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Period: 618 to 1279
Tang and Song Dynasties
The Tang dynasty lasted from 618 to 907. The Tang dynasty extended China´s boundaries. China´s population grew rapidly following the discovery of Champa rice. They also expanded the civil service exam, developed the tributary system, invented gunpowder, and paper money. After the Tang dynasty collapsed, the Song Dynasty restored order. They lasted from 960- 1279. The song dynasty continued China´s Golden Age. During this time paper money and the magnetic compass were invented. -
Period: 750 to 1258
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate was one of the most influential in Dar al-Islam. Under the Abbasid Caliphate, Islamic culture experienced a golden age. In the capital city, Baghdad, Islam especially thrived. The empire became a center of learning where people developed algebra, made advancements in healthcare, preserved Greek and Roman texts, and made astronomical observations. They helped trade begin in China again and then under the Tang dynasty helped reestablish trade in the Silk Road. -
Period: 901 to 1300
Feudalism in Europe
Feudalism was the social system in Europe. The king owned all the land and gave small amounts of land called fiefs to the lords in return for food, money, service, protection, and loyalty. The knights had to protect the kings, lords, serfs, and fiefs. Only wealthy nobles could be a knight. The serfs ensured that everything was watched over properly. They were the foundation of any kings society and provided services, food, assistance, labor and they still didn't get paid. -
Period: 1206 to 1526
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate reigned for 300 years, bringing Islam into India. While some Hindus converted, Muslims were resented because of the jizya tax which affected all non-Muslim subjects. Under the Delhi sultanate, Sultans had difficulty imposing their policies in a land like India. Local kingdoms like the Mongols caused a lot of resistance to the sultans attempting to extend their rule. They prevented the Mongols from conquering South Asia but eventually lost power to the Mughals. -
Period: 1230 to 1400
Mongol Empire
The Mongols were from the North Eurasian Steppes and became a strong unified military under Genghis Khan. They were known for being very brutal in their ways of conquering and forced the conquered regions to pay tribute in exchange for protection. This prompted a lot of trading leading to a diffusion of cultures, technologies, and ideas. Towards the end of their reign there was fragmentation causing them to be weak leading to them being taken over by the Ming dynasty. -
Period: 1235 to
Mali Empire
The Mali empire was one of the most powerful trading societies in West Africa. Mali taxed nearly all trade coming into West Africa and became rich because of the trans-saharan trade routes. They also took control of all gold and salt trade contributing a lot to their wealth. The Mali empire adopted Islam and built many mosques. The Great Mosque was built at Djenne and because of the love of knowledge in the islam religion Timbuktu became a learning center. -
Period: 1279 to 1368
Yuan Dynasty
Kublai Khan conquered China from the Song Dynasty and became Great Khan in 1260. He tried to gain loyalty of the Chinese by adopting chinese practices and buddhism. He moved the mongol capital to Beijing and built it chinese style. He tolerated Chinese but lived apart from them. By the end, Chinese were not happy with him because many of them were alienated by the leaders. No chinese were allowed in the top gov´t and they used foreigners. He also eliminated the civil service exam. -
Period: 1299 to
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire had control over Eastern Europe and most of the Middle East. They took control over many wealthy nations and also were located between Europe and the Silk Road allowing them to raise taxes on their goods and gain wealth. They were well known for their achievements in science and medicine. They also had access to gunpowder allowing them to have a strong military. The nations around them became more modern and advanced more causing the Ottomans to lose their grip. -
Period: 1300 to
European Renaissance
The Renaissance was a time of art and knowledge. Europe was characterized by strong monarchies and high influence from the Catholic Church. During this time feudalism was on the decline as people moved and created new ideas and new advancements. People began expressing more interest in science, literature, math, and philosophy. Because of this, education and literacy rates increased which made Europe more modern. -
Period: 1347 to 1353
Bubonic Plague
The Bubonic Plague came from China through the silk road and was spread from fleas on rats. It started as black welps in armpit and groin and then spread all over body. After symptoms you have a week to live if your lucky. 1/3 of Europe died and many people began to lose faith in the Catholic Church. Priests left town and people who weren't educated became the priests. Serfs became wealthier because they were in high demand since so many were dying. This caused a decline in Feudalism. -
Period: 1368 to
