established trade relations. 
Shortly thereafter, Spain, which had recently been unified under Isabella and Ferdinand, wanted in on the action. As you well know, in 1492 Christopher Columbus convinced them to finance a voyage to reach the east by going west. Columbus thought that China and India were located where the American continents are. He sailed, found Cuba and the islands that came to be known as the West Indies, and the exploration of the Americas was underway. 
By 1494, Portugal and Spain were already fighting over land in the newly found Americas. To resolve their differences, the two countries drew up the Treaty of Tordesillas, which established a line of demarcation on a longitudinal line that runs through the western Atlantic Ocean. They agreed that everything to the east of the line belonged to Portugal; everything to the west belonged to Spain. The western side was enormous (they had no idea how enormous at the time) so Spain became a mega-power quickly. Brazil happened to lie to the east of the line, which is why modern-day Brazilians speak Portuguese instead of Spanish. 
Soon, England, the Netherlands, and France launched their own expeditions. These seafaring nations competed with each other by rapidly acquiring colonies and conquering new lands. The cost and risk associated with these explorations made it necessary for explorers to rely on the backing of strong and wealthy states. Colonialism and the expansion of the trade routes contributed to the rise in nationalism and the development of strong monarchies. 

Early Routes:  1) Hudson 2) Columbus 3) Magellan 4) daGama

European Exploration in the Early Sixteenth Century 
A quick list of other explorers: 
•	Amerigo Vespucci-He explored South America on several trips around 1500; realized that the Continent was huge and not part of Asia; America was named for him. 
•	Ponce de Leon-In 1513, he explored Florida for Spain in search of the fountain of youth. 
•	Vasco de Balboa-In 1513, he explored much of Central America for Spain; laid sight on the Pacific Ocean. 
•	Ferdinand Magellan-In 1519, he sailed around the tip of South America to the Pacific Ocean for Portugal. He made it as far as the Philippines, where he died; his crew continued, however, and became the first to circumnavigate the globe. 
•	Giovanni da Verrazano-In 1524, he explored the North American coast for France. 
•	Henry Hudson-In 1609, he sailed for the Dutch looking for a northwest passage to Asia; explored the Hudson River and made claims to the area for the Dutch. 
And Now a Word from Our Sponsors 
Why, all of a sudden, were so many explorers sailing around the globe? Why didn't this happen sooner? In the late fifteenth century, innovation was combined with determination to apply new technologies to political and economic goals. In addition to advanced mapmaking techniques, the Age of Exploration was brought to you by the following fine products: 
•	The Stem post Rudder-Invented in China during the Han Dynasty, the sternpost rudder allowed for better navigation and control of ships of increasing size. How did it end up in the hands of the Europeans? Trade, of course. 
•	Lateen Sails-These sails allowed ships to sail in any direction regardless of the wind. This was a huge improvement to ships that were dependent on the wind, especially in the Indian Ocean waters, where monsoons kept ships docked for long periods of time. Once these sails were used regularly on the Indian Ocean routes, they quickly became standard on transatlantic voyages. 
•	The Astrolabe-Sailors used this portable navigation device to help them find their way. By measuring the distance of the sun and the stars above the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine latitude. 
•	The Magnetic Compass-Borrowed from the Chinese, through trade with Arabs, the magnetic compass allowed sailors to determine direction without staying in sight of land. 
•	Three-Masted Caravels-These large ships employed significantly larger sails and could hold provisions for longer journeys in their large cargo rooms. 
To be sure, many of these inventions existed prior to the fifteenth century, but so much of history is about timing. In the late fifteenth century, these inventions had converged on one continent, a continent that was fiercely competitive about trade routes, newly wealthy, increasingly organized under strong leaders, and racing with the innovation and imagination of the Renaissance. 
The New World: Accidental Empire 
Although Columbus failed to locate gold or spices in the Americas, the next generation of Spanish explorers found great wealth in the Aztec and Inca Empires. 
In 1519, Hernan Cortes landed on the coast of Mexico with a small force of 600 men. He found himself at the heart of the Aztec Empire, which you read about in the previous chapter. As you might recall, the Aztecs used the conquest of neighboring communities to secure humans for religious sacrifices. These neighboring states loathed the Aztecs, and were more than willing to cooperate with the Spaniards. 
Cortes, aided and guided by the resentful neighbors, first approached the magnificent Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan on horseback. Horses were completely unknown in America (and in fact were introduced to the continent by Spanish conquistadores). Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, mistook Cortes for a god. He sent a gift of gold to appease this new deity, but unfortunately for the Aztecs, this offering only whetted the appetite of the new conquerors. Since the Spaniard’s sole motivation for exploring the New World was to acquire gold and spices, the Spanish didn't hesitate to seize Montezuma and begin a siege of Tenochtitlan. 
Disease: The Ultimate Weapon of Mass Destruction 
Although the Aztecs resisted the occupation and fought to free their leader, the Spanish had incredibly powerful weapons on their side: namely, diseases such as small pox. These diseases were completely new to the Americas, and quickly decimated the Aztec population, which had no resistance to them. The combination of disease, superior weapons, and assistance from Aztec enemies reduced the native population of the region from well over 20 million in 1520 to fewer than 2 million by 1580. Because so many of the deaths occurred in the first few years, the Spaniards were able to seize control of the empire by around 1525. 
