topic 1: the world around 1600 - school club

Topic 1: The World Around 1600

TERM 1 Grade 10

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Globalised World



Background• The 1600 was a time of great changes in the

world• Trade and expansion dominated almost all

societies• Ming China, the Songhai and Mughal

Empires differed to European societies as they were ‘advanced societies’ technologically and scientifically

• World around 1600 was polycentric (many centres of trade, culture, political power)

• Early modern world was extremely dynamic• In many ways it was also globalised (trade,

disease, ideas, religions – all travelling)© e-classroom www.e-classroom.co.za


China: A World Power In The 14th and 15th Centuries (1368

to 1644)• Defeated the Mongols in 1368• The Ming Dynasty ruled from 1368-1644• China was restored after many years of

Mongol neglect• The Emperor was an autocratic ruler who

had absolute power over all aspects of life during his rule

• He ruled with officials and with eunuchs



The Ming Dynasty• The Ming dynasty provided a break of

Chinese rule between the eras of Mongol and Manchu power

• During this time, China used vast cultural and political influence on East Asia and the Turks to the west, as well as on Vietnam and Myanmar

• The Ming dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuanzhang who later adopted the reign title of Hongwu

• The Ming became one of the most stable and autocratic of all Chinese dynasties

• The Ming had an advanced, commercial economy



Government

• The Ming Dynasty had only one department called the ‘Secretariat’

• The Secretariat controlled the Six Ministries and were controlled by a Minister

• The day to day business was looked after by a Director under the direct control of the Emperor

• In 1430, the Censorate was re-established and institutionalised• Censors-in-Chief were powerful bureaucrats who had direct

access to the Emperor

• Provincial administrators were overseen by a travelling inspector sent from the Censorate and had the power to impeach officials for disregard of duty



Society

• Social structure was influenced by Confucian belief• Before the Ming Dynasty, China was divided into four classes

namely merchants, farmers, artisans and gentry

• City life was further established which led to economic and urban development

• There were four occupations in the Ming society - Shi, Nong, Gong, and Shang

• The Shi was the most respected class in society, except emperors and officials

• The Shang was the lowest class• During the Ming dynasty, capitalism helped the Shang rise and

more common people took part in businesses



Travel and Trade• The greatest magnitude of Chinese trade was achieved in the early

15th century when Zheng He, a Muslim eunuch, sailed far and wide with a fleet of large junks

• Voyages were done with hundreds of huge ships and tens of thousands of sailors and other passengers

• The expeditions allowed China to explore new foreign territories while trading with partners along the routes

• Chinese exports consisted of porcelain, lacquer, silks, items of gold and silver and medicinal provisions

• The junks returned with herbs, spices, ivory, rhinoceros horn, rare varieties of wood, jewels, cotton and ingredients for making dyes

• Trade and exploration benefited the Ming in many ways, including having a much larger view of the world

• The Ming prospered from trade and strengthened their economy



Treasure Fleet Expeditions Of Zheng He From 1405 to 1433

• From 1405 until 1433, Zheng He led seven ocean expeditions for the Ming emperor

• The first expedition comprised 317 ships, including as many as sixty Treasure Ships and nearly 28,000 men

• Thousands of sailors, builders, repairmen, soldiers, diplomatic specialists, medical personnel, astronomers and scholars of foreign ways were aboard the ships

• The "Treasure Ships," were over 400 hundred feet long and 160 feet wide. They had many stories, nine masts, twelve sails and lavish staterooms

• The fleet stopped in Champa (central Vietnam) and Siam (Thailand) and then on to island Java, to points along the Straits of Malacca, and then proceeded to its main destination of Cochin and the kingdom of Calicut on the southwestern coast of India

• The second expedition (1407-1409) took 68 ships to the court of Calicut to attend the inauguration of a new king. Zheng He organized this expedition but did not actually lead it in person

• Zheng He commanded the third voyage (1409-1411) with 48 large ships and 30,000 troops, visiting many of the same places as on the first voyage but also travelling to Malacca on the Malay peninsula and Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

• The fourth voyage (1413-15) Zheng He commandeered his 63 ships and over 28,000 men to Hormuz on the Persian Gulf



Treasure Fleet Expeditions Of Zheng He From 1405 to 1433 cont..

