World's history (part 13): Portugal claimed Brazil. Spain claimed the rest ofSouth America,Mesoamerica, and southernNorth America. Britain colonized the east coast of North America, and France colonized the central region of North America. Russia made incursions onto the northwest coast of North America, with a first colony in present-day Alaskain 1784,[134]and the outpost ofFort Rossin present-dayCaliforniain 1812.[135]In 1762, in the midst of the Seven Years War, France secretly ceded most of its North American claims to Spain in theTreaty of Fontainebleau. Thirteen of the British colonies declared independence as the United States of Americain 1776, ratified by theTreaty of Parisin 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War.Napoleon Bonapartewon France’s claims back from Spain in theNapoleonic Warsin 1800, but sold them to the United States in 1803 as the Louisiana Purchase. InRussia,Ivan IV(“the Terrible”) was crowned (1547) the firstTsarof Russia, and by annexing the Turkic Khanates in the east, transformed Russia into a regional power. The countries of western Europe, while expanding prodigiously through technological advancement and colonial conquest, competed with each other economically and militarily in a state of almost constant war. Often the wars had a religious dimension, either Catholic versus Protestant, or (primarily in eastern Europe) Christian versus Muslim. Wars of particular note include the Thirty Years War, theWar of the Spanish Succession, theSeven Years War, and theFrench Revolutionary Wars . Napoleon came to power in France in 1799, an event foreshadowing the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. Modern period[edit] Main article:Modern history Further information:18th century and 19th century TheScientific Revolutionchanged humanity's understanding of the world and led to theIndustrial Revolution, a major transformation of the world's economies. [113][136]TheScientific Revolutionin the 17th century had made little immediate impact on industrialtechnology; only in the second half of the 18th century did scientific advances begin to be applied significantly to practical invention. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britainand used new modes of production — thefactory,mass production, andmechanisation — to manufacture a wide array of goods faster and using less labour than previously. The Age of Enlightenment also led to the beginnings of modern democracyin the late-18th century AmericanandFrench Revolutions.Democracyandrepublicanismwould grow to have a profound effect on world events and on quality of life. After Europeans had achieved influence and control over the Americas, theimperialactivities of the West turned to the lands of the East and Asia. [137][138]In the 19th century the European states had social and technological advantage over Eastern lands.[139]Britain gained control of the Indian subcontinent,Egyptand theMalay Peninsula;[140]theFrench took Indochina; while the Dutch cemented their control over the Dutch East Indies. The British also colonizedAustralia,New ZealandandSouth Africawith large numbers of British colonists emigrating to these colonies. [140]Russia colonised large pre-agricultural areas of Siberia.[141][142]In the late 19th century, the European powers divided the remaining areas of Africa. Within Europe, economic and military challenges created a system ofnation states, and ethno-linguistic groupings began to identify themselves as distinctive nationswith aspirations for cultural and political autonomy. This nationalismwould become important to peoples across the world in the 20th century. During the Industrial Revolution, the world economy became reliant oncoalas a fuel, as new methods oftransport, such asrailwaysand steamships, effectively shrank the world.[136]Meanwhile, industrialpollutionandenvironmentaldamage, present since the discovery of fire and the beginning of civilization, accelerated drastically. The advantages that Europe had developed by the mid-18th century were two: anentrepreneurialculture,[139][143]and the wealth generated by the Atlantictrade[139](including theAfrican slave trade). By the late 16th century,silverfrom the Americas accounted for the Spanish empire's wealth. [144]The profits of theslave tradeand ofWest Indianplantations amounted to 5% of theBritish economyat the time of the Industrial Revolution.[145]While some historians conclude that, in 1750,labour productivityin the most developed regions of China was still on a par with that of Europe's Atlantic economy (see the NBER Publications by Carol H. Shiue and Wolfgang Keller [146]), other historians like Angus Maddisonhold that the per-capita productivity ofwestern Europehad by the lateMiddle Agessurpassed that of all other regions. [147]

