The History Book

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 99

See also: The An Lushan revolt 84–85 ■ Kublai Khan conquers the Song 102–03 ■ The Mongol invasions
of Japan are repulsed 133 ■ The Battle of Sekigahara 184–85 ■ The Meiji Restoration 252–53

a dominant role in local government. governors to cement his control Minamoto Yoritomo
The Kyoto court appointed the most over the provinces. In 1192, Yoritomo
talented samurai as governors accepted from the emperor the title A descendant of the royal
(zuryo), both to bind them to the of shogun, becoming the de facto emperor Seiwa, Yoritomo was
imperial government and to prevent military ruler of Japan. the heir of the Minamoto clan,
them from building their own which had been crushed by
power bases. However, the samurai Over the following centuries, the Taira clan after a civil war
developed loyalty to their extended the emperors made periodic vain in 1159. After the war, the
family, or clan, and its leader rather attempts to reassert authority over now orphaned Yoritomo was
than to the emperor, and fought one the shogunate, but the shoguns in exiled to Hirugashima, an
another from their power bases in turn could not maintain control of island in Izu province. Here he
the provinces. The Minamoto and the samurai and their warlords, remained for 20 years before
Taira clans engaged in a series of who controlled their areas and issuing a call to arms and
these struggles which culminated fought among themselves. Japan rising up against the Taira.
in the Gempei War, during which dissolved into a patchwork of He established a headquarters
the Taira were utterly crushed. military warlords or daimyo, each in Kamakura, from which
with its own power base and he began to organize the
The shogunate retinue of samurai warriors. warlords and samurai into
Following his victory, clan leader an independent government.
Minamoto Yoritomo established Establishment of the office of
a parallel government based at shogun, which had seemed to offer A decisive victory over the
Kamakura, about 250 miles east Japan stability in 1192, ultimately Tiara in 1185 sealed Yoritomo’s
of Kyoto. Other clan chieftains led to the Sengoku, a civil war military success, and he
became his vassals or gokenin, lasting almost 150 years. This war emerged the undisputed
and he dispatched military estate ended with the reunification of leader of Japan.
Japan under the new shogunate
of Tokugawa in 1603. ■ Yoritomo developed
policies to relieve the strain
The imperial court at Lawlessness in the between the military lords and
Kyoto becomes inward- provinces leads to the the court aristocrats, and set
looking and loses touch rise of the samurai up an administrative network
with the provinces. that soon took over as the
military class. central government, but much
of the remainder of his life was
Samurai clans become After victory over spent in suppressing those
semi-independent the Taira, Minamoto clans who had not accepted
as shogunate Yoritomo is appointed Minamoto dominance.

authority weakens. shogun.
The shogunate collapses
and power devolves to

the daimyo.

100

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THE SIGNING OF THE MAGNA CARTA (1215)

IN CONTEXT O n June 15, 1215, King The Magna Carta included clauses
John of England signed relating to royal forests: the barons
FOCUS a charter at Runnymede, aimed to limit the king’s rights under
The development a meadow beside the Thames. England’s Forest Law, regulate forest
of subjects’ rights Designed to make peace between boundaries, and investigate officials.
the king and a group of rebel barons,
BEFORE the Magna Carta, as a form of the
1100 Henry I’s Coronation document became known, at first
Charter promises to abolish seemed ineffectual. However, its
unjust oppression. assertion of the rights of subjects
against arbitrary actions of the
1166 The Assize of Clarendon Crown—the essential principle
extends the power of royal of the rule of law—provided a
justice at the expense of blueprint which, more than eight
baronial courts. centuries later, is still viewed as a
fundamental guarantee of rights
1214 Normandy is lost at the in the US and elsewhere.
Battle of Bouvines; barons
bridle at the campaign’s cost. Feudal society sought to centralize administration,
When King John acceded in 1199, partly by establishing a series of
AFTER England was a feudal society, a royal courts. These royal courts
1216 The Magna Carta is land-based hierarchy headed by the raised revenue for the Crown
reissued on the accession of king, who owned all the land. The through fines and charges—but at
Henry III, and again in 1225 tenants-in-chief (or barons) received the expense of the barons, who had
in exchange for a tax grant. land from the king in exchange for previously raised those funds from
loyalty and military service. They their own local tribunals.
1297 The Magna Carta is in turn leased the land to their own
again confirmed and written armed retainers, who leased to The exactions of King John
into statute law by Edward I. peasants, or villeins. Yet monarchs, The barons’ discontent at these
especially in England, were levying growing demands intensified under
1970 A bill repealing ancient an ever-increasing series of taxes King John. Ruinously expensive
statute laws leaves untouched and additional financial burdens campaigns against the French in
four chapters of the Magna on their barons. English kings from 1200–04 had already resulted in the
Carta, including Chapter 39. Henry I (1100–1135) onward also loss of Normandy (and earned the

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 101

See also: The Norman conquest of England 132 ■ The Battle of Castillon 156–57 ■ The execution of Charles I 174–75 ■
The signing of the Declaration of Independence 204–07 ■ The storming of the Bastille 208–13

king the mocking nickname Centralization Financial demands
“Lackland”). Scutage, a further of royal administration to fund wars
cash levy that left many barons in reduces barons’ power
debt to money-lenders, was bitterly in France increase.
resented. Not only was the king and income.
proving lamentably unsuccessful
in war, but he had also broken the Barons revolt and
unspoken contract between himself force King John to sign
and the barons, that allowed them
to run their lands as they chose. a charter of rights.

Hoping for support from the Rights of individuals The principle that new
pope, who had excommunicated against arbitrary taxes can be raised only
John in 1209, the rebellious barons punishment by the after consultation with
confronted the king. Attempts at
diplomacy failed, and by May 1215, Crown are established. a royal council evolves.
the barons had occupied London,
forcing John to enter into a treaty
with them to avoid a civil war. After
careful direction of negotiations by
Archbishop Stephen Langton of
Canterbury, the agreement—more
a truce than a peace—was signed.

Provisions of the charter but the section that has exerted as arrest or confiscation of land.
The charter was known as the the most influence down the ages The charter survived the civil war
Magna Carta, or Great Charter, to was Chapter 39. This open-ended that broke out soon after the Magna
distinguish it from a more restricted clause protected all “free men” from Carta was agreed, and the papal
Forest Charter issued in 1217. Much arbitrary actions by the Crown such repudiation of the charter’s terms
of the Magna Carta dealt with in August 1215, which led to the
redressing baronial grievances, barons’ excommunication. Chapter
39 was extended under a 1354 law
Influence of the Magna Carta of Edward III to protect not only
“free men” (a small minority in
The Magna Carta has acquired Revolutionary War depicts a England where most people were
an almost mythical status as militiaman with sword in one technically serfs), but also any man
the constitutional bedrock of hand and the Magna Carta in “of whatever estate or condition
subjects’ rights. It contributed to the other. Revolutionary feeling he may be.” It survived longer
the development of parliament was fueled by Americans’ than most of the other provisions,
from the 13th century, and was belief that the Crown had including the security clause that
used by 17th-century rebels to breached the fundamental law allowed barons to seize all the
argue against the divine right enjoyed by all English subjects, king’s land if he failed to fulfil his
of kings propounded by the and both the United States obligations under the agreement.
Stuart monarchs Charles I and Constitution, enacted in 1789,
James II. Several American and the Bill of Rights adopted What had seemed a small
colonies’ charters contained two years later, were influenced concession that day in Runnymede
clauses modeled on it, while by the Magna Carta’s limitations provided a long-lasting rallying cry
the design of the Massachusetts on the arbitrary powers of a for opponents of royal tyranny. ■
seal chosen at the start of the government against its subjects.

102

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KUBLAI KHAN CONQUERS THE SONG (1279)

IN CONTEXT I n March 1279, Mongol warriors lifestyle: as expert horsemen, the
swept through southern China, soldiers were masters of mobile
FOCUS capturing the last strongholds warfare and able to descend with
Mongol rule in China of the Chinese Song dynasty. This devastating force and lightning
defeat, which heralded the start speed on their opponents.
BEFORE of the Yuan dynasty, marked the
1206 Mongol Empire founded culmination of the Mongols’ rise The Mongols’ rule in China
by Genghis Khan. in under 70 years from an obscure Genghis’s grandson Kublai Khan
nomadic group from the Central ruled China from 1260, but the
1215 Genghis Khan sacks Asian steppes to the masters of a challenges of mediating between
Zhongdu (now Beijing), capital vast empire stretching from China the nomadic traditions of the
of the northern Jin dynasty. to eastern Europe. One of the major Mongols and the complex culture
challenges they now faced was to of the conquered proved difficult.
1227 Death of Genghis Khan make the transition from roving
and fragmentation of the tribesmen to settled conquerors.
empire into smaller khanates
loyal to a single Great Khan. The rise of the Mongols Paper money was invented by the
At the start of the 13th century, Chinese c.800. By the Yuan dynasty,
1260 Kublai declares himself the Mongols had consisted of many banknotes (such as the one above from
Great Khan. different warring clans. However, 1287) were issued by the government.
in 1206 Temüjin—later known as
1266 Kublai orders the Genghis Khan—proclaimed himself
reconstruction of Zhongdu, the ruler of a united Mongol nation.
and renames it Khanbalik. Shrewd and ruthless, Genghis
diverted his people from inter-clan
AFTER warfare and directed their energies
1282 Kublai’s corrupt chief to the more lucrative business of
minister Ahmad killed by invading—first neighboring tribes
Chinese assassins. in the steppes, then more organized
states such as Persia, Russia, and
1289 Southern extension of northern China (1219–23). He gave
the Grand Canal completed. the Mongol hordes a proper military
structure and exploited the skills
1368 Mongols driven from they had learned from their nomadic
China. Replaced by the native
Chinese Ming dynasty.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 103

See also: The First Emperor unifies China 54–57 ■ The An Lushan revolt 84–85 ■
Marco Polo reaches Shamgdu 104–05 ■ Hongwu founds the Ming dynasty 120–27 ■
The Mongol invasions of Japan are repulsed 133 ■ The Revolt of the Three Feudatories 186–87

Kublai Khan Grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai to restore the economy, initially
Khan (1215–94) governed northern encouraged religious tolerance,
China for his elder brother Möngke, and welcomed foreigners such
who became Great Khan (the as Marco Polo to the Mongol
senior Mongol ruler) in 1251. court, aware of the expertise
Kublai’s restoration of Chinese- they might bring. After the
style administration displeased successes in China, Kublai
many Mongols and he was nearly dispatched armies to Japan,
removed in 1258, but Möngke’s Annam (Vietnam), Myanmar
death led to Kublai achieving the (Burma), and Java; however,
position of Great Khan himself these either failed or did not
in 1260. Kublai established a establish a lasting Mongol
bureaucracy staffed largely by presence. By his death, Kublai
Chinese officials, but he placed was a disappointed man, who
Mongol officers (darughachi) in drank to excess, suffered from
key towns to ensure loyalty to obesity, and had to be carried
the empire. He took measures to his final campaigns in a litter.

The old informal hierarchies of son educated in Buddhist scripture. the Mongols needed the spoils of
the steppes no longer sufficed to He also set up schools for peasants conquest to fund their huge army.
administer a land that contained and introduced the Mongol postal Kublai’s successors failed to work
great cities, and the immediate system of using horses and relay out how to preserve their identity
rewards of plunder were replaced stations to link up the empire, while also keeping their monopoly
by the deferred benefits gained which benefited the merchants. of power, and the Mongol military
by good governance and taxation. gradually declined. After decades
As a result, many Mongols missed The end of the empire of famine, lethal epidemics, and
the old ways. To appease his fellow The need to restore stability in corruption at court, in 1368 the
Mongols, Kublai gave them greater northern China delayed Kublai’s heirs of Kublai were defeated in
rights and privileges than the native attempts to subjugate the Song a rebellion led by Zhu Yuanzhang,
Chinese. Meanwhile, to gain favor in the south until 1268. Although founder of the Ming dynasty. After
with the traditional Chinese elites, ultimately successful, the 11-year more than a century of occupation,
he promoted Confucian scholars, campaign was ruinously costly. China was back in the hands of the
funded Taoist temples, and had his To preserve their warrior identity, native (Han) Chinese. ■

Genghis Khan unites The Mongols Mongol rulers have
a number of nomadic grow strong difficulties preserving their

Mongol tribes. enough nomadic ways while
Other tribes join to conquer governing large areas.
advanced states
the Mongols or like China. Mongols lose military
are conquered. effectiveness; their
empire collapses.

104

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MARCO POLO REACHES SHANGDU (c.1275)

IN CONTEXT Long-distance trade Mongols conquer
from China to the Middle East lands through which the Silk
FOCUS is damaged by the collapse Road runs, improving the
Rise of international trade
of traditional powers. route’s security.
BEFORE
106 bce The first caravan to Trade along the route
travel the full length of the increases, attracting
Silk Road carries Chinese European merchants
ambassadors to Parthia. including Marco Polo.