A similar fate met the Inca Empire. In 1531, Francisco Pizarro set out in search of the Incas with a tiny force of 200 men. Disease, superior weapons, and help from enemies quickly destroyed what little resistance the Incas could mount. By 1535, Pizarro was in control of the region. 
The Encomienda System: American Feudalism (long, but important)
Once Spain established a foothold in the New World, thousands of Spaniards arrived to build a new colonial empire. The colonial society was a hierarchical organization. At the top were the peninsulares, the select group of Spanish officials sent to govern the colonies. Below them, the crillos or creoles, were people born in the colonies to Spanish parents. Because they weren't born in Spain, they were looked down upon by the Spanish monarchy and were consequently barred from high positions. Yet, because they were the children of Spaniards, the creoles were educated and wealthy, and after many generations, they were able to organize and demand recognition. They later became the leaders of the independence movements. Below the creoles were mestizos, those with European and Native American ancestry, followed by the mulattos, those with European and African ancestry. Finally, there were the Native Americans, who had little or no freedom and worked on estates or in mines. 
To run the empire of New Spain, they established the Encomienda System, which was sort of like a feudal system. The system provided the peninsulares with land and a specified number of native laborers. In return, the peninsulares were expected to protect the natives and convert them to Christianity. Shocked at the treatment of some of the natives, Christian missionaries appealed to the viceroys, to the emperor, and to the Catholic Church to improve this harsh treatment. Some in the empire agreed that reform was needed, but disastrously the reform that was viewed as most important was the need for more workers. They agreed to reduce the strain on the natives by bringing in new workers for the hardest jobs. Those new workers were African slaves. Not only was this a cruel and ironic way to solve the problem (relieve the burden on one group of victims by creating a second group), it ended up not improving the lot of the natives. Within a few decades, both slaves and natives were at the bottom of the social structure, and neither had significant rights. 
The African Slave Trade: The Love of Money at the Root of Evil 
In the mid-fifteenth century, the Portuguese captured slaves while exploring the coasts of Africa. When the plantations of the New World demanded more labor, the money-hungry empire builders knew where to go to get it for free. And so began the largest forced migration of people in history that would forever change the fate of millions of lives and the history of the New World. 
Some African rulers cooperated with the slave trade, while many protested. Regardless of cooperation, however, European traders were determined, and the slave trade increased and expanded. Africans were rounded up, forced onto ships, chained together, taken below deck, and forced to endure the Middle Passage to the Americas. Along the way, some suffocated from the hot, unventilated conditions below deck, others starved, and still others were killed when they attempted revolts. For those that made it, they were taken to the auction blocks, sold into slavery, and forced to work the sugar or coffee plantations or the mines until their deaths, as were their children, as were their children's children. 
The Columbian Exchange: Continental Shift 
One consequence of the Spanish and Portuguese empires in the new world was what became known as the Columbian Exchange. New foods, disease, animals, weapons, people and resources were transferred between Europe and the Americas, resulting in massive changes for both regions. From the European and African side of the Atlantic, horses, pigs, goats, chili peppers, and sugar cane flowed to the Americas. From the American side, squash, beans, corn, potatoes, and cacao journeyed eastward. Never before had so much been moved across the oceans. Ship after ship carried the contents of one continent to another. 
The Commercial Revolution: The New Economy 
The trading, empire building, and conquest of the Age of Exploration was made possible by new financing schemes that now form the basis of our modern economies. Lots of elements had to come together at once for the new economy to work, but timing again was on the side of the Europeans, and everything fell into place. 
First, the church gave in to state interests by revising its strict ban on what are now standard business practices, like lending money and charging interest on loans. Once banking became respectable, a new business structure emerged: the joint-stock company, an organization created to pool the resources of many merchants, thereby reducing the costs and risks of colonization. Investors bought shares, or stock in the company. If the company made money, each investor would receive a profit proportional to his or her initial investment. Because huge new ships were able to carry unprecedented cargoes, and because the goods were often outright stolen from their native countries, successful voyages reaped huge profits. A substantial middle class of merchants continued to develop, which in turn attracted more investors, and the modern-day concept of a stock market was well under way. 
These corporations later secured royal charters for colonies, like the Dutch East India Company controlled routes to the Spice Islands (modern-day Indonesia). 
The theory of mercantilism became popular, a country actively sought to trade, but tried not to import more than it exported; that is, it attempted to create a favorable balance of trade. Of course, one country's surplus had to be met with another country's deficit. To resolve this dilemma, European countries were feverish to colonize. Colonies gave the mother country resources (not considered imports because the mother country "owned" them), while creating new markets for exports. 
It shouldn't be surprising that mercantilism fostered resentment in colonies. The colonial resources were shipped back to Europe while the colonists were forced to pay for products from Europe. Add taxes, and you've got major resentment. You already know that the American Revolution was in part started because of colonial fury over this arrangement. One-by-one, beginning with the American Revolution, European colonies revolted against the abuses by the unforgiving mercantilist economies of the European powers. 

Oh Yeah ... Remember Asia? 
Recall that the original Portuguese explorers were trying to figure out a short cut to India and China. The real Asian colonization didn't get rolling until the nineteenth century, so that will be covered in the next chapter. During the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, however, the Europeans managed to establish trade with the Asian empires, although it was more limited than they would have liked. 
