The Ottoman Empire

Between the fourteenth and twentieth centuries it arose a political social territorial
organization, known in history as the Ottoman Empire. Starting from the Anatolian
peninsula, where Turkey currently stands, he managed to extend his domination and
infuence over a wide territory stretching from present-day Hungary
in the north to the Arabian Peninsula in the south; and from Algeria in the west to the
borders of modern Iran in the east, thereby linking various parts of Asia, Europe and
Africa.

The origins of the Turkic peoples

The Turkic peoples, originating in the regions of Central Asia, were originally seminomadic pastoralist communities, but with a marked tendency by war and the conquest
of territories. These people left their regions of origin in the twelfth century, due to
pressure from the Mongol invasions and settled in the Anatolian peninsula, dominated by
Muslims, with the territories of the Byzantine Empire.
The Turks were integrated into the Muslim armies, and gradually were converting to
Islam. Their tribes were gaining power and came to constitute, in some areas, as
independent emirates.

Abbasid Caliphate: The rise of the Turkish tribes

Muslim Abbasid dynasty dominated much of the Islamic world between the eighth to
thirteenth centuries. Abbasid caliphate of had among its main features: a strong influence
of religious doctrine in the exercise of power, the formation of a powerful army and the
participation of non-Muslim individuals within the circles of power and society. By the
eleventh century, the territory of the caliphate was invaded by the Turks and the Mongols,
who gradually adapted to the political structure of the caliphate. All this allowed the
progressive income of Turkish tribes in the upper echelons of power and contributed to
the flourishing of a deeply religious Islamic culture.

Seljuk dynasty
The independence of local officials, by the admission of Turks in the administration of
government and in the army, lead to the power and authority of the caliphs diminished. In
1055, Tughril a Turkish military chief was named Sultan, the second most important after
the caliph charge. The new sultan founded the Seljuk dynasty, which would be the first
Turkish dynasty in politically dominate the Islamic world. The Seljuk dynasty founded the

sultanate of Rum in Anatolia, and from there consolidated the Turkish dominion over this
whole area of Asia, and surrounding regions of Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean
Sea.

The capture of Constantinople

With the end of the caliphate, the Islamic world fragmented into various manors and
sultanates, united only by a deep-rooted Islamic culture. In 1290, Osman I or Uthman,
unified the independent kingdoms and founded the Ottoman dynasty, a powerful
sultanate will soon expand from the Anatolian peninsula. Upon completion of its
expansion in the peninsula of Anatolia, the Ottomans came to the Balkan Peninsula,
which dominated before the end of the fourteenth century. There they set up their new
capital in Adrianople, Thrace, and turned the Balkans into the center of the Empire. To
strengthen its control over this area, the Turkish Ottomans had to dominate the peoples
of the region, which was inhabited by Serbs, Bulgarians, Hungarians and Romanians.
When they were about to seize Byzantium, they had to face the Mongol emir Timur, also
known as Tamerlane, who defeated them in Ankara in 1402.
This character created a vast empire with its capital in Samarkand, which also constituted
an important cultural center. Tamerlane's empire expanded throughout Asia Minor, Iran
and parts of India, Syria and Central Asia. His death in 1405, halted the growth of this
empire. What sturco-Ottomans were then tested between 1402 and 1405, temporarily he
halted their aspirations to seize Byzantium. But after the death of Tamerlane, they
resumed their war activities. The growth of the Ottoman Empire was achieved at the
expense of the Byzantine Empire in continuous wars over territory, control of sea routes
and caravans, as well as religious differences between Muslims and Christians. In the
middle of the fifteenth century, the Ottoman Empire controlled large areas surrounding
the Black Sea and the Balkans. The next step was to seize the capital of the Eastern
Roman Empire, the city of Constantinople in 1453. The city was taken and its name
changed to Istanbul. Ottoman expansion, culminating in the capture of Constantinople,
had the following times:

1325 - Taking Bursa, his new capital

1338 - Expelled Byzantine Anatolia Peninsula
1354 - Taking Ankara
1354 - Taking Gallipoli basis of progress towards Europe
1361 - Taking Adrianople, new capital
1389 - Battles of Kosovo, taking Thrace, Macedonia and much of Bulgaria and Serbia

1397 - First siege to Constantinople. Withdrawal of the army under pressure from the
Mongol armies in Anatolia
1400 - The Ottoman expansion reaches the banks of the Euphrates River
1422 - New attempt to take Constantinople
1430 - Taking Thessaloniki
1452 - Mehmet II, built the Rumeli Hisar fortress, on the European shore of the Bosphorus
1453 - On May 29 falls Constantinople. After a siege of 53 days, Byzantines and Turks
capitulate take the city, making it the capital of his empire, under the name of Istanbul.
The win consolidates the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman society
Society in the Ottoman Empire can basically be divided into two groups:
A ruling elite ruling classes, called Asker.
A majority of subjects, called stripes. This society was characterized by fexibility,
because in theory any individual could go up or down from its position: a ruler could
descend, if he disobeyed any of the rules of the empire; while any subject could rise if it
met a series of established rules: absolute loyalty to the Sultan, accept and practice the
Muslim religion, and learn and practice the language, customs and Ottoman culture. And
it stated that anyone could have access to the structure of government.

Government system
The government in the Ottoman Empire, consisted basically of four orders:
The imperial order: in charge of the entire system of government. He was represented
by the Sultan, the head of the whole empire and other orders, the Vizier, the highest
political and administrative authority and the second after the Sultan.
The military order: responsible for the defense and expansion of the empire. Officers
(sipahies) and the powerful infantry (janissaries) were the most representative soldiers.
The administrative order: it was made up of the secretaries, archivists and all
documents related to management of the empire, and treasurers, managers of
accounting efforts and revenue collection of the empire.
The cultural order: in charge of teaching, implementation and maintenance of the law.
It was made by scholars of the Koran and religious sciences.

Rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire

After his victory in Constantinople under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II "the
Conqueror" (1451-1481), the Turks extended their influence to the Balkan Peninsula,
ensuring control of the regions of Serbia, Bosnia and Albania, and imposing heavy taxes
the Italian city-state of Venice. During the next sultanate, the Bayezid II (1481-1512), the
Ottomans raided in Egypt and in Central Europe, with looting and sporadic attacks.
Bayezid II's successor, his son Selim I (1512-1520), expanded eastward and conquered
Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Egypt and part of the Arabian Peninsula, establishing
control over Mecca and Medina. The consolidation of the Ottoman Empire was in the
Sultanate Suleyman II, the Magnificent (1520-1566). During his tenure, the Turkish army
conquered the city of Belgrade in 1521 and the island of Rhodes in 1522, bringing the
commercial control that had Venetians and Genoese, and then subjected to Hungary in
1526. With these conquests said Suleiman was at the gates of the Holy Roman Empire,
ruled by Emperor Charles V, also king of Spain. In its dispute with Carlos V, Sultan
established alliances with King Francis I of France, and supported the German Protestant
princes. To complete its siege, Suleiman decided to attack Vienna in 1529, but the city
withstood the siege for two months and managed to repel the Turks. Although he could
not win in Austria, Suleyman control of the Mediterranean thanks to a powerful naval fleet
and to attack by privateers on the Spanish and Italian coasts secured, blocking the fleet
of Carlos V. In addition, conquered and controlled North Africa. After his victories, Soliman
died in the assault to the Hungarian city of Sigetz in 1566, which the Christian resistance
to the Turkish attack was reaffirmed. However, defeat would start the long Ottoman
decline, would be the naval battle of Lepanto in 1571, when the Spanish fleet of Felipe II,
supported by Venetians, Genoese and the Pope, defeated the Turkish fleet and took its
dominance in the Mediterranean.