751 ce Defeat of the Chinese The collapse of Mongol European powers seek
army at the Talas River rule and rise of the Ottoman alternative maritime
prevents Chinese expansion trade routes to the east.
west along the Silk Road. Empire render the route’s
territory less secure.
1206 Genghis Khan unites
the Mongol tribes, beginning V enetian merchant Marco goods between China and Europe
Mongol conquest of Central Polo’s arrival at Shangdu, for centuries. The Silk Road had
Asia and China. the capital of the Great first become a conduit for trade
Khan Kublai, in 1275 marked the when the Chinese Han Dynasty
AFTER end of a four-year journey. He had pushed into Central Asia in the late
1340s The Black Death traveled from Italy to the Mongol 2nd century bce. From then on,
spreads along the Silk Road, capital Shangdu along the length of goods such as jade and silk were
reaching Europe in 1347. the Silk Road, an ancient network carried west, passed from caravan
of routes that been carrying precious to caravan by a series of merchants,
1370–1405 Timurlane makes
extensive conquests, briefly
reviving the Mongol empire
and the Silk Road.

1453 The Ottoman conquest
of Constantinople blocks
Europeans’ land route to Asia.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 105

See also: Siddartha Gautama preaches Buddhism 40–41 ■ Kublai Khan conquers the Song 102–03 ■
Hongwu founds the Ming dynasty 120–27 ■ The Treaty of Tordesillas 148–51 ■ The construction of the Suez Canal 230–35

to be met by caravans of furs, Ages, traders could work only locally, Marco Polo
gold, and horses traveling in and transport their goods to points
the opposite direction. Chinese where they might connect to longer- At just 17 years old, Marco
inventions ranging from gunpowder distance trade routes. From the Polo (1254–1324) set off from
and paper to the magnetic compass 12th century, Italian city States Venice to the court of the
were also brought to the west along such as Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, Mongol ruler, Kublai Khan.
the route, arriving at Constantinople pioneered maritime trade across He traveled with his father
and the Black Sea ports, the the eastern Mediterranean, which and uncle, who had previously
western end of the route where enabled merchants to connect visited China and been
Genoa and Venice chiefly traded. directly with sea routes that linked entrusted by Kublai with a
West Asia and Egypt to China via message for the pope. Polo
Mongol revival of the route the Indian Ocean. was received with great favor
By the 13th century, empires that at the Mongol court and
had controlled sections of the Silk The profits for merchants taking stayed in China for 17 years.
Road had fragmented. This left advantage of the “Pax Mongolica,” He traveled extensively
the route less secure for travelers, or Mongol peace, could be huge. throughout the country in the
and so deterred merchants from In the late 13th century, the costs Khan’s service, leaving for
using it. However, following Mongol of setting up a caravan might home at last in around 1291.
conquest of the area between 1205 amount to 3,500 florins, but the
and 1269, the area was controlled— cargo, once sold in China, could During a naval battle in
if loosely—by a single authority, the yield seven times that sum, and 1298, Polo was captured and
Great Khan, so a merchant could by 1326 Genoese traders were a imprisoned by the Genoese.
travel from Khanbalik (Beijing) to common sight in the principal The stories he told of his
Baghdad without leaving Mongol Chinese port of Zaitun. sojourn in the lands of the
territory. This renewed stability Great Khan attracted the
encouraged a revival of trade. Decline of land trade attention of his cell mate,
The Silk Road flourished for another Rustichello, who wrote them
At around this time, European century, but the collapse of the down, embellishing them as
merchants’ horizons were also Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia in 1335, he went along. The resulting
expanding. In the early Middle and the overthrow in 1368 of the book was translated into
Yuan, the Mongol ruling dynasty many languages and includes
All the rare things that in China, once again left the route much invaluable information
come from India are brought divided between politically weak about late-13th-century
to Cambaluc—precious stones powers. It was also blocked to China. After his release, Polo
and pearls, and other kinds European traders at the western returned to Venice, where he
end by the growth of the Muslim lived for the rest of his life.
of rarities… a thousand Ottoman Empire.
cart-loads of silk enter
A taste of the profits of long-
Cambaluc daily. distance trade in luxury goods
Marco Polo, c.1300 encouraged European powers
to seek alternatives to the now
defunct Silk Road, this time by
sea. In 1514, Portuguese merchants
arrived off the coast of China, near
Guangzhou, eager to take up the
direct trading links with China that
had been pioneered two and a half
centuries earlier by their illustrious
predecessor, Marco Polo. ■

106

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THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (1099)

IN CONTEXT O n July 15, 1099, some Victorious crusaders flooded into
15,000 Christian knights Jerusalem, and in a ruthless assault
FOCUS surged into Jerusalem seized the city from the Fatimid
The Crusades after a month-long siege. The caliphate, laying the foundations
victorious crusaders slaughtered for a new kingdom.
BEFORE Muslim defenders and Jews alike
639 A Muslim army captures in a bloody act that marked the In the 11th century, however, the
Jerusalem. beginning of 200 years of Muslim– advances of a new group, the Seljuk
Christian warfare in the Holy Land. Turks, disrupted the pilgrimage
1009 Caliph al-Hakim orders routes to Jerusalem, and the
Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Defending Christianity Turks’ defeat of the Byzantines
Sepulchre to be destroyed. Jerusalem had fallen into Muslim at Manzikert threatened to push
hands in 639. Neither the Byzantine the frontiers of Christianity back
1071 Seljuk Turks defeat and emperors in Constantinople nor the to the gates of Constantinople. In
capture Byzantine emperor, Christian kings in Western Europe 1095, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
Romanus Diogenes. had the political willpower or the sent emissaries to Pope Urban II
strength to reverse the conquest, asking for help to bolster the
1095 Byzantine emperor although the city was sacred to both. Byzantine retaliation.
Alexios sends to pope for help.

AFTER
1120 The Order of the Knights
Templar is founded.

1145 The Second Crusade
is launched.

1187 Muslim leader Saladin
captures Jerusalem, and the
Third Crusade is launched.

1198 Baltic Crusade begins.

1291 Muslim forces complete
the reconquest of Palestine
and Syria.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 107

See also: Muhammad receives the divine revelation 78–81 ■ The founding of Baghdad 86–93 ■
The Investiture Controversy 96–97 ■ The fall of Granada 128–29 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41

Emperor Alexios appeals Crusading Further crusades are
for help to defend the armies capture launched to defend the
Byzantine Empire. Jerusalem and crusader states against
Pope Urban II calls establish states Muslim counter-attacks.
upon Christian
knights to launch a in Palestine The crusading
military expedition and Syria. movement spreads
to Jerusalem. to eastern Europe and

southern France.

The Just War As the initial crusading impulse Third Crusade mustered in
Pope Urban readily seized a cause waned, Outremer began to suffer response to the catastrophic loss
that would enhance papal prestige. from a shortage of manpower. This of Jerusalem in 1187, attracted
In a sermon of 1095, he described was partly resolved by the founding participation at an even higher
atrocities against Christians in the of crusading orders such as the level, as monarchs such as Louis
Holy Land, calling for an expedition Templars and Hospitaller knights, VIII of France, Richard I of England,
to free them. Christian warriors organizations who swore monastic and the Holy Roman Emperor
rallied to the cause, eager to gain vows to defend the Holy Land. Frederick Barbarossa assumed
both salvation and plunder by joining their leadership.
a so-called Just War in God’s name. Further Crusades
However, even this was not By 1270 there had been eight
Some 100,000 crusading knights, enough, and when Muslim armies further crusades, and the movement
mostly French and Norman, set out captured Edessa in 1144, a Second had extended to include attacks on
in 1096. Progress to Jerusalem was Crusade was called. This, and the Muslims in North Africa; joining
slow: the crusaders suffered several the Reconquista (the Christian
setbacks at the hands of the Seljuk A race absolutely reconquest of Islamic emirates
Turks, and the long siege of Antioch alien to God has invaded in Spain); launching expeditions
severely tested their morale, yet the land of Christians, has against pagan groups in eastern
they pressed on and, led by the reduced the people with Europe, and even Christian heretics,
French knight Godfrey of Bouillon, sword, rapine, and flame. such as the Cathars in southern
at last captured the Holy City. Pope Urban II, 1095 France. In the Middle East, however,
the emergence of stronger Muslim
In the area they had conquered, states, such as the Mamluks in
the crusaders established four Egypt, able to mount a strong
states, at Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, resistance to crusader pressure,
and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, rendered the later expeditions
known collectively as Outremer. largely ineffectual.
To withstand the vigorous Muslim
counter-attacks, the crusaders built Jerusalem fell to the Muslims
a dense network of fortresses such for a final time in 1244. The last
as Beaufort, Margat, and Krak crusader stronghold in the Holy
des Chevaliers, which dominated Land, the city of Acre, was taken
strategic routes into the Holy Land. by the Mamluks in 1291. ■

108

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THE CONSTRUCTION OF
ANGKOR WAT (c.1120)

IN CONTEXT I n the early 12th century, much Buddhas decorate all the
of mainland Southeast Asia, immense columns and lintels.
FOCUS including Cambodia, and parts
Medieval Southeast Asia of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, was Zhou Daguan
controlled by the Khmer Empire from
BEFORE its capital at Angkor (in the northeast Chinese diplomat
c.700 The city-state of of present-day Cambodia)—an
Srivijaya extends over most impressive urban complex with kings faced foreign invasions,
of Sumatra, western Java, residential areas, temples, and a shifts in trade, and wars with rival
and the Malay Peninsula. network of water reservoirs, built by a kingdoms that shrunk its territory.
succession of god-kings who ruled as The empire’s fortunes were revived
802 The Khmer state is the earthly representatives of the under Jayavarman VII, who made
founded by Jayavarman II. Hindu god Shiva. Mahyanana Buddhism the state
religion, and initiated a building
AFTER Around 1120, the Khmer king spree at Angkor, but his death in
1177 Champa invades and Suryavarman II commissioned an 1218 left it fatally weakened.
destroys Angkor. ambitious new construction
project—a 200-hectare (500-acre) Outside influences
1181–1220 Jayavarman VII temple complex dedicated to the The Khmer Empire was preeminent
repels Champa and restores Hindu god Vishnu that would also among the powerful states that had
the Khmer Empire to glory. record the king’s achievements. His emerged in present-day Cambodia,
spectacular Angkor Wat, completed Myanmar, and the islands of Java
c.1250 The first united Thai 37 years later, was enclosed by a and Sumatra in Indonesia toward
state is established, with its huge moat, adorned with lotus- the end of the first millennium ce.
capital at Sukhothai. shaped towers, and decorated with During the states’ formation, their
an 2,600ft-long (800m) gallery of societies had been profoundly
1293 The Mongols are fine bas-reliefs depicting scenes
defeated by the Singasari ruler from Hindu mythology and the king
of Java, ending their bid to as the embodiment of Vishnu.
expand into Southeast Asia.
Angkor Wat is a testament to
c.1440 The city of Angkor is the remarkable productivity and
abandoned, although Angkor creativity of one of the greatest
Wat remains a place of worship powers in Southeast Asia’s history,
for Buddhist pilgrims. yet its construction also marked
the onset of its decline, as later

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 109

See also: Kublai Khan conquers the Song 102–03 ■ Marco Polo reaches Shangdu 104–05 ■
Hongwu founds the Ming dynasty 120–127 ■ The Gulf of Tonkin Incident 312–313

affected by contact with India and China craved, but by the end of the After its rediscovery by Europeans
China, made via the major trade 12th century it had been reduced to a in the late 19th century, Angkor Wat
route that ran through the Bay of small kingdom, and was later suffered decades of looting and
Bengal, then overland across the eclipsed by the Majapahit in Java. unregulated tourism; it was made a
Malay Peninsula before resuming UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.
through the Gulf of Thailand and In the late 13th century, Mongol
on to the south of China. As well as forces under the Chinese emperor and Ayutthaya (now in Thailand)—
enabling the exchange of Southeast Kublai Khan invaded Vietnam, Java, seized more of its land. In 1431,
Asian commodities such as rare and Myanmar, and although these the latter took Angkor, and the
woods, ivory, and gold, this network campaigns failed, in their wake, capital was later relocated to the
introduced Indian and Chinese the Khmer lost control of eastern coast, leaving Suryavarman’s
ideas, concepts, and practices— Thailand. In the early 1400s, the spiritual masterpiece to be
including Hinduism and Buddhism— empire contracted further as armies reclaimed by the jungle. ■
to the region’s civilizations, which from Champa (now in Vietnam)
adapted them to create original,
indigenous varations, particularly in
architecture and the arts.

Maritime empires
While the Khmer Empire held sway
in mainland Southeast Asia, in
the Indonesian archipelago, the
empire of Srivijaya, with its base at
Palembang in Sumatra, dominated
commerce by controlling the two
passages between India and
China—the straits of Malacca and
Sunda. Over time, it had grown rich
from its trade in the spices, especially
nutmeg, that Europe, India, and

Suryavarman II One of the Khmer Empire’s the empire’s boundaries deep
greatest kings, Suryavarman II into Thailand and made
ascended to the throne in 1113, advances against the Pagan
after killing his rival, and reunited kingdom of Myanmar.
Cambodia after decades of unrest.
He quickly resumed diplomatic As well as the awe-inspiring
relations with China, and in 1128 Angkor Wat, which remains the
his kingdom was recognized as largest religious structure in
a Chinese vassal, which helped the world, the king also built
deter neighboring states from other temples in the same style
attacking it. Suryavarman was a at the capital. His political and
warlike leader, waging campaigns military achievements were
in what is now Vietnam against less enduring, however—when
the Dai-Viet between 1123 and he died in 1150, in the middle
1136, and against the Khmer’s of a campaign against Champa,
traditional enemy to the east, the empire was convulsed by
Champa, in 1145. He also pushed civil war and pushed to the
brink of destruction.

