The Year 1700

Podcast Transcript

Over 300 years ago, humanity was in the early stages of what would be its greatest transformation in history.

Around the world, there were new ideas that were just starting to take root.

That isn’t to say that all was great in the world, but seeds were planted that would bear fruit centuries later socially, politically, economically, scientifically and technologically.

Learn more about the world in the year 1700 and the changes that took place during the 17th century on the 1700th episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

It has been 100 days since we last examined the state of the world in 1600.

In the 100 years since 1600, a lot of things happened. The pace of change wasn’t quite what it would be in the centuries to come, but it was arguably the fastest in history up until that point.

It was a period that sat in the middle of what is known as the Early Modern period.

So, let’s start our tour of the world in the year 1700 in China.

In 1700, China under the Qing Dynasty was experiencing a period of stability and prosperity.

The Kangxi Emperor, one of China’s most capable rulers, was in the middle of his 61-year reign. Under his administration, China expanded its borders, stabilized its economy, and enjoyed a cultural renaissance.

The population was growing rapidly, and agricultural productivity was high. The economy was largely self-sufficient, with sophisticated internal trade networks and manufacturing capabilities, particularly in ceramics, silk, and tea production.

China remained the world’s largest economy, producing approximately 33% of global manufacturing output. However, the Qing maintained restrictions on foreign trade, limiting it primarily to the port of Canton.

Japan was in the middle of the Edo period under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The country was deliberately isolated from the outside world through the sakoku or “closed country” policy, which severely restricted foreign contact to limited trade with the Dutch and Chinese at Nagasaki.

Japanese society was highly structured under the Tokugawa shogunate, with a rigid class system dividing samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Despite being at the bottom of the social hierarchy, merchants were increasingly wealthy and influential.

Urban culture was vibrant, especially in Edo, the city that would later be named Tokyo, which had grown into one of the world’s largest cities with a population approaching one million. Theater, literature, and the visual arts flourished in this urban environment.

In India, the Mughal Empire in 1700 was still one of the world’s wealthiest and most populous entities, but showing early signs of the challenges that would later lead to its decline.

Emperor Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughal rulers, was in the final years of his long reign. His extensive military campaigns had expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent, but had also strained imperial resources and alienated non-Muslim subjects.

Economically, India remained extraordinarily wealthy, producing approximately 25% of the world’s manufacturing output. Textiles, particularly cotton and silk, were major exports, and Indian goods were highly prized throughout the world.

The architectural and artistic achievements of the Mughals were at their peak, with magnificent buildings like the Taj Mahal, completed in 1643, showcasing the empire’s cultural sophistication and wealth.

Africa in 1700 presented a complex and diverse political landscape.

In West Africa, powerful states like the Kingdom of Dahomey, the Ashanti Empire, and the Oyo Empire dominated regional politics and trade, including increasing involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.

In East Africa, the Swahili coast maintained its centuries-old trading networks across the Indian Ocean, connecting with Arab, Indian, and Southeast Asian merchants.

Ethiopia, under the Solomonic dynasty, maintained its distinctive Christian culture and independence, having successfully resisted attempts by the Ottoman Empire at conquest.

The transatlantic slave trade was accelerating, with profound demographic and social consequences for African societies. European powers had established coastal forts and trading posts but had not yet begun the colonial partition of the continent.

The most powerful and extensive empire in the old world was the Ottoman Empire.

In 1700, the Ottoman Empire remained one of the world’s great powers, controlling vast territories across southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. However, this period marked the beginning of challenges to Ottoman dominance.

The empire had recently suffered a significant defeat in what was known in Europe as the Great Turkish War, culminating in the Treaty of Karlowitz. This treaty forced the Ottomans to cede substantial European territories to the Habsburg Monarchy, Poland, and Venice. It marked the Ottomans’ first major territorial losses and a turning point in their status as a European power.

Ottoman society maintained its distinctive multi-religious character, with the millet system providing some autonomy to different religious communities. Islamic culture, art, and architecture continued to flourish in major cities like Constantinapole, Damascus, and Cairo

The Pacific Islands and Australia in 1700 remained largely outside European imperial systems.

Indigenous Australians continued their traditional ways of life across the continent, with hundreds of distinct cultural and linguistic groups. European contact was still minimal and sporadic, with the Dutch having made some coastal landings but no settlement attempts.

Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian societies throughout the Pacific maintained their diverse cultures, sophisticated navigation techniques, and trading networks. European exploration of the Pacific was still limited, though it would increase significantly throughout the 18th century.

The Americas in 1700 were deeply transformed by European colonization but still maintained significant indigenous presence.

In North America, British, French, and Spanish colonies were established along the eastern seaboard and in the Mississippi valley, but vast territories remained under indigenous control. Although disease and conflict severely reduced the indigenous population, they continued to adapt and resist European encroachment.

