Valorant gets its biggest VCT shake-up ever, and it could be the best thing to happen to it Riot Games has unveiled its bold new vision for the Valorant Champions Tour in 2027, and it looks like the developer-publisher has looked to the past for inspiration. The new format will throw the doors open to teams across the globe once more, removing the current league system in favor of a good...

Apple iPhone 17e review: Ticks every box but one Apple's first "e" model iPhone, the iPhone 16e, wasn't just a review unit for me; I actually lived with it as my main phone for over six months. And while I still stand by what I wrote in my review last year — it was surprisingly powerful for a "cheap" phone, with excellent...

Reading the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson brings the benefits and pitfalls of efforts to terraform the Red Planet into sharp relief. Since the 1970s, when Carl Sagan first suggested the possibility that we could make Mars more Earth-like, that process has been a staple of science fiction. But theres always been a significant amount of humanity that thinks we shouldnt. A new paper available in pre-print on arXiv from Edwin Kite of the University of Chicago and his co-authors skirts around the ethical and moral questions of whether we should and tries to take a long hard look at whether we can.

Several conquistadors became household names following the conquest of the New World, including Hernn Corts, who conquered the Aztec Empire, and Francisco Pizarro, who toppled the Incas. Yet hundreds of soldier-explorers descended on the American continent in the 16th century, discovering new lands, founding cities and changing history, for better or worse. Here are five other conquistadors who embarked on adventures in the Americas and their claims to fame, or infamy.Gonzalo Jimnez de Quesada: Discovered the Muisca CulturePortrait of Gonzalo Jimnez de Quesada, by Ricardo Gmez Campuzano. Source: Catlogo de Pinturas de la Academia Colombiana de HistoriaBorn in Cordoba around 1506, Gonzalo Jimnez de Quesada was the oldest of six children. His family moved to Granada during his childhood, after which he moved again to Salamanca to study law. After returning to Granada to practice, he embarked on a trip to the New World with the newly named governor of Santa Marta, then a small coastal settlement in northern South America, Pedro Fernndez de Lugo. Quesada was appointed justicia mayor of the expedition, charged with administering justice, and the group set sail in 1535.Upon arrival, Quesada was tasked with exploring the interior of the region, a mission many had failed before him due to the rough terrain, climate, disease-carrying mosquitos and Indigenous attacks. Though many of his men died or abandoned the mission, in 1537, his expedition was the first to encounter the Muisca culture. Holding its leaders captive to determine the source of their gold, de Quesada and his fellow conquistadors ultimately killed the Muisca rulers and within 100 years, the culture was nearly wiped out by violence and disease.Male Figure (tunjo), 10th-16th century, Muisca culture. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtEager to claim governorship of the highland territories he had discovered, which he disputed with two other conquistadors, Quesada made plans to return to Spain to stake his claim. Prior to leaving, however, he determined it necessary to establish a settlement to further his claim, and in 1538, founded the city of Nuestra Seora de la Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope) in what was once the Muisca village of Bacat. By 1540 the town was officially recognized by the Crown and its name changed to Santa Fe (Holy Faith).Quesada was not awarded governorship of the lands he explored, but the city he founded rapidly grew in importance, becoming the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada, then of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, a Spanish colony that encompassed present-day Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. During the wars of Independence, Simn Bolvar renamed Santa Fe Bogot, approximating its original name in honor of the Muisca. It remains the capital of Colombia today.Ins de Surez: ConquistadoraDoa Ins de Suarez defending the city of Santiago, Jos Mercedes Ortega, 1897. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThough few women traveled to the New World on the earliest voyages of conquest, and those who did have largely been forgotten, Ins de Surez beat the odds: the first European woman to set foot in present day Chile, she made it into the history books, though she remains largely unknown outside the country she helped found.Surez was born in 1507, though little of her early life is known. She married an adventurer who left soon after for the Americas and in approximately 1537 she went after him. Discovering that he had died, she decided to settle in the New World and was granted an encomienda in Cusco as the widow of a Spanish soldier.During this period, she began an affair with another conquistador and joined his expedition to Chile, the only woman. In addition to acting as nurse and cook for the men, ferreting out conspiracies against their leader and even finding water to sustain the expedition in the desert, Surez took an active role in fighting off an attack on Santiago by the Mapuche. Although later scholars questioned the veracity of this story, as it appears in none of Santiagos official records, according to witnesses, she personally killed the Indigenous chieftains the Spanish were holding hostage, tossing their heads over the wall to scare off the attackers.After her affair with the married conquistador came to an end, she embarked on a second marriage with still another conquistador, Rodrigo de Quiroga, who would go on to become Chiles second governor. She remained in Chile for the rest of her life, dedicating herself to religious pursuits and outliving all the conquistadors she traveled with. Famed Chilean author Isabel Allende recounted a fictionalized version of Ins de Surezs life in her novel Ins del alma ma (Ins of My Soul).Pedro de Valdivia: First Governor of ChilePortrait of Pedro de Valdivia, c. 1892. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIns de Surezs famed paramour was none other than Pedro de Valdivia, conqueror of Mapuche territory and Chiles first governor. Born into a prominent family in Extremadura in 1500, Valdivia began his military career at age 20, fighting in Italy and achieving the rank of captain before traveling to the Americas. Beginning with expeditions in Venezuela and Santo Domingo, by 1536 he had traveled to Peru, where he became Francisco Pizarros righthand man.In 1540, Pizarro granted Valdivias request to explore and conquer present-day Chile and appointed him Lieutenant Governor of these new lands. Setting out with his men and Ins de Surez, and facing numerous challenges along the way, most notably his partner, Pedro Snchez de la Hoz, trying to murder him, Valdivia crossed the Atacama desert. After 11 months, the expedition finally reached the fertile Mapocho river valley, where the new capital Santiago de la Nueva Extremadura was established.Though initially Valdivias expedition tried to maintain cordial relations with the regions Indigenous inhabitants, previous explorers had already mistreated these populations, which remained suspicious of the Spaniards and launched frequent attacks to retain their land. Though Ins de Surez reportedly repelled one such attack on the capital, it was not before the town itself was largely destroyed. The Spaniards, in turn, continued marching southward to conquer additional lands and to enslave Indigenous peoples to work the mines under the encomienda system.In the midst of this conquering and colonizing, Valdivia was accused and brought to trial for a number of charges, including public immorality for his affair with Surez. In exchange for being released and finally awarded the long-sought-after title of governor, he agreed to end the affair and bring his real wife to Chile. She didnt arrive until after the conquistadors death. The Spanish continued to battle the Mapuche in southern Chile and Valdivia was killed in the 1553 uprising, the Arauco War.Pedro de Alvarado: Brutal Conquistador of Central AmericaPortrait of Pedro de Alvarado, Toms Povedano, c. 1906. Source: Government of SpainLists of the most infamous conquistadors, noted for their brutality, are usually topped by Corts and Pizarro, but Pedro de Alvarado is usually found high on such lists as well. Born around 1485 in Extremadura, he traveled to the Americas in his early 20s and became friends with Corts on Hispaniola. Before his reputation for cruelty began to grow, the most notable thing about him was his appearance: blond haired and blue eyed, he stood out among both the Spanish and the Indigenous.Alvarado joined Corts for the conquest of the Aztec Empire and gained infamy for his unprovoked attack on unarmed nobility and priests celebrating the Feast of Toxcatl. The ill-conceived attack ultimately led the Aztecs to force the Spanish out of Tenochtitlan, nearly annihilating Spanish forces on the Noche Triste.Despite his hasty attack nearly costing the Spanish Tenochtitlan, Corts still chose Alvarado to lead the conquest of what is today Central America. Accompanied by hundreds of men, horses, and Indigenous allies, he first conquered the Kiche, then allied with the Kaqchikel to defeat smaller cultures in the region before turning on them as well. Not content with betraying his Indigenous