110

WLHNOEOITARLHDEROFOOUTFYTANGTLOOHOLCEDFOGFUIICRFETT HOEMOFLIARDER

MANSA MUSA’S HAJJ TO MECCA (1324)

IN CONTEXT Islam spreads Mansa Musa’s
into West Africa hajj showcases the
FOCUS from the 9th century, wealth and power
Islam and trade in the wake of trans-
in West Africa Saharan trade. of the Muslim
Malian kingdom.
BEFORE
c.500 ce The Kingdom of Islam continues to Muslim scholars from
Ghana emerges. take root throughout other Islamic countries are
attracted to Mali and it
1076 Ghana is conquered by West Africa, even becomes a great center
the Almoravids, who establish after the collapse
an Islamic Empire from Spain of Islamic learning.
to the Sahel. of Mali.

1240 Sundjata establishes T he Muslim West African world, and even in Europe, and
the Muslim Malian Empire, kingdom of Mali burst his subsequent promotion of
capturing Ghana and gaining onto the world stage with Islamic culture and learning in
control of its strategic salt, a flourish in the early 14th century, his kingdom was symbolic of the
copper, and gold mines. when its fabulously wealthy ruler, faith’s gradual infiltration of the
Mansa Musa, made an unusually trading empires of West Africa.
AFTER extravagant hajj (pilgrimage) to
1433 Mali loses control Mecca, supported by the huge African trade and Islam
of Timbuktu, which is profits made by Mali’s control of the States had begun to form on
incorporated into the trans-Saharan caravan trade. The the fringes of the Sahel region
Songhai Empire of Gao. emperor’s year-long expedition (a semi-arid zone just south of the
became legendary in the Muslim Sahara) around the 5th century,
1464 Sonni Ali, king of
Songhai, begins the expansion
of his empire, as Mali contracts
further still.

1502 Mali is defeated by
the Songhai Empire.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 111

See also: Muhammad receives the divine revelation 78–81 ■ The founding of Baghdad 86–93 ■
The conquests of Akbar the Great 170–71 ■ The formation of the Royal African Company 176–79 ■
The Slave Trade Abolition Act 226–27

[Mansa Musa] flooded Cairo Under Mansa Musa (ruled 1312–37), Under Mansa Musa’s guidance,
with his benefactions… They Mali reached its greatest extent and Timbuktu became Mali’s main
power, having forged highly lucrative commercial hub—boosted by its
exchanged gold until they caravan connections with Egypt advantageous location at the
depressed its value in Egypt and other important trade centers in junction of the desert trade and the
and caused its price to fall. North Africa. Gold, salt, and slaves maritime routes down the Niger—
were taken north in exchange for and began its rise as the region’s
Chihab al-Umari textiles and manufactured goods. intellectual and spiritual capital.
A teaching center grew around
Arab historian (1300–1384) A center of scholarship al-Sahili’s Sankore mosque, laying
Mansa Musa was not the first the foundations for the celebrated
beginning with the Kingdom of West African ruler to make a hajj Sankore University and other
Ghana, which became known as to Mecca, but the huge scale of madrasas (Islamic schools).
“the land of gold,” a reference to the his entourage—more than 60,000
source of its huge wealth. In the 7th people, including 500 slaves who After Mansa Musa’s death, Mali
century, the Arab conquest of North bore staffs of pure gold—impressed initially thrived under his son, but
Africa gave a new impetus to trans- his observers, and was a potent thereafter, weak rulers, external
Saharan trade—the Muslim states expression of his wealth. aggression, and the need to keep
had a huge appetite for West African rebellious tribes in check sapped its
gold and slaves. As this trade grew, The expedition had a purpose strength until it was eclipsed by the
Muslim merchants, and with them beyond advertising Mali’s prestige Songhai Empire of Gao: by 1550 it
Islam, were drawn to the area however, as the king invited Muslim was no longer a major political entity.
between the headwaters of the scholars and a great architect, Abu Mansa Musa’s great empire—one
Niger and Senegal rivers. Ishaq al-Sahili, to make the return of the most prosperous states in
journey with him. The latter built the 14th century—may have been
However, peaceful trading was West Africa’s first mud-brick short-lived, but his celebrated hajj
soon followed by conquest. The mosques at Timbuktu and Gao, had longer-lasting effects, helping
Almoravids, a Moroccan Berber trading posts recently captured to spearhead the spread of Islamic
dynasty, swept south in 1076 and from the neighboring Songhai. civilization in West Africa. ■
sacked Ghana’s capital, shattering
its authority over the region.

Ghana’s reduced power opened
up a vacuum that was gradually
filled by Mali, a state founded around
the Upper Niger River, which began
to expand in the mid-13th century.

Mansa Musa’s hajj attracted the
attention of Europe’s cartographers:
the emperor is depicted on this Catalan
Atlas of 1375, bearing a gold nugget
and a golden scepter.

GTIHVEE TBHLEOSOUDN

OF ENEMIES TO DRINK

THE FOUNDATION OF TENOCHTITLAN (1325)



114 THE FOUNDATION OF TENOCHTITLAN

IN CONTEXT Small, competing states in central Mexico and Peru attract
Aztec and Inca migrants who fill the power vacuum.
FOCUS
The Aztec and Inca The Aztecs and Incas found capital cities
empires at Tenochtitlan and Cuzco respectively.

BEFORE The Aztec Empire expands The Inca empire expands
c.1200 Emergence of the Incas using military aggression by co-opting conquered
in the Cuzco valley, Peru.
and fear of reprisals peoples and seeking
c.1250 Aztecs arrive in the to retain power. to integrate them.
Valley of Mexico.
Neither model of empire can survive the Spanish invasion.
1300 Aztecs establish
settlements on land owned Hondurus, Nicaragua, and northern queen; however, to his horror they
by the lord of Culhuacán. Costa Rica. This progress was killed and flayed her as a sacrifice
paralleled by the growth at much to their deity Xipe Totec. Driven out
1325 Aztecs flee south from the same time of Cuzco, the capital by the lord and his soldiers, the
Culhuacán and enter the of the Incas—an Andean people of Aztecs fled southward toward the
land around Lake Texcoco. humble beginnings, who in just a future site of Tenochtitlan.
few decades created the largest
AFTER state South America had yet seen. Although the soil around Lake
1376 Acampichtli becomes Texcoco, on which the island of
the first Aztec ruler. Aztec foundations Tenochtitlan was situated, was
The Aztecs may have begun their marshy and there was very little
1428 Inca expansion begins. wanderings in northern Mexico timber available, the capital was
Establishment of the Aztec around 1200. For the next 100 years easily defensible and the Aztecs
Triple Alliance. they eked out a miserable existence used it to consolidate their position.
as mercenaries or barely tolerated Initially shielded by a treaty with
c.1470 Incas capture Chimor, squatters, their plight not aided by the Tepanec ruler Tezozomoc, who
center of the Chimú culture. their reputation as cruel warriors. dominated the Valley of Mexico
Frequently, they had to flee after from 1371 to 1426, the Aztecs went
1519 Spanish arrive in Mexico. committing violent acts, at times on to form a Triple Alliance with
involving human sacrifice; indeed, the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan
1532 Spanish arrive in Peru. their flight to Tenochtitlan was in 1428—a union that kick-started
prompted by one such incident. The a period of imperial expansion.
I n 1325, a band of Central Aztecs had asked their host, the
American refugee warriors, lord of Culhuacán, whether he Aztec expansion
known as the Aztecs, saw a would give his daughter as a bride In the early days, Aztec society had
sign their patron god Huitzilopochtli for their chief. He agreed, believing little formal hierarchy. It was based
had long ago prophesied—an eagle she would be greatly honored as around communities (calpulli)
perched on a cactus, marking the that owned land in common and
spot they had been told to settle.
Before long, they had built a temple
that became the nucleus of their
capital, Tenochtitlan. Within two
centuries, the city was the center
of the most predominant empire in
the history of Mesoamerica—a large
region that shared a pre-Columbian
culture and extended from modern-
day central Mexico southward to
Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador,

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 115

See also: The Maya Classical period begins 71 ■ Christopher Columbus reaches America 142–47 ■
The Treaty of Tordesillas 148–51 ■ The Columbian Exchange 158–59 ■ The voyage of the Mayflower 172–73 ■
Bolívar establishes Gran Colombia 216–19

whose chiefs, together with priests, Templo Mayor in 1487—by burning Tenochtitlan also exacted tribute
ruled on important decisions. In alive, decapitation, or cutting open from its subjects. Although there
1376, the Aztecs chose for the first the chest and removing the heart. was very little in the way of an
time an overall leader (tlatoani), organized government bureaucracy,
who came to serve as war leader, Many of the Aztec battles were there were tax collectors, who criss-
judge, and administrator for the “flower wars”: ritual affairs in which crossed the 38 provinces of the
burgeoning empire. Under Itzcoatl opponents were captured (rather Aztec Empire and levied tribute,
(1427–40), Moctezuma I (1440–69), than killed) and sacrificed to placate which included 7,000 tons of maize,
Axayactl (1469–81), and Ahuitzotl the Aztec gods, who were believed 4,000 tons of beans, and hundreds
(1486–1503) Aztec armies subdued to need blood to sustain them and of thousands of cotton blankets ❯❯
their neighbors in the Valley of keep the sun moving across the sky.
Mexico and then spread outward,
reaching Oaxaca, Veracruz, and to
the edges of land controlled by the
Mayan people in the east of modern-
day Mexico and Guatemala.

As the Aztec Empire expanded,
society was transformed. A warrior
elite emerged, while at the bottom
of society bondsmen (mayeques),
who owned no land, were bound
by labor service to their lords. The
militaristic nature of Aztec society
was accentuated by an education
system in which all males received
military training (in separate
schools for nobles and commoners).
This reinforced the warrior ethos
and gave the Aztecs an incalculable
advantage over neighboring tribes
in Mexico.

The imperial system
Tenochtitlan was adorned by many
temples to the gods of the Aztec
pantheon. Each god had their own
temple, with the Templo Mayor
having twin shrines dedicated to
Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the rain
god. At these temples a stream of
human victims was sacrificed—up
to 80,000 at the rededication of the

The founding of Tenochtitlan is
illustrated in the Codex Mendoza:
a record of Aztec history and culture
created c.1540 by an Aztec artist for
presentation to Charles V of Spain.

116 THE FOUNDATION OF TENOCHTITLAN

each year. The empire depended on If the land [Peru] had not been insignificant farming group, with
this tribute to reward the nobility divided by the wars… we their society divided up into clans
and the warriors, who ensured that could not have entered or (ayllus) of roughly equal status.
the towns subjugated by the Aztecs conquered it unless over a
remained submissive—little mercy thousand Spaniards had Inca expansion
being shown to those who revolted. come simultaneously. The Incas began to make their
Pedro Pizarro mark as a major power around 1438,
While the Aztecs provided some when the neighboring Chanca
security to their subjects, they gave Spanish conquistador (1571) people attempted to push the Incas
little else. At Tenochtitlan, artificial out of the Cuzco valley. By this time,
islands (chinampas) were created at status was, if anything, even more the Incas had a supreme leader
great expense to expand the land meteoric. They began as a small, (the Sapa Inca), and although the
available to produce food, but no somewhat disregarded tribe and incumbent Viracocha was unequal
such works were carried out for the developed their own strategies to the task, his son Pachacuti
subject cities. Defeated states did to co-opt neighboring groups defeated the invaders, and then led
not provide troops for the Aztec into a successful empire. Inca armies to conquer the rest of
army, and so did not share in the the Cuzco valley and the southern
spoils of future victory, and little The Incas’ origin myth told of highlands around Lake Titicaca.
effort was made to propagate the their emergence from a cave in the Under Pachacuti’s son Topa Inca
Aztec language. It was an empire high mountains, from where their Yupanqui and grandson Huayna
built on fear and in the end it proved first leader—Manco Capac—led Capac, the Incas overcame Chimor
brittle: when it was invaded by a his people to Cuzco. It is generally (the largest coastal state) in about
small party of Spaniards led by believed that the Incas arrived in 1470. They then absorbed the rest
Cortes in 1519, the subject peoples the region around 1200, and for two of the northern highlands and
rallied to the newcomers rather centuries they remained a relatively extended to parts of modern-day
than defending the Aztecs, and the Ecuador and Colombia and south
empire collapsed within two years. to the deserts north of Chile.

Inca beginnings Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas
The Incas, whose heartland lay recruited troops from among the
high in the central Andes around conquered peoples (placed under
Cuzco, in modern-day Peru, had the command of Inca officers), thus
similarly humble origins to the providing them with the lure of
Aztecs, but their rise to imperial plunder in return for their loyalty.

Tlacaelel for his reforms (mostly benefiting Inca communication
the royal family and nobles) by The empire of the Incas was highly
As the Aztec Empire expanded ordering the destruction of earlier centralized; censuses recorded the
and conquered new territories, it chronicles and the rewriting of number of peasants, who all owed
became increasingly necessary Aztec history to establish the labor service (mitad) to the Sapa
to create a more complex system basis of Aztec imperial ideology. Inca. This level of organization
of administration. After Itzcoatl enabled the construction of public
became ruler (tlatoani) in 1427, He also presided over the works on a vast scale. Particularly
he introduced the new post of formation of the Triple Alliance, vital was the extensive road
chief adviser (cihuacoatl). The solidifying the Aztec position network, which extended nearly
office’s first incumbent was and ensuring a steady stream 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers)
Itzcoatl’s nephew, Tlacaelel of sacrificial victims. Given that long and was dotted at regular
(1397–1487), who held the office Tlacaelel was never the Aztec’s intervals with resthouses that
until his death. Tlacaelel served ruler, his immense influence in facilitated rapid transit for the
through several reigns and he Tenochtitlan shows that the army and provided a very efficient
provided invaluable continuity. Aztec system of authority was system of communication across
In addition, he created impetus not as monolithic as it might the far-flung Inca domains. At the
at first appear.

