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1 Becoming Human
2 Rivers, Cities and the Rise of Complex Societies, c. 4000-2000 BCE
3 Nomads, Territorial States, and Micro-Societies, 2000-1200 BCE
4 First Empires and Common Cultures, 1200–350 bce
5 Worlds Turned Inside Out, 1000–350 bce
6 Shrinking the Afro-Eurasian World, 350 bce–250 ce
7 Han China and The Roman Empire, 300 BCE –300CE
8 The Rise of Universal Religions, 300–600 CE
9 New Empires, and Common Cultures, 600-900 CE
10 The World Becomes “The World,” 1000-1300 CE
11 Crises and Recovery in Afro-Eurasia, 1300-1500
12 Contact, Commerce, and Colonization, 1450-1600
13 Worlds Entangled, 1600-1750
14 Cultures of Splendor and Power, 1600-1780
15 Reordering the World, 1750–1850
16 Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century
17 Nations and Empires, 1850–1914
18 An Unsettled World, 1890–1914
19 Of Masses and Visions of the Modern, 1910-1930
20 The Three-World Order, 1940–1975
21 Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: Globalization 1975-1999
22 Epilogue, 2000–2007

Chapter 14: Cultures of Splendor and Power, 1600-1780

Research Topics

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Captain Cook´s Voyages throughout the Pacific Ocean, particularly his encounters with the Polynesian indigenous people of the Pacific Islands, aroused intense interest and passion among his British audience and among other Europeans as well. Considered a voyage of discovery based on science and the principles of the Enlightenment, Cook and others who accompanied him strove to study the places and peoples they encountered scientifically and rationally. Numerous diaries, engravings, and narratives were published in Britain about their findings. Paintings, plays, and other works of art also tried to capture the spirit of the voyages. Your textbook authors claim that "The extremely popular accounts of his discoveries, and the engravings that accompanied them, opened up the exotic worlds of Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii to European scrutiny. They also prepared the way for a new, more intensive sort of cultural colonization." As you examine and analyze the following sources, consider how these accounts shaped Europeans attitudes toward the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands. What about their society both fascinated and repelled European opinion? Why do you think Europeans ultimately classified these societies as inferior to their own?

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