|
Introduction
Many developments highlighted the
early modern period, 1450-1750. The balance of power shifted and Western Europe became the dominant civilization. Global contacts improved greatly, enabling
a true world economy to emerge. The world "shrank" as international trade
affected diverse societies and the quality of ships increased. The innovation of weaponry, particularly gunpowder, allowed
new or revamped empires to form important regional political units in many parts of the world. European colonial empires formed in various parts of the world, as well as many land-based empires
in Russia, Persia, the Middle
East, the Mediterranean, and India.
The World Around 1450
Many societies expanded during the postclassical
period. Russia formed a Russian monarchy. Western Europe, while recovering from the collapse of the Roman Empire, was able
to build important regional kingdoms and expand the role of urban commerce. Sub-Saharan Africa also formed regional kingdoms,
although vital areas were organized more loosely. China built increasingly elaborate societies, and Japan emphasized a decentralized
feudal system. By 1400, the Mongol surge was receding, and a new empire was emerging in China. The Arab caliphate had perished,
and a new Islamic political force was rising.
The Rise of the West
Between 1450 and 1750, Western Europe gained control of the key international trade routes. Because of these new
trade routes, the West not only changed other societies, but itself as well. It became an unusual kind of agricultural civilization.
Commerce began to change the social structure and affected basic attitudes toward family and the natural environment. Development
of new ideas created a novel cultural climate in which scientific principles were increasingly valued. This led to the Scientific Revolution,
which gradually reshaped Western culture as a whole. More effective political structures emerged as Western monarchs began
to introduce bureaucratic principles. The West's expansion as an international force and its internal
transformation became a vital aspect of the early modern period. The west developed a diverse and dynamic culture and society,
which was both a result and cause of its rising international importance.
|
|
The Gunpowder Empires
The centuries after 1450 could also be called the age of the gunpowder
empires. The development of cannons and muskets in the 15th and 16th centuries, through the combination of Western technology
and Chinese invention, spurred the West's expansion. Not only did was it fundamental to the West's mastery of international
sea lanes, it was also an important factor to the Ottomans, Safavids, amd Mughals.
Themes
Many of the key themesof world history changed during the early modern
period. The impact of the nomadic societies, declined dramatically after the Mongol incursions. The new gunpowder empires
conquered many of the old nomad strongholds and nomadic intermediaries were replaced by more direct relations among states
or merchant groups. Developments in the changing world economy had major effects on the patterns of inequality. Gender relations
did not change greatly, but labor systems were transformed throughout much of the world. The massive expansion of slavery
and harsh serfdom in key areas created new social hierarchies. the early modern period saw drastic environmental
change through the exchange of food, animals, and diseases.
|