• The fifth voyage (1417-1419) was primarily a return trip for seventeen heads of state from South Asia

• Zheng He ventured to Aden at the mouth of the Red Sea and then the east coast of Africa, stopping at the city states of Mogadishu and Brawa (in today's Somalia), and Malindi (in present day Kenya) Many ambassadors from the countries he visited returned to China with him

• The sixth expedition (1421-1422) of 41 ships sailed to many of the previously visited Southeast Asian and Indian courts and stopped in the Persian Gulf and the coast of Africa, principally in order to return nineteen ambassadors to their homelands. Zheng He returned to China after less than a year, having sent his fleet onward to pursue several separate itineraries

• The seventh and final voyage (1431-33) was sent out by the Yongle emperor's successor, his grandson the Xuande emperor. This expedition had more than one hundred large ships and over 27,000 men and it visited all the important ports in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean as well as Aden and Hormuz

• On the return trip in 1433, Zheng He died and was buried at sea, although his official grave still stands in Nanjing, China



Ship Building• The Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding yards represented the highest level in

Chinese shipbuilding history

• Ships were built by employing the well-developed shipbuilding technologies of the Tang and Song dynasties

• There were handicrafts workshops that produced ship accessories, such as sails, ropes and nails

• Ships were advanced in sail design and rigging - three- and four-masted ships were being built (1000 years before Europe) of wind-efficient design

• The construction of double hulls divided into separate watertight compartments saved ships from sinking if rammed and offered a method of carrying water for passengers and animals, as well as tanks for keeping fish fresh

• In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, lug and lateen sails were added to help sail against the prevailing winds

• From the ninth century, magnetic compasses were used for navigating

• The great achievements in shipbuilding during the Ming Dynasty represented an enormous contribution by the Chinese people to world civilization and human development



Purpose Of Expeditions• Zheng He (1371 - 1433) was a great Chinese explorer and fleet

commander• He went on seven major expeditions to explore the world for the

Chinese emperor and to establish Chinese trade in new areas

• The main purpose was to promote the glory of Ming dynasty China• The Ming potentially wanted to establish a maritime empire• Zheng He chose the Indian coast as his primary destination during

the first expedition because of the trade routes established during the Song Dynasty

• His seven total voyages were diplomatic, military, and trading ventures



Majority Achievements During The Ming Era

• The repair and completion of the Great Wall of China and restoration of Grand Canal was one of the biggest achievements in the field of engineering

• A wide range of equipment and machinery were manufactured from which cotton and silk looms were made

• Agricultural production was increased due to advancements in technology

• Advancement in military technology led to invention of powerful artillery and the Huochong gun, a projection firearm

• The most comprehensive medical book named Compendium of Materia Medica, was written

• The Ming dynasty was a prosperous period in the history of printing in China

• The Forbidden City was constructed as the Chinese imperial palace

• The largest written encyclopaedia was compiled

• The famous porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing was built

• The most striking literary development during the Ming era was the vernacular novel



Songhai



Songhai: An African Empire In The 15th and 16th Centuries

• The Songhai settled on both sides of the middle Niger River (now Mali) and was a West African trading state

• The Songhai was one of the largest empires in West Africa, stretching all the way to present-day Cameroon

• They established a state in the 15th century, which was a large part of western Sudan

• They developed into a powerful civilisation• It was ruled by the dynasty or royal family of the Sonni from

the 13th century to the late 15th century

• The government was centralised by creating a large and elaborate bureaucracy to oversee the empire's interests

• The capital was at GAO and was surrounded by a wall• It was a diverse market place where kola nuts, gold, ivory,

slaves, spices, palm oil and precious woods were traded in exchange for salt, cloth, arms, horses and copper



The Songhai Empire Under Sonni Ali

• Sonni Ali initiated the imperial expansion of the Western Sudanese kingdom of Songhai

• Ali conquered Timbuktu and drove out the Tuareg, plundering the city and murdering many of its inhabitants

