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1250
Feudalism in Europe
After the Roman Empire fell, Europe was left with many smaller empires that operated under feudalism. Feudalism was a system in which the lords who own land agree to give the peasants land as long as they farm and defend the given land. Feudalism was the prominent method of governing throughout the Middle Ages in Europe. Its use wasn't ended until 1500. Mercantilism, which prompted worldwide exploration and conquering, followed after the fall of the use of feudalism in Europe. -
1255
Delhi Sultanate
Following the fall of the Gupta Empire, India (specifically Northern Inda) was left without an empire and was left with smaller kingdoms. However, following the merchants and missionaries that traded throughout Northern India, the area became largely Muslim. These Muslims conquered the large city of Delhi and set up the Delhi Sultanate that ruled Northern India and began to rule much of Southern India. The sultanate was able to fend off the Mongols before later falling in 1555 -
1258
Abbasid Caliphate
After Muhammad established Islam, it spread rapidly through North Africa, Southern Spain, and the Middle East. This spread helped create the Abbasid Caliphate that ruled over much of the aforesaid areas. This caliphate, governed out of Baghdad, was known for its major academic strides, such as medicine, algebra, and the development of the astrolabe that developed international trade. The Abbasids ruled over Dar al Islam for about 5 centuries (c.750-c.1250). -
1279
Tang and Song Dynasties
As the Sui Dynasty fell following the construction of the Grand Canal, China was ruled by the Tang, and later, the Song Dynasty. Under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, China became an economic powerhouse, thanks to the tribute system. Under the Song Dynasty, China began to shrink, with Northern invasions. At the same time, China's bureaucracy became so large that the dynasty itself began to fall apart. -
1290
Yuan Dynasty
As the Mongol Empire spread throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Western Russia, it was able to spread into China. Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, conquered the Song Dynasty and established the Yuan Dynasty, apart of the Mongol Empire. Khan allowed for religious tolerance, gave women more liberty, and facilitated trade by establishing safe trading posts and roads, even trading with Europe. Khan was able to govern a stable dynasty that welcomed trade, as well as trade. -
1300
Mongol Empire
The Mongols are known for having the largest land-based empire ever. They accomplished this massive feat by fighting on horseback, rather than just knights or infantrymen. They did this by developing the stirrup which allowed for them to ride horses in order to attack, which were quicker and much more versatile. The Pax Mongolica allowed for religious tolerance and academic advancements, The Empire still leaves its mark with 16 million people that have lineage to Genghis Khan (the leader). -
1345
Mesoamerican Empires
After the Mayan Civilization fell, the Aztecs took over the land of modern-day Mexico. The Aztecs were known for their religious human sacrifice and they often put priests at the top of their social hierarchy. At the same time, the Incas, located in the Andes Mountains, began to gain a foothold. They were known for their exceptional road-building despite the fact that they were located in such a mountainous area. Both the Aztecs and Inca ruled until they were taken over by European explorers. -
1350
Mali Empire
Following the fall of the Ghana Empire, a large wealthy empire occupied Western Africa. The Mali Empire was a Muslim Empire that was founded by Sundiata. It was known for its wealth and natural resource extraction. The empire grew wealth as it facilitated trade and extracted gold and salt. The empire is most famous for Mansa Musa, whose donations impacted the economy of Egypt. Following the fall of the Mali Empire, the Songhay Empire took hold in the same spot. (peak of empire was 14th Century) -
1350
Bubonic Plauge
During this time period, products were not the only things being traded. Unknowingly, with the expansion of the Mongol Empire, the Bubonic Plague was also being spread. This plague swept over Europe, particularly the urban cities that housed the majority of the population of the continent. It was estimated that, because of this disease, nearly 1/3 of the European population was killed, leaving significant negative economic effects on the continent, and on the world. -
1400
European Renaissance
As Europe came out of the Bubonic Plague, they underwent a renaissance where they became focused on Roman and Greek literature and Art. During this time period, Europe made strides to become more focused on academics. Famous inventors arose as the Printing Press was created, sparking widespread increases in the literacy rate and, eventually, the Enlightenment. The Renaissance allowed Europe to be revived and has allowed Europe to become the dominant continent intellectually, even now. -
1420
Age of Exploration
As the Mongol Empire began to fall, the Ming Dynasty was established. The Mings were successful in moving from land-based trade and exploration to maritime trade and exploration. They built the junk and traveled throughout the Indian Ocean (Swahili Coast, Arabia, India, and SE Asia). At the same time, the Portuguese were establishing city-states on the Southern and Central Swahili Coast, while the Spanish slowly began to explore the Atlantic and America -
