Chapter Six
The World in the Eighteenth Century
The West and the World
- Many
states did not progress at the same rate of Western states; manufacturing
output, income, political structure, literacy
- All
presently developing nations today had to endure expansion of Euro as it
embraced capitalism beginning in the 18th century
- Why
are countries developing nations today? – modernizations/dependency
Modernizations Theory
- All
societies originally traditions and unchanging – daily work was for
subsistence
- Capitalism
as an economic system fuelled change; had the idea that wealth can be used
to make more wealth
- Some
nations failed to move from traditional societies to modern ones; didn’t
focus on science, technology, innovation, capitalism, democracy
Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth
– developing countries stuck in first stages
- Stage
1: The Traditional Society
- Stage
2: The Preconditions for Takeoff
- Stage
3: The Takeoff
- Stage
4: The Drive to Maturity
- Stage
5: The Age of High Mass Consumption
Dependency Theory
- Euro
nations deliberately created poverty and dependency in some areas to fuel
and support their own growth
- None
of the countries have remained traditional; when Euro capitalist expansion
grew to new prosperity and power developing nations were held back/controlled
- Euro
used cheap labour and slavery to prosper
- Underdeveloped
society lacks capacity for change and growth – dependant
Major Arenas of European Conflict in the Eighteenth
Century
- Spain/Portugal
dint take control of the world they pioneered – did not have a lot of
influence in realm of economics
- Dutch
slowed activity in Africa/Indonesia/Malaya, lost overseas markets
- Brits
began period of global authority with dawn of 19th century
- Russia major power in Eastern Euro – German-speaking Prussia more important in
Central Euro
- Brit
(over France)
won control of seas…
French Hegemony
Thwarted
- Louis
14th wanted to expand into Euro – alliance among Brit, Netherlands,
others formed and lead to battles of northwestern Euro
- Treaty
of Utrecht – Bourbon King of Spain, Philip 5th kept throne
and Spanish Empite, ceded Gibraltar and Menorca to Brit
- Treaty
had implications – Louis 14th returned to Hudson Bay to Brit,
gave up Nova Scotia and Newfoundland…
Austria
- Power
balanced b/w interests – from Ottoman Empire
to Central/Western Euro
- Treaty
of Karlowitz – Turks gave up much of
Hungary/Transylvania
- War
of 1716-1718 – Turks surrendered to Serbia/Austria
- Early
18th century – Great Brit, Austria,
France
à
Euro powers
- Conflicts
between Brit and France over trading/colonial interests; Brit allied with Austria
- France allied with Prussia – 1st half
of 18th century was uneasy but no open conflict
War of the Austrian
Succession
- Maria
Theresa new Austrian Empress in 1740 – Frederick
the Great overrun Austrian province
of Silesia
- Could
not get Frederick
to give up conquest – first of many Euro conflicts in the 18th
century
- War
of the Austrian Succession
Peace of Aix-La-Chapelle
- 1748 Chapelle confirmed state of affairs in Euro
- undeclared
war in North America as Brits and French
fought for boundaries
- Ongoing
hostility lead to open war in 1756
The Seven Years’ War:
A World War
- Many
alliances and agreements between various countries
- Euros
major land/naval powers pitted against each other in war that had
worldwide repercussions, especially for NA
- 7YW
caused by Brits efforts to increase global naval supremacy and Russia’s
expansion in Eastern Euro
- Conflicts
b/w two Euros – Brit and France – fought outside continent
- Steady
buildup of Brit influence over Indian rulers, Brits captured many points
in Canada
- While
battle near Quebec City
took place, two other battles
- Lagos (Portugal)
and Quiberon
Bay (France)
- The
removal of French from Atlantic cut off
supple of French troops…
- French
lost strong navy, costal trading posts in West Africa
- Following
the French losses, Brits seized many places
The Treaty of Paris
- Peace
agreement in Feb 1763
- French
showed little interest in reclaiming New France, the people who lived here
relied on themselves to protect culture and heritage (Quebec nationalism and sovereignty
movement today)
- France
kept a few costal trading posts,
West Indian sugar islands
- Globally
– 7YW marked undisputed maritime power of Brit navy – established with