As for China and Japan, both empires severely limited trade with the Europeans. Throughout this time period, the two Asian empires couldn't have been more unlike their European counterparts. They were highly isolationist. Not only did they not go out and try to find the rest of the world, they also pushed the rest of the world away when it came to find them. 
V. PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER 
If you think about the Age of Exploration, "exploration" has lots of connotations. Of course, the most obvious is that it involved European exploration of the Americas, and the beginnings of direct contact with Asia. But more than that, the European exploration was also internal. In the Renaissance, Europe explored its own lost history. During the Protestant Reformation Europe explored its relationship with God. During the Scientific Revolution Europe explored the universe and the laws by which the universe functioned. During the Enlightenment Europe explored rights of man and the appropriate role of government, even as its empire depended on slavery. And during the Commercial Revolution, Europe explored its potential. 
Combined, these explorations were going in all directions: outward, upward, inward, backward to the past, forward to the future-and it was all going on simultaneously. If you're confused by the developments, you should be. It's hard to figure out which movements in which combination impacted which events. Historians haven't sorted it out either. It's open to debate. 
What we can say is this: During the time period discussed in the review, Europe was where the energy was. There was so much change, for so many reasons, that the boundaries of the continent literally couldn't contain it. Unlike China and Japan, which largely looked inward, and unlike the Islamic world, which didn't take to the seas or radically shake up religious and social orders, Europeans, at this particular time in history, were dynamic. They were analyzing everything and they were full of inconsistencies. Other civilizations at other times in history had at least as much energy and unrest, but because the Europeans had the technology, the political motivation, and the financial structure, they were able to quickly explode onto the world scene. Add to it the evangelical nature of Christianity (an explicit desire to convert the world) and it's clear that the desire for expansion ran deep. 
Some would say that European monarchs ruled absolutely during this time period and adopted a controlling, ethnocentric attitude with regard to the cultures they dominated. Perhaps this was precisely because Europe was in such cultural chaos itself. Who knows? We'll leave that to your further studies. In any case, it's hard to deny that even as Europeans explored their own history, culture, and structures to unprecedented degrees, they had little trouble marginalizing the complexities of others. 
WHAT ABOUT THE NON-EUROPEAN CULTURES? WHY WAS THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE WEST SO VARIED? 
There are lots of ways to answer these questions, but we'll get you started. China and Japan were both highly organized & confident civilizations. The effects of Europeans on their shores were modest. Because the Japanese and Chinese wanted desperately to preserve their own cultures, and because they had the power and sophistication to keep the Europeans, for the moment, at bay, that's precisely what they did. Why didn't the others? 
In Africa, the societies were fragmented. No centralized power existed, so the Europeans were harder to fend off. What's more, the Europeans weren't initially obsessed with penetrating the entire continent. Since they didn't have to overtake entire civilizations to achieve their goals, they were able to trade goods and abduct individuals one-by-one, with little concern for long-term impact on the continent. 
In the Americas, of course, the civilizations were quickly overwhelmed by European technology and disease. And in the Ottoman Empire and Arabia, the interaction was somewhat limited because the Europeans weren't as dependent on the overland routes in their efforts to trade with India and China. This diminished the importance of the Middle East to the Europeans. What's more, because the Crusades ended unsuccessfully for the Europeans, trade with the Muslims was important but conquest of the region was off the radar. 
FINALLY, WHAT ABOUT THE GLOBAL ECONOMY? HOW DID IT CHANGE? 
In short, sailing, mercantilism, and private investment changed the global economy. In a few more words: Improvements in sailing diminished the need for the Asian land routes and connected the world like never before. Mercantilism and its dependence on the establishment of imperialism married economic and political developments. And the establishment of joint-stock companies took major economic motivation out of the hands of governments and put it into the hands of the private sector. This meant that now thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people had a direct stake in trade routes and conquest. Because the benefits of economic prosperity were diffused among a larger group of individuals than ever before, governments began to lose their grip on controlling their own economies. 

DEVELOPMENTS IN SPECIFIC COUNTRIES AND EMPIRES FROM 1450-1750 
THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF EVERYTHING ABOVE BY COUNTRY…
Give it a good once over. Don’t memorize this stuff, just read it and think about in the context of this time period. Since it wasn’t covered very well…check out the Ottoman Empire & India.
It's dangerous to presume that because the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Exploration eventually had enormous consequences that they did so quickly, broadly, or in equal proportions. In reality, these major movements impacted different parts of Europe at different times and took a long time to penetrate into all circles of society. Most people with power jealously guarded it, regardless of the intellectual or religious movements that brought their power into question. What's more, most of the peasant class didn't participate in the intellectual, scientific, or commercial developments because they weren't educated or in a position to be immediately impacted by the consequences. 
Outside of Europe, the major developments of the time period also had widely varying consequences. In the previous review, we discussed the consequences on the Americas and on much of Africa. The empires of Asia, too, had unique experiences, which are discussed in detail below. As you review the developments in the European empires, keep in mind that most nations were led by monarchies, or sovereigns, who felt that the right to govern was ordained by God. Under this idea of divine right, it was essential for royal families to retain pure bloodlines to God, so intermarriage among royal families of different nations was common. Thus, the monarchies of one country also gained international influence as the ties of marriage and inheritance led to alliances. 