China: The Qing Dynasty

In 1368 the Ming Dynasty, who rebuilt the agricultural economy after the Mongol
invasions, repairing canals, dikes and irrigation facilities was established. He assigned
land to farmers to repopulate some areas and encouraged the cultivation of cereals such
as rice, sorghum, cotton, indigo, sugar, tea and snuff, while the country was reforested,
aiming to rebuild a national fleet. Emperor Hung-wu (1368-1398) established a highly
centralized political system of government, and supervising ministries of finance, rite,
army, justice, and public works functions. Emperor Yung-lo (1402-1424) moved the seat
of government of Nanking to Beijing in the north, and regained the "Grand Canal" to
facilitate communications with the new capital of the most populous area south of the
empire. This emperor finished expelling the Mongols in the north, occupied Manchuria,
and undertook maritime expeditions between 1405 and 1433 to India, Java, Sumatra,
Ceylon, East Africa and the Persian Gulf.

The Ming dynasty began to decline because of several popular insurrections and the
growing dominance of the eunuchs of the imperial officials, through a Privy Council, which
administered the tax, the workshops of the Court, embassies and secret police. Another
factor that helped the fall of the Ming was the Manchu invasion of 1639. These tribes of
northeastern empire were unified, and took a rebellion in 1644 to come to the aid of the
late Ming Dynasty set up a new head of Shunzhi (1644-1661), the Qing dynasty. The
Qing conquered Taiwan, Mongolia, Turkestan and Tibet, developed agriculture with new
dams and canals, boosted textile, paper, ceramics and mining, and expanded trade,
breaking the outer insulation of the late Ming. Although the relationship between Chinese
and Manchu was tense, they managed to maintain peace and sympathy of the peasants
earned by improving their living conditions. The Chinese population grew in the
eighteenth century, from 150 million to nearly 300 million by 1800. This dynasty endured
strong uprisings and wars, until its end in 1911.

India: Hindu and Islamic resistance Intolerance

In the early sixteenth century, India was a set of Hindu and Muslim states, which had
been attacked and infuenciados by the Mongols and Islam since the eleventh century. In
the midst of this fragmentation, north highlighted the Sultanate of Delhi, conquered in
1526 by the Mughals, who would found an empire with Babur (1483-1530). TurkishMuslim origin, the Mughal empire extended his conquests across northwestern India, and
Akbar (1556-1605) at the helm, consolidated its position in Delhi, Agra and the valley of
the Ganges, and incorporated Bengal, Rajputana, Kashmir, Malwa, Sind, Punjab, Kabul
and Qandahar in Afghanistan, as well as the Deccan sultanates, Berar and Vijanagar.
Akbar established a central government, a tax on the third partedel agricultural product
tax on forests, fisheries, salt, customs and tolls for trade, as well as a provin-cial
administration. In agriculture, boosted cereals such as rice and wheat, industrial crops
with textile fibers such as cotton, indigo dyes like, and spices like pepper and ginger. It
also consolidated a textile industry in the northwest, Kashmir and Bengal. In addition,
Akbar prompted a national project that allowed religious freedom and equality, giving the
same treatment to Hindus and Muslims, and even established a syncretic doctrine as the
official religion, guaranteed religious tolerance in a 1593 decree.

Akbar's successors broke with their national project. His grandson Shah Jahan (16281658), revived Islam as the official religion and gave privileges to the Muslims, but without
attacking Hindus. Then Aurangzeb (1658-1707) violently repressed and discriminated
against Hindus, smothering any rebellion or resistance, and although he managed to
extend the empire, caused deep divisions, ultimately, weaken the Mughals. After the
destruction of Hindu temples, the persecution of their teaching and religious practice, first
raised the Rajputs, the main Hindu allies Akbar, and then the Sikhs, who formed a
kingdom in the upper reaches of the Indus, and Marathi, Hindu people who formed a

strong state on the peninsula Deccan. The constant insurrections and clashes weakened
the Mughal Empire until its later conquest by the English.

