4.1 - Technology in Sea-Based Empires

• European states developed seaborne empires that took over the world from 1450 to 1750
• In this period, European states gained significant power and began taking over the world, marking a shift from the previous land-based empires
• Maritime technologies adopted by Europeans


  • Magnetic compass
  • Astrolabe
  • Lateen sail
  • Improved astronomical charts
• Europeans did not invent these maritime technologies, they adopted them from other cultures like China, Arabs, and Greeks
• Europeans gained access to these technologies through merchant activity along major trade routes, facilitated by the Pax Mongolica
• Innovations in European shipbuilding


  • Development of the Portuguese caravel - smaller, more nimble ships with cannons
  • Development of the Portuguese carrack - larger ships with more cargo capacity and guns
  • Development of the Dutch fluyt - large cargo capacity, small crew, and cheap to build
• The Dutch fluyt was responsible for about half of Europe's shipping tonnage by the mid-17th century