Chapter 10 Transoceanic Exploration (750 to 1500 CE)
Muslim Domination of the Afro-Eurasian Region: 750 CE 1258 CE During the Abbasid Dynasty, Muslim rulers controlled most international trade routes in the eastern hemisphere. Muslim supremacy waned as it came under the control of the Mongols in the 13th and the 14th centuries, and regional authorities gained more power. Muslim religion and trade expanded into Southeast Asia in the 15th century, and Muslim merchants sailed large cargo ships called dhows with little competition.
The Age of Exploration in the Chinese World: 1368 CE 1500 CE Chris Hellier/Corbis With the establishment of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, the Chinese economy began to recover from the ravages of the Black Death and a new, influential class of merchants emerged. In 1393 Hongwu, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, appointed his grandson Jianwen as his successor. After a civil war, Jianwen s uncle, Zhu Di, marched into Nanjing and declared himself emperor. Zhu Di sent his childhood friend and confidant, Zheng He, out on sea expeditions to establish tributary states outside China.
The Voyages of Zheng He Zheng He sailed the Pacific and Indian oceans seven times from 1405 to 1430 CE, establishing diplomatic relations and trade ties while spreading Chinese culture. His first expedition included 317 ships and 28,000 men, and was to Southeast Asia, India, and Ceylon; subsequent voyages took him to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and Arabia, and coastal East Africa. Zheng He died while returning from his final voyage; his ships decayed in the harbor and his travel logs were lost.
The Creation of the Ottoman Empire: 1453 CE As the Byzantine Empire declined, the Ottoman Empire rose in Anatolia and the Balkan region. Key factors in the Ottomans success included tax reform that created a constant cash stream, the creation of a standing army, and policies of religious tolerance. Most important was the Imperial Council, or Divan, a regular gathering of imperial officials that facilitated the empire s efficient expansion. The Ottomans effectively cut off the Venetians Asiatic trade, causing their economic and political decline and encouraging Portuguese and Spanish merchants to seek an alternative route to the Asiatic trade through the Atlantic Ocean.
Capitalism and the Rise of the Merchant Class The Hanseatic League was a cooperative commercial and military agreement formed by several Northern European cities. The League protected its members commercial enterprises in the Baltic and North Sea. Merchants and artisans of Hanseatic League cities organized themselves into guilds based upon their trade. Two major trade routes connected the Hanseatic cities to the Italian city-states and gave new life to the European merchant class, who secured charters of selfgovernment from kings and feudal lords.
Territorial Gain, Religious Mission, and Slavery Photos.com/Thinkstock Prince Henry the Navigator (see image) led a Portuguese fleet of 200 ships and an army of 45,000 men in an invasion of the North African city of Ceuta in 1415. Another of Prince Henry s explorations along the coast of West Africa inaugurated the European trade in African slaves. After exploring the Atlantic Ocean, Portuguese and Spanish mariners occupied the Madeiras Isands, on which they established sugar plantations worked by slaves from Africa and the Canary Islands.
First Voyages around Africa National Maritime Museum/Everett Collection In 1487 Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southernmost tip of Africa before being turned back by a storm. Ten years later, Vasco de Gama (see image) reached the Indian port of Calicut. His success in reaching India made Vasco da Gama an oceanic pioneer who brought prestige and wealth to Portugal, a new dimension to European thinking, and fear to the European and Muslim merchants who controlled the land route to India.
Conquest of the Americas Inspired by the Portuguese success, many navigators determined to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean; among them was Christopher Columbus of Genoa, who won Spain s backing for his venture. On October 12, 1492, Columbus sighted land in the Caribbean, and his subsequent voyages opened the Atlantic route to other European navigators who eventually probed and charted the Americas. Columbus forged a permanent link between the eastern and western hemispheres and changed the shape and history of the Americas and Europe.