Ap World Dbq

566 Words3 Pages
As Europeans spread across the known world beginning in the early modern period, they were met with mixed results. Many scoffed at their wonton greed for gold and land while others profited due to interaction. Still others disliked these new people, especially due to their attempts to force their culture upon native subjects, and some regarded Europeans as comparatively weak and harmless. Documents 1,2, and 6 view European exploration in their regions with disdain, while documents 4, 5, and 8 regard the Europeans in a more positive way as trading partners. Documents 3 and 7 believed the Europeans were a threat to their culture and therefore, attempted to cut off influence from them. An additional document that shows the separate reactions of regions toward Europeans, preferably in a dated map, would be helpful in determining the overall views of non-European people toward these European explorations. Europeans were felt by some as a threat to native culture and as such, were looked upon negatively. China during this time regarded European expansion negatively due to the change in culture many felt Europeans would cause (Doc 3). However, the authors of the document were Chinese magistrates who did not reflect the views of the lower classes. In a time when China was essentially closing its doors, the upper classes targeted Europeans as a means for foreign corruption. Another East Asia region, Japan, viewed Europeans largely the same way, as a means for negative foreign influence, and basically closed off their country completely with the exception of a small port on the island of Deshima (Doc 7). This document is an excerpt of an act put forward by the Japanese government, and therefore displays no bias. Many people during the period ranging from 1450 to 1750 C.E. viewed Europeans with outright disdain resulting from their apparent greed and savagery. The
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