Introduction
: Before we learn
about the unlikely and apparently rapid rise of The West during the 19th and
20th centuries, it’s important to understand the powerful empires of the early
modern world between 1500 and 1800. Some readers may be surprised to learn
about the wealth, thriving global trade, and dominant manufacturing production
in Asia that held sway until at least the end of the 18th century. Throughout
much of this era, Europe was, in contrast to Asia, an unimpressive backwater of small countries and kingdoms. But
Europe’s “discovery” of the Americas and an ocean route to Asia, just before
the year 1500, changed all that. The West gradually worked its way into the
global economy and planted the seeds for its imperial rise and eventual
dominance over most of the modern world.
After 1500,
world regions—such as West Africa, East Asia, and South America—fused together
into one global trade system. For the first time in history, each region of the
world now interacted with the others. For example, enslaved African labor was
used in South American plantations to sell cheap sugar to Europe. Silver from
Mexico bought loans for Spain, and that same silver ended up in China to buy
silk or porcelain for Europeans. And so on. A new global system emerged, forged
of uneven relationships, in which a small part of the world, Europe,
successfully exploited the world’s human and natural resources to its
advantage. This was Globalization 1.0.
Historians disagree on exactly when European empires began to “rise” and Asian
empires began to “fall.” But most see it happening gradually over centuries of
the early modern era.
Just
Before the Turning Point: 15th Century World Empires
In the
shadow of the 21st century wealth and influence of The West, we often forget
that in the 15th century, powerful non-European empires thrived. In the
Americas, for example, the Aztecs ruled over a vast and diverse population of
over 25 million people and controlled an area of 200,000 square miles (Getz
63). The Inca in South America controlled an empire that stretched 2500 miles.
The empire of Mali controlled much of West Africa. Across the deserts of North
Africa, caravans of up to 25,000 camels traded enslaved Africans and gold for
Indian textiles (Marks 55). No European nation at the time surpassed these
empires’ wealth and territory.
In the 15th
century, empires outside Europe—in China, Mexico, and the Middle East—were also
far more urbanized than Europe.
Ninety-nine percent of humans throughout the world lived in rural areas, so
urban living was unusual. But dense cities were a clear indication of an
empire’s power, wealth, technology, industry and potential for trade. And
Europe lagged behind. Both Istanbul and Beijing, for example, had populations
of around 700,000 in 1500, whereas only 125,000 lived in Paris (Frank 12).
Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztec Empire in central Mexico, had a
population of over 250,000 people, while fewer than 100,000 lived in London
(Marks 74). China had the most impressive cities of all—nine out of the ten
largest cities in the world were found there (26). In 1492, few would have
looked at the cities of the world and believed that Europe would come to dominate
global trade centuries later.
Europe was
not even dominant on its own doorstep.
The Ottoman Empire continued to
expand its imperial rule in the early modern era, at Europe’s expense. The vast
and diverse empire controlled much of southeastern Europe, almost all of the
Middle East, and the strategically important nation of Egypt (gateway to the
main trade route from Europe to the Indian Ocean). The Ottoman Sultan succeeded in uniting much of the
ethnically diverse Islamic world behind him by claiming the religious authority
of the caliph, which designated him an
heir to the prophet Mohammed. The
Ottomans used the latest in military technology, enormous cannons, to
decisively defeat the Europeans at the battle of Constantinople in 1453. This
enormous loss of the last Christian stronghold at the doorstep of the Middle
East would later lead Europeans to seek a sea route to Asia to open up the
profitable spice trade.
Without question,
China was the most dominant country in the world in the 15th century. A
dramatic example of China’s prowess at the time can be seen in the amazing
voyages of the Chinese admiral
Zeng He, between 1405 and 1433. His
Muslim faith and prestigious position in government reminds us of the ethnic
and religious diversity of the vast Chinese empire. He led fleets of Chinese
boats across the Indian Ocean to trade in India, Southeast Asia, Arabia, and
East Africa. These were, by far, the largest fleets in the history of the world
and would not be surpassed in size and number for many centuries.