Ming Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. The Ming Dynasty distributed land in China to expand agriculture and limit trade and foreigners. They also brought back the civil service exam. They purged all remnants of the Mongols that had ruled before. They also passed laws that enforced Confucianism. Yongle was the 3rd emperor of the dynasty and by far the most important. In 1421 he relocated the capital to Beijing and constructed the Forbidden City in 1420. -
Period: 1400 to
Age of Exploration
This was a time when explorers from Europe explored Africa and Asia in hopes of finding new trading routes and potential trading partners. During this time Europe discovered the Americas and the Portuguese built their trading post empire. Goods from Asia had to travel from the Middle East to get to Europe so they would put high taxes on the goods. Europeans looked for different routes to Asia to avoid this. New inventions helped them like the caravels and the lateen sail. -
Period: 1401 to
Atlantic Slave Trade
With the discovery of the New world slaves were needed to work. The Atlantic slave trade weakened West African kingdoms. The route to the new world was very dangerous and many slaves were killed on the way there. The loss of so many people slowed population growth in Africa but they gained new crops from the Americas. The slaves were exploited and used to harvest crop under horrible working conditions. New crops like bananas and sugar cane were brought from Africa to the New World. -
Period: 1428 to 1525
Mesoamerican Empires (Aztecs)
The Aztec empire was located in the capital city Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs conquered most of Mesoamerica and developed a tribute system. Religion was very important in their empire and human sacrifice was very common. The Empire declined by the late 15th century because of the low level of technology and their commitment to military victory and human sacrifice made many people angry. When Spaniards arrived in 1519 an opportunity to rebel came leading to the fall of the Aztec Empire. -
Period: 1438 to 1572
Mesoamerican Empires (Incas)
The Incas controlled most of the land from Ecuador to Chile. In order to rule the territory, they came up with the mit´a system, that required men to provide labor. Religion was very important to them. They had many Gods but, the sun god was the most important. They made many achievements like the development of the quipu, terrace systems, and a massive roadway system called the Carpa Nan. In 1533 the Spanish conquered the core of the empire but it did not completely fall until 1572. -
Period: 1507 to 1511
Portuguese Trading Post Empire
To ensure control of trade the Portuguese constructed different forts stretching from the Persian Gulf to Western India to Malacca. They did this to establish a monopoly over the spice trade in the area and to license all vessels trading between there. The forts gave them a trading post empire based on small outposts. Lastly they restricted Indian Ocean trade to those willing to buy permits. -
Period: 1517 to
The Reformation
During this time people began to lose trust in the Catholic Church mostly because of the earlier Plague and the teaching from a man named Martin Luther. The Catholic Church became corrupted and Luther wrote about it in the 95 Theses. The printing press that had just been invented allowed for the 95 Theses to be circulated around Europe. Protestantism became popular in Europe as people began to lose their faith in the Catholics. This eventually ended with religious freedom in Europe. -
Period: 1520 to 1540
Spanish Colonial Empire
During this time the Spanish went to the Americas in hope to spread catholicism and gain riches, but they also spread disease. They overthrew the existing people living there like the Aztecs and Incas and used them as slaves. They created the encomienda system and forced the natives to work for them. Many of the natives died due to disease brought from the Spanish and overworking. They discovered silver which quickly affected trade around the world and affected many economies. -
Period: 1526 to
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was located in modern day India and was started by Babur. They conquered the Delhi Sultanate and ruled India until the British took over in the 19th century. They established rich and thriving trade networks off the Indian Ocean and Silk Road trade routes. They were islamic but the Hindu caste system still remained in effect. One of the famous rulers, Akbar, lowered taxes on hindus, allowed them positions in gov´t, allowed all religions, and was a patron for arts. -
Period: to
Tokugawa Shogunate
Before this Japan had been a once very separated state that was often at war. Two men named Nebunga and Hideyoshi came to try to unite Japan under one shogunate. Tokugawa took Hideyoshi´s heir and made his own family the new shogunate. Strict social order was enforced and relatives of the daimyo would be taken hostage to ensure loyalty. The Samurais were no longer needed and became educated with a newfound enjoyment in art and culture. Peasant were forced to work in agricultural jobs. -
Period: to
Qing Dynasty