Society in the expansionist Aztec The Shorn Ones THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 117
Empire was deeply militaristic. A boy Deadly warriors
had to prove himself a warrior before Otomies Named after
he could be considered a man. Noble who swore not to skilled allies of the Aztecs,
Aztec youths joined warrior societies step back in battle. Otomies may have been the
and progressed through the ranks by first warriors to enter battle.
taking more captives for sacrifice.
Eagle Warriors Alongside Jaguar Warriors,
Jaguar Warriors Men had to take these may have been the lowest rank of the
four human captives before they elite Aztec warrior societies. Their resplendent
could be admitted to the ranks of uniforms resembled their namesakes.
the Eagle and Jaguar Warriors.

They cut open their chests, a conquering power. They also releasing a large proportion of their
drew out the palpitating hearts dispatched colonists (miqmaq), population to fight in the armies
and offered them to the idols. shifting troublesome groups into that conducted their campaigns of
more pacified areas to dilute their expansion. They also reorganized
Bernal Díaz de Castillo resistance and creating networks the traditional tribal structure to
of loyal settlers on the fringes of favor a warrior and noble elite.
True History of The Conquest the empire. Although definitive In both cases, the momentum of
of New Spain (1568) population statistics are not known, conquest demanded further wars
by the early 16th century the Inca to reward the warrior caste or to
same time, the Inca domestication Empire—which the Incas called provide an incentive for newly
of the llama as a beast of burden Tawintusuyu ( “The Realm of Four conquered peoples to remain loyal
made it easier to transport heavy Quarters”)—consisted of about 4–6 and thus to gain the rewards of
loads across the empire. million people in total, operating to participation in new campaigns.
the advantage of the Inca minority
Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas and their subjects. Neither the Aztecs nor the Incas
actively sought to spread their own survived long enough to govern
language (Quechua) and system of Despite its many strengths, after their expansion slowed down.
religious beliefs, which was initially the highly centralized nature of Had they done so, they might have
based around the worship of Inti the Inca Empire proved fatal in the developed strategies to bring long-
(the sun god), but which came to early 1530s, when Spanish invaders term stability to their empires, or
feature prominently Viracocha—a led by Pizarro captured the Sapa might have declined to the status
supreme creation god and therefore Inca Atahuallpa; without their of competing city-states fighting to
considered a more suitable deity for leader, the Incas rapidly collapsed. control limited resources. Instead,
the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs
The new colonizers in 1521 and their defeat of the last
The Aztecs and the Incas built the Incas by 1572 put paid to the
first true empires in their regions ambitions of both empires and left
of the Americas. They were able the Spanish firmly established as
to do so by creating food surpluses colonial rulers in the region for the
through irrigation projects, thus next 300 years. ■

118

WPSECARASSRLOCENEFOTTHFAEALNTIVEYENSTOHRT

THE OUTBREAK OF THE BLACK DEATH
IN EUROPE (1347)

IN CONTEXT I n late November 1347, a galley black blotches on the skin (hence
entered the Italian port of “Black Death”) and then, in around
FOCUS Genoa, having fled a Tatar three-quarters of cases, by death.
The Black Death siege of Kaffa in the Crimea. It bore
a deadly cargo: the bubonic plague. Contemporaries ascribed the
BEFORE Within a mere two years, this lethal causes of the pestilence variously
1315–1319 Famines strike pestilence had killed more than a to divine punishment for immorality,
western Europe: 15 percent of third of the population of Europe adverse conjunctions of the planets,
Dutch city-dwellers die. and the Middle East, and altered earthquakes, or bad vapors. There
the regions’ economic, social, and was no cure, but preventive advice
1316 Edward II of England religious makeup forever. included abstinence from hard-to-
fixes staple food prices as digest food, the use of aromatic
shortages drive them upward. Spread of the Black Death herbs to purify the air, and—the
Having probably originated in only effective measure—avoiding
Late 1330s Bubonic plague Central Asia or western China the company of others.
spreads gradually westward in the 1330s, the plague’s initial
from western China. progress westward was slow, More than a hundred million
but after it reached Crimea and people may have died of the plague;
AFTER Constantinople in 1347 it spread estimates put the world population
1349 Accused of starting the rapidly along maritime trade routes.
plague, Jews are murdered in Having hit Genoa, it appeared Employees are
the thousands in Germany. quickly in Sicily and Marseilles; by refusing to work unless
1348 it had struck Spain, Portugal,
1349 Pope bans the flagellant and England, and it reached they are paid an
“Brothers of the Cross.” Germany and Scandinavia by 1349. excessive salary.
The Ordinance
1351 Statute of Labourers The epidemic’s main vector was of Labourers, 1349
is passed in England. infected fleas and the rats that
harbored them, both of which
1381 Peasants’ Revolt stirs flourished in the unsanitary
political rebellion across large conditions of the time. The main
parts of England. symptoms of the disease were
swellings, known as buboes, that
1424 Dance of Death painted appeared in the groin, neck, or
on the cloister walls of the armpits. These were followed by
Cimetière des Innocents, Paris.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 119

See also: The crowning of Charlemagne 82–83 ■ Marco Polo reaches Shangdu 104–05 ■
The Columbian Exchange 158–59 ■ The opening of Ellis Island 250–51 ■ Global population exceeds 7 billion 334–39

Disease spreads Plague rats and fleas Shattered society
west from Central Asia flourish in unsanitary
along trade routes. The plague’s catastrophic toll
living conditions. cast a long shadow over
contemporary social attitudes.
Black Death A landscape of mass graves,
kills over a third of abandoned villages, and an
Europe’s population. all-pervading fear of death
deepened the sense that God
Fall in population Church authority had abandoned his people,
leads to demands for diminished by mortality and diluted the claims of
better living conditions traditional morality. Crime
among priests rose: the incidence of murder
and wages. and monks. in England doubled in two
decades from 1349. Flagellants
at 450 million before it arrived, and paying rent in cash rather than with roamed the countryside,
350 million afterward. Its effects compulsory labor. Governments scourging themselves with
were more deadly in some areas tried to clamp down on wages—the knotted ropes, until a Papal
than in others—in Egypt, about 1351 Statute of Labourers aimed to bull banned the practice in
40 percent of the population are freeze rates at 1346 levels—but 1349. Bequests to charitable
thought to have died. Populations peasants responded with outbursts foundations—hospitals in
did not reach pre-plague levels such as the Jacquerie in France in particular—rose as the rich
again for nearly three centuries. 1358, and the Peasants’ Revolt in gave thanks for their survival.
England in 1381. Artistic production tended
Reactions to the plague to the morbid: depictions of
Survivors reacted in varying ways. By the time it ended, the Black the Dance of Death appeared,
Jewish communities in Germany Death had killed proportionately showing Death cavorting
were accused of causing the plague as many clergy as laity, and some among the living; and writers
by poisoning wells, and many were clergy deserted their posts. As a such as Boccaccio, who
attacked. In Strasbourg alone, 2,000 result the church’s authority, like chronicled the plague in his
Jews were killed. that of the nobility, was greatly Decameron, stressed the
weakened. The plague had loosened briefness and fragility of life.
With the population diminished, the ties that had previously bound
landholdings fell vacant, labor medieval society together, leaving Death selects his victims
became scarce, and peasants’ a freer and more volatile population indiscriminately from among the
bargaining power increased. to face the challenges posed by social orders in the allegorical
By 1350, English laborers could the Renaissance, Reformation, Danse Macabre or Dance of Death.
demand five times the wages they and the economic expansion of
had asked in 1347, and tenants were the 16th and 17th centuries. ■

HWEAIVELNL’SI HAVE WORKED TO DISCHARGE

HONGWU FOUNDS THE MING DYNASTY (1368)



122 HONGWU FOUNDS THE MING DYNASTY

IN CONTEXT Military and economic decline under the late Yuan
dynasty leads to widespread peasant revolts.
FOCUS
Ming China

BEFORE Hongwu founds the Ming
1279 Kublai Khan overthrows dynasty and institutes reforms that
the Song and establishes the restore stability, and also give the emperor
Mongol Yuan dynasty.
absolute authority.
1344 In central China, the
Yellow River begins to shift Autocratic, highly centralized system provides
course, leading to droughts centuries of stable rule and economic prosperity.
and a subsequent upsurge in
peasant rebellions. A series of weak rulers means centralized
system ceases to operate efficiently.
1351 Outbreak of Red Turban
revolt against the Yuan. Ming dynasty collapses in the face of
Manchu invasion and peasant uprisings.
AFTER
1380 Hongwu takes on the ousted the despised Yuan dynasty— modifications, until the demise
role of chief minister, laying founded by Kublai Khan, the of the imperial system in 1911, and
the basis of an authoritarian Mongol conqueror of China—the broadening the base of its economy.
political culture. country’s rulers since 1279. Zhu
reigned as emperor Hongwu Driving out the Mongols
1415 Yongle revives and (“Vastly Martial”—a reference to Zhu’s new dynasty arose from
extends the Grand Canal, his military prowess) from 1368 the chaos that accompanied the
enabling it to carry goods from until his death in 1398, by which decline of the Yuan. In the 1340s
southern China to Beijing. time he had firmly established one and 50s, factionalism in the Mongol
of China’s most influential, but also court, rampant government
1520 The first Portuguese most authoritarian, dynasties. He corruption, and a series of natural
trading missions to China. and his successors brought three disasters, including plagues and
centuries of prosperity and stability epidemics, resulted in wholesale
c.1592 Publication of Journey to the country, establishing its breakdown in law and order and
to the West, one of the government and bureaucracy in a administration as peasant groups
masterworks of Chinese form that would endure, with slight rose up against their faltering
classical writing.

1644 Chongzhen commits
suicide, ending the Ming era.

S urrounded by officials at the
imperial palace in Nanjing,
Zhu Yuzhuang, the son of
poor peasant farmers, offered
sacrifices to Heaven and Earth as
he was proclaimed first emperor of
China’s Ming (“brilliant”) dynasty.

It was the culmination of a
remarkable rise to power by the
monk turned rebel general, who had

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 123

See also: The First Emperor unifies China 54–57 ■ Kublai Khan conquers the Song 102–03 ■
Marco Polo reaches Shangdu 104–05 ■ The Revolt of the Three Feudatories 186–87

foreign overlords. Zhu himself lost populated north of the country were government, the six ministeries,
most of his family in an outbreak handed to landless peasants, to report directly to him, ensuring he
of plague in 1344, and after a few encourage them to settle there. oversaw even minor decisions.
years spent as a mendicant monk,
begging for food, he joined the Red From 1380, Hongwu instituted From then on, Hongwu acted
Turbans, one of a constellation of government reforms that gave him as his own prime minister. His
native Han Chinese peasant secret personal control over all matters of workload was almost unbearable—
societies in rebellion against the state. After executing his prime in a single week-long stint, he
Yuan. Determined, ruthless, and minister, who had been implicated had to scrutinize and approve
an able general, the young rebel in a plot to overthrow him, he some 1,600 documents—and as
climbed the ranks to the leadership abolished the prime ministership a result, the state became incapable
of the Red Turbans, and later and the central secretariat and of responding swiftly to crises.
overcame his rivals to become the had the heads of the next layer of Although in time a new ❯❯
national leader against the Yuan.

Zhu took control of much of
southern and northern China and
declared himself emperor before
pushing the Mongols out of their
capital at Dadu (Beijing) in 1368.
The rest of the country was then
subdued, although the Mongols
resisted in the far north until the
early 1370s, and the unification of
China was not achieved until the
defeat of the last Mongol forces in
the south in 1382.

Reform and despotism
Zhu’s first priority as emperor
Hongwu was to establish order—
decades of conflict had ravaged
China and impoverished its rural
population. His humble beginnings
may have influenced some of his
early policies: responsibility for tax
assessment was entrusted to rural
communities, sweeping away the
problem of rapacious tax collectors
who had preyed on poorer areas;
slavery was abolished; many large
estates were confiscated; and lands
owned by the state in the under-

The tribulations of Hongwu’s early
life led him to improve the lot of China’s
rural poor, but they also created a cruel
and irrational man who murdered all
those he suspected of disloyalty.

124 HONGWU FOUNDS THE MING DYNASTY

The Forbidden City—the imperial palace grand secretariat emerged—an
in Beijing—adhered to hierarchic Confucian advisory board through which
ideology: the higher one’s social status, the the emperor responded to the six
further one could enter into the city. ministries and other government
agencies—the Ming retained
5 a more autocratic and highly
4 centralized structure than that of
previous Chinese dynasties. This
was reflected in the protocol of the
Ming court, too: under the Song
dynasty (960–1279), the emperor’s
advisers had stood before him to
discuss matters of state, but under
the Ming they were required to
kowtow—kneel and knock their
heads to the floor—before him, a
reverential acknowledgment of his
absolute power and superiority.