Monarchies also contributed to the development of strong national loyalties, which led to many conflicts, internally and externally. The European wars of this time fall into three categories: religious fights between Protestants and Catholics, internal civil wars between a monarch and disgruntled nobles, and battles stemming from the trade disputes between rival nations. In the beginning of this era, Spain became the world's strongest nation with a powerful naval fleet and an extensive empire. As the balance of power in Europe shifted, the rival nations of England and France emerged as great powers. 
A. SPAIN 
As you read in the previous section, in 1469, King Ferdinand, from the Christian Kingdoms in northern Spain, and Queen Isabella, from the more Muslim regions of southern Spain, initiated the consolidation of Spanish authority under one house, and thereby created a nation-state that would become one of the world's most powerful over the next century. By aggressively supporting exploration (initially by underwriting Columbus's exploration and then later by establishing empires in the New World) Ferdinand and Isabella had a long-term impact on cultural world developments-they ensured the survival and expansion of the Spanish language and culture, including Roman Catholicism, by extending them across the Atlantic. Ferdinand and Isabella also built a formidable naval fleet, allowing Spain to rule the seas for the next century. The international importance of Spain grew under Charles V, who inherited a large empire. 
Charles was a Hapsburg, a family that originated in Austria and, through a series of carefully arranged marriages (recall that divine right promoted intermarriage among royalty), created a huge empire stretching from Austria and Germany to Spain. While one set of Charles's grandparents were Hapsburgs, his other grandparents were Ferdinand and Isabella, who themselves had married to solidify the Spanish empire. Talk about family connections. 
Anyway, in 1519, Charles was elected Holy Roman Emperor by German princes, which meant that he then held lands in parts of France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany in addition to Spain. These possessions, plus the new colonies in the Americas, brought wars as well as riches. Spain fought France for control of Italy and the Ottoman Turks for control of eastern Europe, which led to an expansion of Ottoman rule into much of Hungary (more on that later). In Germany, Charles defended Catholicism from the encroachment of Protestantism (recall that Spain was allied with the Catholic Church during the counter-reformation). Frustrated over trying to manage such an enormous empire at a time of expansion in the New World and revolution in Europe (the Protestant Reformation and Scientific Revolution, for example), he decided in 1556 to retire to a monastery and thereby abdicate the throne. He gave control to his brother, Ferdinand I, over Austria and the Holy Roman throne of Germany. To his son, Philip II, he conferred the throne of Spain and jurisdiction over Burgundy (in France), Sicily, and the Netherlands as well as Spain's claim in the New World. We'll talk more about Ferdinand's half of the empire later in this chapter. 
Under Philip II, the Spanish Empire in the west saw some of its greatest expansion in the New World and a rebirth of culture under the Spanish Renaissance, but it also started showing signs of decay. A devoutly religious man, Philip oversaw the continuation of the Spanish Inquisition to oust heretics, led the Catholic Reformation against Protestants, and supported an increase in missionary work in the ever-expanding empire in the New World. Increasingly Protestant and increasingly eager to develop their own empire, the Dutch (of the Netherlands) revolted. By 1581, the mostly protestant northern provinces of the Netherlands gained their independence from Spain and became known as the Dutch Netherlands. The mostly Catholic southern provinces remained loyal to Spain (this region would later become Belgium). 
Exhibiting further signs of weakness, Spanish forces fighting for Catholicism in France fared poorly, and to the shock of many Spaniards, the English defeated and devastated the once mighty Spanish Armada as it tried to attack the British Isles. The defeat invigorated the English, who by the late sixteenth century were expanding their own empire, and signaled containment of Spain. 
Although Spain amassed enormous sums of gold from the New World, it spent it just as quickly on wars, missionary activities, and maintenance of its huge fleets. By the mid-seventeenth century, Spain still had substantial holdings, but its glory days had passed. England and France were well poised to replace it as the dominant European powers. 
B. ENGLAND 
As you read above in the discussion regarding the Protestant Reformation, King Henry VIII, who ruled from 1509 to 1547, nullified the pope's authority in England, thereby establishing (under the Act of Supremacy) the Church of England and himself as head of that church, so that he could divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn in an effort to father a male heir. He didn't succeed in getting a male heir. Instead, he got another daughter, Elizabeth, who oversaw a golden age in the arts known as the Elizabethan Age. 
The Elizabethan Age (1558-1603) boasted commercial expansion and exploration and colonization in the New World, especially after the English fleet destroyed the Spanish Armada in 1588. During this time, the Muscovy Company was founded as the first joint stock company, and the British East India Company quickly followed suit. Drake circumnavigated the globe. The first English colonists settled in Roanoke colony in present-day Virginia. And to top it all off, Shakespeare wrote his masterpieces. Simply put, England under Elizabeth experienced a golden age. 
The religious battles that were unleashed by the Protestant Reformation still unsettled the region. Anglicans (Church of England) were battling Catholics, while other Protestant groups such as the Puritans were regularly persecuted. When James I came to power in 1607 after the death of Elizabeth, a reign that brought together the crowns of England and Scotland, he attempted to institute reforms to accommodate the Catholics and the Puritans, but widespread problems persisted. The Puritans (who were Calvinists) didn't want to recognize the power of the king over religious matters, and James reacted defensively, claiming divine right. It was at this point that many Puritans decided to cross the Atlantic. The Pilgrims cross to the Plymouth Rock colony (1620) occurred during James's reign. Jamestown colony, as you might have guessed, was also founded during the reign of James I. The English aren't known for their innovative place names. 
