During the 15th and 16th centuries, Europe was not the center of global trade, military power, or scientific inquiry. India and East Asia were home to some of the largest and most advanced states globally, and the goal for many European powers was simply to seek trade with them. These trade connections marked the beginning of a truly global economy. At the same time that Europeans were seeking economic opportunities in Asia, Asian states were undergoing their own transformations that allowed greater European influence in the region.
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Under the Mughal Empire, India included modern-day Bangladesh, Pakistan, and parts of Afghanistan. It was one of the so-called "gunpowder empires" that rapidly grew because of the widespread adoption of firearms. But it was also enormously wealthy: nearly a quarter of the world's manufacturing came from the Mughal Empire alone. Here, you'll learn more about India's importance to global trade.
Read this text on the roles Babur (1483–1530) and Akbar (1542–1605) played during the rise of the Mughal Empire. It discusses the effects of geography, conquest, and immigration on Gujarat's role in the Indian Ocean trade network and the rise of the Maratha Empire. How did the continent thrive under Akbar? How did internal conflicts in India contribute to the success of European colonization in India? Make sure you can discuss the importance of Bartolomeu Dias (1450–1500), the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), and Vasco Da Gama (d. 1524).
Read this short overview of the Mughal Empire, including the long-term factors that led to its decline.
As you read this article, consider how the empire established economic and cultural bonds between Asia, Africa, and the Americas. This short history of the Portuguese Empire focuses on the origins of the global empire in the 16th century and its maturation during the 17th century. The article discusses the shift from Asian to Atlantic trade during the late 16th century due to competition from Northern European trade companies.
Read this article on the dramatic expansion of the British Empire during the 16th and 17th centuries. As you read, consider the role the East India Trade played in Britain's emergence as an international power.
If China and India were the major global economic players, the Malacca Sultanate would be the single most important shipping center in the entire world. Goods from India and China passed through in incredible volumes, along with spices, which Europeans had an insatiable appetite for. Seeking to break the hold that Venetian traders had over the spice trade, Portugal tried to gain control by targeting the Malacca Sultanate.
Read this text on the factors that led to the rise of the Malacca Sultanate, the significance of Malacca as a trading center, and the Portuguese invasion in 1509. What role did the Dutch East India Company play?
China's rulers understood their own wealth and importance in global trade all too well. The concept of tianxia, "all under Heaven", held that China's leaders saw themselves as rulers of the known world and at the center of it. Meanwhile, Japan was emerging from a period of internal strife and becoming a powerful, centralized state. However, both closed them off in various ways from trade with European states or heavily restricted that trade.
Read this text on the factors that affected trade among Japan, its East Asian neighbors, and Europe. What was China's relationship with its neighbors and the Europeans during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties?
Read this source to learn more about Emperor Qian Long and the history of the Qing Dynasty in China.
Read this article on the history of Japan during this period and the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
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