Japan: Tokugawa Shogunate

Japan experienced a similar feudal system, in which the emperor or mikado wielded
symbolic power and was in charge of some religious practices. It was the shogun, a
military class, who had the real power. Shogun Ashikaga dynasty (1396-1573) was
centered in Kyoto, and ruled with a booming economy based on rice cultivation, but with
major urban centers and a sector of traders and other craft guilds dominated. However,
with the decline of the Ashikaga government, they were emerging powerful local lords or
daimyo, who imposed his authority on islands and entire regions, thanks to professional
warriors or samurai and the protection afforded them by their castles that. Under the
power of the daimyo they grew some cities, which eventually ended up facing in different
wars during the Sengoku period (1467-1573). Reacting to this period, an authoritarian
and nationalist change occurred, first by Oda Nobunaga, who defeated the neighboring
daimyo and went to Kyoto; then he declared imperial counselor in 1573 and ended the
Ashikaga government. Then, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, another great military, eliminated his
rivals, expanded its military power, building a castle in Osaka, and controlled the economy
through land taxes.

After the death of Hideyoshi, the figure of Ieyasu Toku-gawa, who managed to defeat the
remaining daimyo at the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) emerged, assumed the title of
shogun, seized the castle of Osaka, and incorporated under control the Tokugawa
dynasty (1603-1867), a government in Edo, now Tokyo. At this time a new system of land
use arose, which was owned by the shogun. This distributed among the local lords, and
these in turn yielded some farmers, who paid a single tax year, measured in loads of rice.
Agriculture also increased thanks to improvements in the dikes and irrigation canals.
Mercantile cities like Osaka, trading rice, along with cotton, silk, liquor sake and soy
sauce, and other local manufacturing of cotton and silk, as well as pottery and porcelain
were highlighted. The Catholic religion had begun successfully introduced in Japan in the
mid-sixteenth century. Many Japanese were converted to Catholicism and shoguns saw
the missionaries with great sympathy. However, this situation changed because the rulers
began to suspect an alliance between Europeans and Catholics Japanese alliance that
led to a rebellion in 1638, which was brutally suppressed by the government. The result
was a policy of total isolation and xenophobia during the Edo domain: overseas travel
(1635) were deleted, Christianity (1637) and trade with the Portuguese (1639) was
banned.

Asian art: China, India and Japan

In different historical periods of China, India and Japan, various art forms presented in
literature, painting, theater and architecture.

China
During the Ming Dynasty, it had an important literary creation as the Romance of the
Three Kingdoms historical, the novel water's edge a mixture of historical and picaresque
novel, and The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, an account of the adventures of a
monk and a monkey on his journey to India. The plays of Tang Xianzu, especially The
Peony Pavilion highlighted. In the Jingdezhen imperial factory, they occurred the famous
blue and white porcelains, and other pieces of three five colors, pretty you prized in
Europe. In the Qing dynasty, the Manchu pursued political and intellectual opposition,
destroyed literary works and established an index of banned books since 1687. However,
the government sponsored the publication of the "Complete collection of written works
spread over four warehouses" a set of almost 80,000 volumes copied by hand, canonical,
historical, philosophical and literary works.

India
Indian architecture is a beautiful synthesis of Persian, Muslim and Hindu elements. The
largest Islamic contribution was in the seventeenth century, with the mausoleum of Akbar
at Sikandra, the Red Fort in Delhi, the Jami Mosque Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra.
Highlights the albums sheets, the new genre of portraiture and studies of birds and other
animals Ustad Mansur in the paint. It also highlights the thumbnails are books and
paintings illustrating both the imperial court from Akbar, and provincial workshops.

Japan
The art of gardens was highlighted, with the arrangement of flowers, also the theater in
which no song and dance, poetry renga, and all ceremonial and containers around the
art of tea mix. In the Tokugawa era, architecture flourished with palaces, such as Nikko
Toshogu official residence, adorned with beautiful murals. Puppet Theater or joruri, who
mixed narrative, drama and musical drama and kabuki, a theatrical genre that dialogues
alternated with sung parts and intermediate dance was also highlighted. a boom occurred
in the woodcuts or printing techniques with wooden planks, representing everyday scenes
in cities, theaters and houses of entertainment.