3 2 Curbing the military
In the later years of the Yuan
1 3 Outer Court This area was reserved dynasty, the state had been torn
for state affairs and ceremonial purposes. apart by competing power bases
1 Meridian Gate The grand entrance 4 Inner Court Only the emperor and outside the central court, and in a
had five gates. The central one was his family could enter the Inner Court. bid to avoid this scenario, Hongwu
always reserved for the emperor. 5 The Palace of Heavenly Purity diluted the strength of the army.
2 The Golden Water Bridge To fool assassins, the palace had nine Although he adopted the Yuan
Crossing points like the bridges were bedrooms: the emperor slept in a military system—establishing
arranged in odd numbers. Only the different one each night. garrisons in key cities, particularly
emperor could use the central passage, along the northern frontier, where
with the next highest rank able to use the threat of nomad incursions
the neighbouring paths. was ever-present, and creating a
hereditary caste of soldiers that
supported itself on land granted
by the government—he also
ensured that military units were
periodically rotated through the
capital for training, and that a
group of centrally selected officers
shared authority in the army with
the garrison commanders, thus
preventing the rise of influential
warlords with a strong local base.

Perfecting the civil service
Hongwu also had a deep mistrust
of the elite scholar class that had
been at the heart of government for
centuries. However, he was aware
that they played a vital role in the
efficient running of the state, and

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 125

so he promoted education and Some people in the influence was wide, and as a result,
trained scholars specifically for the morning are esteemed until the very last years of its rule,
bureaucracy. In 1373, he suspended [by the Hongwu emperor], the Ming dynasty experienced no
the traditional examinations used and in the evening they significant rebellions by either the
to recruit civil servants and ordered military or the aristocracy.
the establishment of local county are executed.
and prefectural schools. From Memorial of the official International diplomacy
these, the best candidates would The dynasty’s self-confidence
be called for further study at a Hsieh Chin, 1388 appeared to grow even further
national university in the capital, under Hongwu’s successor, Yongle
where eventually 10,000 students bureaucrats became set in their (reigned 1402–24), who moved the
from the original intake were ways. Those who were perceived capital from Nanjing to Beijing,
enrolled. The civil service as having stepped outside their and embarked on an ambitious
examinations were restored in brief were publicly flogged, program of reconstruction and
1385, when the emperor considered sometimes to death. public works, including measures
the well-trained graduates of the to improve the navigability of the
university ready to take them, and This maltreatment of public Grand Canal. He also built the
were so competitive that soldiers servants was a sign of the cruel extravagant Forbidden City, which
were stationed outside the cubicles side of Hongwu’s personality. He housed an imperial palace complex
where the examinees sat to avoid was also violently paranoid, and containing more than 9,000 rooms.
any collaboration or illicit use of vicious in his suppression of
reference materials. dissent. In 1382, he established Yongle’s initially aggressive
a secret police, the Embroidered foreign policy led to four campaigns
The pool of potential recruits Brocade Guard, whose 16,000 against Mongolia and an attack
into the administration was thus officers stamped out all signs of on Annam (Vietnam) in 1417 that
widened, but civil servants still resistance. The Guard’s reach and resulted in its incorporation into
received a very conservative the Ming Empire. He also sought
education based on the Four Books recognition from the rulers of
and Five Classics of Confucianism faraway states: between 1405 and
and a selection of neo-Confucian 1433, he launched six large-scale
works that expounded the virtues maritime expeditions to Southeast
of loyalty to the emperor and Asia, East Africa, and Arabia. Led
adherence to Chinese tradition. by the great fleet admiral Zheng
Innovation was discouraged and He, their purpose was to confirm ❯❯

This silk scroll records one of the The voyages of Zheng He largest naval forces in history:
most celebrated tribute gifts from the first mission had 63 vessels,
Zheng He’s voyages: a giraffe A Muslim of Mongol descent, including 440 ft (1,340 m) long
brought back from Africa in 1414. Zheng He was captured by the “treasure ships” carrying more
Ming as a boy, castrated, and sent than 27,000 crew.
into the army, where he acquired
military and diplomatic skills and Although these voyages
distinguished himself as a junior were dramatic in their conduct
officer. He went on to become an and scope—the last three sailed
influential eunuch in the imperial as far south as Mombasa on the
court, and in 1405, Yongle chose east coast of Africa—they were
him to lead a grandly conceived not in any real sense commercial
maritime expedition around the or exploratory ventures. Their
rim of the Indian Ocean, as both intention was strictly diplomatic,
fleet admiral and diplomatic designed to enhance China’s
agent. Over the next 28 years, prestige abroad and to extract
Zheng He commanded one of the declarations of loyalty and
exotic tributory gifts for Yongle.

126 HONGWU FOUNDS THE MING DYNASTY

China’s domination over the area Diplomatic isolation was reinforced On taking the throne, Hongwu
by exacting tribute and other by military uncertainty: Annam issued his own traditional bronze
gestures of homage to the emperor. became independent once more in coinage, although a shortage of metal
1428, while huge resources were led to the reinstatement of paper
The later Ming devoted to containing the threat money, made of mulberry bark.
However, the enormous cost of posed by the Mongol tribes on
Zheng He’s ambitious ventures put China’s northern borders. In 1449, consorts, mothers, or by eunuch
great strain on the treasury, and Emperor Zhengtong personally led (castrated) advisers, was capped by
to ensure they would never be a disastrous expedition against the the long reign of Wanli (1573–1620),
repeated, all records relating to Mongol leader Esen Khan in which who simply withdrew from public
them were destroyed. Official the majority of the 500,000 Chinese life entirely: for the last decades of
ideology regarded China as the soldiers died of hunger, were picked his reign, he refused even to meet
center of the world, and the later off by the enemy, or perished in a with his ministers. The dynasty
Ming saw no reason to encourage final battle as they retreated. began to decline: the machinery of
further maritime contact. The government faltered and the army
Chinese did not regard relations Extending the Great Wall had little strength to respond to the
with foreign powers as possible on In the 1470s, the building of the serious threat posed by the Jurchen
an equal basis: where diplomatic final stages of the Great Wall— in Manchuria (now in northeast
relations were conducted, the begun by the Qin dynasty in the China). In 1619, this tribal people,
foreigners were considered (by the 3rd century bce—was not only a who later renamed themselves
Ming, at least) as tributaries. The bid to prevent a similar disaster, Manchu, began to encroach on
confidence and stability of the but also to compensate for the China’s northern borders.
Ming bureaucracy also created a Ming’s waning energy. Like their
sense of self-sufficiency, with little predecessors, they were unable to
use for external influences. absorb the lands of the nomadic
groups to the north of the border,
Ocean-going vessels were made or to send out expeditions that had
to report all the cargo they landed, any lasting effect on discouraging
and private maritime trade was their raids. Therefore, a fixed,
periodically banned (until it was strongly garrisoned border defense
legalized again in 1567 for all was the best compromise.
except trade with Japan). In Beijing,
a shopkeeper’s unauthorized During the 16th century, a
contact with foreigners could result succession of short-lived emperors
in the confiscation of his stock. who were dominated by their

Global trade
Economically, however, Ming
China’s great productivity was
a magnet for European maritime
states seeking new commercial
connections in East Asia, and in
the early 16th century, European
traders finally reached the coast of
China. In 1514, a Portuguese fleet

Hongwu’s final resting place, the
Xiaoling Mausoleum, lies at the foot of
the Purple Mountain in Nanjing, and is
guarded by an avenue of stone statues
of pairs of animals, including camels.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 127

appeared off Canton (now Today the great civil and coalesced into more general revolts.
Guangzhou) in the south, and by military officers, the numerous Meanwhile, on the northeastern
1557, Portugal had established a frontier, the Manchus had built
permanent base at Macao. Spanish officials, and the masses a state along Chinese lines at
and Portuguese merchants (the join in urging us to ascend Mukden in Manchuria—calling
former operating from Nagasaki their regime the Qing dynasty in
in Japan and Manila in the the throne. 1636—and were now poised to take
Philippines)—and from 1601, the Proclamation advantage of the Ming’s imminent
Dutch—secured an important Document of the collapse. They were aided in this
share in trade with China. Hongwu Emperor, 1368 by a revolt led by Li Zicheng, a rebel
leader whose forces entered Beijing
Even though Ming policy The Chinese military began to use in 1644 unopposed, prompting the
discouraged foreign maritime trade, artillery of European manufacture, emperor to commit suicide. In
individual Chinese merchants had and knowledge of European desperation, the Ming military
participated actively in the revived mathematics and astronomy was called on the Manchus for help. The
economy. Before long there were introduced to the country through tribesmen swept into the capital
flourishing Chinese colonies in Jesuit missionaries, including and drove out the rebels, but then
Manila and on Java in Indonesia, Matteo Ricci, who lived in Beijing seized the throne, and proclaimed
near the Dutch-controlled trading from 1601 to 1610. He translated the Qing dynasty in China.
city of Batavia, and Chinese the ancient Greek mathematician
merchants controlled a large share Euclid’s Geometry into Chinese, as An enduring legacy
of local trade in Southeast Asia. well as a treatise on the astrolabe Although the Ming had fallen
The technical sophistication of the (an astronomical instrument used victim to an agrarian crisis that
Chinese porcelain industry under for taking the altitude of the sun or coincided with renewed nomadic
the Ming led for the first time to the stars). In 1626, the German Jesuit activity on its frontiers, this was
mass production of ceramics for Johann Adam Schall von Bell wrote a combination that had also brought
export to European markets. the first treatise in Chinese on the down dynasties before it. The
telescope, bringing Heliocentrism bureaucracy that had given China
The effects, though, of this (an astronomical model in which centuries of constancy and reduced
growth in trade were not wholly the sun lies at the center of the the possibility, or even the need, for
positive: while a huge influx of universe) to a Chinese audience. internal dissent, was slow to adapt
silver from the Americas and itself to times of fast-moving crisis.
Japan, used by the Europeans to The Ming collapse
pay for Chinese goods such as The late Ming began to suffer many Yet even so, the Ming era had
silk, lacquerware, and porcelain, of the same issues that had led to brought great wealth and success
stimulated economic growth, it the fall of the Yuan. Crop failures to China. The population expanded
also caused inflation. reduced the productivity of China’s from around 60 million at the start
vast agriculture, and famines and of its rule, to around three times
Technological change floods led to widespread unrest in that number by 1600. Much of this
Ming China had inherited a legacy rural areas. The army’s pay began growth was centered in medium-
of scientific and technological to fall into arrears, leading to sized market towns, rather than
innovation from the Song dynasty, discipline problems and desertions, in large cities, and an increase in
which had left the country at the while localized peasant uprisings agricultural production led to the
forefront of many scientific fields, rise of an affluent merchant class in
including navigation and the the provinces. Many of the elements
military applications of gunpowder— of orderly government that Hongwu
a substance discovered during the had inaugurated were carried over
Tang era whose use had spread into the succeeding Qing dynasty,
to Europe from China in the 13th providing China with a degree of
century. Under the Ming, though, unity, stability, and prosperity that
the pace of progress slowed and the European states of that period
by the later part of the dynasty, ideas could only envy and admire. ■
had begun to flow in from Europe.

128

ACCDHAVSRETISRDTSOIAAWRNINEPSETOHOPEFLME Y

THE FALL OF GRANADA (1492)

IN CONTEXT A t midnight on January 2, would soon divert its energies away
1492, Abu ‘Abd Allah, the from crusading against its Muslim
FOCUS Muslim Emir of Granada, neighbors, turning them instead
The Reconquista handed over the keys of his city to towards building an overseas
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, empire in the New World.
BEFORE joint rulers of the Christian Spanish
722 Pelagius defeats Muslims states of Aragón and Castile. This Christian conquests
in Asturias, northern Spain. act marked the end of nearly 800 Muslim Spain (or al-Andalus)
years of Muslim rule in the Iberian dated from the Islamic conquest
1031 End of the centralized peninsula and the eclipse of a of the Visigothic kingdom in 711.
Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba. great civilization renowned for its Christian resistance survived in
Muslim al-Andalus breaks up architectural splendors and a rich Asturias, in the far north, but it
into several small emirates. tradition of scholarship. At the took centuries for the kingdoms of
same time, it signaled the birth of a Castile, Aragón, León, and Navarre
1212 Battle of Las Navas de self-confident, united Spain that to gain the strength to push slowly
Tolosa, in which the Christians southward into Muslim lands.
defeat the Almohad caliph. A kingdom of so many This gradual reconquest, known
cities and towns, of such as the Reconquista, gathered pace
1248 Ferdinand III of Castile a multitude of places. What during the 11th century, when
defeats Muslims at Seville. was this, if not that God the Muslim regions broke up into
wanted to deliver it and numerous competing emirates
AFTER place it in their hands? (“taifas”) and lost the strategically
1492 Ferdinand and Isabella important city of Toledo in central
decree the expulsion of all Andrés Bernáldez Spain, in 1085.
Jews from Castile and Aragón.
Archbishop of Seville (1450) The growth of the crusading
1497 Spanish seize Melilla spirit in western Europe also
on the coast of North Africa. accelerated the progress of the
Reconquista. Formal crusades
1502 All remaining Muslims against the Spanish Muslims (or
expelled from Spain. Moors) were declared several times
from the mid-14th century and a
1568–71 Muslim converts to military culture emerged, in which
Christianity rise up against raids into al-Andalus acquired the
repressive Christian rule in air of righteous expeditions. From
the Revolt of the Alpujarras.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 129

See also: Founding of Baghdad 86–93 ■ The fall of Jerusalem 106–07 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41 ■
Christopher Columbus reaches America 142–47 ■ The Treaty of Tordesillas 148–51

Muslims weakened Christians amass wealth Union of kingdoms of
by the break-up of the after seizing land and Aragón and Castile ends
centralized caliphate. assets from Muslims. Christian infighting.