Charles I, son of James, rose to power in 1625. Three years later, desperate for money from Parliament, he agreed to sign the Petition of Right, which was a document limiting taxes and forbidding unlawful imprisonment. But Charles ignored the petition after he secured the funds he needed and, claiming divine right, ruled without calling another meeting of parliament for eleven years. 
In 1640, when Scotland's resentment toward Charles resulted in a Scottish invasion of England, Charles was forced to call Parliament into session. Led by Puritans, this Parliament was known as the Long Parliament because it sat for twenty years from 1640 through 1660. The Long Parliament limited the absolute powers of the monarchy. In 1641, the parliament denied Charles's request for money to fight the Irish rebellion, and in response he led troops into the House of Commons to arrest some of the members. This sparked a civil war. Parliament raised an army, called the Roundheads, to fight the king. The Roundheads, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, defeated the armies of Charles I, who were called Cavaliers. The king was tried and executed. Oliver Cromwell rose to power, not as a monarch, but as Lord Protector of what was called the English Commonwealth. 
When Cromwell ruled as Protector, he ruled with religious intolerance and violence against Catholics and the Irish. He encouraged Protestants to settle in Northern Ireland (this would cause lots of problems in future centuries). All of this caused much resentment, and after Cromwell died, Parliament invited Charles II, the exiled son of the now beheaded Charles I, to take the throne and restore a limited monarchy. This is called the Stuart Restoration (1660-1688). A closet Catholic, Charles II acknowledged the rights of the people, especially with regard to religion. In 1679, he agreed to the Habeas Corpus Act (which protects people from arrests without due process). Following Charles II's death, his brother James II took over. 
James II was openly Catholic, and he was unpopular. Like so many before him, he believed in the divine right of kings. In a bloodless change of leadership known as the Glorious Revolution, he was driven from power by Parliament, who feared he'd make England a Catholic country, and he fled to France. He was replaced in 1688 by his son-in-law and daughter, William and Mary, the Protestant rulers of the Netherlands, who promptly signed the English Bill of Rights in 1689. The Glorious Revolution ensured that England's future monarchs would be Anglican, and their powers would be limited. 
C. FRANCE 
After the Hundred Years' War (1337-1443) drove the English from France, the French began to unify and centralize authority in a strong monarchy. But, as elsewhere, religious differences stood in the way. France was largely Catholic, but during the Protestant Reformation, a group of French Protestants, known as Huguenots, developed into a sizeable and influential minority. Throughout the mid- to late sixteenth century, Catholics and Huguenots bitterly fought each other, sometimes brutally, until, in 1598, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, which created an environment of toleration. Henry IV was the first Bourbon king. The Bourbon's ruled France until 1792, nearly two centuries. 
Louis XIV was four years old when he inherited the crown of France. His mother and Cardinal Mazarin ruled in his name until he reached adulthood, at which time he became one of the most legendary monarchs of European history. Louis XlV's long reign (1643-1715) exemplified the grandiose whims of an absolute monarchy. Calling himself the "Sun King" and "The Most Christian King," he patronized the arts as long as they contributed to the glorification of France and its culture, which became much admired and emulated. Ruling under divine right, he boldly asserted, "I am the State," and he built the lavish Palace of Versailles to prove it. He never summoned the Estates-General, the lawmaking body, to meet. He revoked the Edict of Nantes, forcing many Huguenots to leave France. 
Recall that European royalty was intermarrying and producing. It turned out that the twisted branches of the royal family trees led to a situation in which, in 1701, one of Louis XIV's grandsons inherited the Spanish throne. This alarmed the rest of Europe, who feared that Spain, although substantially weaker than it had been in the previous century, and France, already quite powerful, would form an unstoppable combo-power, especially given their American holdings at the time (France owned a huge chunk of North America, Spain the bulk of Central and South America). It's a complicated story, but England, the Holy Roman Empire, and German princes all united under the perceived common threat, and thirteen years later, the question of Spanish succession was settled. Philip V, the grandson, was able to rule Spain, but Spain couldn't combine with France, and France had to give up a bunch of its territory, mostly to England, a country that then became even more powerful. 
So the bottom line is that Louis XIV's many territorial invasions and wars proved costly and ineffective. France indeed remained powerful, but by the eighteenth century its position as a military power was weakening. Nevertheless, by 1750, its position as a center of the arts was firmly established. 
D. GERMAN AREAS (THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, SORT OF) 
The situation in German and Slavic areas of central Europe during this time period was complicated. The Holy Roman Empire wasn't really in Rome but rather in present-day Austria and Germany and surrounding regions because Italy was controlled by ruling families in the Italian city-states. The Holy Roman Empire geographically dominated the region, but was also still very feudal with lots of local lords running their own shows. Therefore, the Holy Roman emperor was pretty weak. This is further complicated by the rise of the powerful Hapsburg family of Austria, which, as we already stated, kept intermarrying so that it dominated not only substantial territory within the Holy Roman Empire but also Spain and parts of Italy. It was complicated even more by the fact that northern Germany was essentially a collection of city-states, such as Brandenburg, Saxony, and Prussia. Finally, remember that northern Germany went solidly Lutheran during the Protestant Reformation, while southern areas of the Holy Roman Empire stayed Catholic, along with Spain and France. Got it? It's nutty, so we're only going to hit the highlights, or else your head will be spinning. 