defeat of Spanish-French fleet at Battle of Trafalgar in 1805
Turks and Poles
- 1763-1789
international concerns of France,
Spain,
Brit little to do with East Euro
- Russo-Turkish
war 1787-1792 unsuccessful attempt by Turks to strike back on Russian
expansionism into S/E Euro
- Treaty
of Jassy 1792 – Russia
secured position on north shore
of Black Sea
- Balance
of power 1780s almost the same as 20 years prior, little change in
boundaries
- Brit
established itself as dominant power
Africa in the Eighteenth Century
Communities and
Systems
- Africa incorporated into world trading system, not
colonized, settled, controlled
- Population
8-11 million, increase due to introduction to Am. food like corn
- Raising
livestock, working as ironworkers – traded
- Hierarchical
system of government
- Locally
– family lineage controlled access to land/resources; “bridewealth”…
Human Servitude
- Beginning
of 18th century slaves were a primary export from Africa
- Favoured growth of Euro nations
- Millions
enslaved for manufacturing and commercial interests of Euro and America
Africans Shipped to
Slavery
- About
9.5 million Africans taken by sea for slave trade
- By
the time it was abolished there was heavy depopulation which resulted in
weakened African communities
Becoming a Slave
- Three
methods for a person to become a slave; pawnship,
judicial process (if a crime committed), if captured in war
- If a
person was enslaved in Africa they could
still be a functioning member of their family – but better than treatment
by Euros
Profit from the Slave
Trade
- Individual
entrepreneur could make 300% profit
- For
Euros, fees and taxes had to be paid to African authorities; financial
losses from loss of ships or deaths
- Must
hire people to load slaves onto ship
- Overall
annual profit about 24% - by the end they were only making about 13%
The Colony at Cape of Good Hope
- Inhabited
by about 50 000 Khoikhoi, San, Bantu people when
Dutch landed 1652
- Khoikhoi first to establish relations with Euro –
hostile then based on trade
- People
tried to settle (Brits and Dutch) – K people weakened and disintegrated
- Dutch
moved in, imported slaves – went from 1771 to 14747 slaves à
called one of most rigid/oppressive slave societies ever (slaves didn’t
rebel till 19th cen)
The Abolition of
Slavery
- With
Enlightenment came calls for end of slavery
- Euro
movement to end slavery and slave trade in 18th century
- By 18th
cen generally understood that indigenous people
not open to exploitation
- Blacks
exception – number of Africans shipped rose higher despite calls to end it
Barriers to Human
Rights
- Churches
offered support for practice of slavery
- Bishop
Bossuet wrote trading slaves was permissible under laws of man and God
- Protestant
leaders, Anglican church bishops ready to justify slavery
- Some
believed blacks were strong and more resistant to environment and
conditions
Agents of Human
Rights: The Abolitionists
- 18th
century movement to abolish slavery grew
- Raynal published books on slavery, grew on Rousseau’s
ideas of freedom, supported intermarriage, discussed how discovery of East
and West Indies had been a catastrophe
for much of humanity
- Organizations
against slavery began to pop up; clubs etc.
- Slavery
abolished in France
Sept 27th 1791
- 1793 Upper Canada passed
act to stop introduction of more slaves
- L’Ouverture (former slave) lead rebellion in Haiti,
captured by French
- Slavery
abolished in Mexico
in 1892
Art from the
Non-Western World: African Carving
- Symbol
of the cross a symbol in Congo
before Euros arrived and remained even after they abandoned Christianity
- Created
a lot of ivory art
- Art
often contained Euro symbols like cross, knights –still remained African
culture
Islam and the West
Communities and
Systems
- Islam:
“to surrender to the will of God”
- Those
who practice Islam called Muslims
- By
1500 most of North Africa and the Middle East
was Muslim territory
- 1453
Constantinople fell to army of Sultan Mohammed 2nd – marked new
western boarder of Ottoman Empire
- One
of the most important consequences of Muslim victory was transfer of
classical manuscripts to West – factor in Renaissance
- Loss
of access to the Black Sea – Euro no land rout to India
- Ottoman
Empire dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean
from 16-19th cent.
