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Podcast Transcript
A little over 400 years ago, the world was undergoing a revolution, although most people who lived at that time probably didn’t know it.
For better or worse, long-term and short-term changes were underway.
Parts of the Earth that had never been in contact began to make contact with each other, even if some parties weren’t looking to do so.
Learn more about the world during the year 1600 on the 1600th episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
If you remember back exactly 100 episodes ago, I covered what the world was like in the year 1500.
Now, one hundred years later, it is the year 1600, and it is the last year of the 16th century.
(Remember that there was no year zero, so the first year of a century is the one that starts with one, and the last one is the one that ends in double zero.)
So let’s start by looking at the big picture: what was the world population in the year 1600?
It is very hard to do estimates that far back as there weren’t a collection of censuses that we can add up to get a number.
There were probably somewhere around 500 million people on Earth around the year 1600.
About 60–65% of the world’s population lived in Asia, with China and India being the most populous regions.
Approximately 15–20% of the global population lived in Europe, growing steadily despite periodic plagues and wars.
Around 15–20% of the population lived in Africa.
An estimated 5–10% of the population lived in the New World in North and South America, significantly reduced from pre-Columbian levels due to disease and colonization. I’ll refer you back to my episode on the Great Dying of the Americas.
Estimates of the population of the Americas before European contact vary widely. I’ve seen estimates of between 10 and 100 million people, which obviously affected the estimates for the number who died.
Finally, less than 1% of humanity lived across the Pacific Islands and Australia.
If there had been an overall world population increase between 1500 and 1600, it would have probably been small.
The total global economic activity probably increased slightly from 1500 to 1600, if only because trade increased significantly during the 16th century.
China, India, and Europe all probably had very similar levels of economic activity, with the per capita average being slightly higher in parts of Europe.
Other notable hubs of economic activity would be found in South East Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East and Persia.
Technical innovations did occur in the 16th century, but few innovations would have affected the quality of life of the average person at this point. The home of a peasant in 1600 wouldn’t have been radically different than one in 1500.
There were many incremental innovations across the board in agriculture, navigation, scientific instruments, and printing. There were also some major scientific advances such as the Heliocentric Theory published by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1453.
The story for the year 1700 will be a radically different one with respect to innovations in technology, science, and philosophy.
As we zoom in to see what is happening in different parts of the world, we should shart in the Americas.
The New World saw both the greatest changes over the 16th century and also some of the least.
North America, that being what is today the United States and Canada, actually saw very little happen. There were European explorers that visited the region, such as the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano and Jacques Cartier who were employed by France.
The British attempted to establish a colony in Roanoke, Virginia in 1585, but the people living there mysteriously vanished.
So by 1600, there was relatively little which changed by this point. Again, the next century would be radically different.
In South and Central America, it was a whole different story. In 1500, the Spanish had started exploring the region and had established its first outposts.
Between 1500 and 1600, Spanish influence in the Americas expanded dramatically, establishing Spain as the dominant colonial power in the Western Hemisphere. This period, often referred to as the Spanish “Golden Age,” saw the conquest and colonization of vast territories, the extraction of wealth, and significant cultural and religious transformations.
The Aztecs and the Inca had been conquered and were no longer independent by the year 1600.
The trading system known as the Manilla Galleons, which sent Mexican Silver to the Philippines to be traded for Chinese goods, began in the 16th century, and was to last until the 19th century.
The importation of African slaves began in the 16th century, which was to define the economic system of much of the New World until the end of the practice in the 19th century.
During the 16th century, Portugal transformed Brazil from a relatively overlooked part of its empire into a major economic and colonial hub. Initially focused on the lucrative spice trade in Asia, Portugal turned its attention to Brazil after French incursions threatened their claim. The introduction of sugarcane plantations in the 1530s, particularly in the northeastern region, marked a turning point, as sugar became a highly profitable export.
One could spend a career on just this period in history in this part of the world, but suffice it to say that things changed more here than anywhere else.
As we turn our gaze over to Asia, there were changes afoot here as well, although not quite as dramatic as in South America.
The year 1600 marked the Battle of Sekigahara, a decisive conflict that established Tokugawa Ieyasu as Japan’s de facto ruler. This victory led to the foundation of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603, ushering in over two centuries of peace.
The Battle of Sekigahara was arguably the most important event that occurred in the year 1600.
The Ming Dynasty was in decline, struggling with internal corruption and external threats such as the Manchus, who would eventually establish the Qing Dynasty in 1644.
This decline had started over a century before, but in the 16th century, it had become terminal.
In the 16th century, Southeast Asia was shaped by the rise of powerful kingdoms, increased trade, and European incursions.
Key empires such as the Ayutthaya Kingdom in Siam, the Burmese Taungoo Empire, and the Sultanates of Malacca and Aceh dominated the region, often engaging in warfare and alliances to control strategic territories and trade routes.
The spread of Islam continued, particularly in maritime Southeast Asia, while Therav?da Buddhism solidified its influence on mainland states.
