ASIA IN DIFFERENT

PERIODS

Was there contact

between Westerners and
th
Asians before the 16
Century?

2ND CENTURY ASIA: TRADING

Do you think Westerners

know alot about Asia?

- A merchant from Venice, Italy

who travelled across Central
Asia until China starting 1271.
- He became an adviser of the
emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.
- In 1295he wrote the book, The
Travels of Marco Polo, wherein
he described the luxury and
wealth of China.

"..For the Great Khan

their king is, I tell you,
the wisest and most
accomplished man, the
greatest Captain, and
best to govern men and
rule an Empire, as well
as the most valiant, that
ever existed among the
Tribes of Mongols.
In The Description of the World,
Marco Polo relays his epic tale of
how he escapes bandits, crosses
rampaging rivers and endures
sandstorms to reach far-off
China.

- An excerpt from book in which

Marco Polo was describing Kublai
Khan, the emperor of the Yuan
Dynasty.

If you are European and you

learned that Asia is that rich, what
will be your perception of Asia
now?

14th 15th CENTURY ASIA: CLOSURE

OF THE TRADE ROUTES

- A large part of the eastern region of

Mediterranean Sea was conquered by the
Seljuk Turks. The victory gave them control
over the trade routes going to Asia.

What will happen if the

trades routes will be
controlled by a certain
group of people?

Italian Monolopy
(Venice, Genoa, Florence)

If you are those countries, will you

let Italy sell you products in high
prices?
Yes or No?
If no, what else will you do?

Age of Exploration &

Discovery

Mercantilismwas an economic theory

and practice, dominant in Europe from the
16th to the 18th century, that believes that
the true meaning of a countrys wealth is
its total stock of gold and silver.

With mercantilism theory of

the Europeans, how did it
affect Asia?

IMPERIALISM
Colonization in Asia

Reasons for colonizing a

nation

- Francisco de Almeida
- Alfonso de Albuquerque
- Hormuza in Persian Gulf
- Aden in Red Sea
- Cochin and Goa in India
- Malacca in Malaya
- Ternate in Moluccas
- Macao in China
- PORTS turned into FORTS that guarded
important sea lanes.
- CONTROL TRADE ROUTES
- 1580 Portuguese empire SPAIN (60
yrs.)
- 1640 Independence possession
Netherlands, England

- Independence 1648
- Dutch East India
Company (acquire
possessions) increase
trade through the
conquest of land
- Goal Moluccas
- Jakarta Malacca (strait
of Malacca) controlled
the commerce of S.E. Asia
monopoly of the spice
trade.

- 1600
- Commercial relation Sumatra, Java,
Moluccas X Dutch
- Amboina massacre
- Obtained a lot of possessions in India
- Trading settlement Sutra
Bombay, Madras, Calcutta

- 1664 French
East India
Company
- Trading
settlement:
Pondicherry,
Chandarnagore,
Make, Karikal

RIVALRY OVER INDIA

-France and England became rivals over
control of India.
-1756 King of Bengal vs English
- French
Calcutta
- Battle of Plassey English won