Empires and Encounters Americas, Russia, China and India

What is an Empire?

European Empires in the Americas Spaniards in Caribbean, then on to Aztec and Inca empires Portuguese in Brazil British, French, and Dutch colonies in North America Europeans controlled most of the Americas by the mid-nineteenth century

European Advantages Geography - the Atlantic’s fixed winds helped, once they were understood made it “easy” Need: Chinese and Indians had such rich markets in the Indian Ocean  that there wasn’t much incentive to go beyond Marginality: Europeans were aware of their marginal position in Eurasian commerce and wanted to change it Rivalry: interstate rivalry drove rulers to compete Merchants: growing merchant class wanted direct access to Asian wealth

More European Advantages Wealth and Status: colonies were an opportunity for impoverished nobles and commoners Religion - crusading zeal - minorities want religious freedom Technology - iron, gunpowder weapons, and horses gave Europeans an initial advantage over people in the Americas - better seafaring technology than Natives in Americas Rivalries within Americas helped Europeans make allies in the Americas

The Great Dying Pre-Columbian Americas – 60-80million people Disease – Over 90% Died – Small Pox, Typhus, etc. The Columbian Exchange - labor shortage due to disease - Europeans and Africans create a new society - plants and animals brought to Americas - corn and potatoes create population growth in eastern hemisphere

European Rewards Europeans got most of the rewards from the Columbian Exchange - new information helped lead to the Scientific Revolution - colonies were an outlet for rapidly expanding European population - shift in the global balance of power to favor Europe

Colonial Societies in the Americas Mercantilism—theory that governments should encourage exports and accumulate bullion to serve their countries Colonies should provide closed markets for the mother country’s manufactured goods but colonies differed widely, depending on native cultures and the sorts of economy that were established

Spanish Conquest of Aztec and Inca Most wealthy, populous and urbanized in Americas Economy – agricultural commerce and mining of gold and silver Native people provided forced labor “encomienda” Creation of a distinctive social order - class hierarchy based on race - largely self-governed (with permission from the crown)

Hernando Cortes

Class System Peninsulares – white, born on the Iberian Peninsula living in Americas Creoles – white but born in the Americas Mestizo – white + native American Mulatto – white + black African American There were over 30 specific classes based on race There was much more inter-racial children in S. America than in N. America

Sugar Colonies Brazil and Caribbean were used for growing sugar - the sugar was grown solely for export There was a huge demand for sugar in Europe Production was labor intensive, worked best on large scale - can be called the first modern industry - had always been produced with massive use of slave labor - Indians of the area were almost totally wiped out or fled - planters turned to African slaves—80 percent of all Africans enslaved in the Americas ended up in Brazil and the Caribbean

North American Comparison Plantation system began to be used in southern parts of N. America - but in North America, European women came earlier - result was less racial mixing, less tolerance toward mixed blood - sharply defined racial system evolved - slavery was less harsh in N. America Manumission – freeing a slave (more common in Brazil)

North American Colonies British got in the “game” late - this is why they wound up in New England, NY, PA England at the time - Catholic/Protestant conflict - rise of a merchant capitalist class - major cloth industry - development of Parliament, breakdown of feudalism British colonists were trying to escape British society - brought women with them in early stages

North America British settlers were more numerous; by 1750, they outnumbered Spaniards in New World by five to one Small scale farming – didn’t need slaves England = Protestant / not a big push for conversion Protestant Bible-reading led to higher literacy among colonists British civil war created autonomy and self-government for the colonists (distraction) - no elaborate bureaucracy like in S. America

Puritans arriving in New England

The Making of a Russian Empire A small Russian state around Moscow emerged around 1500ce. - Moscow began to conquer neighboring cities - over three centuries grew into a massive empire - early expansion into the grasslands to south and east was for security against nomads - expansion into Siberia was a matter of opportunity (especially furs), not  threat

Experiencing the Russian Empire defeated peoples swore allegiance to the tsar and paid tribute conquest brought devastating epidemics, especially in remote areas of  Siberia—locals had no immunity to smallpox and measles pressure to convert to Christianity some tolerance of Islamic subjects (e.g., Catherine the Great) discouragement of pastoralism

Russians and Empire Rich agricultural lands, furs, and minerals helped make Russia a great  power by the eighteenth century Became an Asian power as well as a European one Expansion made Russia a very militarized state Colonization experience was different from the Americas - conquest of territories with which Russia had long interacted - conquest took place at the same time as development of the  Russian state - the Russian Empire remained intact until 1991

Russian Expansion

Making China an Empire Asian empires were regional – not global Qing dynasty (1644–1912) launched enormous imperial expansion to the north and west Qing rulers - Manchu nomads who conquered China - 80-year-long Chinese conquest (1680–1760) Conquered territory was ruled separately from the rest of China through the Court of Colonial Affairs - Chinese didn’t try to assimilate conquered people - Little Chinese settlement in conquered areas Russia and China destroyed the nomadic societies of central Asia

Muslims and Hindus in the Mughal Empire Mughals united much of India between 1526 and 1707 Religious divide – 20% Muslim, 80% Hindu Emperor Akbar (r. 1556–1605) attempted serious accommodation of the Hindu majority - brought many Hindus into the political-military elite - imposed a policy of toleration - abolished payment of jizya by non-Muslims - created a state cult that stressed loyalty to the emperor Many Muslims dislike this policy of “toleration”

Mughal Empire (India) Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707) reversed Mughal policy, tried to impose Islamic supremacy - banned sati (widow burning), music and dance at court, various vices - destruction of some Hindu temples - brought back the jizya Aurangzeb’s policy provoked Hindu reaction Opposition movements fatally weakened the Mughal Empire after 1707

Akbar and his Wife

Muslims, Christians, and the Ottoman Empire The most important Islamic empire long conflict (1534–1639) between Sunni Ottomans and Shia Safavids In Anatolia, most of the conquered Christians converted to Islam – Modern day Turkey In the Balkans, Christian subjects mostly remained Christian and welcomed the Ottoman Empire” - Ottoman taxed less and were less oppressive - Christian churches received considerable autonomy - Balkan elites were accepted among the Ottoman elite without  conversion

Ottoman Empire Expansion

Ottoman Empire Decline

The Balkans

Opportunities for Jewish Refugees in the Ottoman Empire Devshirme : tribute of boys paid by Christian Balkan communities - boys were converted to Islam, trained to serve the state - the devshirme was a means of upward social mobility The Ottoman Empire threatened Christendom - Europeans worried about a Muslim takeover of all Europe - some Europeans admired Ottoman rule - philosopher Jean Bodin (sixteenth century) praised Ottoman religious tolerance - European merchants evaded papal bans on selling firearms to  the Turks Ottoman women enjoyed relative freedom

The chapter brought together stories of European, Russian, Chinese, Mughal, and Ottoman colonization to counteract a Eurocentric view of the early modern world. Western European empires still receive more discussion space because they were different and more significant than the others. - they were something wholly new in human history - they had a much greater impact on the people they incorporated Eurocentrism continues to be a controversial issue among world historians.

It all just depends on how you look at things