The arrival of Europeans—Portuguese, Spanish, and later Dutch—marked the beginning of significant foreign involvement, with the Portuguese capturing Malacca in 1511 to control spice trade routes.
The Spanish established a colonial foothold in the Philippines after Magellan’s expedition (1521), bringing Christianity to the archipelago.
In 1600, the Mughal Empire in India was at the height of its power and prosperity under the reign of Emperor Akbar, who had expanded the empire to include much of northern and central India. Akbar’s policies of religious tolerance and administrative reforms strengthened the empire, integrating a diverse population of Hindus, Muslims, and other religious groups.
Central Asia, in 1600, was a region of political fragmentation shaped by the leftovers of the Mongol Empire and the declining influence of the Timurid dynasty. The region was divided among various khanates, such as the Khanate of Bukhara, the Khivan Khanate, and the Kazakh Khanate, which vied for dominance.
These khanates were influenced by Islamic traditions and engaged in trade along the Silk Road, though its significance had diminished due to the rise of maritime trade routes. The region also faced increasing pressure from expanding powers, including the Safavid Empire to the south and the Russian Empire to the north, which was beginning to encroach on Siberia and Central Asia.
In the Middle East, under Sultan Mehmed III, the Ottoman Empire controlled vast territories spanning Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.
While the Ottoman Empire had yet to achieve its peak, it was ascendant during this period and had become the dominant power in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Levant, and North Africa. Their holdings in North Africa extended all the way to Libya, Tunisia, and parts of Algeria.
The Safavid Empire, in what is today Iran, under Shah Abbas I, was in a golden age, marked by economic prosperity and cultural achievements, including the flourishing of Persian art and architecture.
In 1600, Sub-Saharan Africa was a region of diverse societies and kingdoms experiencing significant transformations due to internal dynamics and external influences from expanding global trade.
In West Africa, powerful states like the Kingdom of Benin and the Ashanti were thriving on trade in gold, ivory, and enslaved people, while the remnants of the Songhai Empire faced decline following the Moroccan invasion of 1591.
In Central Africa, the Kingdom of Kongo was deeply involved in trade with Portuguese merchants, but the Atlantic slave trade caused profound social disruption.
The Swahili Coast in East Africa remained a hub of commerce, connecting the interior with Indian Ocean trade networks dominated by Arab, Persian, and Portuguese traders.
In Southern Africa, the Zulu and other Bantu-speaking peoples lived in smaller chiefdoms, while Dutch explorers and traders were beginning to make inroads around the Cape of Good Hope.
We end our whirlwind tour of the world in Europe.
Europe was transitioning from the Renaissance to the Baroque period, with significant developments in art, music, and science. Key figures such as William Shakespeare and Galileo Galilei were active.
The 16th century was a profound one for England. It saw the rise of the Tudor Dynasty. Henry VIII established himself as the head of the Church of England and turned it into a protestant country. After six wives in an attempt to get a son, which even eventually did get, it was his daughter Elizabeth who was to be the monarch that defined the later half of the century.
Queen Elizabeth I was nearing the end of her reign in 1600. The English Renaissance was flourishing, and England was beginning to assert its naval dominance following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
Spain was under the rule of King Philip III, and the Iberian Union was in place, linking Portugal and Spain under one crown. However, the most significant events concerning both Spain and Portugal were taking place in the New World.
In 1600, France was emerging from a turbulent period of religious conflict and political instability caused by the French Wars of Religion, which had pitted Catholics against Huguenots or French Protestants.
The Edict of Nantes, issued by King Henry IV in 1598, brought relative peace by granting limited religious toleration to Protestants, though tensions remained. Henry IV, a former Protestant who converted to Catholicism to secure the throne, focused on rebuilding the country after decades of war. He strengthened the monarchy, restored financial stability, and promoted economic growth through infrastructure projects like roads and canals.
In 1600, Germany was a fragmented region within the Holy Roman Empire, consisting of hundreds of semi-independent states, free cities, and principalities, each with its own ruler and laws. Religious tensions were high, as the Protestant Reformation, initiated by Martin Luther in the early 16th century, had divided the empire between Catholic and Protestant factions. The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 provided a temporary settlement, allowing rulers to choose the religion of their territories, but the uneasy coexistence was fraying.
The Protestant Reformation was certainly the most significant cultural event to take place in Europe during the 16th century.
In 1600, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was at its peak under the rule of Sigismund III Vasa, exerting influence over large parts of Eastern Europe while engaging in conflicts with Sweden, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. Muscovy, under Tsar Boris Godunov, faced political instability and the beginnings of the Time of Troubles (1598–1613), a period of famine, internal strife, and foreign intervention. The Ottoman Empire maintained dominance in the Balkans, but its power was beginning to wane as local uprisings and external pressures challenged its control.
The year 1600 was smack in the middle of what has been called the Early Modern Period. While there had been significant changes since the year 1500, it was nothing compared to the changes that were to come in the next century.
….but for that, you’ll have to come back in a hundred days.