The cog and the rise of the Hanseatic League. The Silk Road and the rise of Genova and Venice. Henry the Navigator and his caravels searches for a southern sea route to China, India and the Spice Islands. Columbus urges Queen Isabel of Spain to sail West to reach the East, and subsequently lands in America, where the Spanish colonization meets with more success than did Leif Ericson's attempt in A.D. 1001.
6.56 Mb
Vasco da Gama reaches India by sailing south of Africa and Ferdinand Magellan by going west and circumnavigating the globe. Pope Alexander II divides the world between Portugal and Spain to dampen rivalry. To exploit their American possession the Spanish starts the African slave trade. The bullion from America results in inflation and ruins Charles of Spain. It also finances the revolt in the Netherlands.
6.66 Mb
The Dutch East Indian Company takes over world trade. The colonial history of South Africa and China (the Opium War included). The Dutch, the Shogun and Nagasaki. Commodore Perry takes control, Japan eventually counters, and is defeated when Nagasaki is destroyed. The Dutch in Indonesia: Batavia. The South East Asian war of liberation. The Dutch in the Caribbean. The Dutch in New Amsterdam (soon New York). 7.78 Mb
The ruling Norman class reduces England to a supplier of raw materials to the Dutch markets. The disaster of the Enclosure. Thomas More and his Utopia. By way of the putting out system the landless proletariat is eventually turned into an asset and the foundation for an unprecedented economical turn driven by coal- and iron extraction. Queen Elizabeth secures her power and starts looking to the sea.
4.85 Mb
Elizabeth - queen of pirates. John Hawkins, Francis Drake, Richard Hawkins, Martin Frobisher, Richard Grenville and Walter Raleigh. Prowling the Spanish Main. Looking for the North-West passage. Circumnavigating the world. In three attempts establishing a colony in Virginia. Piracy as an important colonial source of revenue. Henry Morgan, Edward Teach, Captain Kidd.
5.78 Mb