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Characterizing the Interactions between Asia and the World
Asia is a continent that has made significant impacts in the world through its interactions with other continents. Before the 19th century, Asia exerted significant interactions in the world that were characterized by a number of factors. Being the largest continent in the world, the continent provides a significant influence in terms of economics, social and political perspective. This makes it important to study the history of the country before the turn of the Nineteenth Century and understand the interactions it made with the world. The discussion will reveal the characteristics of the economic, social and political interactions between Asia and the world.
One of the characteristics of the interaction between Asia and the world before the nineteenth century is that it was based on trade. Asian countries were highly involved in trade between themselves and also with other continents (Rao 10). This is because the Asians were predominantly traders who explored new markets for their goods and services. A good example of this characteristic is the trade between India and the rest of the world. Before the 19th century, India and China were the world’s largest economies. However, they were overtaken by the British Empire after the 19th century. Therefore, every country in the world wanted to be involved in trade with China, which formed a basis of interaction.
One of the characteristics of economic interaction was through caravan traders and merchants. Through caravans, trade interactions between Asia and the world were realized, especially in areas like West Asia and China, as early as the late thirteenth century (Rao 8). As early as the mid-fifteenth century, the Europeans led by Portuguese started venturing into Asia to look for trade markets for their product and buy from Asian sellers. In Portugal, a number of trading markets were explored throughout Asia, especially South East Asia. For instance, Vasco DA Gama and other explores engaged in trade relations with the people of Asia and introduced sea routes that connected the two continents (Bowman 242). One of the common goods that the Portuguese traded for at this time was spices.
Another characteristic of economic interaction was that Asia was contributing to the satisfaction of the world demand. For instance, the continent was known for the production of spices and in demand for jewelry. Therefore, merchants sought to sell their products to the outside continents and get the rare products. In addition, the Asian continent engaged in trade with the African continent. The Indian merchants started making expeditions for trade links between them and African market as early as the 16th century (Bowman 245). This opened the country into the acquisition of new products and natural resources. For instance, the Chinese exported silk, medicinal preparations and silver. In return, they imported ivory, rare wood, jewels, herbs and cotton.
Another characteristic that marked the interaction between Asia and the world was the control of its trade by its political systems. The fifteenth and sixteenth century marked a period where trade expeditions were controlled by the leaders in the continent (Rao 10). The continent has several dynasties, such as the Chinese dynasties and Indian kingdoms. The rulers controlled the export of their products to gain income to rule the kingdoms.
On the social perspective, one of the most conspicuous characteristics of Asian interaction with the world was religion. The Asians had a strong influence over the world before the Nineteenth Century in terms of religion. Muslim was highly practiced in the Asian countries, which is responsible for the spread of the religion to other parts of the world. The religion of Islam was spread from the Asian countries to other countries through trade and social interactions (Rao 199). This was because the traders spent time in the foreign lands for long periods of time, therefore influencing their hosts. This is the reason why most of the West African and north African countries are Islam in the modern day.
Another characteristic of the Asian interaction with the world was their influence on the world languages. The Asian merchants played a role in the spread of the Asian languages in other parts of the world. For instance, the use of Arabic language in turkey was as a result of the influence of the Arabic countries (Rao 199). In addition, Arabic language spread to the African continent is as a result of the language spread was started by the Arab merchants from the Islamic Asian countries (Bowman 43). At the same time, the Islam language influenced other languages in Africa and other parts of the world were the Islam merchants settled or explored for trade. The same impact is observed when foreign merchants and explores settled in Asian countries.
One of the most important characteristics of the interaction between Asia and the world was the dominant nature that foreigners had on the political factors of the continent. The entry of foreign powers, such as the United States and Europeans led to significant impacts on the Asian countries (Bowman 28). This is because the Europeans and Americans were seeking political control in order to acquire economic gains from these countries. This is observed in the nature of entry and use of military force to seek dominance in the Asian countries. The dominance of the foreign powers was despite the existence of independent kingdoms, governments and empires in the Asian continent.
To create the dominant characteristic, the foreign powers used military to conquer or to dominate or control the Asian countries. For instance, the Dutch established conquests in East Asia, such as Batavia, as early as the sixteenth century (Bowman 443). They later established the Dutch East India Company and spread to Malacca and Japan. After the Dutch, the British and the French established bases in India, mostly in order to trade with China (Bowman 443). After the interests of the two European nations grew, they competed and eventually fought in the Seven Year’s War in 1763. The battle concluded with the elimination of the French from the region by the British (Bowman 287).
Another characteristic of the interaction between Asia and the world before the nineteenth century was the influence of the western education on the Asians. The Asians experienced a significant change in their social and economic aspects as the western foreigners introduced education and civilization. This came will the Christian missionaries who explored the Asian nations. For instance, as early as the 16the century, Christian European missionaries like Matteo Ricci entered China and spread the western education and religion (Bowman 91). At the same time, Europeans also lent the Chinese science and wisdom despite being limited in certain parts of China.
Conclusion
The interactions between Asia and the world before the 19th century were characterized by economic activities, spread of languages and exchange of social aspects like civilization. The Asian culture influenced the areas they explored in terms of culture, language and trade. However, the interaction between Asia and the foreign powers like European countries and the United States was marked by dominance as the foreigners sought political and economic control. These interactions created social, economic and political factors that have influenced Asia since and shaped the history of the continent up to the current times.
Works Cited
Bowman, John. Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture, New York City: Columbia University Press, 2013, Print
Rao, Belona. History of Asia. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Print