In the first two articles, we sorted out the historical context of Portugal, Spain, Britain, and France before the advent of the Age of Discovery, the protagonists of the Age of Discovery. Next, we will turn our attention to the East and see When the Age of Discovery arrived, what were the people in the East doing?

Around 1500 AD is generally considered by historians to be the beginning of the Age of Discovery and the beginning of modern world history. The reason is: before 1500 AD, all parts of the world were relatively isolated, especially there was almost no contact between the Asian, European, African continents and the Americas. After 1500, as Columbus and others came to the Americas by accident, human beings spread their influence to the whole world. The alliance has taken a solid first step.

AD 1500 is an extremely critical year in human history. This is true, but if we observe the earth from space in this year, we may not be able to see the West in the human civilization area. There is no advantage at all.

The West in this article refers specifically to Western Europe.

The medieval British historian William of Malmesbury once believed that the division of the world was unfair. He believed that among the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, the enemies (i.e. Muslims) would be equal to Africa and Europe combined. Asia, then Africa, and then Spain, Europe, were taken over as their hereditary homeland. Only a small part of the world belonged to the Christians, while the Muslims continued to expand.

We can fully imagine that even in 1500 AD, the loneliness and insecurity of Westerners has not changed, because 47 years ago, in 1453 AD, the Ottoman Empire captured Constantine Fortress, Byzantium was destroyed at the hands of Muslims for thousands of years, and Westerners' sense of crisis became stronger.

1. The central part? The Islamic world

The enemy in the eyes of Western Europeans? The Islamic world was divided into three parts around 1500 AD. From west to east, they were the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Safi Empire. Dynasty, Mughal Empire.

The world around 1500

In other words, the Islamic world included the ancient Greek civilization, the Mesopotamian civilization, the ancient Egyptian civilization, the Persian civilization, and the ancient Indian civilization. All ancient civilizations, with the exception of China, were included in the territory of the Islamic world. At the peak of these civilizations, Western Europe was just a foreign land, inhabited by three major barbarian tribes: the Germans, the Slavs, and the Celts.

At this time, the Ottoman Empire was under the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent, the greatest Sultan in the empire. It continued to expand in three directions: Europe, Asia, and Africa. At this time, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf were all in the under the control of the Ottoman navy. With the fall of Constantinople, Europeans were desperate in the face of the Ottoman Empire.

The Third Empire of Persia? The Safavid Dynasty re-established the Persian empire after the invasion of the Mongols and Persians, establishing the dominance of Shia in Persia, and its influence continues to this day. The Safavid Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire had been fighting in the Caucasus and Iraq for hundreds of years, winning and losing each other.

The Mughal Empire? The largest empire in Indian history. It was established by the Turkic Mongols who believed in Islam. It was not that India did not complete a unified empire in ancient times, but most of these dynasties were led by foreigners. The empires established in India at the same time will not develop northward and have little impact on the world situation. In other words, India is historically as independent and independent of the world as Buddhism once existed.

The Mughal Empire at its peak

The Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent, the Persian Emperor Abbas the Great, and the Mughal Emperor Akbar were collectively known as the most powerful empire in the Islamic world. Three influential emperors.

Different from the extreme Islamic world we see today, the Islamic world at this time was tolerant towards religion. Christians in the Ottoman Empire could coexist with Islam. In addition to ruling, the Mughal Empire Class, the bottom is still Hindu.

The extreme is the Christian world, as evidenced by the Crusades.

2. East? China-centered tribute system

If we divide the Eurasian continent into three parts: east, middle and west, then the west is Europe, the middle is the Islamic world, and the east is The "world" of Chinese civilization in China.

Another simple division method, our world is actually bounded by Congling (Pamir Plateau). To the east is the world centered on Chinese civilization, and to the west is the thousand-year dispute between Christianity and Islam. The stage is still the same today.

AD 1500 was the thirteenth year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Youtang, Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, came to the throne.

Historical records show that Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty was a generous and kind man, practiced frugality, stayed away from public opinion, was diligent in political affairs, valued justice, and opened up his mind. He called his reign "Hongzhi Zhongxing".

"The Chronicles of the Ming Dynasty" compares Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty to Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, and calls these three emperors the most virtuous emperors in the following three generations.

The military strength of the Ming Dynasty during the Ming Xiaozong period was also not weak. In 1497 AD, against all opinions, Ming Xiaozong ordered Ma Wensheng to send troops to defeat the Turpan army and regain Hami.

The entire East is still under the tribute system centered on the Ming Dynasty. If you look at the earth from space at this time, there is probably no sign that it will change in the short term.

3. Europe? The eve of a great change

At this time in Western Europe, Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal have successively become independent nation-states, ready to go. Spain's Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Magellan of Portugal began their global voyages.

Germany, now under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, was fragmented. It was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. The unification of Germany would not be completed for another 370 years.

Italy remained under the rule of the Papal States.

Southeastern Europe was the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

In Eastern Europe, in another seventy years, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth will be established, and Poland will also usher in the most glorious period in its history

In 1683 AD, it was the Poles who finally settled in Vienna Defeating the Ottoman Turks, the Ottomans' march into Europe stopped at Vienna.

Russia began to rise

After the Byzantine Empire was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire, in 1473 AD, Russian Grand Duke Ivan III married the last Byzantine princess. From then on, Russia called itself the "Third Rome".

In 1480 AD, Ivan III defeated the Golden Horde, and Russia ended the 240-year rule of the Mongols.

The rise of Russia was not only a nightmare for the later Qing Dynasty, but also a nightmare for the Ottoman Empire. More than two hundred years of war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire expanded the empire's territory and brought down the Ottoman Empire.

4. Misfortunes are where blessings depend, and blessings are where misfortunes lie.

This sentence of Lao Tzu is truly a wise saying. In the long history of mankind, blessings and disasters always depend on each other.

When the Islamic world thought that the entire world was under its control, and when the Ming Dynasty thought that the entire world was bathed in the tribute system centered on the Ming Dynasty, Westerners set out from the far west of the Eurasian continent. , continued westward, discovered America, and discovered another world of mankind.

Thus, another window for mankind was opened, and the Spanish Empire, the first empire in human history on which the sun never sets, was about to arrive.