allies, Alvarado managed to turn Corts against him as well. After promising to marry Cortss cousin, he broke his word and married a woman with better connections to the royal court, effectively ending his friendship with Corts.Though he was named governor of Guatemala and later Honduras, Alvarado had little interest in or skill for governing and continued his life of adventure and conquest until being crushed to death by a horse during a battle in Mexico in 1541.Juan Garrido: The African ConquistadorThe March of the Spaniards into Tenochtitlan, Codex Azcatitlan, folio 23, c. 1530. Scholars have speculated that the Black man shown is Juan Garrido. Source: Bibliothque nationale de FranceBy the early 16th century, the Spanish were already importing African slaves to the New World to work in mines and on encomiendas, and many enslaved Africans and Black servants fought along their conquistador masters, particularly after 1510. Juan Garridos history had a slightly different trajectory from other Africans who found themselves in the Spanish colonies. Garrido, arguably the most well-known Black conquistador, who took part in several significant expeditions, was a free man, though whether he was born free or was at some point enslaved and then freed is unclear. Historian Matthew Restall argues that Garrido, born in the 1480s in West Africa, was likely sold into slavery in Portugal and later gained his freedom, either while still in Europe or while serving a Spanish conquistador named Pedro Garrido in the Caribbean.By 1503 Garrido was on his way to the West Indies with the Spanish, one of the earliest known African conquistadors. After first landing in Hispaniola, he later joined Juan Ponce de Leons expeditions, fighting the Indigenous in Puerto Rico and Cuba and discovering Florida. By 1519 he found himself a part of Hernan Cortss expedition into what is today central Mexico. Garrido participated in the siege of Tenochtitlan and built a chapel to commemorate Spanish losses after the Noche Triste; today the Church of San Hiplito on Mexico Citys Paseo de la Reforma occupies the same site.Garrido remained in Mexico for the rest of his life. He was granted a plot of land and claimed in a letter to the king to be the first settler to try growing wheat in the New World. He also participated in several additional expeditions in the region and served in various roles in Mexico City, including doorman and town crier. He died there in the late 1540s, leaving behind a wife and children.

The Trans-Saharan trade routes connected West Africa to the Mediterranean world, having an impact on not only the economy but also culture, religion, and politics across the African continent and beyond. What were these trade routes, who led them, what was carried on and among them, and what were their impacts?Garden of AllahSaharan dunes at dusk. Source: PexelsSahara is an Arabic word meaning desert. It refers to the arid landscape stretching from the concave face of western Africa towards Egypt, ending at the emerald waters of the Red Sea. In addition to Egypt, this area includes the regions of Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania. Composing an area nearly the size of Europe, the Sahara is the worlds largest desert. However, only 25% is actually composed of the undulating dunes usually associated with desert landscapes.Satellite view of Saharan desert. Source: PICRYLThe majority of the Sahara is actually plains and plateaus, creating a mosaic of different shades of sienna, burnt orange, and tan. This vast desert was also once referred to as the Garden of Allah, believed to be created by Allah as a place for him to walk in peace (Prange, p. 13). A shortage of evidence and lack of reliable written resources means that ancient Saharan trade history is shrouded in both myth and mystery. However, routes and objects carried between regions within and around the Sahara during the ancient world created the foundation for the trans-Saharan trade networks that developed after Islam spread in the 7th century AD.Darb El Arba-in, or the Forty Days RoadEl-Kharga Oasis. Source: Wikimedia CommonsTrade in the Sahara can be dated as far back as the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt (26752130 BC). The Darb El Arba-in, or the Forty Days Road, was a route connecting the Nile River Valley to present-day Sudan. It took advantage of El-Kharga in southern Egypt, a lush oasis that served as the main gateway between Egypt and the south Sahara (M.S. Solieman, p. 206).The oasis environment meant that El-Kharga was fertile with grain, olives, dates, and grapes, which were staples of Egyptian and Nubian diets and cuisine. It is also possible that gold, ivory, and spices passed along this route. Although dating back to the Old Kingdom, this route reached