Early Modern Era
The world in 1683 AD
12 powers on the map
European sails cross the oceans. The first capitalist world-system is born: Silver from Potosí, spices from the Moluccas, African slaves on American plantations. Demographic devastation of indigenous American populations (90% drop in a century). Protestant Reformation, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment.
Battles this year
Empires and states
Active trade routes
- Cape Route — Europe–Asia around the Cape of Good Hope
- Manila Galleon — American silver exchanged for Chinese silk
- Atlantic Triangular Trade — Manufactured goods, enslaved Africans and American sugar