The three things that you need to grasp from this time period are that (1) The Holy Roman Empire lost parts of Hungary to the Ottoman Turks in the early sixteenth century (this is discussed in the section on the Ottoman Empire), (2) The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) devastated the region and significantly weakened the role of the Holy Roman emperors, which in the nineteenth century would finally lead to the rise of nation-states in the region, and (3) By the eighteenth century, the northern German city-states, especially Prussia, were gaining momentum and power. Now for a few of the details:
RELIGIOUS DIVISIONS About 1550 

Religious Divisions Around 1550 
In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg was intended to bring an end to the constant conflicts between Catholics and Protestants that ·engulfed the region during the Reformation and counter-reformation. The peace didn't last. The Thirty Years' War (again Protestant vs. Catholic) began in 1618 when the Protestant territories in Bohemia (which was under the rule of the Catholic Hapsburg clan) challenged the authority of the Holy Roman Catholic emperor, a situation that frequently arose prior to the Peace of Augsburg. This time, though, the conflict grew bigger than anything before it, and developed into a huge religious war, as well as a major political war. Everyone seemed to want a piece of the action, including other countries, like France (under Richelieu), Denmark, and Sweden. Although this grew into a war between major European powers, actual fighting stayed within the German empire, which meant that after 30 years of fighting, many parts of Germany were left depopulated and devastated. Some estimates suggest that the Holy Roman Empire lost one-third of its population during these 30 years, some 7 million people. 
When the Peace of Westphalia was negotiated in 1648, the independence of small German states was affirmed, and Prussia became the strongest of them. The Holy Roman Empire was left barely limping along. Its territories had been reduced and its emperor, along with the Hapsburg family, was much less powerful. Somehow the Holy Roman Empire survived until 1806, but it hardly had any power after Westphalia. 
The biggest beneficiary of the war was France. It became the most powerful country in Europe during the seventeenth century under Louis XIV, although, as you already read, by the eighteenth century it was weakened after the country overspent and overplayed its hand, particularly during the War of Spanish Succession. The other beneficiary was Prussia, a German city-state centered in Berlin, which also controlled parts of Poland. Prussia eventually rose to dominate the German territories, unifying them into the powerful country of Germany, but you'll read about that in the next chapter. 
E. THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 
The history of the Ottoman Empire actually extends before 1450 (the artificial boundary of this chapter). You might recall from the previous chapter that the territories of the former Islamic Empire were overrun by the ever-present Mongols in the thirteenth century. Recall also that the Byzantine Empire, centered in Constantinople, controlled most of Turkey and influenced southeastern Europe and Russia. As the Mongol Empire fell, the Muslim Ottoman Empire rose in Anatolia (eastern parts of Turkey) to unify the region and challenge the Byzantine Empire. As it grew in the fourteenth century, the Turks (as the Ottomans were called) came to dominate most of modern-day Turkey and eventually, in 1453, invaded Constantinople, thereby ending the Byzantine Empire. So perhaps 1450 isn't such an artificial boundary after all. 
The Ottomans made Constantinople their capital city, renamed it Istanbul and converted the great cathedrals, such as the Hagia Sophia, into mosques. In the expanding empire, Christians and Jews were allowed to practice their religions, making the empire one of the more tolerant of the time. Within a hundred years, the Ottomans conquered most of the regions previously held by the ancient Roman Empire, except for Italy westward. In other words, the Ottoman Empire extended from Greece eastward to Persia, and then all the way around the Mediterranean into Egypt and northern Africa. 
As the empire grew, so too did religious persecution. To conquer large territories, the Ottomans enslaved children of their Christian subjects and turned them into fighting warriors, known as Janissaries. Much of this expansion occurred during the reign of Selim I, who came to power in 1512. Significantly, Selim claimed that he was the rightful heir to Islamic tradition under the Arab caliphs. With that claim, and with such a huge empire, Istanbul (old Constantinople) became the center of Islamic civilization. 
Just eight years later, Suleiman I (a.k.a. Suleiman the Magnificent) rose to power. He not only built up the Ottoman military, but also actively encouraged the development of the arts. For this reason, the Ottoman Empire experienced a golden age under his reign, which lasted from 1520 until 1566. During this time, the Ottomans tried to push into Europe through Hungary. You already read that the Holy Roman Empire was weakening during the Protestant Reformation. The Ottoman's took advantage of this weakness; after taking parts of Hungary, the Turks made a move into Austria. In 1529, the empire laid siege to Vienna, a significant European cultural center. Had the Turks successfully taken Vienna, who knows what the history of Western Europe would have been. From Vienna, the Turks could have easily poured into the unstable lands of the Holy Roman Empire. But it wasn't meant to be. Vienna was as far as the Turks ever got. Although Austrian princes and the Ottomans battled continually for the next century, the Ottomans were never able to expand much beyond the European territories of Byzantine influence. 
