Learning objectives for this review:

• Analyze the impact of cross-cultural interactions on the diffusion of technology from 1450 to 1750, specifically how these interactions influenced technological advancements in navigation and shipbuilding that facilitated changes in global trade and travel patterns.
• Describe how various states influenced the expansion of maritime exploration during this period, emphasizing the role of governmental support in the developments of maritime technologies and navigational techniques. Evaluate the economic motivations behind maritime explorations by European states, and assess the subsequent effects on global economic structures and intercontinental trade.
• Explain the causes of the Columbian Exchange and detail its profound effects on the biological and agricultural exchanges between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, and its impact on global population and economic systems.
• Discuss the process of state building and territorial expansion among European maritime powers from 1450 to 1750, focusing on the establishment of trading posts and the political and economic consequences of these empires in various regions.
• Examine the economic strategies used by rulers to maintain and expand their maritime empires during this period, including the use of mercantilist policies and joint-stock companies.
• Investigate the internal and external challenges to state power from 1450 to 1750, highlighting how these challenges influenced the political and administrative strategies of emerging and declining states.
• Analyze the changes and continuities in social hierarchies and roles from 1450 to 1750, focusing on how economic and political transformations influenced social structures and the status of different groups within societies.
• Assess the long-term social impacts of economic developments initiated by transoceanic interconnections from 1450 to 1750, with a focus on shifts in social hierarchies and labor systems.