U2A2 by Jake Ellengold

Treaty of Utrecht - 1713

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:12:26 UTC

Great Britain, the strongest empire at the time, won the right to supply enslaved Africans to the colonies owned by the Spanish. This right was known as the asiento, and it increased global economic dependency on the slave trade.

France Takes Caribbean Colonies - 1664

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:15:04 UTC

France took control and expanded sugar plantations in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Haiti. These caribbean colonies were fueled by enslaved Africans and were important for European economies.

Japan Starts the Closed Country Policy - 1639

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:17:16 UTC

Tokugawa Shogunate did not want foreign ideas to influence his people, so he restricted European traders. This put Japan behind the rest of the world for 200 years, and this policy lasted until Commodore Perry came to Japan in 1853.

Dutch Set Up Cape Colony in South Africa - 1652

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:20:18 UTC

The Dutch East India Company set up a new settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. This settlement made it easier for ships traveling between Europe and Asia, but--as most settlements in this time did--it led to conflicts between the settlers and native people.

Qing Dynasty Overthrows Ming Dynasty - 1644

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:22:32 UTC

The Manchu people from the North invaded China and started the Qing Dynasty. They enforced cultural assimilation through their queue hairstyle and dress codes, and they also expanded China's overall territory.

British East India Company is Founded - 1600

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:32:02 UTC

The company was established to control trade between Britain and India, and ended up playing a major role in the British colonization of India. The company competed with Dutch and Portuguese merchants in the Indian Ocean.

Francisco Pizarro Conqueres the Incan Empire - 1533

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:34:51 UTC

Pizarro used guns, germs, and glory to defeat Atahualpa and capture the city of Cuzco. Pizarro's army also used deception to catch the Incas off guard, so the fight was not fair.

Hernán Cortés Takes Over the Aztec Empire - 1519

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:38:08 UTC

Cortés already had alliances with indigenous groups, which helped him in his fight with the Aztecs. Montezuma tried to appease Cortés but ended up being taken hostage and killed. They also thought Cortés was a god when he arrived, so it wasn't a fair fight.

Vasco da Gama Makes it to India - 1498

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:40:33 UTC

He was the first European to sail all the way around Africa and reach India. This allowed Portugal to bypass the Middle East and started the first direct sea trade between the two continents.

Christopher Columbus Reaches the Americas - 1492

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:43:12 UTC

Funded by Spain to find a new route to Asia, Christopher Columbus accidently ended up in the Caribbean. He thought he was in India for his entire life, yet this event still marked the beginning of European colonization and the Columbian Exchange.

Works Citied (Besides the Notes)

20263325 — 2025-02-04 14:44:53 UTC

"East India Company." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 31 Dec. 1600, www.britannica.com/topic/East-India-Company.

"Treaties of Utrecht." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 26 June 1997, www.britannica.com/topic/treaties-of-Utrecht.