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Documents by Enlightenment-era thinkers like John Locke perpetuated the ideas of the natural rights of the population

Gradual decline of monarchial power in Europe as more people questioned the effect of an absolute ruler

Led to major reforms and even revolution in the case of France and the future United States

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- The Catholic Church orchestrated the Reconquista, or reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula
- Led to longstanding rivalry between Catholic and Muslim states
- Catholic Church's power was solidified in Western Europe

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This era saw a large number of new ideologies be created, such as the process of capitalism (defined by Adam Smith), which stated that the wealth of the world was limited and could only be taken that far

Joint-stock companies were companies whose actions were dictated by the needs of stockholders, including sometimes governments (examples: Dutch VOC and the British East India Company)

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The "three Gs" signify the majority of European reason for conquest:

Wanted to spread Christianity (god)

Wanted to accumulate more wealth for themselves (gold)

Wanted to become powerful states and influence those around them (glory)

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An upsweep in technology and improvement upon traditional methods (like the introduction of the horse to the Americas) was seen at first

As European hegemony was exercised further and further, a sharp decline in the power and influence of American states such as the Mexica

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Most Asian states reacted negatively to European incursion

Japan repelled all European trades save for the Dutch, who were allowed trade deals on a small island near Nagasaki

China began deporting all Christian missionaries and sought to rid itself of Christianity's influence

Indian states began falling to European (specifically British) influence

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A trade network spanning from Africa to South America and the Caribbean to Europe

Worked through the transport of enslaved indigenous Africans (mostly West Africans) to the Americas, collecting raw materials for sale in Europe, then using the capital accumulated to further continue enslaving the African people

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An exchange of resources, ideas, cultures, and diseases along the Transatlantic route

Perpetrated by the Spanish, who brought horses, gunpowder, and (sadly) smallpox and other diseases to the Americas

Indigenous Americans felt the brunt of the exchange, having their crops and labor taken to feed the growing Spanish Empire (but hey, at least they gave the Spanish syphilis)

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- Venice and Genoa were prominent trading cities; created hegemony in the Mediterranean
- Following unification of England and Scotland the United Kingdom set about securing assets in the Indian Ocean
- The Netherlands established an extensive trading empire under a state-sponsored joint-stock company
- France went on jaunts to North America and Africa, set up trade routes and a fur-trading empire

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- Astrolabe and sky charts were used, developed, and refined by Persian and Islamic empires
- Magnetic compass and gunpowder invented by China
- Lateen sail used by Indian Ocean tradesmen

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- Middle Eastern trade kingdoms cut Europe off from the spice trade
- European empires sought to control greater territory
- Asian and Middle Eastern empires sought to expand control and inhibit European expansion

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Severe decline in population

Deforestation and soil exhaustion led to lands becoming infertile

Mass atrocities and recipient of cash-crop farming (like Brazilian sugarcane)

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Decrease in population overall

Seizure of indigenous lands by Europeans

Economic and resource dependence on Europe by African kingdoms that led to colonialization

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Gradual loss of an Asian sphere of influence

Rebellions in the Ming Dynasty and later Tokugawa-era Japan to repel extending European influence

Chinese decline until the eventual collapse of the Qing Dynasty

Japanese isolationist policies strengthening

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- European empires continued expansion and reaping of resources
- Extensive conquering, subjugation of indigenous peoples, and other factors led to tragic loss of life for those who came in contact with Europe
- Economic power (but not stability, necessarily) and hegemony in Europe-controlled areas

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- New varieties of ship (like the caravel) were more efficient
- Knowledge of gravity caused predictability in tides

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- Once Castille and Aragon unified into Spain it began its exploration
- Hired Cristoforo Colombo (Columbus) to bypass the route around Africa by going westward until Asia was reached
- Colombo did not reach Asia, but there was still land (the Americas), so Spain conquered it
- Land-based empire and major recipient of the T-A Slave Trade

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- Portuguese expansion began with Prince Henry the Navigator and the expeditions of Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco da Gama
- Led to establishment of Portuguese trading ports along the Indian Ocean
- Later expanded to the Americas and the establishment of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

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European competition with the "gunpowder empires" of Asia led to a severe increase in trade competition. As such, European powers wanted to gain an advantage over these Asian powers by conquering new territory in the Americas and Africa.