Between
1404 and 1407 alone, the Chinese built 1,681 ships requiring wood from as far
away as 1000 miles. The largest ship was 400 feet long and 160 feet wide,
bigger than a football field (Marks 48-49). (In Europe, by contrast, the
intimidating Spanish Armada, the largest navy in the world in 1588—almost two
centuries later—included only 132 much smaller ships (Frank 197)). The Chinese
seemed poised to control the trade and treasure of the entire Indian Ocean. At
the time, only Zeng He’s ships had the sailing technology to sail around
southern Africa towards West Africa and on to Europe. Alas for China, the
emperor in favor of these expensive, exploratory, and impressive voyages died
in 1435. The new emperor turned China’s resources and policies inward to focus
on the Mongols invading from the north and to manage the rest of his vast
agrarian land empire. So no more Chinese fleets sailed the Indian Ocean. How
might the history of the world differed if these voyages had continued on to
Europe and even the Americas?
Less
dramatically, but more importantly, Asia was the center of global trade in the
early modern era, prompting Europeans to expend considerable time and energy to
find a route to Asia. Europeans wanted to trade for Chinese silk and porcelain,
Indian cotton textiles and indigo, and
the spices of Southeast Asia (such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper).
Asian silk, cotton, and porcelain were the highest quality mass-produced items
in the world. Spices, for example, were only grown in the islands of Southeast
Asia, and some were helpful for preserving meat in a world without
refrigeration, while others were luxurious delicacies. These were the “must
have” consumer products in Europe, much like smart phones, computers, and cars
today. All of these products had to travel to Europe via difficult and long
land routes across the Middle East or southern Asia. This made the items
extremely expensive in Europe, especially since the Europeans had nothing to
trade that the Asians wanted.
Even though
15th century China was much more powerful than Europe, the average European had
much in common with his or her Asian counterpart. Europe, South Asia, and China
accounted for about 70 percent of the world’s population (Marks 25). People in
these three regions lived similarly rural lives and had about the same material
existence. All had life expectancies of between thirty and forty years of age
(30). In Europe, South Asia, and China, peasants gave up much of their crop
yield to landlords and their respective governments. All three regions took
part in a global trade that spread thousands of miles across Europe, the Middle
East, East Africa, South Asia, and East Asia. Also, the entirety of Eurasia was
still recovering from plagues that had swept through the continent over the
last century and depopulated cities and regions. And all three regions had
access to new military technology such as gunpowder and cannons.
Although
15th century Asian empires had the clear lead in trade, manufacturing,
productivity, market size, and overall wealth, Europeans at the time planted
the seeds for their ascendency with
incremental but highly significant innovations in military and sailing
technology. In Europe, new military technologies eventually tipped the balance
of power in favor of larger and expanding states that could afford to develop
the latest war inventions and maintain standing armies. Europeans improved on
Mongol cannons by making them with strong cast
iron. The small kingdoms and nations of Europe were in almost constant
war with each other. This pugilism
became a long-term advantage of sorts because the bloody competition between
many states pressured Europeans to improve on their military technology.
China, on
the other hand, was one large empire with one government that did not feel the
constant pressure to improve military technology. Thus, trade in the Indian
Ocean was peaceful; merchant ships sailed unarmed across thousands of miles.
Conversely, Europeans were so accustomed to combat: that when they first sailed
into the Indian Ocean, the broadsides of their ships were armed with cannons.
Europeans came ready for battle.
Similarly, while most Asian empires focused on their vast, rich
inland
empires and neglected their navies, Europeans began to excel in sailing
and
navigational technology. By the 15th century, the compass, the
full-rigged ship, and the quadrant allowed Europeans to sail across the
open ocean. As a result, in the 1400s, the Portuguese kept pressing
south down
the coast of Africa with small but armed caravels.
And, by the late 15th century, it seemed just a matter of time before a
bold
European would throw his fate to the winds and set off into the open
seas of
the Atlantic Ocean.
