The First Global Age: Europe & Asia

The desire for a share in the valuable spice trade spurred Portugal & Spain to search for new trade routes to Asia. Aided by better ships & other technological advances, Europeans explored the world, coming upon the Americas in their travels. Europeans established trading posts in Asia. India, too, established a presence in Southeast Asia, where geography contributed to the development of a number of diverse Southeast Asian cultures.

Exploration Unit:

The terms isolation, Hermit Kingdom, & closing the door pertain to East Asia between the 1500s & 1700s.

What might these terms indicate about East Asian foreign policy during this period?

After the Ming dynasty, the Qing (ching) dynasty brought some changes to China. However, both dynasties limited contact with the West.

Korea, stung by Japanese & Manchu invasions, isolated itself & became known as the Hermit Kingdom.

In Japan, the Tokugawa shoguns first welcomed foreign merchants but then barred them from the country.

What does it all mean? In short, China, Korea, & Japan limited contact with western nations between the 1500s & 1700s.

Europeans who reached Asia in the 1500s often made poor impressions on locals. Asians thought

that Europeans were… Ignorant Wanting in

ordered life Very dirty Had no manners

Europeans, however, were impressed with who & what they found in East Asia.

“Since our empire owns the world, there is no country on this or the other sides of the seas which does not submit to us.”-document from the Ming Dynasty Ming Dynasty ended overseas exploration in mid-1400s

Portuguese reached China by sea in 1514 To the Chinese, they had little to offer in exchange for silks & porcelains

European textiles & metalwork were inferior to Chinese products

Therefore, the Chinese demanded gold or silver

Strict Limits on Trade Eventually the Ming opened a trading post at

Macao where Portuguese, Dutch, English & other Europeans could trade w/ Chinese merchants, but under strict limits. For example…

trade could only be conducted under the supervision of imperial officials

once trading season ended, they had to sail away

A few European scholars, like Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci, did make a positive impression on Ming China.

1580s, Ricci learned to speak Chinese & adopted Chinese dress.

Ricci & other priests had little success spreading their religious beliefs

But Chinese rulers welcomed the chance to learn the arts & sciences of Renaissance Europe.

By the early 1600s, the Ming dynasty was decaying.

Revolts erupted & Manchu invaders from the north pushed through the Great Wall.

In 1644, victorious Manchu armies seized Beijing & made it their capital.

The Manchu set up a new dynasty- Qing Manchu barred intermarriage between Manchus & Chinese

Manchu women were forbidden to follow the traditional Chinese practice of foot binding

For each top government position, the Qing chose two people, one Manchu & one Chinese.

Manchu troops stationed across the empire ensured loyalty.

Two rulers Kangxi (kahng shee) 1661-1722, extended Chinese

power into Central Asia & promoted Chinese culture

Qianlong (chyehn lohng) 1736-1796, expanded the Chinese borders

The Chinese economy expanded under both emperors.

New crops from the Americas, such as potatoes & corn, boosted farm output, which in turn contributed to a population boom. Population rose from 140 million in 1740 t0 over

300 million by 1800. Further growth in handicraft industries,

including silk, porcelain, & cotton.

The Qing maintained the Ming policy of restricting foreign trade.

Still, Europeans kept pressing to expand trade

Brought samples of British-made goods, which the Chinese thought were gifts offered as tribute to the emperor Took offense because they were cheap, crude

products. When Macartney met with the emperor, he

refused to perform the traditional kowtow, touching his head to the ground to show respect.

Spoke of the superiority of the English Do you think the Chinese liked him? NO!!!!!!

Ethical & philosophical system developed from the teachings of Confucius. It is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture & history of East Asia.

Like China, Korea restricted outside contacts in the 1500s & 1600s.

The Choson dynasty embraced Confucian ideas.

Like the Chinese, Koreans felt that Confucian learning was the most advanced in the world.

The low status of merchants in Confucianism led Koreans to look down on foreign traders.

Other events led Korea to turn inward… A Japanese invasion in the 1590s devastated the

land of Korea. In 1636, before overrunning Ming China, the

Manchus conquered Korea. In response to all of this, Koreans chose

isolation, excluding all foreigners except the Chinese & a few Japanese.

When European sailors shipwrecked on Korean shores, they were imprisoned or killed.

Unlike the Chinese or Koreans, the Japanese at first welcomed western traders.

1543, Portuguese reached Japan; later the Spanish, Dutch, & English. They arrived at a turbulent time when

there was a struggle for power. The Japanese quickly acquired western

firearms & built castles modeled on European designs.

Japan was much more open to European missionaries than China.

Jesuits, like Spanish priest Francis Xavier, found the Japanese curious & eager to learn about Christianity.

The Tokugawa shoguns, however, were increasingly hostile toward foreigners.

After learning how Spain had seized the Philippines, they saw Europeans as invaders. They also disliked competition from

Christian missionaries; therefore, they had them expelled and brutally persecuted Japanese Christians.

By 1638, they had barred all western merchants & forbidden Japanese travel abroad.

How might limited contact with the West have both strengthened & weakened the countries of East Asia?