World's history (part 12): Regional developments[edit] Persiacame under the rule of theSafavid Empirein 1501, succeeded by theAfsharid Empirein 1736, and theQajar Empirein 1796. Areas to the north and east were held by UzbeksandPashtuns. TheOttoman Empire, after takingConstantinoplein 1453, quickly gained control of the Middle East, theBalkans, and most ofNorth Africa. Elsewhere inAfrica, this period saw a decline in many civilizations and an advancement in others. TheSwahili Coastdeclined after coming under Portuguese (and later Omani) control. In west Africa, theSonghai Empirefell to the Moroccans in 1591 when they invaded with guns. The South African Kingdom of Zimbabwegave way to smaller kingdoms such asMutapa,Butua, andRozwi.Ethiopiasuffered from the 1531 invasion from neighboring Muslim Adal Sultanate, and in 1769 entered theZemene Mesafint(Age of Princes) during which the Emperor became a figurehead and the country was ruled by warlords, though the royal line later would recover under Emperor Tewodros II. The Ajuuraan Empire, in theHorn of Africa, began to decline in the 17th century, succeeded by theGeledi Sultanate. Other civilizations in Africa advanced during this period. The Oyo Empireexperienced its golden age, as did theBenin Empire. TheAshanti Empirerose to power in what is modern day Ghanain 1670. TheKingdom of Kongoalso thrived during this period.European exploration of Africareached its zenith at this time. In the Far East, theChineseMing Dynastygave way (1644) to theQing, the last Chinese imperial dynasty, which would rule until 1912. Japanexperienced itsAzuchi-Momoyama period(1568 – 1603), followed by theEdo period(1603-1868). TheKoreanJoseon Dynasty (1392-1910) ruled throughout this period, successfully repelling 16th- and 17th-century invasions from Japan and China. Japan and China were significantly affected during this period by expanded maritime trade with Europe, particularly the Portuguese in Japan. During the Edo period, Japan would pursue isolationist policies, to eliminate foreign influences. On theIndian subcontinent, theDelhi Sultanateand theDeccan Sultanateswould give way, beginning in the 16th century, to theMughal Empire . Starting in the northwest, the Mughal Empire would by the late 17th century come to rule the entire subcontinent,[133]except for the southernmost Indian provinces, which would remain independent. Against the Muslim Mughal Empire, the Hindu Maratha Empirewas founded on the west coast in 1674, gradually gaining territory – a majority of present-day India—from the Mughals over several decades, particularly in the Deccan Wars(1681-1701). The Maratha Empire would fall to the British in 1818, under the control of theBritish East India Company , with all former Maratha and Mughal authority devolving to theBritish Rajin 1858. In 1511, the Portuguese overthrew theSultanate of Malaccain present-dayMalaysiaandIndonesianSumatra. The Portuguese held this important trading territory (and the valuable associated navigational strait) until overthrown by the Dutch in 1641. The Johor Sultanate, centered on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, became the dominant trading power in the region. European colonizationwould affect the whole of Southeast Asia – the British in BurmaandMalaysia, the French inIndochina, the Dutch in theNetherlands East Indies, and the Spanish in the Philippines. OnlyThailandwould successfully resist colonization. The Pacific islands ofOceaniawould also be affected by European contact, starting with the circumnavigational voyage ofFerdinand Magellan , who landed on theMarianasand other islands in 1521. Also notable were the voyages (1642–44) ofAbel Tasmanto present-day Australia,New Zealandand nearby islands, and the voyages (1768-1779) of CaptainJames Cook, who made the first recorded European contact with Hawaii. Britain would found its first colony on Australia in 1788. In theAmericas, thewestern European powersvigorously colonized the newly discovered continents, largely displacing theindigenous populations , and destroying the advanced civilizations of theAztecsand theInca. Spain, Portugal, Britain, and France all made extensive territorial claims, and undertook large-scale settlement, including the importation of large numbers of African slaves.

