The World in 1450
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Table of Contents
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"...Things are in flux. There’s a shifting sense of power and influence now as we near 1500. China’s dominance is still there but it’s going to begin to wane. Porcelain, silk, lacquer works, and a variety of other products were still extremely popular on the world market. These things of course were made in China.
But China ended the era of the Ming treasure fleets just as Portugal began its explorations of Africa and the Indian Ocean. In other words, China began to contract as Europe began to expand..."
Guided Viewing Questions
- How did China change after the Ming Dynasty displaced the Yuan Dynasty?
- What major projects were undertaken by the Ming?
- How did the rise of the Ottomans change the nature of western Asia and the Balkans?
- What was happening in West Africa and the Americas in the last half of the fifteenth century?
- How were these regions changed by the European expansion that began in the late fifteenth century?