The Impact of Global Trade on the Far East

Warm-Up Using your trade notes, identify the key items traded along the following trade routes and place this in your notes. Silk Road Maritime Routes in the Indian Ocean South China Sea

Trade Routes Chart

Map Work Using the Map of the World at 1600, outline and label the: Ottoman Empire Mughal Empire Ming China Tokugawa Japan

Empires of the World around 1600

The Ottoman Empire In 1300, the area of modern Turkey was inhabited by groups descended from nomadic Turks. They saw themselves as ghazis, or warriors for Islam. They formed military groups and raided the lands where non- Muslims lived. The most successful ghazi was Osman. Western Europeans took his name to be Othman and called his followers Ottomans. Between 1300 and 1326, Osman built a strong but small kingdom. Leaders who came after Osman called themselves sultans, or ones with power. They extended the kingdom by buying land, forming alliances with other chieftains, and conquering everyone they could. They ruled kindly through sultan-appointed local officials. Muslims had to serve in the army but paid no taxes other than the contributions required by their faith. Non-Muslims paid taxes but did not have to serve in the army.

Illustration of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, rallying Ghazi warriors into battle

Mehmed II took power in 1451 and captured Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. At first his ships were unable to sail near the city because barriers blocked the way. So he had his soldiers drag the ships over hills so they could be launched on the other side of Constantinople. After several weeks of fighting, the Ottoman force was too strong for the tiny army left in the city. In 1453, the city finally fell to the Ottomans and was renamed Istanbul, the new Ottoman capital.

Sultan Mehmed II's entry into Constantinople

Other emperors used conquest to make the empire grow. After 1514, Selim the Grim took Persia, Syria and Palestine. He then captured Arabia, took the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, and gained control of Egypt. His son, Suleyman I, known as Suleyman the Lawgiver, brought the empire to its greatest size and most impressive achievements. He conquered parts of southeastern Europe by He won control of the entire eastern Mediterranean Sea and took North Africa as far west as Tripoli. By 1529 his empire was quite large and was ruled by Suleyman with a highly structured government. The government was served by special slaves called janissaries, conquered Christian children who became loyal, trained fighters. The government allowed people to follow their own religion, including Jews and Christians. Suleyman also was a patron of the arts and built fine buildings in Istanbul. The empire lasted long after Suleyman but spent the next few hundred years in decline. None of the sultans were as accomplished as he had been, and the Ottoman Empire’s power slipped.

Ottoman fleet in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century

The funeral of Suleyman the Magnificent

The vastness of the Ottoman Empire allowed it to control major trade routes. In addition to allowing passage of goods to and from Asia and Europe, they also traded in coffee and ceramics.

The Mughal Empire & Southern India The descendants of the Mongols, the Muslim Mughal rulers, established an empire in northern India. The Mughal Empire traded with European nations. Mughal rulers were responsible for the spread of Islam into India. Important early leader, Akbar the fair, allowed for both Muslims and Hindus to work and live in the empire. He encouraged other cultures and allowed outside influences while encouraging trade. He also was a patron of the arts, establishing a huge library. Under another great patron emperor Shah Jahan, art and architecture flourished. He oversaw the most famous Taj Mahal-a tomb for his beloved wife. The last powerful emperor, Jahan’s son, Aurangzeb, ruled for nearly 50 years but his religious intolerance and mistreatment of Hindus lead to rebellion and parts of the empire breaking away before entirely falling apart by the late 1600’s.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan

Much of southern India remained independent and continued international trade. Southern India traded silks, spices and gems. Goods produced in the Mughal Empire included spices and textiles. The British especially found Indian textiles to be fashionable. In 1509, Portugal defeated a Muslim fleet off the coast of India and thus soon became the master of India. Beginning in about 1600, the English and the Dutch entered the area, challenging Portugal. They quickly won and set up their own trading companies to control Asian trade. Ultimately the Dutch won out over the English and took the Asian trade for themselves. By 1700, both England and France finally gained footholds in India.

A Mughal Bazaar or marketplace

China As a result of the great explorer, Zheng He’s voyages in the 1400’s, Ming dynasty China’s trade and reputation grew. However, the mostly Confucian beliefs held by the Chinese government favored a farming-based economy rather than one based on commerce and trade. Consequently, trade was restricted to only the government trading with foreigners at special trading posts. Still, demand for Chinese goods increased. Unofficially, Chinese merchants smuggled cargoes of silk, porcelain, tea and other valuable goods to Europeans.

Ming Porcelain

Japan Japan was characterized by a powerless emperor controlled by military leaders (shogun). The most powerful shogun was Tokugawa Ieyasu. At first, his government welcomed the Portuguese and other Europeans. They were very interested in purchasing firearms and other goods such as clocks and eyeglasses. However, they very quickly adopted a policy of isolation to limit foreign influences, particularly that of Christian missionaries. Christianity was banned in Japan. By 1639, only one port city was open to Chinese and Dutch traders. For the next 200 years, Japan remained closed to virtually all European contact.