World's history (part 11): European expansion[edit] Further information:History of Europe, Age of Discovery, Colonialism, 16th century, and 17th century World map byOrtelius, 1570, incorporating new discoveries by Europeans Movable-typeprinting pressarose in mid-15th century. 50 years later, nine million books were in print. During this period, European powers came to dominate most of the world. One theory of why that happened holds that Europe's geographyplayed an important role in its success. The Middle East,IndiaandChinaare all ringed bymountainsandoceansbut, once past these outer barriers, are nearly flat. By contrast, the Pyrenees,Alps,Apennines,Carpathiansand other mountain ranges run through Europe, and the continent is also divided by several seas. This gave Europe some degree of protection from the peril of Central Asianinvaders. Before the era of firearms, these nomads were militarily superior to the agricultural states on the periphery of the Eurasiancontinent and, if they broke out into the plains of northern India or the valleys of China, were all but unstoppable. These invasions were often devastating. The Golden Age of Islam [114]was ended by theMongolsack of Baghdadin 1258. India and China were subject to periodic invasions, andRussiaspent a couple of centuries under theMongol-Tataryoke. Centralandwestern Europe, logistically more distant from theCentral Asianheartland, proved less vulnerable to these threats. Geography contributed to important geopoliticaldifferences. For most of their histories, China, India and the Middle East were each unified under a single dominant power that expanded until it reached the surrounding mountains and deserts. In 1600 the Ottoman Empire[115]controlled almost all the Middle East, theMing Dynastyruled China, [116][117]and theMughal Empireheld sway over India. By contrast, Europe was almost always divided into a number of warring states. Pan-European empires, with the notable exception of the Roman Empire, tended to collapse soon after they arose. Another doubtless important geographic factor in the rise of Europe was the Mediterranean Sea, which, for millennia, had functioned as a maritime superhighway fostering the exchange of goods, people, ideas and inventions. Nearly all the agricultural civilizations have been heavily constrained by theirenvironments. Productivity remained low, and climaticchanges easily instigatedboom-and-bustcyclesthat brought about civilizations'rise and fall. By about 1500, however, there was a qualitative change in world history. Technologicaladvance and thewealthgenerated bytradegradually brought about a widening of possibilities. [118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128]Many have also argued that Europe's institutions allowed it to expand, [129][130]thatproperty rightsandfree-market economics were stronger than elsewhere due to an ideal offreedompeculiar to Europe. In recent years, however, scholars such as Kenneth Pomeranzhave challenged this view, although this revisionist approach to world historyhas been met with criticism for systematically"downplaying"European achievements. [131]Europe's maritime expansion unsurprisingly — given the continent's geography — was largely the work of its Atlantic states: Portugal,Spain,England,France, and theNetherlands. Initially thePortuguese andSpanish Empireswere the predominant conquerors and sources of influence, and their union resulted in theIberian Union,[132]the first global empire, on which the"sun never set". Soon the more northernEnglish,FrenchandDutchbegan to dominate theAtlantic. In a series of wars fought in the 17th and 18th centuries, culminating with the Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the new world power.

World's history (part 10 ): The Americas[edit] In North America, this period saw the rise of theMississippian culturein the modernUnited States c. 800 CE, marked by the extensive 12th-century urban complex atCahokia. The Ancient Pueblo Peoplesand their predecessors (9th - 13th centuries) built extensive permanent settlements, including stone structures that would remain the largest buildings in North America until the 19th century. [102][103]InMesoamerica, theTeotihuacancivilization fell and theClassic Maya collapse occurred. TheAzteccame to dominate much ofMesoamericain the 14th and 15th centuries. In South America, the 14th and 15th centuries saw the rise of theInca. TheInca Empire ofTawantinsuyu, with its capital atCusco, spanned the entireAndesMountain Range, making it the most extensive Pre-Columbian civilization. [104][105]The Inca were prosperous and advanced, known for an excellent road systemand unrivaledmasonry. Da Vinci'sVitruvian Manepitomizes Renaissanceartistic and scientific advances. Modern history [edit] Modern history(the"modern period,"the"modern era,""modern times") is history of the period following the Middle Ages." Contemporary history"is history that only covers events from c. 1900 to the present day. Early modern period[edit] Main article:Early Modern period "Early