Period 4 (1450-1750)

African kingdom referred to as Angola by the Portuguese (named for the title of kings in the kingdom- ngola.) In this empire the Portuguese established a slave trade in which the Ndongo grew wealthy from the direct trade with them and developed from a small chiefdom to a powerful regional empire. The Portuguese had started setting up a colony there in 1575, and by 1611 increased influence and allied with neighboring peoples who delivered war captives. In the next years, campaigned to establish a colony that would support large-scale slave trade. The Portuguese won, and extended and tightened control over their colony of Angola, the first European colony in sub-Saharan Africa. But most important in this was resistance from Queen Nzinga (r. 1623-1663). Came from a long line of warrior kings and wanted others to see her as a king (traveled with a group of concubines- males dressed as females) and dressed as a man herself. Led spirited resistance and mobilized African peoples but was no match for Portuguese military/ money.

Began by Ismail, a 12-year old who wanted revenge on his family's enemies, had hidden in the swamps of Gilan for five years. When he emerged, but himself a powerful army and claimed title of ancient Persian imperial title of Shah. Seized control of Iranian peninsula, the Caucasus, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and central Asia, which was mostly Sunni Muslim, imposed Twelver Shiism, in which he and his successors claimed to be descended from a popular Sufi mystic Safi al-Din (1252-1334) which appealed to Turkish tribes in their empire, and were instructed to wear red hat with 12 pleats in memory of 12 imams (religious leaders after Muhammad who Twelver Shiism was named for.) Red hats- qizilbash. Ended when at a time when shah's were no longer powerful/ innovative and their army was weak, attacked by both Russians and Ottomans who divided up the empire.

The Mughals were an Islamic dynasty that ruled India from 1526 until 1858. This is the empire that created the Taj Mahal (what it is mostly known for) but also for increasing conflict between Hindus and Muslims (exception- reign of Akbar, who was tolerant and actually helped to subside some of the tensions.) Began by a Chaghatai Turk known as Babur ("the tiger") claimed descent from Chinggis Khan and wanted to make a glorious central Asian empire like he had down, but attempts were frustrated and when he died made a loose knit empire in northern India (Mughal- Persian for Mongol.) Akbar was the one of expanded and consolidated Mughal rule, but was also thoughtful. reflective- pursued religious tolerance. Successor Aurangzeb helped empire to reach its height and pushed empire into southern Empire, but was ruthless and unkind, and faced many rebellions that provoked deep hostility among Hindus and Muslims.

Western Europeans were colonizing and building maritime empires while the Russians empire beginning to build a vast land empire that embraced much of northern Eurasia. Began in mid-16th cent. when Russian forces began to take over Mongol khanates in central Asia, which opened new areas and trade opportunities with the Ottomans, Iran, and India through the Caspian Sea. Extended their presence here by absorbing a multi-ethnic region then called the Caucasus, and brought trade into western Europe through the Baltic Sea. Far more extensive was Russia's push into Siberia, started by the Stroganov family in 1591, hired an adventurer to capture the khanate of Sibir. Succeeded and began expeditions into the wilderness in a quest for fur- a luncratice commodity then, and by 1639 had reached eastern Eurasia and the Pacific ocean. Russian explorers also came into contact with the 26 major ethnic groups living there, some who welcomed them, and others who were hostile to the newcomers encroaching on their lands. Disease and violence between the two groups led to decrease in delivery of furs, and Russian government decided to help the "small people"- began a missionary activity to convert the people and bring them into Russian society. Little success and continued to practice shamanism, but the Russian population began migrating there anyways, in order to mine or for a lighter workload found on Siberian plantations, and by 1763, 420,000 Russians lived in Siberia. Russian expansion ended in 1795 with an absorption of eastern Europe and the Kamchatka Peninsula in 1762.

The Spanish East Indies were Spanish territories in Asia-Pacific from 1565 until 1898. Spanish contact first began in 1521 with the discovery of the islands by Ferdinand Magellan. Word of spices, silk, gold, and silver traveled back to Spain, and soon the Spanish were colonizing islands in the Pacific, first the Philippines in 1565 and then a trading port in Manila in 1570. Trade links were developed between Manila and the viceroy in Mexico, and the Manila-Acapulco Galleons were established, and what was brought to Mexico was then shipped to Spain.

Japan’s Tokugawa (or Edo (named for the city Edo in which Ieyasu made his capital, now Tokyo)) period lasted from 1603 to 1867 and was the final era of traditional Japanese government (feudalism), culture and society before the Meiji Restoration of 1868 toppled the 250 year shogunate (made of a long succession of 15 shogunates) and propelled the country into the modern era. The shogunate was first founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ended the hundreds of years of was Japan had been in (done especially by controlling the daimyo) and created a feudalistic state in which the shogun was at top. These developments led to increased prosperity in Japan, including the rise of a new merchant class and increasing urbanization. To guard against external influence, they also worked to close off Japanese society from Westernizing influences, particularly Christianity. Overall, helped to reunite Japan and stimulate it culturally, but didn't bring Japan ahead into the industrializing world.

During the late Mind dynasty, the empire was falling apart to uprisings by the Han people and invasions by Mongolians from the N. and the Manchus from the NE. Due in part to the Manchu's military prowess and Chinese support for them, the Ming dynasty fell.The Manchus then took over, created the Qing ("pure") dynasty, and set up a capital at Beijing. Many Manchu elites were schooled in Chinese language and Confucian thought, which earned them respect from other Chinese elites, but the Manchus were sure to preserve their own cultural identity- outlawed Manchus and Chinese marriage, forbid Chinese from traveling to Manchuria or learning their culture, and made men were made to grow Manchu-style queue. The empires greatest rulers, Kangxi and his grandson Qianlong, consolidated their hold and expanded the empire, and high point of it came under Qianlong. Although he and his successors continually delegated responsibilities of their eunuchs and began to weaken empire. Emperors in both Ming and Qing dynasties seen as "Sons of Heaven" and governance fell to Scholar- Bureaucrats.