Still, the Ottoman Empire lasted until 1922, making it one of the world's most significant empires. In that time, it greatly expanded the reach of Islam, while also keeping Eastern Europe in a constant state of flux. This allowed the powers of Western Europe to dominate, and once they started exploring the oceans, they were able to circumvent their eastern neighbors and trade directly with India, China, and their American colonies. 
F. RUSSIA 
When the Turks conquered Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire fell, the center of Orthodox Christianity moved northward to Moscow, which was called the "Third Rome" (after Rome itself and then Constantinople). At around the same time, Russian leaders were overthrowing the Mongols. In 1480, Ivan III of Moscow refused to pay tribute to the Mongols and declared Russia free of Mongol rule. He, and later his grandson Ivan IV, established absolute rule in Russia, uniting it and expanding it ever eastward. They recruited peasants and offered them freedom from their feudal lords if they agreed to settle in new lands to the east. The catch was that these peasants had to conquer the land themselves! Known as Cossacks, these peasant-soldiers expanded Russian territories in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries well into Siberia and southward to the Caspian Sea. 
Ivan IV was such a strong leader and held such absolute power that he became known as Ivan the Terrible (because he whacked any strong noble). Taking on the title of czar (Russian for "Caesar"), Ivan the Terrible expanded Russia's holding, but not without cost to the Russian people. By the 1560s, he ruled under a reign of terror, regularly executing anyone whom he perceived as a threat to his power, including his own son (executed in 1580). 
After the death of Ivan IV in 1584, Russia's feudal lords continually battled over who should rule the empire. The situation grew especially messy from 1604 to 1613, a period that historians refer to as the Time of Troubles, because one pretender to the throne would be killed by another pretender and yet another. In 1613, the madness subsided when Michael Romanov was elected czar by the feudal lords. The Romanov Dynasty added stability to the empire. It ruled until 1917. 
Like the Ivans, the Romanovs consolidated power and often ruled ruthlessly. The peasants, now serfs, were practically slaves. By the late 1600s, the Romanovs had expanded the empire, with the help of the Cossacks, eastward through Siberia. By 1689, Russian territory spread from the Ukraine (west of Moscow) to the Pacific Ocean, north of Manchuria. 
At around this same time, Peter the Great, who ruled from 1682 through 1725, came to power. He was convinced he needed to westernize Russia. He built Russia's first navy and founded St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea as his new capital. The "window to the west," St. Petersburg became the home to hundreds of western European engineers, scientists, architects, and artists who were recruited specifically to westernize Russia. Women of the nobility were forced to dress in western fashions. Men were forced to shave their beards. Most of the hard labor of building the great new city was accomplished, of course, by serfs turned slaves. 
Under Catherine the Great, who ruled from 1762 until 1796, more enlightened policies of education and western culture were implemented. Still, Russia suffered because Catherine fiercely enforced repressive serfdom and limited the growth of the merchant class. Catherine continued the aggressive westward territorial expansion, gaining ground in Poland and, most significantly, territory on the Black Sea. This ensured Russia's access to the Mediterranean to its south and west. 
G. INDIA 
Remember the Mongols? In 1526, Babur, a leader who claimed to be descended from Genghis Khan but was very much Muslim, invaded northern India and quickly defeated the Delhi Sultanate (also Muslim). Babur quickly established a new empire, known as the Mughal Empire, which dominated the Indian subcontinent for the next 300 years. 
The Mughal Empire was distinctive for several reasons. First, within about 150 years, it had united almost the entire subcontinent, something that hadn't previously been done to the same extent. Recall that northern India experienced a series of invasions and empires, many of which you reviewed in previous chapters. The same was not true of southern India. The Deccan Plateau in southern India had remained mostly isolated. It was there that Hinduism became very firmly established. 
Babur's grandson, Akbar, who ruled from 1556 to 1605, was able to unify much of India by governing under a policy of religious toleration. He allowed Hinduism and Islam to be practiced openly. He eliminated the head tax on Hindus that had been a source of great anger to the people, and tried to improve the position of women by attempting to eliminate sati, the practice in which high-caste Hindu women would throw themselves onto their husbands' funeral pyres. He even married a Hindu woman, and welcomed Hindus into government positions. For nearly 100 years, Hindus and Muslims increasingly lived side-by-side and, consequently, became more geographically mixed. The result was a golden age of art, architecture, and thought. Under Shah Jahan, Akbar's grandson, the Taj Mahal was built. However, after Akbar, two developments forever changed India. The first was that religious toleration ended. The Muslim government reinstated the head tax on Hindus; Hindu temples were destroyed. The consequences of this development were significant for later centuries, but for the moment, understand that by 1700, Muslims began to persecute Hindus and Hindus were organizing against their Muslim rulers and neighbors. 
The second development was the arrival of the Europeans. In the early seventeenth century, the Portuguese and British were fighting each other for Indian Ocean trade routes. In the beginning, Portugal had established trade with the city of Goa, where it also sent Christian missionaries. By 1661, the British East India Company had substantial control of trade in Bombay. By 1691, the British dominated trade in the region and founded the city of Calcutta as a trading outpost. While the Mughal emperors were annoyed with the Europeans, they generally permitted the trade and regarded the Europeans as relatively harmless. Of course, the Industrial Revolution would turn Britain into an imperial superpower. But before 1750---the calm before the storm-you need to understand that India didn't feel particularly vulnerable to the Europeans, except in its port cities. It was a huge country with tons of resources united under strong Muslim rulers. It couldn't be conquered, right? At the time, Indians probably couldn't imagine that a century later, Britain's Victoria would be crowned Empress of India. 