its zenith under the Romans, whose road technology around the 2nd century BC vastly improved the efficiency of transport along this route (M.S. Solieman, p. 205). The Forty Days Road would play a significant role in Trans-Saharan trade as one of five main routes to transport enslaved people which persisted well into the 18th century.The Saharan Trade in HerodotusMap of the world according to Herodotus. Source: Wikimedia CommonsOne historical account of ancient Saharan trade comes from the Greek historian Herodotus, who authored The Histories around 430 BC based on his alleged travels to Africa. While Herodotus pioneering work of historical inquiry earned him the sobriquet Father of Western History, Herodotus tendency to relate wild and incredible accounts in The Histories means that he is also called the Father of Lies (Austen, p. 13).However, The Histories mentions a supposed route connecting Egypt to Algeria, as well as the trading of salt. The route from Egypt to Algeria allegedly went through Fezzan, the arid region of southern Libya. Fezzans metropolis was Germa, once ruled by a powerful empire known as the Garamantes between 1000 BC to 700 AD.Although historians are wary of Herodotuss accounts, the route passing through Fezzan would mimic trade routes passing through this region centuries later. Once Islam spread across North Africa beginning in the 7th century, Germa was restored as a strategic stop of the Trans-Saharan trade network (Austen, p. 22).Salt transport by a camel train on Lake Assale (Karum) in Ethiopia. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAlthough Herodotus was likely referring to a salt trade around Libya, salt was a crucial commodity in the western side of the Sahara. The best quality salt (and thus the most sought after) was rock salt. Although the desert landscape produced salt in abundance, areas surrounding the Niger River Valley lacked this vital mineral. What initially began as a trade between salt and grain during the Neolithic period transformed into the exchange of salt with other metals like copper and gold. The salt trade facilitated the development of urban settlements in West Africa that would later become kingdoms, such as Ghana and Timbuktu, strategic entrepots for Trans-Saharan trade.The location of West Saharan salt quarries has shifted over the centuries, causing different mines to boom and fall into decay. However, salt from the Western Sahara continues to supply regions south of the desert. Today, salt from Taoudenni in Mali is transported to areas like Timbuktu by trucks and camel caravans.Desert DromedariesCamel in Egypt. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAlthough camels have become synonymous with the Sahara, they were actually introduced from Arabia. These dromedaries, or single-humped mammals, are native to the Arabian Peninsula and were possibly introduced into North Africa some time around the 3000-2500 BC (Austen, p. 17). Initially used in battle, it would take several centuries before they became the ships of the desert.Camels were designed for desert environments. They can go 15 days without water, regulate their body temperatures to levels that would be near-fatal for other animals, and transform their hump, which is full of fat, into water and energy. The pads on their feet also prevent them from sinking into sand. The camels resilience in desert climates and capacity as pack animals (they can carry up to 600 pounds or 300 kilograms) transformed trade, providing people with a vehicle to cross long distances unachievable with horses, donkeys, or chariots. Camels were arguably the catalyst for long-distance trade in the Sahara.Erg Chebbi Dunes in Morrocco. Source: FlickrCamels would have a lasting impact, shaping trade, lifestyles, and also the cultural identities of people who relied on them, such as the Imazighen (known historically as Berbers) and Tuaregs. Caravans traversing the desert were composed of anywhere between 1,000 to 5,000 camels, helping hundreds of merchants, pilgrims, and enslaved people cross the Sahara.Once camel caravans became used for transporting people and goods across the Saraha, transit across the desert hardly went through any changes. Ralph A. Austen, author of Trans-Saharan Africa In World History, goes so far as stating the only difference between the caravan route of Mansa Musa in the 14th century and those of the 19th century is the presence of firearms (Austen, p. 36). This is because the harsh desert environment made the region resistant to new technology. Despite attempts by France to construct a railroad in its colonial territories in West Africa, it was not realized until the 20th century.In spite of this, camels are still a primary method of transport in parts of the Sahara, for both nomadic communities