Reconquista escalates as Christians benefit from greater
resources and unity, culminating in the fall of Granada

to the Castilian-Aragonese army.

Jews and Muslims are United Spanish kingdom allocates resources to
expelled from Spain. overseas expansion in the New World.

the 12th century, military orders, completing the Reconquista. It also emirate in the Iberian peninsula.
such as Santiago and Alcántara, put an end to centuries of Christian The cities were put under siege and
were founded. They frequently infighting, and this unity coincided fell one by one, until finally the major
spearheaded independent thrusts with a period of Muslim division. city of Granada surrendered in 1492.
into Muslim territory, amassing From 1482, the monarchs undertook
great wealth in the process, which a series of military campaigns to Despite an agreement reached
enabled them to sustain extended conquer Granada—the last Muslim at the capitulation of Granada,
campaigns and ransom Christians which contained guarantees for
taken prisoner in the wars. They Known as the Catholic Monarchs, freedom of worship, in 1502 the
also repopulated land conquered Ferdinand and Isabella joined forces monarchs decreed that any Muslims
from the Muslims with Christians. and used military might to restore over the age of 14 who refused to
Christianity in Spain, suppress other convert to Christianity must leave
The end of Muslim Spain religions, and colonize the Americas. Spain within 11 weeks. This edict,
In Portugal, the Reconquista was combined with the expulsion of the
completed with the conquest of the large Jewish community in Granada
Algarve in 1249, while in Spain the 10 years earlier, left Spain a more
Muslims clung on to power in the homogeneous and less tolerant
south. However, this was not to place, and the crusading impulse,
last. In 1474, Queen Isabella now shorn of obvious targets, would
ascended to the throne of Castile, have to find other channels.
in northern Spain. Her husband
Ferdinand was already king of the Christopher Columbus’s
neighboring state of Aragón, and expedition to the New World in
they resolved to permanently expel 1492—the same year as the fall of
the Muslims from the south. The Granada—provided the Spanish
union of the two crowns enabled with just such an outlet, leading to
them to devote more resources to their colonization of the Americas
and Spain’s subsequent emergence
as the first global superpower. ■

130

IDLEHETVATVISEEERNDSE2W8LY

KING SEJONG INTRODUCES A NEW SCRIPT (1443)

IN CONTEXT I n 1443, the Korean court of
King Sejong announced the
FOCUS creation of Han’gul, a national
Choson Korea alphabet for the Korean language,
and launched a program of
BEFORE publications in the new script. The
918 The Goryeo dynasty measure was one of a number of
is founded. strategies encouraged by Korea’s
king that were designed to stabilize
1270 Goryeo comes under Korea and improve prosperity, and
the structural, military, and enabled his Choson (or Yi) dynasty
administrative control of the to survive for another 450 years.
Mongol Yuan dynasty.
Rise of the Yi dynasty King Sejong of Choson, also known
1392 Yi Songyye founds The Mongol Yuan dynasty had as Sejong the Great, revolutionized
the Choson dynasty. controlled the Korean Peninsula government by making it possible for
from the late 11th century until people other than the social elite to
1420 King Sejong founds 1368, when it was overthrown by become civil servants.
the Chiphyon-jon research the Ming dynasty. Korea was left
institution. in chaos as its Koryo kings tried sought to re-establish proper
to reverse the effects of a century’s relations between the ruler and his
AFTER authoritarian domination. The people, and conferred privileged
1445 A 365-volume medical redistribution of land and the status on a bureaucratic class that
encyclopedia is published. sacking of pro-Mongol ministers would act as guardian of the social
led almost to civil war, but in 1392 hierarchy. Buddhism had been the
1447 The first work printed Sejong’s grandfather Yi Songyye, a dominant ideology under the Koryo
in Han’gul is published. former general, stepped in, deposed dynasty, but T’aejo undermined its
the last Koryo king, and assumed hold in the region by breaking up
1542 The first sowon the throne as King T’aejo. large estates controlled by Buddhist
private academy opens. temples and redistributing the land,
The academies become King T’aejo’s immediate priority some to Confucian shrines.
centers of debate and house was to secure stability, and the
neo-Confucian texts. installation of a state ideology
based on neo-Confucianism was
1910 Japan annexes Korea and key to achieving that. This ideology
deposes the last Choson ruler.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 131

See also: The An Lushan revolt 84–85 ■ Kublai Khan conquers the Song 102–03 ■ Hongwu founds
the Ming dynasty 120–27 ■ The Meiji Restoration 252–53

Hyanggyo were Confucian schools, Neo-Confucianism stressed the importance of
built throughout provincial Korea morality, respect for social
and used for both ceremonial and The neo-Confucianism that harmony, and education as
educational purposes. became dominant in Korea under means of understanding the
the Choson dynasty had evolved Supreme Ultimate (tai qi), the
in China during the 11th and 12th underlying principle of the
centuries as a means to revive universe. In practice, however,
Confucianism, which had declined neo-Confucian virtues such
in favor of Taoism and Buddhism as loyalty, determination, and
under the Tang and early Song. the belief that a supreme
A more rationalist and secular monarch should rule the state
form of Confucianism, the new to parallel the Supreme Ultimate
philosophy rejected superstitious that governed the universe,
and mystical elements that had tended to favor a hierarchical,
influenced Confucianism during bureaucratic state staffed
and after the Han dynasty. Writers by scholars who jealously
such as Confucian scholar Zhu Xi maintained the status quo.

Neo-Confucianism emphasised however, Korean was written in would risk diluting their power. As
the importance of education as a Chinese characters, which were a result Han’gul faded from use,
way of producing a class of literati not well adapted to express the relegated as the “vulgar letters”
capable of ensuring the harmonious sounds of the language. Sejong of the lower orders, until its
running of the state. T’aejo's himself is said to have developed rediscovery in the 19th century,
grandson, King Sejong (reigned the simplified script, the Han’gul, since when it has thrived as a
1418–1450) raised this principle to whose principles were explained vehicle for Korean nationalism.
new heights, founding in 1420 the in Proper Sounds for the Education
Chiphyon-jon (Hall of Worthies), an of the People, a book published in The reforms of T’aejo and
elite group of 20 scholars tasked 1445. Having only 28 characters— Sejong, however, broadly survived,
with research that would promote later reduced to 24—the script creating a class of yangban—elite
the better running of the kingdom. was far easier than Chinese was government officials dedicated to
to learn, but its introduction faced the perpetuation of the state. The
Encouragement of wider literacy bitter resistance from traditionalist yangban also acted as a break on
was an important neo-Confucian nobles. They feared it might open any tendency to autocracy among
ideal, and T’aejo had already ordered civil service examinations to people the Yi monarchs, which helped
the foundation of government- from other social classes, which the resulting dynasty to endure for
sponsored schools. At the time, more than five centuries. ■

Decline in The Choson Sejong devises the The dynasty
Mongol promote wider Han’gul alphabet. endures and the
Han’gul alphabet
power leads education. Yangban scholars is revived in the
to the rise of enhance the stability
the Choson. of the Choson regime. 19th century.

132

FURTHER EVENTS

THE ARAB ADVANCE IS embraced the idea of a united his rule into northern Italy, creating
HALTED AT TOURS England with a distinctive culture what became the Holy Roman
based on Christianity and the Empire. This major political
(732) English language. power—whose emperors claimed to
be the secular leaders of Christian
By the 8th century, the Islamic THE SPREAD OF THE Europe, vying with the Popes for
people of the Arabian peninsula MISSISSIPPI CULTURE power—dominated much of Europe
had conquered much of North for more than 900 years.
Africa and crossed into Europe, (c.900)
occupying Spain and moving into THE GREAT SCHISM
southern France. Their northward There was a long tradition, lasting
expansion seemed unstoppable— several millennia, of native North (1054)
until 732, when they met combined American groups based around
Frankish and Burgundian troops at large earth mounds that had been During the late centuries of the
Tours. The Franks and Burgundians built for use in rituals or to house 1st millennium ce, the Eastern
won the battle, and the Arab leader, the dwellings of the ruling class. and Western parts of the Christian
Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, was These communities were mostly church had several disagreements
killed. Although there was another confined to local areas, from Ohio about authority (with the pope
invasion in 735–39, the Arabs to Mississippi, but the Mississippi claiming seniority over the Eastern
never got further than Tours. culture spread widely through patriarchs, but the latter disputing
The Franks kept their power in eastern North America. They this), the wording of the Creed,
Western Europe, Christianity was grew maize intensively, worked and liturgical matters. These
preserved as the continent’s copper, and developed hierarchical disputes came to a head in 1054,
dominant faith, and only Spain societies. Recognition of this when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch
remained under Muslim rule. complex culture has been a key Michael I excommunicated one
element in debunking the idea that another, creating a split called
ALFRED RULES WESSEX American Indian peoples were the Great Schism. This division
primitive and in forming a clearer between what are now the
(871–99) understanding of their civilization. Catholic and Orthodox churches
has never been healed.
Alfred was an able ruler and OTTO I BECOMES
military leader who successfully HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR THE NORMAN CONQUEST
defended his kingdom from Danish OF ENGLAND
invaders. He expanded his territory (962)
from his base in Wessex (central (1066)
southern England), uniting a large German ruler Otto I suppressed
part of southern England under him. revolts, united the Germanic tribes, In 1066, the English king Edward
He built fortifications, founded a and defeated outside aggressors the Confessor died childless, and
navy, encouraged education, and such as the Magyars. In addition, a dispute arose over who should
promoted Old English as a literary he changed the relationship succeed him. One of the claimants
language via translations of Latin between the ruler and the Catholic to the throne was Duke William of
books. Alfred became known as church by exercising tight control Normandy, who invaded England,
“King of the English” and, although over the clergy and using his close defeated the English at the Battle
the Danes still held the northeast, links to the church to increase of Hastings, and was crowned king.
is seen as the monarch who first royal power. He also extended This event forged a long-standing

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 133

link between England and mainland and left the Polish–Lithuanian symbolizing the independence
Europe, in which England’s rulers alliance as the strongest power from the rest of Britain to which
held French lands and spoke French. in Eastern Europe. many Scots still aspire.
The Normans introduced a new
ruling class, built castles and THE MONGOL INVASIONS THE CONQUESTS OF
cathedrals, and transformed the OF JAPAN ARE REPULSED TAMERLANE
English language with many new
French-based words, all of which (1274, 1281) (1370–1405)
are legacies that still endure.
In the late 13th century, the Timur, also known as Tamerlane,
THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR Mongols were at the height of their was the last of the great nomadic
power under their leader Kublai Mongol conquerors. In an attempt
(1337–1453) Khan. From their base in central to revive the great empire of Kublai
Asia, they had moved east to take Khan, he roamed widely across
The Hundred Years’ War was a control of China. In 1271, they sent Europe and Asia, from northern
series of conflicts fought between troops by sea to conquer Japan. India to Anatolia and Russia. By
England and France that began The attack was unsuccessful, in the end of the 14th century, he
when Edward III asserted his part because the Mongol ships had conquered Persia, Iraq, Syria,
right to the French throne, a claim were caught in a typhoon, referred Afghanistan, and eastern Russia,
that the French Valois dynasty to by the Japanese as a kamikaze destroying Delhi in 1398, and
disputed. By the end of the war, (divine wind). The Mongol defeat pushing on toward China in 1405
English possessions in France was decisive in checking their but dying en route. His empire did
had been reduced to the coastal advance and shaping the idea not endure, and Mongol horse-based
town of Calais and its immediate of a strong, independent Japan, fighting techniques were no match
environs. This result transformed free from outside intervention or for the firearms that increasingly
England from a power that aspired influence. This concept of Japanese drove warfare in the 15th century.
to be part of a larger European nationhood lasted for centuries.
empire to an island nation separate THE HUSSITE REVOLT
from Europe. France, inspired SCOTLAND UPHOLDS
especially by the leadership of INDEPENDENCE AT (1415–34)
Joan of Arc, gained a stronger BANNOCKBURN
sense of national identity. The Hussites, followers of the
(1314) religious reformer Jan Hus, were
THE BATTLE OF GRUNWALD precursors of the Protestants who
The Battle of Bannockburn, lived in Bohemia (modern Czech
(1410) Scotland, was a major clash in an Republic, then part of the Austrian
ongoing war between England and Habsburg empire) and fought their
At the Battle of Grunwald, a Scotland. Despite being vastly Catholic rulers for the freedom to
combined Polish and Lithuanian outnumbered, the Scots, under worship in their own way. Hus
force crushed the army of the King Robert Bruce, inflicted a was executed for heresy in 1415,
Teutonic Knights. This military heavy defeat on the English and sparking a series of wars that
order, set up to assist crusaders their ruler Edward II. This left eventually led to the defeat of the
and pilgrims, controlled large Bruce in full control of Scotland, Hussites. The area remained under
territories in Eastern Europe, from where he continued to lead Catholic Hapsburg rule, but most
including Prussia and Estonia, raids on northern England. The war of the people of Bohemia stayed
and campaigned against Slavs went on for decades, and Scotland true to their Protestant beliefs.
and pagans in the Baltic. This remained independent until 1707. Their revolt against their Catholic
decisive battle put an end to the The battle was such a sweeping rulers in 1618 triggered the Thirty
Knights’ military power, arrested victory that it is still remembered Years’ War, when the Bohemian
German eastward expansion, as a key event in Scottish history, Protestants were again defeated.

