Chapter 12- The world of the Fifteen Century

To me, the most interesting part in chapter 12 is the comparison of different civilizations during the 15th century.

China: When the Mongols left China after ruling the world`s superpower nearly a century, China was a mess. In the 15th century, China entered the Ming dynasty. During this period of time, China started to recover from all the damage that caused by the Mongols. They try to “ eliminate all signs of foreign rule, discouraging the use of Mongo; names and dress, while promoting Confucian learning and orthodox gender roles.”(567)  Politically, they also reintroduced the examination system which got terminated under Mogo rule. Then they created a highly centralized government.

Europe:

Europe also experienced a similar recovery process during the 15th century. Politically, “Europe joined China in continuing earlier patterns of state building.” (569) Unlike the highly unitary and centralized Chinese government, the system in Europe including many separate, independent, and highly competitive states made for a sharply divided Christendom. Also, During the 15th century, a very important renewed cultural blossoming called “ Renaissance” was born. Renaissance brought a lot of major changes to the European continent, and it still has a great impact today in America.

The Islamic World:

The Islamic civilization crystallized into four major empires, which are the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire, Mughal Empire, and Songhay Empire. Among these four States, the most significant one was the Ottoman Empire due to its “huge territory, long duration, incorporation of many diverse peoples, and economic and cultural sophistication.”(576) During that time, only China and Incas matched it “in terms of wealth, power, and splendor.”(576)

The Americas:

Separated by two large empires which are the Aztec Empire and the Inca Empire.

The Aztec Empire: “a semi-nomadic group of people from northern Mexico who had migrated southward and by 1325 had established themselves on a small island in Lake Texcoco.” (580)

They were a loosely structured and unstable conquest state.

The Inca Empire: ”The Western Hemisphere`s largest imperial along the Andes Mountains. “(584) They control almost the entire Andean civilization for a century long.