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*Location of Spain, the Dutch route from the East Indies, the Dutch route to and from Japan, the Portuguese route from Japan, and the Portuguese route from Kongo moved to not overcrowd the North Atlantic.

Annotated Map of Influence

By:Nicholas Strasberg

Spain

Spain

Spanish View of the Mesoamericans

Imperialism

During this time period, Spain was a powerful and globe-spanning empire. One of the empire’s first major conquests was the conquest of the Aztec Empire. The gold and treasure looted by the Spanish during this conquest drastically increased the wealth of Spain’s leaders (Minster). The gold is represented by the arrow's yellow colour, and the vast quantities of it by the arrow’s thickness. The Spanish view of the Aztec Empire, as well as other land the expanding empire encountered, was an extremely imperialist view. As seen in the La Malinche Image, the Spanish Conquistador Cortes held conversation with the Aztec King Montezuma. Cortes appears to be debating or negotiating, not making diplomatic pleasantries. This makes sense, as Cortes would go on to conquer Montezuma’s empire. The art shows Spain's imperial ambitions.

La Malinche Image

Mesoamerica

Meso-america

Spanish Influence on Mesoamerica

Spanish Influence

The expansion of the Spanish empire into Mesoamerica changed Meso-America forever. One of the first consequences of the interaction was a complete restructuring of Mesoamerican politics. The Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire was supported by various anti-Aztec Mesoamerican states, depicted in the Allies of the Spanish Image. Art like this helps us understand how Mesoamericans viewed the Spanish. Instead of viewing the Spanish as the existential threat they were, the various Mesoamerican states viewed the Spanish as a potential ally against their many local rivals.The thick red arrow represents the massive, rapid, and often brutal subjugation of Mesoamerica by Spain.

Spanish Allies Image

Portugal

Portugal

Slavery

Context

During this time, Portugal saw a large expansion of the slave trade. Many of these slaves came from the Kingdom of Kongo. The arrow is thin as Kongo restricted this trade (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica), and black to represent the brutality of slavery.

Kongo

Kongo

Cooperation with Portugal

Cooperation with Portugal

The Kingdom of Kongo’s geographical location meant that it was one of the first regions contacted and influenced by Portuguese sailors.The Portuguese spread their Roman Catholic religion in the Kongo, managing to convert the Kingdom to Christianity. This is represented by the thick orange arrow. Orange is a combination of red and yellow. Red represents the damage done to Kongo by slavery, and yellow is a colour traditionally associated with Catholicism. The cross of Saint Anthony of Padua shows this Portuguese religious influence on Kongo, but is made in a Kongolese style (Green). The fact that a foreign power’s religion was able to spread into Kongo shows that Kongo was open-minded and willing to cooperate with foreign powers during the Age of Exploration. This does not answer why the people and rulers of Kongo replaced their traditional faith with Christianity.

Cross of Saint Anthony of Padua

The Netherlands

The Netherlands

The Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company

The question of how the small, naturally defenseless nation of The Netherlands became a rich colonial empire is a very interesting one. A major reason for success of the Dutch was their early adoption of capitalism. The bond issued by the Dutch East India Company is an example of this. Individual Dutch people were able to invest in the Company, and make profit should the Company profit. While investing like this is a standard process now, it was revolutionary during the expansion of the Dutch empire. The Company’s profits, however, came from imperial conquest. The Company fought and conquered in modern day Indonesia, treating the native people there very poorly. This is represented by the red arrow heading towards the East Indies. The green arrow coming back represents the flow of wealth from the East Indies into the Netherlands. Overall, the Dutch pursuit of profit made their country much richer, but also caused them to create a brutal colonial empire as they viewed colonized peoples as resources to be exploited.

Company Bond

The East Indies

The East Indies saw increasing European influence during this time. India fell to the English, while the Dutch conquered Indonesia.

Japan

Japan

Japanese Isolation

Isolation

Japan was quite isolated from the West during the time period. This is represented by the thin white lines connecting Japan to the Netherlands and Portugal, the two European countries allowed to trade with Japan. The thinness shows the small amount of contact, and the white shows the neutral relationship, as Japan was neither conquered nor converted. The coffer in Nanban Style shows this limited, trade focused, relationship. The Coffer is adorned with Japanese art, however it is constructed in a European shape. This shows how the Japanese were somewhat open to trade, however were not willing to give up any amount of their culture or independence. A question this coffer cannot answer, however, is why Japan decided to isolate itself.

Coffer in Nanban Style

Works Cited

Works Cited

“Coffer in Nanban (Southern Barbarian) Style.” Metmuseum.org, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/40342.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Kongo.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 29 Nov. 2007, www.britannica.com/place/Kongo-historical-kingdom-Africa.

Green, James. “Cross: Saint Anthony of Padua.” Metmuseum.org, 2015, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/318330.

Minster, Christopher. “What Happened to the Treasure of Montezuma?” ThoughtCo, 25 Feb. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/the-treasure-of-the-aztecs-2136532.

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