• This established his reputation as a cruel tyrant

• Aware of the benefits of controlling Sudanese commerce, Alī turned to the conquest of the wealthy trading city of Jenne on the Bani River

• His seven-year siege of the city resulted in its conquest in 1473

• Alī spent most of his reign in the field repulsing attacks on his empire, coming mostly from the Mossi, the Fulani of the Dendi region and the Tuareg

• His fine strategic sense and his effective use of cavalry enabled him to cripple the striking power of the Mossi (although he could not annex their territory), to conquer the Dendi area and to discourage Tuareg raiding

• Ali divided conquered territories into provinces and appointed trusted lieutenants to govern them

• He died in 1492 after leading a military expedition against one of the nation’s vassal states

• His son and successor was unable to consolidate support among the Islamic community and was overthrown in 1493 by Mohammed I Askia (d. 1538), initiating the second major dynasty of the Songhai Empire

• Information adapted from: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica


https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419


Government

• The government took the form of a monarchy headed by a sovereign who served as head of state, commander of the armed forces and head of government

• The Songhai Empire was divided into urban districts containing at least thirty-five cities, which blended into sub-urban districts and peripheral territories

• The territories furthest from the central region contained vassal states and tribes

• The Songhai vassals were largely autonomous but were required to pay taxes and contribute soldiers to military expeditions.

• The city of Gao was the nation’s administrative capital, while the cities of Timbuktu and Djenné were economic and cultural centres led by semi-autonomous governments

• The emperor appointed governors to lead the urban districts with the support of a system of civil servants. The empire was bound together by a complex system of taxation and resource allotment



Society• Songhai society was organized according to a caste system• The emperor and his family were at the pinnacle of the system • Imperial authority was disseminated through political, social, and religious leaders• The social elite consisted of families and individuals with ties to the imperial family who were treated as local leaders

though they were not formally part of the government• The political elite consisted of imperial advisors, ministers, governors, and other regional leaders• The intellectual elite consisted of artisans, educators, and religious leaders. Within the elite castes, social networks and

societies exerted a strong influence over government operations• Below the elite were the common citizens, who were either privately employed or working in one of the state industries• The citizen caste was the most populous and comprised most of the nation’s agricultural and military employees• Individuals could move from the citizen caste into the elite by entering the civil service, apprenticing for artisanship, or

training to join the Islamic leadership• Below the citizen caste were the slaves, who were traded for goods and services and were used as domestic servants,

security, and laborers. Slaves could be freed, thereby becoming citizens, but were often restricted from joining the elite• People paid taxes to the king in return for internal and external security• The royal court was responsible for the administration and the army• Large estates belonged to nobles• They were worked by slaves that did the fishing, animal raising for milk, meat and skins, and the agricultural work



Travel and Trade• Safe economic trade existed throughout the empire,

due to the large army stationed in the provinces

• The gold fields of the Niger river provided a steady supply of gold that could be purchased and bartered for salt which was a precious commodity in West Africa

• The kingdom was a very strong and powerful one which helped trade to be carried peacefully through the empire

• Trade expanded in Europe which brought in European cloth, horses and weapons which were traded for slaves, leather goods and ivory from West Africa

• Huge caravans traded goods across the Sahara desert and as a result commercial cities such as Timbuktu became commercial centres



Learning and Culture

• The Songhai culture became a blend of traditional West African beliefs

• They adopted the religion of Islam

• Daily life was often ruled by traditions and local customs• The slave trade became an important part of the Songhai

Empire• Knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and medicine was

advanced

• Askia Mohammed, a ruler, welcomed Islamic scholars to Timbuktu which was the centre of learning for the Songhai



Fall Of The Empire: Moroccan Invasion of 1591

• In the late sixteenth century, Songhai slipped into civil war and drought and disease had crippled the land

• The Moroccans wanted control of Songhai's extensive wealth

• In 1591 during the battle of Tondibi, the Songhai forces were overpowered by the Moroccan’s weapons used with gunpowder

• Songhai was destroyed as a regional power and cities like GAO and Timbuktu were pillaged

