ap world history period 4 questions and answers
How were ethnic and religious minorities treated in various empires?
-Blacks were considered inferior in the Americas as they were slaves. This means that they were exploited as a labor force and had less rights. -Native Americans were considered to be savages by the Europeans, which led to conflicts between the two. -Cults in Mexico convulsed the Church. Missionaries attempted to convert the cults through peaceful and violent methods
What role did silver play in facilitating a truly global scale of trade?
Commercialization and the creation of a global economy were intimately connected to new global circulation of silver from the Americas. The Spanish found silver in Argentina as a result of their exploration. The Chinese used silver to facilitate trade in their economy as it was part of their currency. Because Spain had so much silver, and China had products to offer Spain in exchange, trade in some capacity occurred through a global network. Therefore, as Spain found and sold silver all the way through to China, silver facilitated a global network.
What obstacles to empire-building did empires confront, and how did they respond to these challenges?
Competition over trade routes. (such as Omani-European rivalry in the Indian Ocean and piracy in the Caribbean), state rivalries. (such as the Thirty Years War or the Ottoman-Safavid conflict), and local resistance. (such as bread riots) all provided significant challenges to state consolidation and expansion.
How did pre-existing political and economic elites react to these changes?
Due to the rise of aristocracy, power shifted from the important members of social groups to smaller family units who were wealthy and well-connected. Therefore, these important members lost their social status. The power of existing political and economic elites. (such as the zamindars in the Mughal Empire, nobility in Europe or daimyo in Japan) fluctuated as they confronted new challenges to their ability to affect the policies of the increasingly powerful monarchs and leaders.
What were the economic and social effects of the Atlantic trading system?
Economically, the trade system provided cheap labor and created new markets in the newly formed colonies of the New World. In Africa, the loss of population and slave trade stunted the long term economic growth of African governments. Socially, racism grew as people began to see some Africans as less than people as a means to justify enslaving them.
What new mercantilist financial means developed to facilitate global trade?
Influenced by mercantilism, joint-stock companies were new methods used by European rulers to control their domestic and colonial economies and by European merchants to compete against each other in global trade. (VOC, EIC)
How did rulers make sure that their governmental were well run?
Recruitment and use of bureaucratic elites, as well as the development of military professionals. (such as the Ottoman devshirme, Chinese examination system or salaried samurai), became more common among rulers who wanted to maintain centralized control over their populations and resources.
What role did religion play in legitimizing political rule?
Rulers used religious ideas to legitimize their rule. (such as European notions of divine right, the Safavid use of Shiism, the Mexica or Aztec practice of human sacrifice, the Songhay promotion of Islam or the Chinese emperors' public performance of Confucian rituals) Religion became a way for empires to justify their actions. These powers believed it was their duty to civilize and spread their religion to those they deemed "uncivilized". Religion was part of a greater scheme of cultural assimilation of the natives. For example, converting the Native Americans into Christians alleviated the tension between them and the British Empire, allowing for easier trade between them.
how did new global trade networks affect existing regional trading
The European presence in the Indian Ocean trade did not greatly influ ence the other participants. There was very little European involvement compared to the existing trade and the Europeans did not provide any new or valuable products to the trade system.
what were the overall effects of this change in global interconnectedness
The main effect was the connection between Europe and Asia and between the existing world and the Americas. These connections allowed for trade, exchanges of ideas, and the formation of colonies.
How did political rulers legitimize and consolidate their rule?
Visual displays of political power. (such as monumental architecture, urban plans, courtly literature or visual arts) helped legitimize and support rulers.
4.1.VII.A How did public literacy as well as literary and artistic forms of expression develop during this period?
As merchants' profits increased and governments collected more taxes, funding for the visual and performing arts, even for popular audiences, increased. Innovations in visual and performing arts were seen all over the world. (such as Renaissance art in Europe, miniature paintings in the Middle East and South Asia, woodblock prints in Japan or post-Conquest codices in Mesoamerica) Literacy expanded accompanied by the proliferation of popular literary forms in Europe and Asia. (such as Shakespeare, Cervantes, Sundiata, Journey to the West or kabuki)
How did the post-1450 economic order affect the social, economic, and political elites?
As new social and political elites changed, they also restructured new ethnic, racial and gender hierarchies. Both imperial conquests and widening global economic opportunities contributed to the formation of new political and economic elites. (such as the Manchus in China, Creole elites in Spanish America, European gentry or urban commercial entrepreneurs in all major port cities in the world)
4.3 How did empires attempt to administer the new widespread nature of their territories? How did the role of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe develop in this new world-wide political order? How did the people of various empires react to their government's methods?
Empires expanded and conquered new peoples around the world, but they often had difficulties incorporating culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse subjects and administrating widely dispersed territories. Agents of European powers moved into existing trade networks around the world. In Africa and the greater Indian Ocean, nascent European empires consisted mainly of interconnected trading posts and enclaves. Euro- pean empires in the Americas moved more quickly to settlement and territorial control responding to local demographic and commercial conditions. Moreover, the creation of European empires in the Americas quickly fostered a new Atlantic trade system that included the trans- Atlantic slave trade. Around the world, empires and states of varying sizes pursued strategies of centralization, including more efficient taxation systems that placed strains on peasant producers, sometimes prompting local rebellions. Rulers used public displays of art and architecture to legitimize state power. African states shared certain characteristics with larger Eurasian empires. Changes in African and global trading patterns strengthened some West and Central African states—especially on the coast, led to the rise of new states and contributed to the decline of states on both the coast and in the interior.
What were the unintentional biological effects of the Columbian Exchange?
