GHG - Global Interactions: History Goes Global Module Overview

Global Interactions: History Goes Global

Introduction

Up to this point, World History hasn't really been the history of the world so much as the history of different people living in different areas of the world. Sure—there were periods of interactions between the different people in the different locations . .

Previous Interactions Empires brought people together... (Remember the Persian Empire, the Dynasties of China, the Roman Empire, the Dar al-Islam, the Aztec and Incan Empires?) Thinking brought people together...(Remember Siddhartha Gautama, Confucius, the Greek Philosophers, the Humanists?) People brought people together...(Remember Alexander the Great, Chandra Gupta I, Justinian I, Charlemagne, Genghis Khan and heirs, Mansa Musa I, Marco Polo, Saladin, William the Conqueror?) Language brought people together...(Remember the migrations of the Bantu-speakers in Sub-Saharan Africa?) Religions brought people together... (Remember Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam?) Trade Routes and Economics brought people together...(Remember the Silk and Salt Roads, the Indian Ocean Trade Routes? Remember tribute systems of vassal states?)

 

...but these were all examples of regional and transregional interactions—not global, not yet. This unit is going to explain how World History became world history. Once again, we are going to look at the interactions of governments, people, ideas, religions, languages and economics; but this time, these topics will have global implications and will unite the histories of all of the people on the planet.

 

Essential Questions

  • How did the Renaissance and Reformation lead to an "Age of Exploration?"
  • What were the results of the Columbian Exchange?
  • In what ways did the "Age of Exploration" introduce a world economy?
  • How did the "Age of Exploration" vary according to location of exploration, origin of explorers, and time?
  • How did the "Age of Exploration" change the political landscape of Europe?
  • How did Asia react to the influx of Europeans?

 

Study Guide

Click here to download a study guide for this module. Links to an external site.

 