Christian kingdoms in Africa

The northern coast of Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, was known in Europe since the
Romans, however, for the fifteenth century was dominated by Muslims, who spread Islam

from the late seventh century. The rest of the continent, with its many tribes, states and
kingdoms, was unknown, however, the search for a new route to the East Indies, lead to
Portuguese, Dutch, English and French, to establish contacts with some of these people.
The African slave trade, and its spread through Europe and the New World: From the
contact, home to one of the most important commercial practices of the time was given.

After conquering Egypt in 640, Muslims signed an agreement with Egyptian Christians or
Copts, which allowed them to these practice their religion and preserve their property.
This agreement was extended to the Nubian kingdoms and Ethiopia. The first had been
converted to Christianity by the Byzantines in the sixth century, and signed an agreement
with the Egyptians to exchange annually, 453 slaves in exchange for cloths and cereals,
but then had several confrontations with the Arabs, and came to conquer part of Upper
Egypt; then they were decimated and churches turned into mosques. However, the
resistance of the Nubians in the kingdom of Aloa and Dotawo, allowed to expel the
Egyptian Mamelukes and recover the independence in the twelfth century, but only until
1504, when the Fung people turned to Islam in 1523, conquered and he founded the
Sennar. The Ethiopians also had continuous confrontations with the Arabs, who blocked
their exit the Red Sea closing Adulis, its main port for foreign trade. The king or Negus
Dawit II received a Portuguese mission in 1520 and sought the help of doctors and
craftsmen, in return for an alliance against Muslims. However, the Ottoman Turks began
a series of attacks that would last until the nineteenth century. With King Sarsa Denguel
(1563-1597) a short supremacy over the Turks had, however his successors were
weakened by internal religious conflict, after the arrival of the Jesuits and the persecution
of Catholics. In the reign of Iyasu (1682-1706), King took control of the Coptic Church,
established administrative reforms to improve revenue, conducted maritime expeditions
and opened to contact the France of Louis XIV.

The Mali Empire

The kingdom of Mali, Ghana relieved as commercial empire in western Africa. Although
it was attacked by sossos warriors in 1230, Sundiata drove the invaders at the Battle of
Krinia (1235), centralized power in the city of Kan-gaba, distributed land to his vassals
and promoted the cultivation of cotton, while Uanagara mining regions and Bamubuk
ensured. Other prominent kings were Kanku Mussa (1312-1332), who made a pilgrimage
to Mecca, where he took gold offerings also distributed in Egypt; and Soliman (13411360), who encouraged the flourishing of Timbuktu, a city with large crops of wheat,
peanuts and cotton, and commercial center through which passed caravans of gold and
slaves crossing the Sahara. This empire declined in the late fifteenth century by the
attacks of the Mossi and sonni. The Mali Empire had a great influence in the culture of
West Africa, as it spread its language, laws and customs along the Niger River.

The Songhai Empire

This kingdom regained his power at the expense of Mali, thanks to the government of
Sunni Ali Ber (1464-1493), who conquered Timbuktu, the State of Djenne and attacked
in the south to the Fulani tribes of Gurma. Thanks to his conquests accumulated a public
treasure, and black traditions defended against the impulse of Islam. However, after his
death, one of his generals, Mamadu Toure took power, he converted to Islam and
founded the dynasty of the Askias. Under the name of Askia Mohamed, he organized the
empire into provinces, appointed governors and created a standing army. He faced the
Mossi in the south, occupied Timbuktu, and subdued tributes to the huaso States in the
east, with the exception of Kebbi. In the north it reached to control the salt mines of
southern Morocco and the region Teghazza. After internal strife and severe droughts, the
empire was defeated in the Battle of Tondibi in 1591 by the Sultan of Morocco, who had
muskets and cannons English.

Hausa States
They were a series of city-states including stand Kano, Katsina, Zaria, Kororofa, Nupe
and Kebbi. They were organized around fortresses that served both market place and
protection for aristocrats, bureaucrats and peasants; the latter should pay taxes to the
aristocrats. The king could delegate power to the Galadima, who collaborated with the
army chiefs, religious leaders Muslim astronomers and administrators. They specialized
in high quality handicrafts, manufactures textiles, leather and metal, which traded in the
west and north of the continent.