1500
Spanish Colonial Empire
After conquering much of western South America, Spain found sliver and gold in the Andes mountains and began to colonize. They colonized from Northern Chile to Southern US (modern day). In doing this, they extracted mass amounts of solver in gold. They specifically transported much of their silver to the Philippines to eventually be sent to China. China used this Spanish silver as their main form of currency. Spain profited off of supplying China's entire currency system. -
1500
Age of Exploration
As the Ottoman Empire controlled the only direct aquatic link between Europe and Asia for trade, Europe decided to go around the globe, unknowingly finding a new landmass--the Americas. After finding America, much of the natives were killed off due to disease, leaving the Europeans to operate this area. This prompted the Europeans to create massive maritime empires. It also prompted a global exchange of commodities and diseases, eventually prompting modern-day globalization. -
1500
Portuguese Trading Post Empire
Following the establishment of the line of demarcation, Portugal was forced to establish its exploration in the Eastern Hemisphere. Rather than conquering land, though, Portugal set up an empire in which a monopoly was created. Portugal set up trading posts from the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia. By doing this, Portugal was able to manage all trade in most of the Indian Ocean by simple trading posts. Ultimately, Portugal was able to profit off of most trade in the Indian Ocean. -
1550
Atlantic Slave Trade
As the European Maritime Empires began to extract natural resources from the Americas, they decided to get their slaves from Africa. As sugar cane became a hot commodity in Europe, slaves were kidnapped from the West Africa and taken to the Caribbean and South America to harvest this sugar cane. Slaves were taken all over the Americas in order to fulfill the demand of commodities in Europe. The slaves from Africa taken to the Americas were instrumental in the supply chain for commodities. -
1550
Ming Dynasty
As the Mongol Empire fell, the native Mings were able to dethrone the Yuan Dynasty and independently lead China. Under the Mings, China expanded its territory and trade. They traded with Europe as well as exploring throughout the Indian Ocean. The Mings were instrumental in rebuilding parts of and expanding the Great Wall for protection. The Mings ruled for over 300 years and generally ruled over a prosperous China that substantially increased the amount of international trade. -
1550
Ottoman Empire
After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Mehmed II took over Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul. The Islamic Gunpowder Empire eventually ruled over Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. They took Christian boys, specifically from Southern Europe to serve as janissaries, or slaves, but this was usually a highly respected job such as a bodyguard. The Ottomans most notably were the first to use gunpowder (cannons) to overtake cities. This is how they overtook Constantinople. -
The Reformation
As Europe moved away from feudalism to centralized mercantilism, the Roman Catholic Church began to lose power and become filled with corruption. At the same time, Martin Luther saw this corruption and broadcasted it to societies. Doing this created new sects and a new branch of Christianity called PROTESTantism. This prompted wars throughout Europe arguing which church (protestant or catholic) will be prevalent in each country. -
Qing Dynasty
Just as the Yuan Dynasty was foreign-led, the Qing Dynasty was also foreign-led. The Northern Manchurians successfully overtook the Ming Dynasty and ruled for over 300 years. The Qing Dynasty facilitated prosperity and expanded the borders of China to about where it is today. The Qing Dynasty also made money by tribute taxes from neighboring territories. The Dynasty also inflicted very high taxes and, towards the end, began to be run over by corruption. -
Tokugawa Shogunate
As much of the rest of the world was working to expand their empires and develop as a whole, Japan was not doing such. Japan worked to unite itself as a whole while moving to a feudal system. The shogunate was led by a shogun with daimyos serving as landowners. The shogunate was known for secluding itself to a hermit kingdom, similar to today's North Korea. The shogunate cut off trade and resisted westernization, which would serve as a disadvantage to them for a time until they revolutionized. -
Mughal Empire
After the fall of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire ruled over the Indian subcontinent. The Mughals operated a very successful bureaucracy. They traded by land and by the Indian Ocean. Akbar, a Mughal leader, made the empire very wealthy and grew the size of the empire and its army. This wealth is seen in many structures such as the Taj Mahal. The Mughals were very religiously tolerant, and even welcomed the new Sikhism, a syncretic religion between Islam and Hinduism. -
The Enlightenment