like Bedouins and Tuaregs and for larger scale commercial transport like salt in Taoudenni, as previously mentioned.Spread of Islam Across the SaharaMap of Trans-Saharan trade routes. Source: GetarchiveOne of the largest lasting impacts of Trans Saharan trade was the spread of Islamic belief, custom, and Arabic language throughout North Africa and the Sahara.Islam initially spread across North Africa through a series of military campaigns by Arab leaders, leading to fierce resistance from local forces such as the Imazighen and Byzantines. However, the end of these conflicts paved the way for a unique convergence between Islamic belief, Arabian culture, and local customs that would persist into the 21st century. Over a century after Arab conquest, Islamic sects such as the Ibadis (from the Algerian and Tunisian hinterlands) and Sufris (in southern Morocco) emerged and began venturing into the desert in search of trading opportunities. This would be a pivotal moment for trade across the Sahara.Ibadis and Sufris groups began spreading to pre-established oasis trading centers from the ancient world such as the aforementioned Germa and Kanem around Lake Chad, the southernmost point of the Sahara conquered by the Romans. However, they also established new trading settlements like Ouargla in South Algeria, which would become an instrumental center for the circulation of gold and enslaved people. From this point forward, the Sahara would transform into a global highway, carrying merchants, pilgrims, faith, enslaved people and objects along the routes created by camel caravans and their leaders (Austen, p. 22).Islamic Golden Age and Contemporary ImpactsPage from Al-Bunis Treatise on the Magical Uses of the Ninety-nine Names of God, 15th century. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe spread of Islam helped unify diverse cultures across the Sahara through shared belief and custom that maintained connections with local traditions. Arabic also became a lingua franca across the Muslim world, enabling its constituents to communicate, write, and speak with other Muslims. This, combined with Islams encouragement of scholarship facilitated the Islamic Golden Age, a period of scientific, technological and philosophical achievement that would influence the European Renaissance.Islams expansion throughout the Sahara had a profound impact on its people, cultures, and history which maintains a strong presence today. Arabic is still widely spoken in many countries, and there are similarities in cuisines, music, and religious practice from Morocco to Egypt.Saharan Wealth Attracts EuropeansMansa Musa from the Catalan Atlas, 1375. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe development of trading centers across the Sahara facilitated a market that helped kingdoms like Ghana, Mali, and Kanem-Borno obtain unprecedented amounts of wealth. One famous example is Mansa Musa, the 14th century King of Mali whose opulence was the modern equivalent of $131 billion, making him one of the richest people to have ever lived. Musas alleged generosity with his wealth during his pilgrimage to Mecca crashed the price of gold in Egypt for nearly a decade after his visit.The association between Musa and gold was memorialized on a map depicting him seated on a throne holding a golden orb. Referred to as the Catalan Atlas, this map was produced in 1375 by Spanish cartographers who never traveled to the Sahara, but likely received accounts from people who did. The map illustrates Medieval European knowledge and fascination with Saharan trade, which would shape the 15th century Age of Exploration. This period began Europes maritime exploration to Africa, Asia and the Americas, marking the beginning of European colonialism.Trans-Saharan Trade and the WorldChinese colored porcelain. Source: RawpixelThe Trans-Saharan trade fed into larger global trading networks. Gold from the Western Sahara arrived in European markets, but was also carried as far as India and China (Austen, p. 30). In exchange, merchants would obtain spices, textiles, ceramics and other objects which would be carried back to Africa. Global commerce was possible due to maritime trade across the Indian Ocean. One object from this maritime network that deeply impacted Trans-Saharan trade were cowries, small shells extracted from Maldivian beaches.The Trans-Saharan trade route carried these shells across the desert to West Africa, where they became staples of decoration, jewelry, religion, and art. However, they were also used as a form of currency, which had a deep impact on the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Seeing there was a market for cowries, Europeans brought them in great numbers to West African coasts to obtain enslaved people from African leaders for labor in their