Benin
This city was taken by the king Ewedo in the twelfth century, but it would Eware "the
Great" who conquer neighboring areas and establish a network of roads around 1440, for
better control and management. In 1484, Eware hosted the Portuguese Alfonso de
Aveiro, from whom he received firearms and coconut seeds also open markets with the
Portuguese. The trade involved the sale of ivory, palm oil and agricultural products. The
king, uoba, had absolute power and was the chief priest and judge the people, could
appoint a council of notables of the palace and other city. The city had specialized districts
for artisans, musicians, weavers and cabinetmakers, had a large number of officials of
the king, and quarters for the king's mother and his own court, outside the city. This town
is noted for its statues in terracotta, bronze or wood.

The kingdom of Congo

This kingdom was founded in the early fifteenth century, apparently by chieftains of the
Lunda and lumbas. It extended from the Kwango River to the Atlantic, and limited the

north by the upper part of the Congo River. This kingdom was formed with the Bakongo
people of the Bantu and was ruled by the Manikongo, who served as king of a number of
federal provinces, including Nsoundi and Mbamba highlighted. The Portuguese arrived in
1482 with Diego Cao, and were well received by the Manikongo Nkuwu Nzinga, who sent
a delegation to Lisbon, initiating cooperation between the two kingdoms. The king of
Portugal sent carpenters, artisans and missionaries, and African king converted to
Christianity, taking the name John I. His successor took the name of Alfonso I, and
changed the capital, Mbanza, from San Salvador, city where temples and schools were
built. In return, the Portuguese sought ivory and slave trade already developed from the
island of Sao Tome. In 1570, during the reign of Alvaro I, the Portuguese repulsed the
invasion of the kingdom by the Jagas, while the southern provinces were conquered by
Ngola. Europeans took advantage of the rivalry between these realms to settle on the
island of Manikongo Luanda, from where they dominated the slave trade, while in 1575
Ngola supported with ships and weapons. Then in 1618 they attacked Ndongo, the capital
of Ngola, and after overcoming the resistance of Jinga princess, queen of the Jagas, in
1671 the Portuguese colony of Angola was established. Before the arrival of Europeans,
the kingdom of Congo had a developed state that was located in a central point crossed
by an extensive network of roads intended for trade. This trade included raw materials
such as ivory, copper, ceramics and fabrics of various kinds of tropical palm rafa or Africa.

Slavery in Africa
Slavery existed in Africa since Egyptian times, and by the middle of the fifteenth century,
it was common practice among many kingdoms and tribes, who bought and sold slaves,
most of them for domestic and agricultural services, although some came to be
administrators, soldiers, miners or sacrificial victims. Many of these slaves were
incorporated into the master's family, they could receive responsibilities, and they gained
some rights and privileges. Muslim states promoted the slave trade, many of whom were
captured in wars or real manhunts, others were assigned in tribute, and became traded
on routes across the continent.

European slave trafficking

Some European states also practiced slavery. In the Iberian Peninsula he was enslaved
Moors and Jews, and through contact with the Arabs, they were introduced black slaves
in the peninsula, and on sugar plantations in the Canary, Madeirans and Sao Tome
islands. The decisive change came with the Portuguese raids on the African coast, where
they established factories to exchange weapons, gun powder, salt, textiles and glassware
for gold, ivory and slaves brought those Muslim and African kingdoms. The main points
capture slaves were in Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Benin, "Slave Coast"
(Ghana, Togo, Dahomey, and Nigeria), Congo and Angola. Because of this trade, the
traditional structures of many African peoples were destroyed, which were looted and

subjected to permanent wars. In addition, a competition for traffic control, with the arrival
of the Dutch in the seventeenth century, who displaced the Portuguese from the Gold
Coast in 1637, and the dominance exerted by the French was also presented and, above
all, English from the eighteenth century. The slaves traveled to the New World in
overcrowded boats, in poor health and hygiene, mixed with different ethnic groups and
forced to understand the culture, religion or language of Europeans. They were used
mainly in plantations and estates and to a lesser extent, mining and domestic service.

