Deck 14: B: Political Transformations Empires and Encounters 1450-1750

Question 1

Which Amerindian crops had the greatest impact on food production in Africa and Eurasia following the establishment of the Western European empires?

Answer 1

•Corn
•Potatoes
•Cassava
•Peanuts
•Sweet potatoes
A really good answer will note the importance of corn,peanuts,and cassava to Africa;corn,peanuts,and sweet potatoes to China;and corn and potatoes to Europe.

Question 2

Describe the major features of Ottoman rule over the Balkans.

Answer 2

•The ottoman Turks ruled over a large Christian population but did not settle in large numbers.
•They were willing to accommodate Christian churches in the region.
•Many Christians welcomed ottoman conquest because taxes were lighter and oppression less pronounced than under their former Christian rulers.
•Christian communities like the Eastern orthodox and Armenian churches were granted considerable autonomy in regulating their internal social,religious,educational,and charitable affairs.
•A substantial number of Christians became part of the ottoman elite without converting to Islam.
•Through a process known as the devshirme,Turks collected from Balkan Christian communities a quota of young boys who were removed from their families,required to learn Turkish,usually converted to Islam,and trained for either civil administration or military service in the ottoman Empire.

Question 3

In what ways were the outcomes of Europe's American colonies different from those of the Chinese,Mughal,and Ottoman empires?

Answer 3

•The Chinese,Mughal,and ottoman empires continued earlier patterns of expansion,and their impact was regional rather than global.
•The empires of Europe created something new: an interacting Atlantic world linking Europe,Africa,and the Americas.
•The European empires had a greater impact on conquered peoples (the Great Dying)and the world (Columbian exchange).
•The European empires were the only ones that fostered slave-based societies and a transcontinental slave trade.
•Europe was enriched and transformed more from its possessions.

Question 4

How did race and class shape women's experiences in the colonial societies of North and South America?

Question 5

What impact did the creation of the Russian and Chinese empires during the early modern period have on Central Asia?

Question 6

In what respects were the centuries from 1450 to 1750 an age of empires?

Question 7

How did understandings of race in Latin America differ from those in British North America?

Question 8

How did the various empires deal with colonial subjects who practiced different religions?