Key Terms

  • "AGE OF RELIGIOUS WARS" — (1560-1648 CE) European period involving a series of wars fought between Catholics and Protestants; culminated in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648 CE) which officially ended with the Treaty of Westphalia 
  • "GUNPOWDER EMPIRES" — Three of the great empires of history—the Ottomans in Turkey, the Safavids in Persia, and the Mughals in India—emerged in the Muslim world between the 14th and the 18th centuries. As powerful societies moved to expand their empires, Turkish, Persian, Mongol, and Arab ways of life blended. The result was a flowering of Islamic culture that peaked in the 16th century. The rulers of all three great Muslim empires of this era based their authority on Islam. They based their power on strong armies, advanced technology, and loyal administrative officers
  • "MIDDLE PASSAGE" — the section of the Triangular Trade (or Transatlantic Slave Trade) where Africans, densely packed in slaver ships, were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the "New World" as slaves
  • "NEW SPAIN" — (1521-1821) Spanish colonial territory in the "New World" whose initial lands were taken from the Aztec Empire with later expansions
  • "NEW WORLD" — term created by Amerigo Vespucci to describe the lands Christopher Columbus thought were the Asian islands—specifically the lands of the Western Hemisphere; the Americas
  • "TREASURE VOYAGES" — (1405-1433 CE) series of voyages undertaken by Chinese explorers led by Zheng He during the Ming Dynasty by the Chinese treasure fleet
  • AKBAR I (THE GREAT) — (1542-1605 CE) the third emperor of the Mughal Empire on the Indian Subcontinent; known for restructuring the tax system, religious tolerance, patronage of the arts, and establishing relationships with arriving Europeans
  • AMERIGO VESPUCCI — (1451-1512 CE) Italian merchant and explorer employed by Portugal and Spain; after whom America was named as he determined the lands "discovered" by Columbus were not Asian islands; coined the term "New World"
  • ASHANTI KINGDOM — (1670-1902 CE) the West African kingdom who spoke the Akan language in modern-day Ghana; prior to colonialism, the Ashanti developed a large empire that fought off colonialism in four wars before falling
  • ASTROLABE — an inclinometer used to determine the latitude of a ship at sea by measuring the sun's noon altitude (declination) or the meridian altitude of a star of known declination
  • ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE — (16th to 19th Century CE) the sale of Africans by Africans to Europeans who transported them to North and South America to sell again
  • AURANGZEB — (1618-1707) last effective emperor of the Mughal Empire on the Indian Subcontinent; known for religious intolerance and unification of entire subcontinent
  • CARAVEL — a small Spanish or Portuguese sailing vessel of the Middle Ages and later, usually lateen-rigged on two or three masts
  • CARDINAL RICHELIEU — (1585-1642 CE) the chief of government under France's King Louis XIII; known for establishing absolute monarchy in France and breaking the political power of the Huguenots, or French Protestants
  • CHARLES V — (1500-1558 CE) King of Spain; Holy Roman Emperor who called Martin Luther to the Diet of Worms to defend his 95 Thesis; Acted as the military arm of the pope preceding the Age of Religious Wars and against the Ottoman Empire
  • CHATTEL SLAVERY — a form of slavery where people are treated as personal property of the owner and can be bought and sold as commodities
  • CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS — (1446?-1506 CE) Italian navigator in Spanish service; traditionally credited as the discover of the Americas in 1492
  • CHURCH OF ENGLAND — Protestant Church established by King Henry VIII in England during the Protestant Reformation; main difference between Church of England and Catholic Church at time of creation was who was in charge—the King of England served as the authority of the Church of England; also known as the Anglican Church
  • CIRCUMNAVIGATION — to travel around the entire planet
  • COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE —the widespread transfer of animals, plants, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres in the 15th and 16th centuries, related to European colonization and trade after Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage
  • COUNCIL OF TRENT — (1545-1563 CE) a meeting of Roman Catholic leaders called by Pope Paul III to rule on doctrines criticized by Protestant reformers
  • COUNTER-REFORMATION —a 16th century movement in which the Roman Catholic Church sought to make changes in response to the Protestant Reformation; also known as the Catholic Reformation
  • CUZCO —capital of the Inca Empire (13th Century-1533) before its conquest by Spanish conquistadors
  • DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS —the doctrine that kings derive their authority from God, not from their subjects, from which it follows that rebellion is the worst of political crimes
  • ELIZABETHAN AGE —a   period   in British history during the reign of Elizabeth I in the 16th century; an   age   marked by literary achievement and domestic prosperity