colonies. As a result, cowries became a fundamental unit of exchange for enslaved people. By the 18th century, one enslaved person was valued at 160-176,000 shells.Kuba (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Headdress, 19th century. Source: Brooklyn Museum, New YorkAdditionally, practices of capturing people for enslavement during the Transatlantic Slave Trade were rooted in methods used for the Trans-Saharan trade networks. For centuries, enslaved people were typically taken from sub-saharan Africa. Unlike the Transatlantic Slave Trade, this was not for racial reasons, but was due to the dense populations of these areas. Once captured, people would be taken in camel caravans across the Sahara to North Africa or to the Gulf states.Once Europeans arrived at West African coasts to get enslaved labor for their colonies, the pattern of venturing to inland West and Central Africa remained. Rather than capturing people themselves, Europeans paid West African slavetraders who then brought these people to the coasts.Legacy of the Trans-Saharan NetworkSahara desert sunset. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Trans-Saharan Trade network had a profound impact on the circulation of objects, ideas, and people throughout Africa, the Mediterranean, and the globe. Built upon trade networks that existed in the ancient world, trade across the Sahara was facilitated by Islamic merchants through the help of camels, instrumental modes of transport still used throughout the Sahara. As a result, Saharan countries share the common language of Arabic, similar customs, and culture. Trans-Saharan trade also helped kingdoms and people, like Mansa Musa, accumulate vast amounts of wealth that would inspire European sailors to venture to these famed areas of wealth, marking the beginning of European colonization. The Trans-Saharan trade continues to resonate deeply in our modern world.BibliographyAusten, Ralph A. Trans-Saharan Africa in World History. Oxford University Press, 2010.Imazighen! Beauty and Artisanship in Berber Life: Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. Peabody Museum, peabody.harvard.edu/OE-imazighen#:~:text=The%20Berbers%E2%80%94or%20Imazighen%E2%80%94are,farthest%20reaches%20of%20the%20Sahara.McDougall, E. Ann. Salts of the Western Sahara: Myths, Mysteries, and Historical Significance. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 23, no. 2, 1990, pp. 23157.M.S. Solieman, Nashwa, et al. Reconstructing the ancient caravan route of Darb al-Arbain in Greco-Roman Egypt: Heritage Value and tourism potential. Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality, vol. 16, no. 2, 1 June 2019, pp. 202224.Prange, S. (2005) Trust in God But Tie Your Camel First: The Economic Organization Of The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade Between The Fourteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Dissertation. Department of Economic History, London School of Economics.Sailors on Sandy Seas: Camels in Saharan Rock Art. British Museum, africanrockart.britishmuseum.org/thematic/camels-in-saharan-rock-art/.

By the late 16th Century, the Spanish Empire stretched from the Mediterranean to the Canaries, across the Atlantic to the Americas, past the Pacific all the way to the Philippines. Ever searching for new lands to conquer, the governor of Manila laid out plans to invade Ming China using Spanish Troops, Japanese Mercenaries, and Filipinos. King Philip II considered his designs.Non Sufficit Orbis: The World is Not EnoughMedal of Philip II with the inscription Philip II of Spain and King of the New World The World is Not Enough, 1583. Source: Royal Collection TrustWhen Christopher Columbus sailed to the Caribbean and began the brutal process of its colonization, he had gone west searching for Asia and new routes to the spice trade. Ferdinand Magellans expedition uncovered those routes just 30 years later, and infamous conquistador Hernan Cortes, high off his conquests in the Americas, suggested an invasion of China as early as 1526.The Spanish established their first outpost in the Philippines in 1565 using Tlaxcalan soldiers from Mexico, and settled in Manila because of its proximity to trade routes in the South China Sea. The Portuguese had expanded their own colonial empire from Brazil to Africa and across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia, with trading posts in Macau and Nagasaki in the far east. At the turn of the 16th century, the Papacy had granted halves of the globe to Spain and Portugal to christianize in the Treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza, and by 1580 both kingdoms were united under King Philip II of Spain.As Philip II consolidated his global empire, he adopted the motto: non sufficit orbis, Latin for The world is