Spanish America, from Mexico through Central America and much of South America, was organized into the Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru. A distinctive colonial society had developed, characterized by racial hierarchies and economic systems based on mining, plantation agriculture, and ranching.

In Brazil, Portuguese colonization was focused on sugar production using enslaved African labor. The bandeirantes, or frontier explorers, were pushing into the interior, searching for mineral wealth and indigenous people to enslave.

At this point, the vast majority of what is today the United States and Canada was still under the control of the native people. European colonies were only found in the East, with some Spanish missions in the Southwest.

France still occupied what it called New France along the Saint Lawrence River and England had multiple colonies to the south that were growing in terms of population and economic activity.

The 17th century saw some significant changes in Europe.

England saw a major civil war. The conflict ended with Charles I’s execution in 1649, the abolition of the monarchy, and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell’s rule. After Cromwell’s death, the monarchy was restored in 1660 under Charles II, marking the end of England’s brief period as a republic.

In 1688, England had the Glorious Revolution, which removed their last Catholic monarch and permanently replaced them with protestant ones.

Continental Europe saw an even worse conflict in the Thirty Years War. I’ve covered the Thirty Years War in a previous episode, but it was one of the most devastating wars in history in terms of the percentage of the population who died. The war led to immense destruction, famine, and disease, particularly in German territories, leading to fatality rates as high as 50% in some areas.

It ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which established the principles of state sovereignty and religious tolerance,

In France, Louis XIV, known as the “Sun King”, was at the height of his power, having transformed France into Europe’s dominant military and cultural power from his palace at Versailles. The French court set cultural standards that other European courts sought to emulate.

In the Spanish empire, the Habsburg dynasty was declining. Charles II, the last Habsburg king, died in 1700, leading to a major European conflict over the Spanish throne.

Russia under Peter the Great was beginning its transformation into a European power. He was modernizing Russia, expanding its military, and moving towards European-style governance. He founded St. Petersburg in 1703, marking Russia’s shift toward Europe.

I want to spend the rest of the episode talking about what was happening in Europe intellectually. Many innovations in science, mathematics, and philosophy were being made in the 17th century. These innovations would later play a role in a host of events leading up to the present day.

Consider some of the ground-breaking scientific advances that were made during the 17th century.

Galileo Galilei revolutionized observational astronomy with his improved telescope, discovering Jupiter’s moons, the phases of Venus, and sunspots. His observations provided crucial evidence supporting the Copernican heliocentric model.

Johannes Kepler formulated his three laws of planetary motion, establishing that planets move in elliptical orbits rather than perfect circles, revolutionizing understanding of celestial mechanics.

Isaac Newton published his masterpiece “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” unifying celestial and terrestrial physics with his laws of motion and universal gravitation. He also established what would become the mathematical field of calculus.

Robert Boyle published “The Sceptical Chymist” in 1661, challenging Aristotelian four-element theory and laying groundwork for modern chemistry. His experimental work led to Boyle’s Law, relating pressure and volume of gases.

Robert Hooke published “Micrographia” in 1665, revealing the microscopic world. His detailed observations included the first description of cells which he observed in cork.

René Descartes introduced the Cartesian coordinate system in “La Géométrie” in 1637, bridging algebra and geometry and enabling the graphical representation of algebraic equations.

Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat developed the foundations of probability theory through their correspondence about gambling problems. Their work would eventually transform statistics, economics, and decision theory.

All of this was part of the formalization of science and the scientific process. In 1620, Francis Bacon advocated for a new inductive method of scientific inquiry, emphasizing systematic observation and experimentation.

The Royal Society of London was founded in 1660, institutionalizing the new experimental approach to natural philosophy and establishing scientific communication practices still used today.

However, the advances weren’t just in science and mathematics.

The 17th century saw the start of the Enlightenment.

René Descartes revolutionized philosophy with his method of systematic doubt in “Meditations on First Philosophy” in 1641, arriving at his famous conclusion “Cogito, ergo sum” or “I think, therefore I am”.

John Locke articulated empiricist epistemology in “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” in 1689, arguing that knowledge comes from experience rather than innate ideas.

That same year he published “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” which challenged divine right of kings theories, arguing for natural rights and consensual government, providing theoretical foundations for liberal democracy.

On top of all these new ideas, the world was becoming more interconnected.

Trade networks linked distant regions, with silver from the Americas flowing to Europe and then to Asia in exchange for spices, textiles, porcelain, and other luxury goods.

The “Columbian Exchange” of plants, animals, and diseases continued to transform ecosystems and societies worldwide. American crops like maize, potatoes, and tomatoes were being adopted in Africa, Europe, and Asia, contributing to population growth.

While many of these ideas and trends were developing, they hadn’t yet become widespread. The basis of the scientific revolution had been established, but this system hadn’t yet been used in wide scale discoveries or in the creation of revolutionary technologies.

As we look back, the year 1700 appears as a time of transition. The modern world we know hadn’t yet arrived, but we can see the ideas developed during the 17th century that would fully bloom in the centuries to come.