H. CHINA 
By 1368, the Ming Dynasty booted out the last of the Mongol rulers (Yuan Dynasty) in China and restored power over the empire to the native Chinese. The Ming Dynasty ruled until 1644. During this time, the Ming built a strong centralized government based on traditional Confucian principles, reinstated the civil service examination, and removed the Mongol influence by reinvigorating Chinese culture. 
In the early fifteenth century, the Chinese also did something quite extraordinary: They built huge fleets. Zheng He, a Chinese navigator, led fleets throughout Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, all the way to East Africa, a century before the Europeans did the same. Had the Chinese continued to explore and trade, they may have become the dominant colonial power. But instead, within a few decades, the Chinese abruptly stopped their naval voyages, because they felt the outside world had nothing to offer them. Increasingly, Chinese society turned inward. 
By the sixteenth century, the Ming dynasty was already in its decline, just as the Europeans were beginning to sail toward China. Still, the Chinese were able to keep the Europeans at a safe distance. However, internal problems persisted. By the seventeenth century, famines crippled the Chinese economy, and peasant revolts erupted against the increasingly powerless Ming rulers. In 1644, the Ming emperor invited a group of Qing warriors from nearby Manchuria to help him quell a peasant uprising, but instead, the Qing ousted the emperor. With that act, the Ming Dynasty ended and the Qing (or Manchu) Dynasty began. The Manchus ruled China until 1912. 
Because the Qing were from Manchuria, they were not ethnic Chinese. They attempted to remain an ethnic elite, forbidding the Chinese to learn the Manchu language or to marry Manchus. Yet, because the Manchus comprised a mere 3 percent of the population, they needed the help of ethnic Chinese to run the country. Therefore, the civil service examination gained new heights. Even members of the lower classes were able to rise to positions of responsibility as the Manchus opened up the floodgates to find the best talent. 
Manchu emperors were well versed in Chinese traditions. Emperors not only supported the arts, but also expanded the empire. They conquered Taiwan and extended the empire into Mongolia, Central Asia, Tibet, Vietnam, Burma, and Nepal to the vassal states of China. 
In all of this expansion, the Chinese did not aspire to conquer the rest of the world, or even interact with it very much. They stayed focused on China and its surrounding neighbors. The Manchus did trade with the Europeans, and granted rights to the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, but they were vigilant about and successful at controlling trade relations through the mid-eighteenth century. The Manchu were fierce protectors of their culture. When they felt threatened by European advances, they expelled them. In 1724, for example, Christianity was banned. In 1757, trade was restricted to just one city, Canton. Still, trade with Europeans was substantial. The Europeans bought large quantities of tea, silk, and porcelain. In exchange, the merchants received huge sums of silver, which created a new rising class of merchants in Chinese coastal cities. 
I. JAPAN 
During the sixteenth century in Japan, a series of shoguns continued to rule while the emperor remained merely as a figurehead. But as the century increased, Japanese feudalism began to wane and centralized power began to emerge. The shogun still ruled (as opposed to the emperor), but the power of the feudal lords with the empire (they also introduced guns to the Japanese). Within a decade, Christian missionaries streamed in. By the end of the century, not only had a few hundred thousand Japanese converted to Christianity, but the Jesuits took control of the port city of Nagasaki and trade flourished. Japan was well on its way to westernization. 
In 1600, the trend changed dramatically. In that year, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate, a strict and rigid government that ruled Japan until 1868. The shogun further consolidated power away from the emperor and at the expense of the daimyo (feudal Ieyasu claimed personal ownership to all lands within Japan and instituted a rigid social class model, inspired somewhat by Confucianism but in practice more like the caste system. Four classes (warrior, farmer, artisan, and merchant) were established and movement among the classes was forbidden. 
The Tokugawa period-also known as the Edo period because Tokugawa moved the capital to Edo (modern-day Tokyo)-was marked by a reversal in attitudes toward Western influences. Within two decades, Christians were persecuted. By 1635, a National Seclusion Policy prohibited Japanese from traveling abroad, and prohibited most foreigners from visiting Japan (limited relations were kept with China, Korea, and the Netherlands). In other words, Japan became increasingly secluded. The policy remained in place for nearly 200 years. 
Tokugawa was very serious about this policy. He was worried that Japan would be overrun by foreign influences. Keep in mind that Spain had claimed the nearby Philippines and the English and Portuguese kept trying to make inroads into China. So, in 1640, when a group of Portuguese diplomats and traders sailed to Japan to try to negotiate with the emperor and convince him to open up a dialogue, the shogun had every member of the Portuguese delegation executed on the spot. The message was clear. Japan was off limits. 
The absence of foreign influences allowed Japanese culture to thrive. During this time period, Buddhism and Shinto remained at the center of culture, and unique Japanese art forms also prospered. Kabuki theatre and a new form of poetry, haiku, became very popular. Artists gave their lives to the creation of richly detailed scrolls, wood-block prints and paintings. In other words, under a strong central authority, Japanese culture underwent its own renaissance. Unlike the European Renaissance, however, it was strictly intended for domestic consumption.