not enough. With a chain of colonies stretching across six continents, the newly christened Iberian Union turned its gaze to a scheme beyond their initial goal of free access to Asian markets. Plans for an invasion of China were laid out as conversion campaigns advanced in Japan and the colonization of the Philippines accelerated.The Iberian mode of warfare was well established by this point, and their use of pike and shot was feared and copied throughout Europe as the tercios dominated on the battlefield. On campaign abroad, small bands of conquistadors exploited local rivalries and used their advanced military tactics and equipment alongside forces provided by allies on the ground. This had proven effective in projecting power abroad against larger peoples, and the plan for Asia was more of the same.Nanban, the Southern BarbariansArrival of the Europeans, Edo period. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkIberian power in East Asia was marginal at best in this period, but their ambitions were unlimited. Spanish Manila struggled to project power across the Philippines, facing resistance and subversion from various indigenous groups across the islands.Portuguese expeditions had tried to take Chinese land for trading ports by force, but after a string of naval defeats by Ming Chinas forces, were able to rent Macau in 1554 in exchange for silver. The Portuguese had been moderately successful in preparing an invasion of Japan by christianizing locals from their trading post in Nagasaki. Japan often referred to Europeans as nanban, or southern barbarians.However, some local lords converted to Catholicism, giving Philip II ambitions to expand into Japan and China. He aimed to continue their program of pitting kingdoms against each other by assembling Japanese converts into a combined army of Spanish, Portuguese, and Filipino soldiers. Daimyo Konishi Yukunaga even promised to provide 6,000 men in support of an invasion of China.Despite being at the very edges of the Iberian empires, hopes for the domination of East Asia moved beyond controlling the spice trade into the conquest of Japan and China and converting their entire world to Catholicism, putting pressure on the Ottomans and the Muslim world from both East and West.Yet China, which calls itself zhongguo or middle kingdom, had a massive population of roughly 145-160 million people at the time. With over a quarter of the worlds population, an advanced civilization with thousands of years of traditions, the power of Ming China was formidable, even to a Spanish Empire ravenous for new lands. Early plans for the conquest called for 4,000 troops, with later designs demanding 12,000 Spanish and Portuguese soldiers, with 6,000 Japanese mercenaries and 6,000 Filipinos.The Weight of the Dragon ThroneRemonstrating with the Emperor. Painting by court artist Liu Jun, late 15th century. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkMatters came to a head in 1586, when every official in Manila approved an invasion proposal, which stated that China was Superior to us in everything except salvation of the faith (Kamen, p. 225), though in the previous decade an official believed it could be taken with as few as 60 men. China had advanced military technology, and while the Ming Dynasty was declining it still had three to five million soldiers on its books, including 800,000 combat-ready soldiers.The Iberians would have also not had the same military advantages it exploited to win highly contested wars in the New World. Advanced metallurgy in China meant that Ming armies had steel armaments, cavalry, firearms, and most importantly, cannon. At the very limits of their supply lines, Philip IIs army had to rely on firearms imported from Japan. Even if an invasion made inroads, keeping an army fed, reinforced, and supplied would have been extremely difficult. All this would have been done in the face of a numerically superior peer, or at very best, near-peer enemy.In its earlier clashes with the Portuguese, China had shown its ability to defeat European powers at sea. This happened even though Philip IIs strength was his naval power, and China had scuttled most of its fleets a century earlier as part of an inward-looking policy after Zheng Hes expeditions under the Yongle Emperor.An invasion would have put conquistadors and their foreign levies up against Chinas enormous army. Though the conquistadors had achieved asymmetrical victories in the New World, they were limited in their ability to challenge rival powers in Europe.The Armada Crumbles in the WestThe Destruction of the Armada, Phillip James de Loutherbourg, c. 1800. Source: The British MuseumAs the Spanish and Portuguese had raced to colonize the world, wars continued to rage back home in Europe. The continent was engulfed