Instructor:  Jean H. Braden
Room 252, Bisdorf Building

Telephone:   703-845-6357
email:jebraden@nvcc.edu

Topic One
Traditional and Early Modern Societies of Asia
The West Arrives in Asia

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION

1. Most traditional Asia cultures had distinctly hierarchical social systems.  What were the advantages of such a system?  Disadvantages?
2. What motivated the West's interest in Asia and what impact did that interest eventually have?
3. How did Westerners initially regard Asians and what impact did these perceptions have on Europe?
4. What factors gave certain European countries the ability to dominate the Asian trade, and how did those factors shape the views of Asians towards the West?
5. Why did the Spanish and Portuguese feel compelled to inflict the cruelties they did upon the people of Asia?  What did they hope to gain?

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