Chapter18.tgnotes

Chapter 18: The Atlantic System and Africa

I.	Plantation in the West Indies

	Plantations in the West Indies first started out to be successful tobacco
	growers, but soon transitioned to sugar cane, a crop more fit for the
	climate.

	A.	Colonization Before 1650

		Tobacco was the first successfully cultivated cash crop in the New
		World. First planted in the West Indies by the English and French, it
		is gradually replaced by sugar cane cultivated by African slaves
		Portuguese and the Dutch West India Company brought to the new world.

	B.	Sugar and Slaves

		The Dutch expertise in the Caribbean made the English and French
		colonies (especially Barbados) the richest in the New World, and
		encouraged more slave trade than indentured servitude.

II.	Plantation Life in the Eighteenth Century

	A.	Technology and Environment

		It is often more profitable to control one large sugar plantation than
		several smaller plantations. Sugar planting brought disastrous effects
		to the land itself because of unsustainable farming practices.

	B.	Slaves' Lives

		In ordinary days field slaves are organized into "gangs" with only the
		youngest, oldest, and sickest not out for work. Usually a "driver"
		manages the entire gang and makes sure the gang did its job. The
		health condition of the slaves was incredibly bad, especially during
		"seasoning." There had been a lot of slave rebellions with varying
		levels of success.

	C.	Free Whites and Free Blacks

		Most free whites did not live in Jamaica, and were not the top 1%
		population, but also owned slaves. Some free blacks owned slaves as
		well. Manumission was possible through either owner's discretion or
		was bought. Maroons of runaway slaves also existed.

III.	Creating the Atlantic Economy

	A.	Capitalism and Mercantilism

		The Columbian Exchange encouraged the rise of capitalism, in which
		large banks and stock companies dominated the economic system,
		especially in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Mercantilism also rose with
		the creation of the Royal African Company, the Dutch and French East
		and West India Companies, and the French *Exclusif* and the English
		Navigation acts.

	B.	The Atlantic Circuit

		

Chapter19.tgnote

Chapter 19: Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean, 1500-1750

I.	The Ottoman Empire, To 1750
	The Ottoman Empire started out as a strong Sunni Muslim empire, but eventually the strong governance of the Sultan gave way to internal conflicts of the governors, the Janissaries, and the Mamluks.

	A.	Expansion and Frontiers
		The Ottoman Empire rose from Osman and his descendants to one of the greatest land empires in the Muslim history, especially under the reign of Suleiman the Great.
	B.	Central Institutions
		The Ottoman Empire employed techniques such as child levy (the enslaved Janissaries) and naval warfare made with sea-faring peoples to create a powerful but also cosmopolitan military and a distinctive Military Class.
	C.	Crisis of the Military State, 1585-1650
		The cost of firearms grew steadily, causing the sultan to start reducing the number of cavalrymen, leading to revolts and later, more Janissary privileges.
	D.	Economic Change and Growing Weakness
		Ottoman trading activities were redirected toward Europe, leading to the Tulip Period and the rise of Ismir. However change in social structure eventually weakened the empire and separated it into Mamluk- and Janissary-dominated areas.

II.	The Safavid Empire, 1502-1722
	The Safavid Empire had a distinct identity with its status as a descendant from the Persian Empire, and its choice of Shi'ite Islam as its state religion. It suffered the same problems as its western neighbor and fell after a little more than two centuries.

	A.	Safavid Society and Religion
		After a series of power struggle in Iran, Ismail prevailed. He advocated for Shi'ite Islam, and made the Persian culture more distinct from its neighbor Ottoman Empire's.
	B.	A Tale of Two Cities: Isfahan and Istanbul
		Istanbul and Isfahan (created by Shah Abbas I (Abbas the Great)) had many similarities regarding social activities, laws, and treatment of women, but differed in terms of the level of cosmopolitan and the primary industry (trading vs. primary/secondary sector economy).
	C.	Economic Crisis and Political Collapse
		The Safavid Empire had similar problems regarding paying the military as the Ottoman Empire did, but had an even worse situation with nomad attack and inflation caused by cheap silver.

III.	The Mughal Empire, 1526-1761
	The Mughal Empire is unique in that it melded two very different religions, peacefully.

	A.	Political Foundations
		Babur and Akbar started the Mughal Empire as a Muslim empire (they themselves descended from the house of Timur and Genghis Khan), by granting land to officers as determined by their mansabs.
	B.	Hindus and Muslims
		Akbar himself emphasized religious harmony by marrying a Hindu Rajput princess, and did not force Shari'a laws on non-Muslims. However his great-grandson Aurangzeb practiced intolerance towards Hindus.
	C.	Central Decay and Regional Challenges
		The Mughal Empire declined because of a rapid decline in the central authority from Aurangzeb's peculiar actions, fragmentation that stems from that, and finally European interference from Joseph François Depleix.

IV.	The Maritime Worlds of Islam, 1500-1750
	A.	Muslim in Southeast Asia
		Muslims in Southeast Asia probably were converted by merchants or Sufi preachers, and used Islam to serve as a means to unite local peoples together against European colonization (like the Acheh Sultanate and the Moro Wars).
	B.	Muslims in Coastal Africa
		In the Swahili coast trade cities like Kilwa, Mombasa, and Malindi flourished because of European activities. Oman and Morocco both gained more autonomy despite the European aggression.
	C.	European Powers in Southern Seas
		Dutch trading companies seized many ports in Indonesia from Portugal, but local traders never disappeared.