  • EMPEROR YONGLE — (1360-1424 CE) Ming Dynasty Emperor known for his support of Chinese naval explorations; built Forbidden City
  • ENCOMIENDAS —a grant by the Spanish Crown to a colonist in America conferring the right to demand tribute and forced labor from the Indian inhabitants of an area during the colonial period
  • FERDINAND MAGELLAN — (1480-1521 CE) Portuguese navigator; discoverer of the Straits of Magellan in 1520 and the Philippines in 1521; his crew was the first to sail around the globe
  • FRANCISCO PIZARRO — (1471/76?-1541) Spanish conquistador that conquered the Inca Empire in 1533 and claimed the lands for Spain as the Viceroyalty of Peru
  • GURU NANAK — (1469-1539 CE) founder of Sikhism and first of its ten gurus
  • HERNÁN CORTÉS — (1484-1547 CE) Spanish conquistador that conquered the Aztec Empire and claimed the lands as "New Spain" in 1521
  • HUGUENOTS —French Calvinists during the Protestant Reformation
  • IGNATIUS LOYOLA — (1491-1556 CE) Spanish priest and theologian who established the Society of Jesus—commonly known as the Jesuits—known for their missionary work
  • INDULGENCES —the sale of forgiveness for sins within the Catholic Church practiced until the Council of Trent in the 16th Century
  • JESUITS —members of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola; known for their missionary work
  • JOHN CALVIN — (1509-1564 CE) Protestant Reformer known for his belief in predestination that led to the theology of Calvinism
  • KANGXI —Chinese Qing emperor from 1661-1722 CE who brought about the stability and relative wealth to China
  • KING HENRY VIII — (1491-1547 CE) king of England that led the English version of the Protestant Reformation; nullified papal authority in England and established Church of England (also known as the Anglican Church)
  • LINE OF DEMARCATION —the Pope's division of the New World between the Spanish and the Portuguese based on an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean; granted lands east of the line to Portugal and west of the line to Spain
  • LUTHERANS —followers of Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation; later members of the Lutheran Church
  • MARTIN LUTHER — (1483-1546 CE) German catholic monk who was fed up with the sale of indulgences and posted the 95 Thesis on the church doors of Wittenberg. Called to the Diet of Worms by Charles V to defend his actions. Eventually broke with Catholic church-sparking the Protestant Reformation
  • MOCTEZUMA II — (1466-1520 CE) Emperor of the Aztec Empire during its Spanish conquest
  • MUGHAL EMPIRE — (1526-1854 CE) Sunni Muslim Empire descended from Turks, Afghans, & Mongols living in central Asia (Indian Subcontinent)
  • MUHAMMAD TURE — (1443-1538 CE) emperor of the Songhai Empire known for its expansion and sponsorship of education; known as Askia the Great
  • NEO-CONFUCIAN —the official guiding philosophy of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan; linked with the revival of Confucian philosophy during the Chinese Middle Ages
  • NINETY-FIVE THESES —written by Martin Luther in 1517, they are widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Luther used these theses to display his displeasure with some of the Church's clergy's abuses, most notably the sale of indulgences; this ultimately gave birth to Protestantism
  • ODA NOBUNAGA — (1534-1582 CE) Daimyo of Japan known for wresting power from the Ashikaga Shogunate and starting Japan on its path towards unification
  • OLIVER CROMWELL — (1599-1658 CE) former leader of Parliament and the Roundheads during the English Civil War; ordered the beheading of King Charles I; rose to "Lord Protector" of England during the period between monarchs following King Charles I's beheading and Cromwell's death (1649-1658)
  • OTTOMAN EMPIRE —Sunni Muslim empire that ruled parts of Asia, Africa and Europe between the late 1200s and 1922 CE
  • PEACE OF AUGSBURG —a 1555 agreement declaring that the religion of each German state would be decided by its ruler; only recognized Catholicism and Lutheranism as legitimate religions
  • PENINSULARES —Spanish-born Spaniards living in the "New World" serving as colonial officials
  • PETITION OF RIGHT —a statement of civil liberties sent by the English Parliament to Charles I; result of the Charles I's fiscal policies forcing loans and requiring the quartering of troops and demanding the recognition of certain rights among the populace and denouncing the concept of the Divine Right of Kings
  • POLITIQUES — (16-17th Centuries CE) those in a position of power who put the success and well-being of their state above everything else
  • PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR — (1394-1460 CE) prince of Portugal who ran a sailing school for explorers and sponsored the exploration of the West African coastline
  • PRINTING PRESS —a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. Typically used for texts, the invention and   spread of the printing press   was one of the most influential events in the second millennium
  • PRIVATEERING —engaging in the activities of government-sanctioned piracy against ships of rival nations
