Empires
Name the 4 empires that we studied!
Aztecs
Inca
Ming
Mali
What time period is the Age of Exploration?
15th century until early 17th century
What is Feudalism? (think Middle Ages)
- thousand period where Roman Empire fell and up to the Italian Renaissance (5th century to 15th century)
-was a political, social, and economic system in medieval Europe based on land ownership and mutual obligations of loyalty
Land distribution was based on a system of mutual obligation between kings, nobles, and knights
King – owned all the land, granted fiefs to nobles
Nobles/Lords – controlled land, offered protection
Knights – provided military service and protection
Peasants/Serfs – worked the land, provided food; had little power
Europe was very decentralized politically and feudalism brought order and stability to the region
What is an absolute monarchy?
form of government in which a single person, usually a king or queen, holds absolute power over the government and the lives of the people.
monarchs to centralize power, control resources, which results in a political landscape defined by strong, centralized governments, where old traditions clashed with new ideas and aspirations for individual rights and freedoms
Who is Peter The Great?
- Absolute ruler in Russia
1682-1725
- promoted adopting Western ideals, technology, and culture.
- improved their military.
Describe the economy for the Mali Kingdom:
- Niger River access to the interior was helpful for camel caravans.
- Sahara desert
searching for salt and traded with Islamic merchants
What did Europe want during the Age of Exploration?
Wanted more of a share in the trade networks that already existed: the Silk Road, IOB trade, and Trans-Saharan trade
European powers were upset that goods were too expensive when they traded with Africa and Asia and wanted to cut out the middlemen
There was a desire for new trading routes and trade partners
Three G’s: God, gold, and glory
What caused the collapse of Feudalism?
The Black Death
- Catholic Clergy could not explain the causes for this disease- power diminishing.
Peasants revolted when nobles tried to go back to pre-plague conditions
There was a desperate need for workers because so many people had died, so the workers who were left could demand more money and rights
Many peasants and some serfs abandoned feudal manors and moved to town seeking better opportunities
List an example of an Absolute monarch that we covered in class:
- Louis XIV
- Maria Theresa
-Catherine The Great
-Peter The Great
- Henry VIII
List the characteristics of Absolute Monarchs:
1. Centralized rule/ stronger armies.
2. Divine Right Theory
3. Control the nobility and religious authority
What is society like for Mali Kingdom?
- strict social structure and hierarchy.
- life and class was based off of one's ancestry.
- heavy taxations
What is the treaty of Tordesillas? 1494
What is the Encomienda system?
was issued by the Pope and divided claims over land in the America
Spain claimed land west of line
Portugal claimed land east of line
Brazil and IOB
Led to the cultural diffusion of religion and language on the continent
---
control the native populations and use their labor
Enslaved natives as a cheap labor supply
Lost their freedom, their rights, their culture, and their religion
As part of the system, conquistadors were obligated to protect the natives and instruct them in the Christian faith BUT natives were usually oppressed and exploited by the Spanish
What is the Renaissance?
A cultural movement of new ideas, art, paintings, and use of reason/logic to understand the world.
- used classical learning of the Greeks and Romans to build or expand onto their ideas and form new ones.
- QUESTIONING the traditional ideas (church).
- Individualism
List an example of a Constitutional Principle that is included in the U.S. Constitution.
- limited government: govt. has limits placed on its power
- separation of powers
- checks and balances
- popular sovereignty
- federalism
Describe the English Reformation: causes and effects:
- Needed a male heir to take the throne/ wanted an annulment... denied.
- asks Parliament to create a set of laws and Henry shut down all of the Catholic Church convents and monasteries.
Name a cultural achievement from each empire we have studied!
Aztecs: Chinampas, Tenochtitlan, Tribute, Human Sacrifice
Incas: Terraced Farming, Inca Road, Machu Picchu, Tribute taxes, Mummification
Ming: Porcelain, silk, movable type printing press, cotton, paintings, Civil Service Exam.
Mali: growth in Islamic values in Africa, salt, gold, Mansa Musa's wealth, Timbuktu.
What is the Columbian Exchange?
was the transfer of goods, peoples, animals, plants, diseases, and ideas between the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa) and the New World (the Americas)
As new markets and products came into the world economy, new patterns of production, distribution, consumption, and trade also emerged.
the rise of plantation farming and cash crops re-invented the economy
changed the social and economic organization of the America
included the rise of the Atlantic slave trade and other labor systems
What is Humanism?
Instead of only centering on religious topics, humanists emphasized the importance of human beings, individual achievement, and the potential for knowledge and creativity.
Erasmus
Francesco Petrarch:
Emphasized the study of classical texts (Greek and Roman)
Believed education and literature could improve individuals and society
Helped spark the Renaissance focus on humanism—placing human experience, reason, and creativity at the center of learning
Before the revolution timeline of change, the Age of Absolutism was in power in most European countries. How did Age of Absolutism Kings or Queens treat their subjects?
- ignored the political and economic needs for those subjects.
- built their own power: ex: Louis XIV and Palace of Versailles to control all major nobility officials.
What ended the practice of Salutary Neglect?
- Proclamation Line of 1763.
How are the Aztecs and Incas similar?
- both used a form of taxation (tributes)
- Central America & Latin America
- Both will collapse to Spanish powers in 1500s.
What is the impact of exploration and colonization?
Before exploration, Asia and the Middle East dominated world trade through the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean Basin, while Italy controlled much of Europe’s access to Asian goods through the Mediterranean.
Now- center of trade shifting gives more nations like Spain, France, England, Portugal, and the Netherlands the ability to become dominant
How did the Scientific Revolution lay the foundation for the Enlightenment?
- use of scholarly work from Francis Bacon (Scientific Method)
- logical ways to limit the Church's ability (Copernicus and Galileo discoveries)
List 2 causes of the French Revolution
- Three Estates (society)
- taxation (economics)
- bankrupt from Seven Years War/ French and Indian War/ American Revolution
- problems with King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
- Enlightenment ideals spreading
1. Slave revolt turned into a rebellion.
2. Toussaint L'Ouverture
3. discrimination in Free People of Color social class
4. Ideas from France
Effect: similar uprisings in Latin America
- war debts to repay to France for decades