Asian Civilizations Prior to European Colonialization

Solution Preview

Pre-Colonial Asia: Socio-cultural Sampling

The journey to Asia by colonial powers had its roots in the riches gained by traders via the Silk Road and the fascination of an Empire described as the Middle Kingdom by Marco Polo, one of the earliest Europeans to have ever recorded interaction with an Asian society. The spices of the Indonesian islands are the stuff of legends of explorers wishing to cash in on the demand in Europe just as the gemstones, spices and cloth from India and the porcelain, silk and gunpowder of China beguiled. The Silk Road though was fraught with dangers from that of the environment (climate, weather, seasons, landscapes that included lifeless desserts and unforgiving mountains) and the people one can meet on the way (robbers, thieves, other cultures, language issues, etc.). Vasco da Gama in the early 16th century set out to find a Passage to the Indian Ocean by tracing the coast of Africa to Arabia to India and the Malacca's. The successful return of Vasco the Gama prompted the Spanish crown to fund the ambitious expedition proposed by Ferdinand de Magellan who, based on a then frowned theory that the Earth is round, set out to cross the Atlantic 'discovering' South America, tracing the coast of South America and then 'discovering' the Pacific Ocean landing and claiming the Philippine Islands in the South China sea for King Philip II of Spain (hence - Filipinas). While Magellan did not make it back to Spain, the remaining crew finally got to the Malacca's/ Spice Islands, to India and through Arabia, tracing the voyage of the Portuguese back to Spain becoming the very first mariners to ever circumnavigate the world and thereby proving the theory true. On the way they have discovered new peoples, new continents, new oceans and new lands and islands changing forever how the peoples of the world will be ordered. For more on this historic voyage, please follow the following links -

http://www.mazalien.com/voyages-of-discovery-circumnavigation-of-magellan.html
http://www.marinersmuseum.org/education/ferdinand-magellan-and-first-circumnavigation-world

Now, why is it important to know the information above? Before the European traders came to 'claim' Asian peoples and their lands and islands for their Kings & Queen's back in Europe, a lot of Asian peoples have their own way of life, their own 'civilization'. The Europeans who came to conquer and to trade judged the natives from a 'European' viewpoint and considered local practices they chanced upon to be 'uncouth' thereby when chance allowed that they were able ...