Following the development of Gutenberg's Printing Press, literacy rates around the world soared. In doing so, many people, low class or elite, were able to read and learn from others. This encouraged many enlightened thinkers to question and write about how society (social and political) in Europe worked. Many people read these inquiries that brought many new ideas, leading to the rise of capitalism, feminism, liberalism, socialism, many other isms, as well as alternate methods to governing. -
American Revolution
As the Enlightenment Period continued to show citizens across Europe and the Americas the teh disgraces of the European countries. At the same time, the Americans were becoming a lot less dependent on the British. They also had to pay high taxes to Britain but had no representation in Parliament. Inspired by the philosophies of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence listing "unalienable rights." With help of Britain's rival, France, the colonists won the revolution. -
French Revolution
After the French helped the Americans in their revolution, France went into debt. At the same time, they were buying more than they were making, putting them into an economic crisis. They also has a governing body that represented the top 3% of people in France. Because of this and the philosophes during the Enlightenment Period, France revolutionized and created a new empire led by Napoleon. They wrote the "Declaration of the RIghts of Man," comparable to the Declaration of Independence. -
Industrial Revolution
As population began to grow in Europe due to advances in the agricultural industry, more people began to move to the cities, specifically, London, Manchester, and Liverpool. Inventors began to create machines that accelerated production, and factory workers began to populate the cities. However, many of the working conditions were less than desirable, and many children were the ones being forced to work in these conditions. -
Haitian Revolution
As the French were undergoing their Revolution, they began to lose control of their coffee colony of Haiti. In doing so, the slaves, informed by freed slave and general Toussaint L'Ouverture, began to get the slaves together to revolt against the unstable French. Eventually, the slaves were able to successful revolt. The Haitian Revolution is regarded as the first ever succseful slave revolt in history. Because of that Haiti still has a high number of citizens with African descent. -
Opium Wars
As the British East India Company continued to flourish, much of the profits were coming from China's consumption of Opium. However, the Qing Dynasty realized the delusion that Opium caused and outlawed it, but this was a major source of profit for Great Britain. In response, Great Britain had a series of wars to allow for Opium to be sold into China.In the end, Britain won the war and was able to trade opium again with a tarrif. -
Tanzimat Reforms
As the Industrial Revolution began to spread throughout Europe, the Ottoman Empire was forced to reform. They did this through the Tanzimat Reforms. These reforms changed the education system in the empire to become more secular. It also gave all men a more equal chance at getting an education.These reforms also worked to get rid of corruption in the empire and open it up to more international trade. -
Meiji Restoration
As the Industrial Revolution raged through Europe, the Tokugawa Shogunate failed to industrialize. Therefore, with pressure from America, Emperor Meiji revolutionized Japan. He industrialized the nation by ending the feudal way of society, overtaking the shogunate, and industrializing. Emperor Meiji brought trains and factories in order to revolutionize the way Japan worked and bring them to the international market. -
Sepoy Mutiny
As the British East India Company became dominant in India, their weapons began to become made with pig and cow byproducts, angering both the indigenous Hindus and Muslims. Therefore, much of the native population of India revolted against the British. However, the British soundly beat and controlled the native Indians. While the Indians did not achieve freedom, this was the beginning of their long reigning nationalist movement that ultimately did give them freedom. -
Taiping Rebellion
As Europe began to pursue African imperialism, they already set up spheres of influence in China where they were able to have access over trade in the given area. These were possible due to the weak economic policies of the Qing Dynasty that prompted the Taiping Rebellion. This rebellion worked to overthrow the government of the Qing Dynasty and weed out the corruption that it was filled with. The rebellion was lost but prompted other rebellions that eventually overthrew the Qing Dynasty. -
Berlin Conference
After the unification of Germany, Otto von Bismarck knew that Africa would be a place of conflict. In order to reduce this conflict, he hosted the European countries at a conference to divide up Africa for each empire. However, no African representatives were invited, so, while the conference kept peace amongst Europe, it caused widespread conflict across Africa as united tribes were divided and enemy tribes united. -
Scramble for Africa
After the Berlin Conference, European countries began taking over Africa in a "scramble" as they competed for natural resources.European countries divided up Africa by "drawing lines in the sand," splitting up native tribes that were united for centuries. The Europeans also put these native peoples to work extracting these natural resources. Because of these divisions between united tribes and combinations of enemy tribes, Africa still faces ethnic conflicts today.