in the Eighty Years War and the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars, pitting Philip IIs forces against England, France, the Netherlands, and the Ottoman Empire, all while attempting to pacify regions under their domain across the Americas, Africa, and Asia.In a push to oust the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, the Great Armada was formed in 1588 to invade the British Isles and end English support for the Dutch in their efforts to seek independence from Spain. In the same year, Philip II commissioned an official council to plan for the invasion of China. The year 1588 represented the height of Iberian ambitions to conquer the world.Although the Armada was a formidable force of 137 ships and 55,000 men, the fleet was outmaneuvered by more nimble English ships and thrown into chaos by fire ships at the Battle of Gravelines off the French coast. The remnants of the Armada suffered further losses from stormy weather off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland as they limped back home to Spain.This defeat was a major setback in Philips plans for world conquest and sent shockwaves across his empire. It also coincided with several major crises in Asia. In 1587 Japans great unifier Toyotomi Hideyoshi banished all Catholic missions from the country and occupied Nagasaki. In the Philippines, Tagalog nobles launched a massive uprising, seeking aid from Japanese pirates and the Ottoman-backed Sultanate of Brunei to oust the Spanish. Dubbed the Tando Conspiracy, it was uncovered and thwarted, but Spanish control was not as absolute as they believed. With their presumed Japanese and Filipino support evaporating, and massive losses in Europe, the quest for China was abandoned.Dust Settles in the EastView of Earth from Space, Zelch Csaba. 2025. Source: PexelsLater Spanish expeditions to Cambodia and against the Siamese Kingdom of Ayutthaya did not bring further conquests. Yet as Iberian ambitions to rule Asia dwindled, Toyotomi Hideyoshi advanced the plans of his predecessor Oda Nobunaga to expand Japanese rule across the region.After the expulsion of Catholic missionaries, he sent threatening envoys to the Spanish in Manila and tried to assemble forces to sail south. At the same time, he envisioned One Asia under Japan and went to war with the Ming Dynasty by invading their vassal Joseon Dynasty in Korea. The resulting Imjin War led to Toyotomis defeat, and his plans for the Philippines never materialized, stifling Japanese expansionism for more than two centuries. Toyotomi was succeeded by the Tokugawa shogunate who, after the Christian-led Shimabura Rebellions, began its period of closure to the world, known as sakoku.Despite its considerable weight, the Ming Dynasty was fortunate that the Iberians had not attempted to exploit local rivalries. Over the following decades, the Ming emperors faced encroachment from the Manchus in the northeast as well as internal rebellion, and by 1644 Beijing had fallen to peasant rebels. The Manchu bannermen of the Qing Dynasty soon breached the Great Wall and gained the mandate of heaven. The Qing emperors held off western incursions for 200 years until the Opium Wars and their infamous Century of Humiliation.Armed Three-master with Daedalus and Icarus in the Sky from The Sailing Vessel, Frans Huys, c. 1561-1565. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkSpanish and Portuguese influence in the region waned as Dutch and English traders entered the stage, with the Dutch being the only Europeans to meaningfully access Japanese markets until Commodore Matthew Perry forced open the ports in 1854. The Dutch invasions hit Macau but were repelled in 1622. They moved on Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan, and severely reduced Spain and Portugals power in the region especially after Portugal rebelled against Spanish rule, dissolving the Iberian Union in 1640. The Thirty Years War and parallel Eighty Years War came to a close in 1648, having devastated central Europe and weakened Spains position as the dominant imperial power of the time.By the 1700s, Spain and Portugal were struggling to retain their colonial empires and had largely become second-rate powers on the global stage. The Philippines remained one of Spains last colonial holdings until it was taken by the USA in 1898.The threats to invade England and China place 1588 as the high watermark of Iberian colonization. Though Philip II and his successors remained in a position of influence, their vision of undisputed rule over the globe was broken. The world had proven too much for the man it was not enough for.Further ReadingKamen, H. (2003). Empire: How Spain Became a World Power, 1492-1763. Great Britain: Penguin Books.

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