• After 25 years, the Moroccans soon surrendered control of the region, letting it divide into many smaller kingdoms

• The Moroccan invasion freed many of the Songhai tributary states that had previously been sources of slaves for the trans-Sharan trade routes

• Recognizing their chance to ensure freedom, many of the slave populations rose up against the empire

• The largest of these groups was the Doghorani, who played an instrumental role in the rebellion



India (Mughal) (1526 to 1858)



Introduction• The or Mughal Empire ruled most of India and

Pakistan in the 16th and 17th centuries• The first Moghul Emperor was Babur • It consolidated Islam in South Asia, and spread

Muslim and Persian arts and culture as well as the faith

• They were Muslims who ruled a country with a large Hindu majority

• A centralised government brought together lots of smaller kingdoms

• They had a government that respected human rights

• Persian language was combined with Arabic and Hindi to create Urdu

• There were periods of great religious tolerance• A style of architecture (e.g. the Taj Mahal)• A system of education that took account of pupils'

needs and culture



Astronomy

• Muslim and Hindu astronomers in India continued to make advances in observational astronomy and produced nearly a hundred Zij treatises

• Humayun built a personal observatory near Delhi

• The instruments and observational techniques used at the Mughal observatories were mainly derived from the Islamic tradition, and the computational techniques from the Hindu tradition

• The seamless globe and celestial globe were invented in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in 998 AH (1589-90 CE), and twenty other such globes were later produced in Lahore and Kashmir during the Mughal Empire



Technology

• The autocannon - the earliest multi-shot gun • Innovation use of gunpowder weapons- the

Mughal Empire is known as one of the Islamic gunpowder empires of the 17th and 18th centuries

• The first prefabricated homes and movable structures were invented in 16th century by Akbar the Great

• Cannon foundries due to the abundance of iron ore mines in the vicinity of Jaigarh Fort

• Metal cylinder rockets known as bans• The seamless globe was invented in Kashmir



Society• Indian society was divided into four classes

• The king and the princes

• The nobles

• The middle class

• The lower class

• The majority of the people lived very poorly

• The majority of the Indian society consisted of the Hindus

• They were divided into four classes.

• There were hundreds of sub-castes

• The Sudras were in the lowest cadre of society

• The Muslims were divided into Sunnis, the Shias, the Bohras and the Khojas

• The Sunnis were in majority and also belonged to the privileged class because the emperors were Sunnis

• The Shaikhs and Sayyids also commanded respect in the society



Architecture In The 16th And 17th Centuries

• Architecture developed the styles of earlier Muslim dynasties in India with a combination of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian styles

• Mughal buildings had a uniform structure which included large bulbous domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways and delicate ornamentation

• The Mughal dynasty was established by Babur • His grandson Akbar built widely, and the style

developed vigorously during his reign• Among his accomplishments were Agra Fort, the

fort-city of Fatehpur Sikri and the Buland Darwaza

• Mughal architecture reached its peak during the reign of Shah Jahan who constructed the Taj Mahal, the Jama Masjid, the Red Fort and the Shalimar Gardens



Government• The Mughal empire was run by an emperor who had complete power

• The emperor had a council of ministers under him

• The officers were appointed by the emperor to watch over the justice system, the economy, and military affairs

• The most powerful officer was the Wazir -chief minister

• Next in command was the Bakshi, who oversaw all salaries, recruiting for the army and administration

• The Bakshi was followed by various other minor officers such as “the Auditor General, the head of the Imperial workshop, the superintendent of forests, the news reporters etc

• The principal officers of the central government were 1) diwan; 2) mir bakhshi; 3) mir saman; and 4) sadr

• The diwan (the chief minister) was mainly involved with revenue and finance and he controlled the work of other departments

• The diwan had two principal officers which served under him, called diwan-i-tan and diwan-i-Khalsa. They were in charge of salaries and state lands

• Both revenue and expenditure was divided between the central and the provincial government

• The central government collected all land revenue, customs, profits from the mints, inheritance rights and monopolies



