Chapter 28

The authors of the textbook placed the Safavids, Ottomans, and Mughals all within the same chapter.  They had their reasons for doing so.  The Ottoman and Safavid Empires were very near each other geographically, with the Mughal Empire not being much farther away.  All three empires coexisted during the same time period in history.  Each empire also used Islam as the predominant religion.  The overall idea to place all three empires in the same chapter was more of a positive than negative.  However, it could have been done better.  The way that the different subjects, such as trade or imperial growth, could have been more distinguished.  Instead of giving each empire their own part of the chapter, the writers placed all three in the same part of the reading.  This sometimes made it too jumbled together, but it also allowed an immediate comparison of each empire.  The concept to designate only one chapter for each empire instead of one for each individually was not a bad idea, but it definitely could have been more organized.

The majority of this period of global interactions was a positive experience for the world.  Europe held much of the negative influence.  They enhanced the slave trade immensely, and it also gave a power tilt towards the people of Europe.  This time period did however incline the progress of men and women around the world.  Maritime trade became much more prominent during this era.  Textiles and goods were able to be spread globally, allowing for the advancement of many different societies who participated in this exchange of products.  Ideas and beliefs spread with the trade.  These thoughts commingled with one another to produce a new way of thinking or believing.  Sea travel not only increased trade but also the ability and desire to travel.  Because traveling became more available, people took the opportunity to explore and move to new lands, i.e. the colonization of the Americas and the Caribbean.  This time period is not a completely positive time in world history because of the rough times that took place in Africa and the Native people of the Western Hemisphere.  It certainly did launch human innovation in materials and ideas at the expense of Africans and the Native people of Oceania and the Americas.