MTHOEDEERARN

1420–1795

LEYRA

136 INTRODUCTION

Brunelleschi designs Christopher Columbus Martin Luther writes The Battle of
the groundbreaking reaches America, starting 95 theses against the Sekigahara ushers
Catholic Church, leading in the Edo Period
dome of Florence an era of European to the Reformation in Japan—a time of
cathedral, signaling trade and colonization, unity, stability, and
the beginning of and the rise of artistic achievements.
the Renaissance. and transforming the Protestantism.
ecology of the Americas.

1420 1492 1517 1603
1453 1494 1556 1618

The Ottoman Turks Spain and Portugal Abu Akbar becomes Religious tensions
conquer Constantinople, sign the Treaty of ruler of the Mughal between Protestants
Tordesillas, dividing Empire in India; and Catholics come to a
marking the end of the the newly conquered Persian and Indian head at the Defenestration
Eastern Roman Empire lands in the Americas art forms merge to of Prague, leading to the
create a unique style. Thirty Years’ War.
and creating a new between them.
Muslim capital.

T he course of world events of Europe, seizing the Byzantine The start of colonialism
always looks different in city of Constantinople and twice The importance of Christopher
retrospect from the way penetrating as far as Vienna. Columbus’s transatlantic voyage
that it appears at the time, but the in 1492 cannot be exaggerated.
contrast in perspective is rarely as Yet historical retrospect certainly It established a permanent link
extreme as in the Early Modern Era, recognizes changes underway that between two entire ecosystems
which spanned the 15th, 16th, and were to make European nations the that had evolved in isolation from
17th centuries. Today, this period founders of the modern world. The each another for almost 10,000
is often viewed as the age during flowering of arts and ideas in the years. The initial impact on the
which Europe climbed toward world Renaissance meant that Europe inhabitants of the Americas was
domination, but to Europeans living ceased to be a cultural backwater. catastrophic. Eurasian diseases
at the time it often seemed to be full Printing and paper, both originally and the infamous brutality of the
of unprecedented disasters. The invented in China, were used by Spanish conquistadors decimated
unity of Christendom was split by Europeans to create mass-produced the population. A remarkably small
the Reformation, and sectarian books that went on to revolutionize number of European invaders
conflict between Catholics and the dissemination of information. conquered the most sophisticated
Protestants, combined with power Gunpowder weapons, also invented American states with startling
struggles between competing royal by the Chinese, were deployed most ease, laying potentially the entire
dynasties, made Europe a place of effectively by European armies and New World open to European
frequent warfare—a continent navies. Above all, explorers and exploitation and colonization.
tearing itself apart. Meanwhile, sailors from Europe’s western sea-
the Muslim armies of the Ottoman board established oceanic trade However, the arrival of European
Empire threatened the heartland routes that laid the foundations for sailors in Asia did not have the
the first global economy. same dramatic impact. Powerful

THE EARLY MODERN ERA 137

English religious The Royal African Tsar Peter the Great The Battle of Quebec
separatists (pilgrims) Company is established founds St Petersburg ends French rule in
set sail in the Mayflower in England; slaves are on the Baltic coast to Canada; it was part of
to seek a new life; they encourage trade and the Seven Years’ War,
taken from the West which involved most
found a colony in African coast for sale modernize Russia major European nations.
North America. along European lines.
in the Americas.

1620 1660 1703 1759
1649 1687 1751 1768

The English Civil Isaac Newton publishes The first volume of Captain Cook sets
War culminates in the his theories about Diderot’s three-part sail on his first voyage;
gravity based on
execution of King Encyclopédie is he maps the New
Charles I; England mathematics and logic, published, distilling Zealand coast and
becomes a republic for paving the way for the rational ideas of claims southeastern
the next 11 years. the Enlightenment. the Enlightenment. Australia for Britain.

countries, including India, Imperial European traders in West Africa, 17th century transition from the
China, the Mughal Empire, and the were transported in vast numbers Ming to the Qing dynasty, but in
Japanese shogunate at first merely to work on colonial plantations, so the 18th century, imperial China
tolerated the Europeans as traders, that in some parts of the New World was enjoying a golden age of power
allowing them to control only a few people of African descent greatly and prosperity. The population of
islands or enclaves along the coast, outnumbered both Europeans and Europe had begun a steep increase
as long as they did not interfere or the native population. At home, to unprecedented levels—a result
become too troublesome. Europeans consumed luxury goods of improved food production and
from China and India, and products declining epidemic diseases—
Economic growth such as sugar and coffee from but China also experienced rapid
From the second half of the 17th plantations in the Caribbean and population growth.
century, signs of economic growth Brazil. North America, the West
accelerated in Europe. Productivity Indies, and India were all regions of What really marked out Europe
of labor in trades and agriculture colonial contention—the precipitous as unique at this time was the
increased notably in areas like the decline of the Mughal Empire development of knowledge and
Dutch Netherlands. New financial having opened up parts of India thought. The 17th-century scientific
institutions, such as central banks to European territorial conquest. revolution began a transformation
and joint stock companies, laid the of our understanding of the universe.
foundations of modern capitalism. Intellectual movements The rationalist movement known as
Complex patterns of maritime trade Even at this stage, the degree of the Enlightenment challenged all
linked European colonies in the European ascendancy should not preconceptions, traditions, and
Americas to Europe, Africa, and be exaggerated. China had gone conventions. The modern world
Asia. Slaves, mostly bought by through difficult times in the mid- was under construction in the
European mind. ■

138 IN CONTEXT

FWSAASHILTAMLHLSYLI,TCFIAITLYL FOCUS
The Ottoman Empire
THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE (1453)
BEFORE
1071 Turkish forces inflict
a significant defeat on the
Byzantine Empire at the Battle
of Manzikert.

1389 The Ottomans defeat
the Serbs at Kosovo, making
possible Ottoman advance
into Europe.

1421 Murad II comes to the
Ottoman throne and plans
extensive conquests.

AFTER
1517 The Ottomans conquer
Mameluke Egypt.

1571 The Ottoman navy
suffers a crushing defeat
at Lepanto.

1922 The empire ends with the
foundation of modern Turkey.

I n 1453, the Ottoman Turks
attacked and took the city of
Constantinople, the capital
of the Byzantine Empire. The loss
of this millennium-old Christian
empire, which had once stretched
virtually all the way around the
Mediterranean, was a profound
shock to the Christian world. As
if to symbolize the Muslim victory
Sancta Sophia, one of the greatest
cathedrals in Christendom, was
converted into a mosque.

The Ottoman Turks had already
conquered much of the surrounding
territory before Sultan Mehmet II
(1432–1481) laid siege to the city
and bombarded it with heavy
artillery. Having breached its walls,
his army of more than 80,000 men
then overwhelmed the small force

THE EARLY MODERN ERA 139

See also: Belisarius retakes Rome 76–77 ■ Muhammad receives the divine revelation 78–81 ■
The founding of Baghdad 86–93 ■ The fall of Jerusalem 106–07 ■ The Young Turk Revolution 260–61

inside. Constantine XI, the last
Byzantine emperor, was killed, and
with the fall of the city, his empire
ended. Constantinople then became
the capital of the Ottoman Empire,
which lasted until 1922.

A weakening empire for support for their expedition. When lighted tapers were put to the
The Byzantine Empire was already They were initially successful: “innumerable machines” ranged along
in terminal decline by the time Angelos’ son was crowned as co- a four-mile section of the city walls, the
Constantinople was taken. It had emperor but, in 1204, he in turn world’s first concerted artillery barrage
shrunk to include only the capital was deposed by a popular uprising. exploded into life.
city, some land to its west, and The Byzantine senate elected a
the southern part of Greece. The young noble, Nicolas Canabus, as wars against the Safavids, one
decline began at the Battle of emperor, and he refused to back the of Persia’s most significant ruling
Manzikert (1071), during which crusaders. Denied their promised dynasties, gave the Ottomans
the army of the Turkish Seljuk payments, the crusaders and their control of a whole swathe of the
dynasty drove the Byzantines out allies, the Venetians, responded Arab Middle East.
of their crucial territory in Anatolia. with a ruthless attack on the city.
From this point, rival claims for the They raped and killed civilians, The Ottoman Empire was a
Byzantine crown, disputes over looted churches, and demolished Muslim State and the sultans saw it
tax, loss of trade revenue, and poor priceless works of art. Constantinople as their duty to promote the spread
military leadership all contributed was all but destroyed. of Islam. Nevertheless it tolerated
to the contraction of the empire. Christians and Jews in a subsidiary
Rise of the Ottomans status and made extensive use of
In 1203, the Fourth Crusade— Before capturing Constantinople, slaves. Many languages were
a western European expedition the Ottoman Empire had already spoken and faiths followed within
originally intended to conquer expanded from Anatolia into the its domains, but it dealt with the
Jerusalem—became entangled in Balkans. Afterward, in the 16th potentially conflicting religious and
the empire’s politics. Some of the century, it expanded into the political differences by setting up
crusade leaders pledged to help eastern Mediterranean, along the vassal (subordinate) states in some
restore the deposed Byzantine banks of the Red Sea, and into regions. Territories such as
Emperor Isaac II Angelos in return North Africa. The defeat of the Transylvania and the Crimea paid
Mamelukes in Egypt in 1536, and tribute (made regular payments)
[Blood flowed] like to the emperor, but they were not ❯❯
rainwater in the gutters

after a sudden storm.
Nicolò Barbaro

Eyewitness to the fall
of Constantinople (1453)

140 THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE

ruled by him directly, and acted The Ottoman army was also
as buffer zones between Muslim crucial to the empire’s success.
and Christian areas. Some vassal It was technically advanced—
states, including Bulgaria, Serbia, employing cannon from the siege
and Bosnia, were eventually of Constantinople onward—and
absorbed into the larger empire; tactically sophisticated. Its high-
others retained their vassal status. speed cavalry units could turn
what looked like a retreat into a
Government and military Janissaries wore distinctive devastatingly effective flanking
The Ottomans evolved a strong uniforms and, unlike other military attack, surrounding the enemy in
system of government that units, were paid salaries and lived in a crescent-shaped formation that
combined local administration barracks. They were the first corps to would take them by surprise.
with central control. The sultan— make extensive use of firearms.
whose brothers were customarily At the heart of the army were
murdered at his accession—was hold together a large and diverse the Janissaries, a unit of infantry
supreme ruler. He had a council of empire for much longer than would that began as the imperial guard
advisers, later a deputy, who ruled have been possible with a more and expanded to become the most
on his behalf. Local areas were wholly centralized system. feared elite force of the period.
ruled by military governors (beys) Initially, the unit was made up of
under the emperor’s overall control, men who, as children, had been
but local councils kept the beys’ abducted from Christian families
authority in check. in the Balkans. Under the devsirme
system, which was also known as
Non-Muslim communities the “blood tax” or “tribute in blood,”
within the empire were allowed a boys aged from eight to 18 were
degree of self-rule through a system taken by Ottoman military, forcibly
of separate courts called millets. converted to Islam, and sent to live
The millets allowed Armenian, with Turkish families, where they
Jewish, and Orthodox Christian learned the Turkish language and
communities to rule according to customs. They were then given
their own laws in cases that did not rigorous military training, and
involve Muslims. This balanced any who showed particular talent
combination of central and local were selected for specialized roles
control enabled the Ottomans to ranging from archers to engineers.

Mehmet II Mehmet (1432–1481), the son of Mehmet’s second, main, rule
the Ottoman emperor Murad II, was from 1451 to 1481. His
was born in Edirne, Turkey. As victory at Constantinople was
was usual for an heir to the followed by a string of further
Ottoman throne, Mehmet had an conquests: the Morea (southern
Islamic education, and at 11 years Greece), Serbia, the coast of the
old was appointed governor of a Black Sea, Wallachia, Bosnia,
province, Amasya, to gain and part of the Crimea. He
experience of leadership. A year rebuilt Constantinople as his
later, Murad abdicated in favor of capital and founded mosques
his son, but shortly afterward was there, while also allowing
called back from his retirement in Christians and Jews to worship
Anatolia to lend military support. freely. Known for his ruthless
“If you are the Sultan,” Mehmet military leadership, he also
wrote, “come and lead your welcomed humanists to the
armies. If I am the Sultan, I order capital, encouraged culture,
you to come and lead my armies.” and founded a university.

