History (1450-1750)

The Holy Roman Empire was a very influential part in European history. They weren't very holy or roman, but they were great at meddling with European events. The Pope chose the emperor. They were effective in stopping the Islam advance into Europe.

France started off as a Kingdom and became one of the most influential countries today. It has a long history with the HRE and England, and has been very empirical in the past. It was one of the major contenders in the Americas.

Portugal was a small country next to Spain. It was very influential during the age of exploration, and was one of the major founders of it. They found the routes to india and built a trade based empire.

The dates listed are those for the Magna Carta and when it joined to make Great Britain. This small island nation was very powerful and built a large empire across the world. They were trade based and had a powerful military, and became a constitutional monarchy early on. Their reformation from the church was very controversial and started because the king wanted an annulment.

The Ottoman Empire was the largest of the Islamic Empires. It was traditionally Sunni, and was constantly at war with its Shi'ite neighbors the Safavids. They accomplished conquering Constantinople, forcing the Europeans to begin their Age of Exploration.

The Safavid Empire was a Shi'ite Islamic Empire in the Persian Area. It was stuck between the Ottoman and Mughal Empires and could never grow much, as well as participate in much trade.

Songhay was the Westernmost Islamic Empire, taking place in Africa. It was in the same area as Ghana and Mali were previously. It took up a strong education role in Islam, and had excellent trade both Trans Saharan and Sub Saharan.

The Ming Dynasty was the last cultural Chinese Empire, surrounded by the Yuan and Qing. It was very focused on 'Chinifying' China and getting rid of outside influence. It was very influential in Asia, especially under Yongle, and eventually fell to the Manchurians.

The Aztec Empire was a group of three peoples, primarily the Mexica, who conquered much of Mesoamerica. They controlled the land with a tribute style system, and were very bent on human sacrifices. They had an excellent inside trade system and were more of a collection of city states than anything.

The Inca Empire was the biggest Native American empire in S. America, along the Andes Mountains. It had a very intricate governmental system, with representatives moving up to the Emperor. They also had long-distance and interior trade. They fell after a civil war to the spanish.

The Spanish Empire actually began with its acquisition of American colonies in 1492 and ended when it lost its last African colonies in 1975. Ferdinand and Isabella were the monarchs at the start, and they based their conquests largely off of naval power. They were largely Catholic, which drove most of their endeavors.

The Mughal Empire was a Sunni Islamic Empire in India. They had a hard time because the majority of the population was Hindu. Some rulers were very tolerant whereas others were less successful. During this Empire, trade flourished, the Peacock Throne and Taj Mahal were built.

The Russian Empire was influential via Kievan Rus and Moscow before it became a Tsardom. This northern empire was very large and very cold, and also adopted many cultural traits of the west. They expanded out east towards Siberia and bordered Europe on one side and China/America on the other.

The Tokugawa Shogunate was a strange and paranoid Japanese shogunate. The period that it was in power, called the Edo period, kept Japan cut off from the outside world. It had a very strict social structure and Christianity was outlawed.

The Qing Dynasty was the last Chinese dynasty, ruled by outside Manchurians. It reached a cultural and land height in China. It came into power when the Ming Dynasty needed the Manchurian army to help defend the capital, so while there they simply assumed command. Many of China's greatest Emperors reigned in this dynasty, including Kangxi.

Neo-Confucianism started in the Tang Dynasty and was very prevalent in the Ming Dynasty. It was a modern confucianism twist that took the older confucianism and made it more applicable for their dynasties. It had some blends from other religions, as well.

The Forbidden City was built by the Yongle Emperor in Beijing and became the Imperial Palace, as well as capital of China, for 500 years.

The diaspora was when Europeans began to spread around the world. This started with the migration out to the East Indies to take up trade outposts there, and continued in the Americas and Africa. It was a beginning of an age of exploration and imperialism.

Mehmed II, or Mehmed the Conqueror, conquered the unconquerable city in 1453. He did this through the use of cannons and siege technology. The ottomans were largely successful in their military conquests, like the other Islamic Empires, with their advanced uses of gunpowder that other empires didn't have.

The Spanish Inquisition was a period of time when the Spanish got all crazy and started interrogating people to see if they were Christians, and specifically, Catholic. This process kicked Jews and Muslims out of Spain. Lots of torture.

The trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas went in a triangular pattern. Europe gave Africa finished goods, Africa gave the Americas slaves, and the Americas gave Europe unfinished goods. Its the triangle of trade (similar to circle of life).

This treaty the Pope made pretty much split up the world between Portugal and Spain. This is why Spain was so prominent in the Americas while Portugal got Brazil and the West Indies.

This was the exchange of goods and services across the Atlantic to the new world, and still technically happens today. Both sides of the world got new things, like tobacco and potatoes, as well as new bad things, like disease. This marked a new era in history.

This period of time featured philosophes, or intellectuals, who began thinking a lot. They questioned the power of the church, the role of government, and other important things we have a use of now.

This battle between Selim I and Shah Ismail was a battle between Sunni Ottomans and Shi'ite Safavids, who hated each other. It began a long standing pattern of Ottoman wins over the Safavids.

Started by Martin Luther when he posted his 95 thesis, this revolution pulled people away from the Catholic faith and into newer Christian faiths. This brought about the Peace of Augsburg as well as several wars later on. The Pope lost a lot of power.

This territory in modern day Canada was a trading post for France. It was fur trade based and the French got all buddy-buddy with the Indians to get more fur.

After the Protestant Reformation, Catholics saw the wisdom in Luther's words and decided to reform, except not. They ignored most of what he said and did a few things, like educate the clergy, which they decided at the Council of Trent. This was an attempt to keep Catholicism prominent.

The Council of Trent started the Counter Reformation. The Catholics were all like 'Yo, we gotta do something about them Protestants,' to which the other Catholics were like, 'Let us get educated!' And there was much rejoicing and everyone decided that they should reform their ways. Do you even read these?

This idea allowed a business to be owned by several people, reducing the risk for each of them if the business fails. This was done in England and Portugal, as well as other states, during this age of expanding globalization.

This company was an English Joint Stock Company that dealt with trade in India, the center of the Indian Ocean Trade Network. It put England into a position of power in India so that when the Mughals fell, England was ready to take its place as rulers of India.

Jamestown was the first SUCCESSFUL english colony. It started in Virginia, and although it had a rough start, it really took off. It started a period of English trade and dominance along the Eastern coast of the New World.

This Japanese system was the way that the Tokugawa Shogunate remained 'with the times' during the Edo period. They kept contact with the Netherlands, and no one else, and the Dutch taught them things like medicine.

The Seven Years War is known as an early world war, because it involved the majority of Europe and took place over several continents. The war itself was largely between France and England, however was started between the HRE and Prussia.