The exchanges between East and West

European exploration began in the fifteenth century, had as main objectives to open a
route to the east, establishing trade relations with the great kingdoms of the "Indian" and
spread Christianity.

China
Contacts with European traders and missionaries began in the sixteenth century, first with
the Portuguese who settled in Macao, where they began trading with Canton in 1557;
then with the Spaniards, who were devoted to smuggling from Manila, Philippines, from
1775; also with the Dutch, who were located on the coast of Taiwan between 1624 and
1662; and the English, who arrived in Canton in 1637. Among the missionaries highlight
the Jesuits, for their contributions in the field of astronomy, artillery and mapping. Botany
also translated into Mandarin European works of trigonometry, mathematics, and
geography. The priest Matteo Ricci, who arrived in 1595 and learned Mandarin and
philosophy of Confucius, to better evangelize the Chinese said. He also wrote works of
history and moral philosophy, he joined as an astronomer and mathematician, the Board
of astronomy, drew up the official calendar and helped the imperial army to build cannons.
The Jesuits considered the ancestor worship and Confucianism were compatible with
Christianity, sparking the "controversy rites", in which finally the pope condemned the
practices of the Jesuits, and decreed the prohibition of Christianity in China in 1717 and
the expulsion of all missionaries in 1724. Finally, the emperor Chia-T'sin (1796-1820)
imposed a strong control on contacts with foreigners and closed ports to trade and
communication with the outside, thus slowing trade flows of Chinese silks to Europe.
India
The first contact of this town with Europeans came in 1498, when the Basque Portuguese
da Gama, arrived to the port of Callicut, and then Alfonso de Albuquerque and Francisco
de Almeida conquered the island of Goa in 1510, and established a small community
Catholic. Mughal leader Babur had contact with the Portuguese in Surat. From these
locations, the Portuguese dominated trade cotton, indigo, pepper, ginger, cinnamon,
thyme, textiles and perfumes from India. To dispute the Portuguese supremacy, was
founded in 1600 the East India Company, which obtained the trade monopoly to the

British Isles, and was created in 1602, the Dutch East India Company, which achieved
displace the Portuguese and control much of the trade in silks and spices between Europe
and the Orient. In 1644, under the reign of Louis XIV, France founded his own East India
Company. The first English colonies in India were Bombay in 1665 and Calcutta in 1690,
both subsidiaries of the Company. From there they exported silk, cotton, sugar, rice,
indigo, saltpeter and opium. In addition, taking advantage of the weakness of the
remnants of the Mughal Empire, they fomented internal which brought enormous
advantages, such as trade monopoly and arbitrary pricing wars. With the Treaty of Paris
in 1763, after the Seven Years' War in Europe, Britain gained majority control of India,
reducing their opponents to small enclaves: Portugal in Gao, Damao and Diu,
Netherlands Masulipatam, France Pondichery, Karikal, Yanam, Mahe and
Chandannagar. Then, the British faced a resistance in the Deccan Muslim and Hindu
Maratha state, but emerged victorious to conquer India in the nineteenth century.
Japan
The Portuguese arrived in 1543 south of Kyushu and established trade between Chinese
and Japanese silver silks. Introduced firearms as the musket, and initiated in 1549 the
Jesuit evangelization by Francisco Javier. This first meeting was a new art form, the
namban, which synthesized in local screens, items such as merchants, flagstone, boats
and Portuguese muskets. In the Tokugawa era, a policy of complete isolation or sakoku
was implemented, so it was eradicated to Christianity after a violent repression on the
island of Kyushu in 1637, he was banned trade with the Portuguese in 1639, and only
allowed himself a Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki bay. This policy allowed the
creation of a Japanese national and popular culture, which was expressed in their dress
or kimono, drinks such as sake, as well as the spread of not, kabuki and joruri, and sports
like go and sumo.