THE EARLY MODERN ERA 141

Naturalistic motifs in cobalt blues reinforced its fortifications as well other arenas. A rising population
and chrome greens surround Islamic as adding many mosques, bazaars, was putting pressure on available
calligraphy in these Iznik wall tiles, and water fountains. The city’s land; there were military threats
commissioned for the Topkapi Palace dazzling centerpiece was the royal and internal revolts; and defeat by
during the classical age of Turkish art. palace of Topkapi, commissioned a coalition of Catholic forces at
by Sultan Mehmet II in around the the sea battle of Lepanto in 1571
Janissaries were not permitted to 1460s. Masons, stonecutters, and prevented the empire’s expansion
marry until they retired from active carpenters were summoned from further along the European side of
duty, but they received special far and wide to ensure the complex the Mediterranean.
benefits and privileges designed to would be an enduring monument.
secure their sole allegiance to the It contained mosques, a hospital, The Ottoman empire steadily
ruler. Although they made up only bakeries, and a mint among much lost prestige and influence until
a small proportion in the Ottoman else, and attached to it were its decline earned it the title “the
army, they had a leading role and imperial societies of artists and sick man of Europe.” Incapable of
played a key part in many victories, craftsmen who produced some of responding to the convulsions of
including those over the Egyptians, the finest work in the empire. the 19th century, it lost territory
Hungarians, and Constantinople. and struggled against a rising tide
Gradual decline of nationalism among its conquered
This cultural flowering continued peoples. Its long history finally
after Suleiman’s death, but the ended with defeat in World War I
empire faced serious challenges in and the foundation of the modern
Turkish state by Kemal Attatürk. ■
Internal divisions
weaken the Byzantine The Ottomans
attack and capture
Empire from within.
Constantinople.

The Ottoman heyday The Ottomans Ottoman armies
The empire reached its peak under govern conquered lands by conquer and pacify large
Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent. respecting local customs
He forged an alliance with the parts of eastern Europe
French against the Habsburg and allowing limited and the Middle East.
rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, self-rule.
and signed a treaty with the
Safavid rulers of Persia that divided The large, pluralist
Armenia and Georgia between the Ottoman Empire spreads
two powers and put most of Iraq Islam but fails to create a
into Ottoman hands. Suleiman single united culture.
conquered much of Hungary, and
even laid siege to Vienna, although
he did not succeed in taking it.

The Ottomans took their Islamic
faith to their territories, building
mosques everywhere—and with
the mosques came scholarship and
education. Ottoman cities were
impressive. Constantinople itself
was virtually rebuilt: the Ottomans

LFTOIHLGLOEHWTISNGUOTHNFE

WE LEFT THE OLD WORLD

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
REACHES AMERICA (1492)



144 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS REACHES AMERICA

IN CONTEXT Europeans develop a
taste for Asian spices
FOCUS
Voyages of discovery and luxury goods.

BEFORE Land routes The After the
1431 Portuguese navigator to Asia are Portuguese fall of
Gonçalo Velho sails on a
voyage of exploration to hazardous and explore Granada,
the Azores. blocked by Indian Spanish
the Ottoman Ocean religious
1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounds routes. zeal turns
the Cape of Good Hope, Empire. outward.
discovering the passage
around southern Africa. The Spanish Crown supports the exploration of a
potential route to Asia across the Atlantic Ocean.
1492 King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella of Spain agree Columbus sets sail westward across the
to sponsor Columbus’s voyage. Atlantic to Asia, but instead reaches America.

AFTER continued to explore the Caribbean, and pepper, were prized not only
1498 Vasco da Gama’s fleet visiting Cuba, Hispaniola, and for their taste but also because they
arrives in Calicut, India. several of the smaller islands. could help to preserve foods. There
He met with a mostly peaceful was also an enthusiastic market
c.1499 Italian explorer response from the native people, for luxury goods such as silk and
Amerigo Vespucci discovers whom he observed might make precious stones, commodities that
the mouth of the Amazon. good servants or slaves. He also came primarily from the islands of
noticed their gold jewelry, and the Indonesian group, such as the
1522 Ferdinand Magellan’s took a sample of local gold, as Moluccas, which were known in
Spanish expedition to the well as some native prisoners, Europe as the Spice Islands.
East Indies, from 1519 to back to Europe.
1522 results in the first Bringing such commodities
circumnavigation of the Earth. Columbus was to return to the across Asia by land was difficult
Caribbean on three later voyages, and dangerous because of local wars
C hristopher Columbus bringing in his wake countless and instabilities along the route; it
(c.1451–1506), an Italian- European visitors and settlers. was also costly, since during their
born navigator and trader journey goods would pass through
from Genoa, made a journey in Motivation to explore many different merchants’ hands.
1492 that initiated a lasting contact The rulers and merchants of There were certainly excellent
between America and Europe, and Western Europe wanted to explore economic reasons to develop sea
changed the world. the Atlantic for primarily economic routes: anyone who could find a
reasons. Spices that would not more direct way of importing these
When he set out, Columbus grow in Europe’s climate, such as goods to Western Europe would
was expecting to reach Asia, since cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, become very rich.
no Europeans at the time knew that
an entire continent blocked this
route. When he reached an island
in the Bahamas after sailing for five
weeks, he believed that he had
arrived at the outer reaches of
Indonesia. From there, Columbus

THE EARLY MODERN ERA 145

See also: The Viking raid on Lindisfarne 94–95 ■ The Treaty of Tordesillas 148–51 ■ The Columbian Exchange 158–59 ■
The voyage of the Mayflower 172–74 ■ The formation of the Royal African Company 176–79

Another reason why Europeans transatlantic voyage, Columbus I intend to go and
started to explore sea routes in the took two caravels, each probably see if I can find the
late Middle Ages was to investigate of 50–70 tons, and one carrack of
the possibility of establishing about 100 tons, the extra capacity island of Japan.
European colonies in Asia. These being useful for carrying stores. Christopher Columbus,
could act not only as trading posts,
but also as bases for missionaries, Skills and technology quickly 1492
who could convert the locals to developed in both shipbuilding
Christianity. This they believed and navigation. Sailors used the John I, commissioned numerous
would help to reduce the perceived cross-staff—a basic sighting journeys of exploration to the Azores
threat of Islam. device—or later a mariner’s in the 15th century. Henry had
astrolabe, to calculate a vessel’s started the first school for oceanic
By the 14th and 15th centuries, latitude. They achieved this by navigation, with an astronomical
the Spanish, Portuguese, English, measuring angles, such as the angle observatory at Sagres, Portugal in
and Dutch had developed ocean- of the sun to the horizon. They used about 1418. Here he promoted the
going ships, and trained sailors a magnetic compass to gauge study of navigation, map-making,
who could navigate over long direction, and theircharts and and science. Henry sent ships down
distances. Explorers used various knowledge of prevailing winds and the west coast of Africa, to which
types of vessels, among the most currents improved with each voyage. he was particularly attracted by
successful of which was the the potential to trade in slaves and
caravel—a fast, lightweight, and Portuguese navigators gold. His ships pushed southward,
extremely maneuverable ship that European navigators had been setting up trading posts along the ❯❯
was usually equipped with a mix of striking out into the Atlantic for
square and lateen (triangular) sails. many decades. Sailors from Bristol,
The lateen sails made it possible to England, for example, were sailing
sail to windward (into the wind), in the 1470s in search of a mythical
which allowed explorers to make island called “Brasil,” thought to be
progress even in variable wind west of Ireland. The Portuguese
conditions. Explorers also used the established trading colonies on
carrack, or nau, a larger vessel that Madeira, and Prince Henry the
was similarly rigged. On his first Navigator, son of Portugal’s King

Christopher Columbus Born in Genoa, Christopher guessed, from the size of the
Columbus became a business Orinoco River, that he had found
agent for several prominent a huge land mass. During this
Genoese families and undertook time, settlers complained to the
trading voyages in Europe and Crown about the way he ran his
along the African coast. Caribbean colony, and he was
dismissed as governor.
Columbus followed his voyage
to America with a second in 1493, On his last voyage (1502–04)
during which he explored the he sailed along the Central
Lesser and Greater Antilles, and American coast, hoping to find
set up a colony at La Isabela in a strait to the Indian Ocean. He
what is now the Dominican returned to Spain in poor health
Republic. His third voyage (1498– and an increasingly disturbed
1500) took him to the Caribbean state of mind, feeling he had not
island of Hispaniola and on to received the recognition and
Trinidad, where he found the benefits he had been promised.
coast of South America and Columbus died in 1506.

146 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS REACHES AMERICA

way. Subsequent rulers continued seamen—including Christopher Such inhumanities and
to sponsor voyages and, in 1488, Columbus—who believed the Barbarisms were committed...
Portuguese captain Bartolomeu planet’s diameter to be rather
Dias rounded the southern tip of smaller than it actually is. acts so foreign to human
Africa. Soon another Portuguese nature that I now tremble
navigator, Vasco da Gama, led the Seeking sponsorship
push to round the Cape and pressed In 1485, Columbus presented to as I write.
on across the Indian Ocean, linking John II, king of Portugal, a plan to Bartolome De Las Casas
Europe and Asia for the first time sail across the Atlantic to the Spice
by ocean route. Islands. John refused to invest in Spanish historian (c.1527)
the scheme, however. This was
Since Portugal dominated the partly because Portugal was already Aragon and Isabella of Castile, the
sea route along the African coast, exploring the West African coast “Catholic Monarchs” who jointly
Portugal’s European neighbor with some success, and partly ruled Spain. At first they turned him
and rival Spain needed to find an because the experts John consulted down, their navigational consultants
alternative route, if it was to gain about the proposal were skeptical also skeptical about the length of
access to the riches of the East. about the distances involved. his proposed route, but eventually,
Although educated people knew
by this time that the Earth was Columbus cast his net more
round, they did not know about widely, seeking backing from the
the existence of the Americas. An powerful maritime cities of Genoa
alternative way to the East seemed, and Venice, and sending his brother
therefore, to be to sail west across to England to do the same—but
the Atlantic. This route seemed still he received no encouragement.
especially attractive to the many He therefore turned to Ferdinand of

Columbus’s voyage was a bold undertaking.
Despite a general understanding that the world
was spherical, many believed the westward
journey was doomed to fail, fearing the crew
would die of thirst before ever reaching land.

Start The voyage to Provisions on board On October 12th,
America and the ships included 1492, the ships
back lasted vinegar, olive oil, wine, finally reached
seven months, salted flour, biscuits, the Bahamas.
from August 3rd, dry legumes, and
1492—March salted sardines. Finish
15th 1493. The crew consisted of
87 men—20 on the Niña, Columbus calculated
On August 3rd, 26 on the Pinta, and 41 that Asia was 2,400
1492, Columbus on the Santa Maria. miles away from Spain.
departed Spain In fact it is around
with three ships: 12,200 miles away.
the Niña, Pinta,
and Santa Maria.

THE EARLY MODERN ERA 147

Columbus discovered Hispaniola in
1492 when his flagship ran aground on
its shores. Nueva Isabela, founded
there in 1496, is the oldest permanent
European settlement in the Americas.

after protracted negotiations, they
agreed to sponsor the voyage.
Securing a new trade route would
certainly bring material rewards,
but Isabella also saw the voyage in
terms of a religious mission that
could bring the light of Christianity
to the East.

Columbus sails west priests, who were specifically remains at L’Anse aux Meadows
Having been granted viceroyship charged with converting local in Newfoundland reveal that
and governorship of any lands he people to Christianity. Religious they even settled there. However,
could claim for Spain, plus other conversion became a key part of the Viking settlement was not
benefits including 10 percent of any European colonization, illustrating long-lived, and was unknown to
revenues they yielded, Columbus set the colonist’s ambition to impose Columbus and his contemporaries.
sail westward in 1492. He called at their own culture and exert control
Gran Canaria before sailing west, over newly colonized peoples. Nevertheless, Columbus’s 1492
sighting land five weeks later. In journey did inaugurate a lasting
early 1493 he returned to Europe Columbus’s achievement in contact between the Americas and
with two ships, the third having 1492 is often described as the Europe. The pitiless destruction he
been wrecked off the coast of European “discovery” of America. and his men wrought upon the
present-day Haiti, and was duly This is a problematic claim not only indigenous peoples of the West
appointed Governor of the Indies. because Columbus thought he had Indies, whom he encountered when
reached Asia, but also because he first arrived in the Americas,
Columbus’s second expedition Vikings from Scandinavia had also began a process of decimation
was organized just a few months reached North America some 500 of American Indian populations
later. This involved 17 ships loaded years earlier—archaeological that would continue for a century. ■
with some 1,200 people who would
found Spanish colonies in the
Caribbean. As well as farmers and
soldiers, the colonists included

I should not proceed by land
to the East, as is customary,

but by a Westerly route.
Christopher Columbus,

1492

148 IN CONTEXT

TAABHNEPIDECSROBLPNOIENSUTEINUDDSEAHRLAEMLDLAARSK FOCUS
Spanish and Portuguese
THE TREATY OF TORDESILLAS (1494 ) American conquests

BEFORE
1492 Columbus makes his
first journey to the New World,
signaling the beginning of
Spanish interest in the area.

AFTER
1500 Pedro Álvares Cabral
claims Brazil for Portugal.

1521 Hernán Cortés
completes his conquest
of the Aztec Empire.

1525 The first Spanish
settlement in Colombia,
Santa Marta, is established.

1532 Francisco Pizarro begins
the Spanish campaign to
conquer the Inca Empire.

1598 Juan de Orñate founds
the first Spanish settlement
in California.

S pain and Portugal signed a
treaty on June 7, 1494, at
Tordesillas in Spain, that
resolved the countries’ disputes
about the possession of newly
discovered territory. The rulers
settled on a meridian 370 leagues
west of the Cape Verde Islands as
a line of demarcation. All the lands
to the west of this line would belong
to Spain; all those to the east would
belong to Portugal. The line was
chosen because of its location:
it lies roughly halfway between
the Cape Verde Islands, which
already belonged to Portugal,
and the Caribbean islands,
which Christopher Columbus
had claimed for Spain in 1492.