Trade• The Portuguese, English and Dutch traded with the Mughal Empire

• The Mughal Empire was situated between east and west, and it became a pass through via the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean or by land via the Silk Road for traders

• Some of the items exported were rice, textiles, tobacco and metals

• Common imports included spices, sugar, oil, horses and textiles

• Land and river transport systems were developed to carry on inland trade in different provinces

• Roads were constructed, extended and enlarged. An important road constructed during the Mughal rule proceeded from Sonargaon in Bengal to Lahore in the north western part of India

• There were many sea ports in India due to the trading relations with other countries like Persia and Egypt

• Trade also took place with various countries of South-East Asia and China

• Horses were imported from West Asia, silver from Japan and gold from East Indies



End Of The Mughal Empire

• In the 1760s, the son of the recently assassinated Mughal emperor, was determined to restore his dynasty’s glory and went to war with the British East India Company

• The Battle of Buxar ended in a humiliating defeat

• Shah Alam was captured by the company’s forces and made to sign an order that replaced Mughal revenue officials with British traders selected by the company

• This defeat enabled the East India Company’s to gain control over the region and eventually giving way to the British Raj



European Societies



Feudal Societies

Feudalism describes the forces in Western Europe during a period of transformation following the ending of the Roman Empire



The Black Death• The Black Death was a global epidemic of bubonic plague

that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s

• The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina

• Most sailors aboard the ships had died and those alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus

• The Black Death killed more than 20 million people in Europe – almost one-third of the continent’s population

• The Black Death disease was contagious

• No one knew exactly how the Black Death was transmitted from one patient to another and no one knew how to prevent or treat it

• Doctors used techniques such as bloodletting and boil-lancing and superstitious practices such as burning aromatic herbs and bathing in rosewater or vinegar to rid the disease

• One of the consequences of the Black Death was a European wool shortage due to the death of many sheep

• Picture source; About History.com



The Renaissance (Rebirth) Background

• The Renaissance was an explosion of ideas, education and literacy which produced some of the greatest artwork and artists in history and gave birth to the modern world

• The leaders of the Renaissance were born in Italy’s independent city-states and drew inspiration from Ancient Greek and Roman civilisations

• The Renaissance began when a group of writers and scholars in Italy began to seek out the knowledge of classical Rome and Greece

• They called themselves “humanists” and they referred to the Middle Ages as the “Dark Ages”

• They thought knowledge, education, culture, and innovation were not thriving in their own times and sought to enlighten life through re-discovery and study of books written in Ancient Rome and Greece

• Inspired by the ideas, stories, and beautiful poetry of the ancient Greek and Roman writers, these humanists began writing new works of literature



Architecture

• The humanists excavated archaeological sites to find artworks and learn about ancient Roman architecture

• Popular features of ancient Roman building architecture were columns with capitals, rounded arches with a keystone on top and large domes

• Renaissance buildings were constructed symmetrically, with one side looking the same as the other



Artwork• Renaissance artists also began painting and

sculpting subjects inspired by Greek and Roman mythology

• Renaissance artists wanted to show the world and its people as they really were and took pride in the realism of their work using linear perspective

• One of the goals of Renaissance artists was to depict the human form realistically

• Renaissance scientists wanted to learn more about human anatomy and this led to important alliances between artists and physicians to learn how muscles and body systems functioned and what lay beneath the human skin

• Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were two of the most famous artists of the Renaissance

• Image source; Wikipedia



Emerging Middle Class• The people of Renaissance were composed of four social classes:

the nobles, the merchants, the tradesmen and the unskilled workers

• The nobles lived on large estates outside the city walls and owned most of the city's land

• Some merchants came from lower class family lines but many came from wealthy families

• The nobles were disrespectful of the merchant class, who gained wealth in industries like wool processing, shipbuilding and banking

• The merchants sought to protect their wealth by controlling the government and marrying into noble families

• They became customers of great artists in order to gain public favour

• The unskilled workers were the lowest class of city workers

• The social classes of became less distinct as the Renaissance progressed

• Humanist ideas led to increased rights for individuals, but the class system remained in place long after the end of the Renaissance



topic 1: the world around 1600 - school club

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