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Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750 CE

Driving Question: What impacts did organized resistance have on state power c. 1450 to 1750?

As empires expanded throughout the early modern period, evolving states began to centralize their power in order to maintain control over their territories. This centralization often came at the cost of those at the edges of the central state. Across social, political, and economic groups, people within the centralizing empires came together to resist in ways both big and small.

Learning Objectives

  1. Explain the effects of the development of centralized state power from 1450 to 1750.
  2. Understand how societies changed politically, economically, and culturally as maritime empires expanded and consolidated their power, and how populations responded to, and even resisted, these changes.
  3. Analyze primary source documents to assess imperial expansion, competition, and resistance from c. 1450 to 1750 CE.
  4. Evaluate the changes and continuities to economic and labor systems as new transoceanic empires expanded, and the strategies those maritime empires used to maintain power and influence over their territory.
STEP 1

Opener: Internal and External Challenges to State Power

Have you ever read a prompt and thought, “What in the world is that asking?” We’ve got you covered with the Question Parsing Tool.

STEP 2

State Centralization and Resistance

Growth benefitted expanding empires, but for those in its path, imperial expansion was something that could inspire revolt and resistance.

STEP 3

Colonization and Resistance: Pueblo Revolt of 1680

The Pueblo Revolt was the first successful revolt against European colonialism in the United States. In this video, you’ll find out what happened and why.

Colonization and Resistance: Pueblo Revolt of 1680 External link

In 1680, the Pueblos in Nuevo México revolted against their Spanish colonizers. It was the first successful revolt against European colonialism in the land that would eventually become the United States.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 4

Source Collection: Imperial Expansion, Competition, and Resistance

STEP 5

Closer: Internal and External Challenges to State Power