BY GARRET BISHOP

The World in 1492 & Columbus's World

The Grand Tour: Europe

There was a lot of turmoil in Europe around 1488. Europe was constructed of mainly small states. By 1492 many smaller states had combined to start the formation of the larger countries as we know them today.

With the powers controlling the Italian peninsula seemingly rising and falling after generations of battle between the Italians, French and Spanish the Spanish dominated opening up resources throughout Italian peninsula.

The Grand Tour:  Turkey to Africa

Istanbul, a place said to be close to paradise, was a large metropolises at the bottom of the Mediterranean basin. What was the last of Ancient Rome was flourishing with approximately 700,000 people.

By 1492 the Turks and other Islamic peoples populated from south of Spain all across North Africa and even down to Mozambique (located at the bottom south east of Africa.) the Muslim religion had spread from Persia to Arabia and had even penetrated into Asia, China and the Philippines!

The Grand Tour:  South Asia

Tough thought to be more barbaric and less civilized, India’s conscious thinking and ways of their court were far beyond what alleged civilized and enlightened Europe had yet achieved.

Possible due to many visitors, thief's and invaders, India had a very accepting society. Indian courts were open to not only the reigning Muslim religion, they also allowed for Hindu Brahmans, Parsi priests, Jain saints, and even to Christian missionaries.

Persecution between religions was non existent. The Buddhist, referred to as Theravada(the lesser wheel), were never persecuted due to their beliefs and exalted status.

The Grand Tour: China and Japan

Fifteenth century china was a century of exploration. When Xiao-zong's chief minister asked to see previous records of Chinas exploration he was amazed to find in 7 explorations as many as 62 ships and 32,000 troops, contacted 30 countries and sailed all the way to the east coast of Africa.

Exploration changed in the 16th century. Because of China’s wealth and technological advancements. Merchants were forbidden to travel abroad. They established their trade routs and stuck to them. If smaller countries wanted to get goods they had to travel to china and buy them, china would not deliver to them.

The Grand Tour: The Western Hemisphere

They built cities on water, and were able to create a close to perfect calendar using astronomy. The Aztecs were a very advanced culture.

Involved in heavy trade, costal cities paid no attention to passing ships and were said to even welcome Columbus when he arrived in 1502 but did not inquire anything about him or were he came from.

The Incas, similar to the Aztecs were masters of mail. They constructed 7,000 miles of roads connecting their empire, and allowing for fast mail delivery which could cover 150 miles per day.

The Incans conquered most land in their surrounding territory, and turned to sea exploration as another option. They only made it to the Galapagos islands.

The Staff of Life

Wheat was a main staple in 15th century life.

Europeans began to change into aggressive peoples. Their yield of wheat was not very much for how many seeds they planted, and due to harsh weather conditions the crop was easily ruined.

Rice also was a major staple. Due to it generating mass quantities from small areas, large farms could easily feed large cities with a dense population.

The Great Traditions

With the creation of gunpowder Eurasia’s 4 main civilization were able to flourish creating bureaucratic systems, establishing writing, and building a significant amount of cities.

In many countries the political system still relied on who was at the throne. Cultures were mainly ruled by families and the type of ruler depended on who was wearing the crown at the time.

The European Challenge

The main societies that established happened by chance. Complex civilizations were created everywhere, but due to resources and the cultural thinking, advancements in technology and inventions flourished within a culture.