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1.What political, economic, and technological factors allowed Spain and Portugal to explore new trade routes?

Spain and Portugal were able to explore new trade routes due to different motives which were political, economic and technological. Christian militancy and stability helped created a purpose since they were looking to explore to other geographical destinations. By attacking cities, Portugal inherited better intelligence and more flexibility to sail down the coasts. They were able to use improved devices and ships that could move faster and more economically. The ships were equipped with better sails and which enabled them to go quicker and fight if necessary. While exploring they found new locations and land which led to easier routes to trade.

  1. Why were the Spanish able to establish a territorial empire in the New World?

The Spanish were able to establish a territorial empire in the New World after Christopher Columbus was able to find new stretches of land. After the Columbus voyage, Magellan sailed around the globe, which ended up taking his life. Colonial empires were established with political influence. The Spanish had a larger population and more resources, and Americas was introduced to new diseases that deteriorated their ability to fight back. Since the Spanish offered new markets for trade, which were inevitably less expensive, it helped establish an empire into the New World.

  1. What were the long-term political effects of the Protestant Reformation.

The Protestant Reformation brought many political long-term effects, which eventually led to long viscous wars and conflict. The Reformation was a movement which established new beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church and divided territorial lines between Christians. During the earlier times, the church would raise money for forgiveness and sins until Martin Luther deemed this type of behavior unacceptable and challenged other preachers to debate. Luther believed in his faith and in Jesus Christ and used the printing press to distribute his principles. All of this ultimately led to the “Counter-Reformation”, also known as the Catholic Reformation.

4.Who was Machiavelli and what political advice did he advocate?

Machiavelli was an Italian author and political thinker who paved the way for modern democracy during the Western Civilization. He wrote books about power and advocated very controversial material to shock and educate his readers, most notably the book titled “The Prince”. He believed the population was ignorant and could not be trusted and ultimately wanted those to learn how God did it. He wanted to separate the church from the state and create something that didn’t exist. He thought the end idea of the end justifies the means and the end is what counts.

5.What were the most important elements of the Columbian exchange?

The Columbia Exchange was the transfer of people, animals and plants between continents, which occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries. One of the most important elements of the exchange was the transfer of people, which brought the misfortune of an array of deadly diseases, including smallpox and influenza. Not every element of the exchange was quite as devastating, it also resulted in the exchange of plants and animals which helped the New and the Old World increase their population. By doing this, they altered their diet and lifestyle and were introduced to the horse which helped them hunt and fight. Lastly, the exchange brought cultural exchanges. These cultural changes, with land and resources, brought economic opportunities.

6.How did the Atlantic system affect Europe, Africa, and the Americas?

The Atlantic System affected Europe, Africa and the Americas since the trading system was taking thousands of slaves from Africa to Europe and the Americas. The slaves were bought at an inexpensive rate and expected to work on plantations, fields, and in the construction industry. Since they were considered property, they were sold as goods and services. This also played a huge role in the growth of the economy and developed large financial institutions which helped facilitate business relations across greater distances with larger profits. It was the beginning of capitalism. Since the slave trade was profitable, it was imperative the crew kept the slaves alive during transport; even though the conditions were severe and treatment was unbearable.

  1. Discuss the events that led to the decline of the Mughal Empire?

The events that led to the decline of the Mughal Empire was that Aurangzeb was trying to control many colonies at the same time which was impossible to control. He was also didn’t have many allies and had a lot of enemies which made the empire more vulnerable. His religious policy had also impacted empire . The wars of succession that plagued Delhi from 1707 to 1719 too weakened the empire. The trail of weak successors further damaged the integrity of the empire.

2. Why did Peter the Great wish to modernize Russia on the Western Model?

He wanted to turn Russia into a great power because at the time when he became tsar, it was a a backwards, old-fashioned nation. He believed that Western Europe offered the best model for a progressive, modern, technologically advanced country. This was because the European countries like France, Britain, Holland and Sweden were the great powers of the age.

  1. How did events in the eighteenth century lead to industrialization in the nineteenth century? What was the most important catalyst for industrialization?

After the growth of population and technological improvement in the late 18th centuries, people started to change their lives and started to work in factories. New tools, machines, and the development of other innovations all led to the industrialization. Coal was a great invention and became a key factor in the success of industrialization.there was also mining technology which ensured that more coal could be extracted to power the factories and run railway trains and steamships.The most important catalyst for industrialization was the invention of electricity Using electricity also promoted longer work days because they no longer needed to end when the sun went down.

  1. Discuss the significance of the Factory Act of 1833 and the Mine Act 1842?

The Factory Act of 1833 was an attempt to establish a regular working day in the textile industry. It restricted the length of time that children worked and partially stopped the employment of children under 9 . It included that Children (ages 14-18) must not work more than 12 hours a day with an hour lunch break. Children (ages 9-13) must have two hours of education per day. The Mines Act of 1842 was also a legislation introduced to ensure that boys under the age of 10 were prohibited from being used as labor in coal mines.