  • PROTESTANT REFORMATION —a major 16th century European movement aimed initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Its religious aspects were supplemented by ambitious political rulers who wanted to extend their power and control at the expense of the Church 
  • PURITANS —a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship; wanted to "purify" the Church of England to remove all Catholic influence
  • QING DYNASTY — (1644-1912 CE) last imperial dynasty of China; led by Manchurians (or Manchu people)
  • QUEEN ELIZABETH I — (1533-1603 CE) daughter of Henry VIII; politique Queen of England who reestablished Protestantism in England following the reign of her sister; Elizabeth's reign noted for defeat of the Spanish Armada, execution of Mary Queen of Scots, domestic prosperity and literary achievement; her time period as monarch is referred to as the Elizabethan Age
  • QUEEN NZINGA — (1583-1663 CE) queen of the Kingdom of Ndongo (Angola) known for her successful resistance of Portuguese annexation
  • SAFAVID EMPIRE — (1501-1736 CE) one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Persia (modern Iran) after the fall of the Sasanian Empire - following the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th Century CE; Shi'a Islam Empire
  • SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN — (1574-1635 CE) known as the "Father of New France" for establishing a French colony in North America
  • SCHMALKALDIC LEAGUE —political and military alliance formed in 1531 at Schmalkalden by Protestant princes and delegates of free cities; created in response to the threat (1530) by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to stamp out Lutheranism
  • SHIR JAHAN — (1592-1666 CE) the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire on the Indian Subcontinent; known for the Taj Mahal and the cutting back on religious tolerance
  • SHOGUN —any of a line of hereditary military dictators who ruled Japan and made the Japanese emperor a figurehead
  • SIKHISM —monotheistic religion founded in the Punjab region of the Indian Subcontinent by Guru Nanak around 1520 CE; currently 9th largest religion in world
  • SIR FRANCIS DRAKE — (1540-1596 CE) English privateer and first of his nation to circumnavigate the globe (second behind Magellan's crew); knighted for his success in plundering Spanish ships during the Elizabethan Age
  • SPANISH ARMADA —the Spanish fleet of warships that dominated naval warfare during the "Age of Exploration" until its defeat in 1588 by the English
  • SPICE ISLANDS —islands mostly within modern-day Indonesia known for their spices by European, Muslim and Asian traders during the "Age of Exploration"
  • SUFISM —a mystical approach to the practice of Islam based on spiritualism and personal union with God (Allah)
  • SULEIMAN I — (1494-1566 CE) sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1520-66 CE; also known as Suleiman   the Magnificent or   Suleiman   the Lawgiver; Ottoman Empire reached its fullest extent under his rule
  • SULTAN MEHMED II (THE CONQUEROR) — (1432-1481 CE) Ottoman sultan who ended the Byzantine Empire and expanded Ottoman territory
  • TENOCHTITLAN —capital city of the Aztec Empire; 1325-1521 CE
  • THIRTY YEARS' WAR — (1618-1648 CE) A   war   waged in the early seventeenth century that involved France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and numerous states of Germany; causes of the   war   were rooted in national rivalries and in conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants; culmination of the "Age of Religious Wars;" resolved by Treaty of Westphalia
  • THREE Gs —a reference to the gold, glory and God that served as motivations for the "Age of Exploration"
  • TOKUGAWA IEYASU — (1542-1616 CE) Japanese general and statesman; established the Tokugawa Shogunate that unified all of the Japanese islands as one nation
  • TOKUGAWA PERIOD — (1603-1868 CE) also known as the Edo Period
  • TREATY OF TORDESILLAS —papal treaty signed in 1494; divided newly discovered lands outside of Europe between Spain and Portugal based on the Line of Demarcation drawn through the Atlantic Ocean; Portugal received all lands to the east of the line and Spain received all lands to the west of the line
  • TREATY OF WESTPHALIA — (1648) Treaty that ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe; recognized Dutch independence and the ability of monarchs to choose Calvinism, Catholicism, or Lutheranism for their nations
  • TRIANGULAR TRADE —term regarding the trade between "three" ports; best known triangular trade refers to the transatlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries CE between Africa, the Americas and Europe
  • VASCO DE GAMA — (1460-1524 CE) Portuguese navigator; discovered the sea route from Portugal around the continent of Africa to India
  • VERRAZANO — (1485-1528? CE) Florentine navigator; the first European to sight what was to become New York in 1524
  • VICEROYALTY OF PERU — (1542-1824) Spanish colonial territory in the "New World" whose initial lands were taken from the Inca Empire with later expansions
  • ZHENG HE — (1371-1433) Chinese Muslim admiral of the Treasure Fleets during the "Treasure Voyages;" helped to institute China as a superpower during the Ming Dynasty

 

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