During the 17th Century the Manchu people invaded and subjugated many regions of China ending the Ming Dynasty. Like the Mongols the Manchu people were very distinct from the people they ruled but were less tolerant than the Mongol leaders and sought to make thier culture dominant in China. They put their own people in top positions but maintainted the Chinese civil service exams and bureaucracy. They carried on the isolationist polocies regarding trading but wern´t as strict. -
Period: to
Enlightenment
The enlightenment was a movement to focused on individualism, freedom, and self determination. Many ideas and ways of life came from this. Many philosophers came to light during this time. Some of the most important being Hobbes, Locke, Paine and Smith. Locke advocated for natural rights stating that everyone had them and the government had to protect them. Hobbes agreed with absolutism. Paine was a big factor in starting the American Revolution. Smith was the father of capitalism. -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began as countries changed from being mostly agricultural to more industry based. Many inventions were introduced like the cotton gin and steam engine which made work on farms easier. Less people were needed so they began to move to cities and work in factories. -
Period: to
American Revolution
After the French and Indian war Britain put many unfair taxes on the people in order to pay for the war. People like Thomas Paine encouraged the people to revolt against the unfair government. The people tried to gain freedom and independence from Great Britain. The revolution ended with the creation of the United States which was built on ideas from the Enlightenment. For example the Bill of Rights provided natural rights and the Constitution provided separation of powers. -
Period: to
French Revolution
The French Revolution began because the people were very angry because the former King had brought the country tons of debt. Because of the debt insane taxes were placed on the people and this made the people very angry. They overthrew the government and built it based off of ideas from the Enlightenment. The government did not last long and was soon overthrown by Napoleon. -
Period: to
Haitian Revolution
After the French revolution the Haitians got motivation to fight for their rights like the French did. The slaves revolted because they felt like they deserved rights like the rights that were being embraced in France. This was the most successful slave revolution and eventually stopped slavery in Haiti. -
Period: to
Tanzimat Reforms
During this time the Ottoman Empire began to crumble and was known as the ¨sick man of Europe¨. The Tanzimat Reforms were reforms designed to save the Ottoman Empire. The reforms were designed to modernize the Ottoman Empire by increasing agriculture, improving military, and decrease corruption. They embraced ideas from the Enlightenment. They eventually failed when the Muslims became being treated like second class citizens and exploited. -
Period: to
Opium Wars
This was caused by China trying to eliminate the illegal Opium Trade by Britain. Britain was overselling Opium to China leading to overuse. China declared war on Britian after finding out they had been smuggling Opium into China. After the wars treaing ports were opened so foreign countries could trade legally and Opium was legalized. -
Period: to
Taiping Rebellion
This was a rebellion against the Qing dynasty because of a desire for a new dynasty. The Qing dynasty began persecuting the Christian population and the Taiping joined together to eradicate the Manchu people. The rebellion eventually failed with the help of the British and French. This rebellion was one of the deadliest in history and was able to weaken China. -
Period: to
Meiji Revolution
During this time there was a civil war within Japan between people who wished to stay in traditional isolationist government and people who wished to modernize. By 1869 the Tokugawa Shogunate was abolished and an emperor took his place to continue modernization reforms. They changed their government, military, and industries to be more modern and became the most industrialized nation in Asia. -
Period: to
Sepoy Mutiny
This was a rebellion in India between the Indian Sepoys and the British rule. The British had control of their resources and used them as cheap labor. This rebellion was not successful because of poor leadership but was the first of many attempts for Independence in India. After this Britain's grasp in India was tightened. -
Period: to
Scramble For Africa
The scramble for Africa was the competing efforts of europeans to colonize Africa. It started at the Berlin Conference where all the European powers meet for an orderly colonization of Africa. They established colonial borders and agreed to the free movement of goods on Africa's major rivers like the Niger and Congo river. This divided unified colonies into different ones and put long time rivals into the same colonies. These borders became the cause of extensive warfare. -
Period: to
Berlin Conference
This was a meeting between the European powers in order to split up land in Africa. They split up the land in Africa with Britian and France getting most of it and they had to notify eachother before claiming any colonies. The countries split up former African countries leading to conflict among the natives.