- Muslim
Ottoman Empire threat – at walls of Vienna
- 16th
cen. 3 major Muslim empires: Ottoman
Empire, Safavid Empire, Moghul Empire
- Ottomans
had more efficient bureaucracy (open to talented) and military
- Flaw
of Ottoman Empire was excessive
exploitation of peasantry; thus little improvement in agriculture,
purchasing power, growth of business class
- Ottoman
decline due to failure to develop artillery and ships, decline in quality
of leadership
India and the West
Communities and
Systems
- Experiences
with Brits altered economy, lifestyle, culture
- India
did become unified as a political entity under Moghul
rule but it declined
- Decline
due to: infighting, increased local Hindu powers, attacks by Persians,
inter-regional religious wars, court incompetence, greed
- Zamindar and navab conflict…
- Brit
commercial enterprises prospered as Moghul
influence declined in India
- British
East India Company sided with zamindars; ended
1757 Brits won
- Brits
in direct control of import/export trade, price-setting, ability to force
contracts with local sales people
- British
East India Company gained control over civil admin, tax system, sometimes
direct rule over areas it conquered,
- BEIC
went from simple trading company to official arm of Brit government
Art of the
Non-Western World: Rajasthani Painting
- Influence
of Moghuls in India most evident in art and
architecture
- Art
influenced by Indian art
- With
decline of Moghul Empire in 17th
cent. This art only persisted in terms of influence it had on emerging
Indian styles of the time – seen in Rajasthan
- Rajasthani emphasized romance, heroes and heroines,
gods and goddesses, focus on concepts
The Pacific
Northwest and the West
- Last
decades of 18th cent. Euros mapped/explored Pacific
Northwest
- Russian,
British, Spanish naval activity lead to more accurate knowledge of
contours of Pacific North America
- 1800s
the configurations of continents known; artifacts returned to Euro and
given much attention
China and the
West
Communities and
Systems
- China
affected Euro consciousness most; Jesuits provided first descriptions
- Italian
Jesuits gained Chinese acceptance; helped with calendar reform, better
artillery, advice for nego with Russians
(Sino-Russian Treaty)
- 1724
teaching of Euro religion forbidden
- Jean-Baptiste du Halde gave
positive view of China
in books – hoped for true communication of enlightenment between China
and Euro
- Euros
impressed by no hereditary nobility in China – Voltaire though
Chinese Empire was the best in the world
- French
economist Francois Quesnay published Chinese
Despotism – despotism domination of natural, thus China more dependent on
agriculture than any other
- Euros
fascinated by other systems of writing – Chinese using ancient script
- Etienne
Fourmont wrote first book on 214 radicals in the
Chinese language, followed by the book Grammatica Sinaica
Global Economic
Relations with China
- Brit
expansion in India tied
to expansion in China
- As
power shifted in China
trade opened up to Euros with the main beneficiary being the British East
India Company
- Euros
tried to trade with Chinese but the only thing they wanted was silver
- Tea
introduced in 1664 and by 1783 millions of pounds were being imported
annually by the English East India Company (this tea had to be paid for
with silver because it was the only payment the Chinese would accept
- Brits
began to grow opium in India
and sold it to the Chinese – became addicted
Art of the
Non-Western World: Chinese Painting
- Interest
in China
even influenced interior decoration in Euro
- Chinoiserie
is name of Euro style of objects and décor that imitated Chinese
- French
painted Antoine Watteau produced earlied Chinoiserie; Musician Francois Couperin produced music
called Les Chinois
- Heyday
of chinoiserie illustrated in Voltaire’s 1755
play The Chinese Orphan
Trade in “China”
- Portuguese
navigator Vasco da Gama rounded Cape of Good
Hope, reached the Orient 1498 – new age of trade b/w Euro and East
- Access
by ship brought silks, spices, tea, porcelain
- 17th
cent. Such large amounts of porcelain imported to Euro – “china-mania”
- Euros
learned Oriental techniques of producing porcelain and thus trade of this
dropped
Europeans on Non-Europeans
Idyllic Islands in the Pacific Ocean
- Louis
Antoine de Bougainville sailed Pacific and published Account of a Voyage Around the World (described people,
morals, political systems)
- Daniel
Defoe’s book The Life and Strange
Surprising Adventure of Robinson Crusoe (1719)
Mutiny on H.M.S
- Most
famous/infamous story concerns voyage of Brit trading vessel the Bounty
- Inspired
many books and movies
Engelbert Kaempfer, The
History of Japan
- A
writer who traveled a lot in 17th cent.
- Impressions
of Japan’s
history/culture published in England as The History of Japan in 1727
- Commented
on the extreme holiness of the emperor Kaempfer
– had to be carried so his feet wouldn’t touch the ground, cleaned only
while he slept
Changing Tastes
The Grand Exchange
- Columbus could not
have known how his voyages would change the world, in areas like diet (his
ships carried seeds, fruit trees, livestock)
- Variety
of foods that people ate would increase though what is called the Grand
Exchange
- Crops
of the Gread Exchange: cooking oil, wheat,
barley, oats, coffee, cacao, tomatoes, potatoes, vanilla, corn, hot
peppers, tobacco, poultry
Developing a Sweet
Tooth
- Crusaders
returning from Middle East introduced
sugar to Euro
- So
highly prized it was suitable for princes to give to each other
- After
1700s Euros established colonies in Caribbean
and South America to grow huge quantities
of sugar cane – prices dropped, part of regular Euros life
- Only
in the 20th centuries were the implications of large sugar
consumption noticed