Modern period"[106]is a term used by historians to refer to the period between theMiddle Ages (Post-classical era) and theIndustrial Revolution – roughly 1500 to 1800. The Early Modern period is characterized by the rise of science, and by increasingly rapidtechnological progress ,secularizedcivicpolitics, and thenation-state.Capitalist economiesbegan their rise, initially in northern Italianrepublicssuch asGenoa. The Early Modern period also saw the rise and dominance of the mercantilisteconomic theory. As such, the Early Modern period represents the decline and eventual disappearance, in much of the European sphere, of feudalism, serfdom and the power of theCatholic Church. The period includes the late decades of the Protestant Reformation, the disastrousThirty Years'War, theAge of Discovery, European colonial expansion, and the peak of Europeanwitch-hunting. Renaissance[edit] Main article:Renaissance Europe'sRenaissance, beginning in the 14th century,[107]consisted of the rediscovery of the classicalworld's scientific contributions, and of theeconomicand social rise of Europe. But the Renaissance also engendered a culture of inquisitivenesswhich ultimately led toHumanism[108]and theScientific Revolution.[109]Although it saw social and political upheaval and revolutions in many intellectualpursuits, the Renaissance is perhaps known best for itsartisticdevelopments and the contributions of such polymathsasLeonardo da VinciandMichelangelo, who inspired the term"Renaissance man".[110][111]This era in European culture also saw the 16th-century Protestant Reformationand the 17th-centuryAge of Enlightenment,[112]which led to theScientific Revolution.[113]

World's history (part 9 ): Central Asia[edit] Starting with theSui Dynasty(581-618), the Chinese began expansion into eastern Central Asia, and had to deal withTurkicnomads, who were becoming the most dominant ethnic group in Central Asia. [94][95]Originally the relationship was largely cooperative, but in 630 the Tang Dynastybegan an offensive against the Turks.,[96]capturing areas of the Mongolian Ordos Desert. The Tang Empire competed with the Tibetan Empirefor control of areas in Inner and Central Asia.[97][98]In the 8th century, Islam began to penetrate the region and soon became the sole faith of most of the population, though Buddhism remained strong in the east. The desert nomads of Arabiacould militarily match the nomads of the steppe, and the early Arab Empiregained control over parts of Central Asia. TheHephthaliteswere the most powerful of the nomad groups in the 6th and 7th century, and controlled much of the region. In the 10th and 11th centuries the region was divided between several powerful states including the Samanid dynasty, that of theSeljuk Turks, and the Khwarezmid Empire. The most spectacular power to rise out of Central Asia developed whenGenghis Khanunited the tribes of Mongolia. The Mongol Empirespread to comprise all of Central Asia and China as well as large parts of Russia, and the Middle East. After Genghis Khan died in 1227, most of Central Asia continued to be dominated by the successor Chagatai Khanate. In 1369,Timur, a Turkic leader in the Mongol military tradition, conquered most of the region. Timur's large empire collapsed soon after his death, however. The region then became divided among a series of smaller Khanates, including the Khanate of Khiva, theKhanate of Bukhara, theKhanate of Kokand , and theKhanate of Kashgar. Angkor Wattemple,Cambodia, early 12th century Southeast Asia[edit] The beginning of the Middle Ages inSoutheast Asiasaw the fall (550 CE) of theKingdom of Funan to theChenla Kingdom, which was then replaced by theKhmer Empire(802 CE). The Khmer's capital city Angkorwas the largest city in the world prior to the industrial age and contained over a thousand temples, the most famous being Angkor Wat. TheSukhothai(1238 CE) and Ayutthaya(1351 CE) kingdoms were major powers of theThai people, who were influenced by the Khmer. Starting in the 9th century, the Pagan Kingdomrose to prominence in modern Burma. Other notable kingdoms of the period include theSrivijayan Empireand the Lavo Kingdom(both coming into prominence in the 7th century), theChampaand the Haripunchai(both about 750), theDai Viet(968),Lanna(13th century),Majapahit Empire (1293),Lan Xang(1354), and theAva Kingdom(1364). It was also during this period thatIslam spread to present-dayIndonesia(beginning in the 13th century), and theMalay statesbegan to emerge. Oceania[edit] TheTu'i Tonga Empirewas founded in the 10th century AD and expanded between 1200 and 1500. Tongan culture, language, and influence spread widely within Polynesiaduring this period,[99][100]through East'Uvea, Rotuma, Futuna, Samoa and Niue, parts of Micronesia (Kiribati, Pohnpei), Vanuatu, and New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, [101]Indigenous written records from this period are scant, but some history can be established through oral tradition, archaeology, and linguistics. Machu Picchu—leading icon ofInca civilization