European colonization of the Americas led to the spread of diseases endemic in the Eastern Hemisphere. (such as smallpox, measles or influenza) among Amerindian populations and the unintentional transfer of pests. (such as mosquitoes or rats) American foods (such as potatoes, maize or manioc) became staple crops in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa while cash crops. (such as cacao or tobacco) were grown primarily on plantations with coerced labor and were exported mostly to Europe and the Middle East in this period. Afro-Eurasian fruit trees, grains, sugar, and domesticated animals. (such as horses, pigs or cattle) were deliberately brought by Europeans to the Americas while other foods. (such as okra) were brought by African slaves. Populations in Afro-Eurasia benefitted nutritionally from the increased diversity of American food crops. European colonization and introduction of European agriculture and settlements practices in the Americas often affected the physical environment through deforestation and soil depletion.
what technical developments made transoceanic European travel and trade possible?
European technological developments in cartography and navigation built on previous knowledge developed in the classical, Islamic and Asian worlds, and included the production of new tools. (such as astrolabe or revised maps), innovations in ship designs. (such as caravels) and an improved understanding of global wind and currents patterns, all of which made transoceanic travel and trade possible.
How did Europeans go about creating new global empires and trade networks?
Europeans established new trading post empires in Africa and Asia which proved profitable for the rulers and merchants involved in new global trade networks, but also affected the power of states in interior West and Central Africa. European states, including Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France and Britain, established new maritime empires in the Americas.
How did rulers finance their territorial expansion?
Rulers used tribute collection and tax farming to generate revenue for territorial expansion; joint stock companies
How were gender and family structures affected to these changes?
Some notable gender and family restructuring occurred including the demographic changes in Africa that resulted from the slave trades (as well as dependence of European men on Southeast Asian women for conducting trade in that region or the smaller size of European families) There was an increase in women rulers during the 16th century, For example Mary Queen of Scots of Catherine de'Medici, Regent of France. These women were often more respected s rulers during these times; however, women were still seen as their husbands property. Since aristocracy became increasingly favored by society, the family unit became more prevalent.
How did the Columbian Exchange affect the spread of religions?
The increase in interactions between newly connected hemispheres and intensification of connections within hemispheres expanded the spread and reform of existing religions and created syncretic belief systems and practices. ● The practice of Islam continued to spread into diverse cultural settings in Asia and Africa. ● The practice of Christianity was increasingly diversified by the Reformation. ● Buddhism spread within Asia. ● Syncretic forms of religion developed. (such as African influences in Latin America, interactions between Amerindians and Catholic missionaries, or Sikhism between Muslims and Hindus in India and Southeast Asia)
How did societies in the Americas reflect the post-1450 economic order?
The massive demographic changes in the Americas resulted in new ethnic and racial classifications. (such as mestizo, mulatto or creole)
what new financial and monetary means made new scales of trade possible?
The new global circulation of goods was facilitated by royal chartered European monopoly companies who took silver from Spanish colonies in the Americas to purchase Asian goods for the Atlantic markets, but regional markets continued to flourish in Afro-Eurasia using established commercial practices and new transoceanic shipping services developed by European merchants. (joint stock companies)
How did labor systems develop between 1450-1750?
Traditional peasant agriculture increased and changed, plantations expanded, and demand for labor increased. These changes both fed and responded to growing global demand for raw materials and finished products(forced labor) Peasant labor intensified in many regions. (such as the development of frontier settlements in Russian Siberia, cotton textile production in India or silk textile production in China) Slavery in Africa continued both the traditional incorporation of slaves into households and the export of slaves to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. Slavery within Africa increased to match demands of the slave trade. Cities also grew along the eastern border of Africa. These towns became hubs of the salve trade. Slavery enabled towns to grow in Africa. Slavery became a source of income for African towns. The growth of the plantation economy increased the demand for slaves in the Americas. Colonial economies in the Americas depended on a range of coerced labor (such as chattel slavery, indentured servitude, encomienda and hacienda systems, or the Spanish adaptation of the Inca mit'a.There was a need for labor force in the New World to work the tobacco and sugar cane plantations. Initially, indentured servants were sent to the New World. These servants were promised a head right of 50 acres after 7 years of service. Indentured servants became more risky because they were prone to rebellion. As a greater need for labor arose, slaves also were forced to migrate from Africa to the New World.
How did agriculture's role change between 1450-1750?
While the world's productive systems continued to be heavily centered on agricultural production throughout this period, major changes occurred in agricultural labor, the systems and location of manufacturing, gender and social structures, and environmental processes. A surge in agricultural productivity resulted from new methods in crop and field rotation and the introduction of new crops. Economic growth also depended on new forms of manufacturing and new commercial patterns, especially in long-distance trade. Political and economic centers within regions shifted, and merchants' social status tended to rise in various states. Demographic growth—even in areas such as the Americas, where disease had ravaged the population—was restored by the eighteenth century and surged in many regions, especially with the introduction of American food crops throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. The Columbian Exchange led to new ways of humans interacting with their environments. New forms of coerced and semi-coerced labor emerged in Europe, Africa and the Americas and affected ethnic and racial classifications and gender roles.
what were the major notable transoceanic voyages between between 1450 and 1750 ce
Zheng He: Official Chinese maritime activity expanded into the Indian Ocean region with the naval voyages led by Ming Admiral Zheng He which enhanced Chinese prestige. ● Portugal: Portuguese development of a school for navigation led to increased travel to and trade with West Africa and resulted in the construction of a global trading-post empire. ● Spain: Spanish sponsorship of the first Columbian and subsequent voyages across the Atlantic and Pacific dramatically increased European interest in transoceanic travel and trade. ● European, general: Northern Atlantic crossings for fishing and settlements continued and spurred European searches for multiple routes to Asia. ● Oceania: In Oceania and Polynesia, established exchange and communication networks were not dramatically affected because of infrequent European reconnaissance in the Pacific Ocean.