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1441
Portuguese First Contact with Africa
Motivated by God, Gold, and Glory, the Portuguese, being a small seafaring country, were the first to venture into Africa in search of gold -
1453
Ottomans Capture Constantinople
Under Sultan Memet II, determined to capture the city, the Ottomans are able to conquer Constantinople from the Byzantines through superior numbers gained by janissaries, weapons/massive siege cannons, and superior location creating a Byzantine sandwich -
1492
Colombus Reaches Americas
Funded by Queen Isabella of Spain, CC sailed west across Atlantic in hopes of finding an alternate route to Asia, instead discovered the Americas -
1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
Treaty dividing up the world into Portuguese and Spanish spheres of influence, based on what routes each nation was allowed to take across the sea. -
May 18, 1498
First Portuguese (European) Contact With India
Vasco de Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, made stops in East Africa before sailing across the Indian ocean to Calicut, a major spice port which Europeans believed at first to be the source of the spices -
Period: 1500 to
Middle Passage and Atlantic Slave Trade
During this time period, as many as 10 million Africans were taken from Africa to the Americas to be used as labor on plantations for sugar, coffee, tobacco, and more -
1511
Portuguese take Malacca
Control of Malacca meant a near (but not complete) monopoly of the spice trade for Portugal. Having this port helped to destroy Arab spice monopoly, served as a way station to the Spice Islands, and gave the Portuguese a better ability to expand east into China Portuguese success in the Spice trade was largely due to strong seamanship and weaponry. -
1514
Portuguese Arrive in China
Limited to trading in Macao, didn't end up causing much of an impact in China -
1519
Hernán Cortés Conquers Aztecs
Originally welcomed as a god, the spanish conquistadors decimated the Aztecs by killing many of them with disease and allying with Aztec enemies -
1526
Babur Captures Dehli
Babur, beginning with land inherited from Tamerlane, extends his reign south, capturing Kabul in 1504 and crossing into India in 1517, creating the Mughal Empire. -
1542
Encomienda System Abolished
An attempt to protect the Native Americans was vastly abused by the conquistadors far away from the crown -
1568
Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga seized Kyoto and began unification process in Japan -
1571
Lepanto
Spanish defeated the turks in a naval battle marking a significant European victory, but the Turks were not dettered and captured Cyprus a year later -
Hideyoshi
1587: Attempts to expel Christian missionaries
1590: accepted by most daimyo, national currency, Japan almost stable -
Tokugawa Shogunate
Ieyasu Tokugawa declared himself the new shogun, completing the unification of Japan and ushering in the longest lasting Japanese shogunate -
First British Contact in India
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Ieyasu Expelled Christians, ClosedJapan
After Jesuit missionaries served only to destabilize Japan, Ieyasu expelled all of them and closed Japan to all Western influence with the exception of Deshima -
End of the Ming, Start of the Qing
Issues with Manchus up North allow for a revolt to spread, Manchus take advantage and seize Beijing, last Manchu emperor kills himself -
Period: to
Rule of Aurangzeb
Controversial Mughal ruler who was very strict on policies and a devout Muslim, and reverted previous stances on religious tolerance in India, upsetting Hindus and sparking revolts that eventually weakened the dynasty to a state of virtual collapse -
British Arrive in China, Trade Limited to Canton
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Dehli sacked by Persia
Already weakened from internal pressures, Persia invaded and left the capital in shambles, stealing the Peacock Throne -
Battle of Plassey
Battle between small BEIC and Mughals which the BEIC won, granting them power to collect taxes and move farther inward, eventually leading to total British takeover of the subcontinent and destroying India's economy