| 1450–1650 | Age of Discovery |
| 1492 | Columbus lands on San Salvador |
| 1494 | Treaty of Tordesillas ratified |
| 1518 | Atlantic slave trade begins |
| 1519–1521 | Spanish conquest of Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán |
| 1533 | Pizarro conquers Inca Empire |
| 1571 | Spanish found port of Manila in the Philippines |
| 1580 | Michel de Montaigne’s Essays published |
| 1602 | Dutch East India Company established |
Indian Ocean trade connected peoples from the Malay Peninsula (the southern extremity of the Asian continent), India, China, and East Africa, among whom there was an enormous variety of languages, cultures, and religions. In spite of this diversity, certain sociocultural similarities linked these peoples, especially in Southeast Asia.
bride wealth In early modern Southeast Asia, a sum of money the groom paid the bride or her family at the time of marriage, in contrast to the husband’s control of dowry in China, India, and Europe.
For example, by the fifteenth century, inhabitants of what we call Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and the many islands in between all spoke languages of the Austronesian family, reflecting continuing interactions among them. A common environment led to a diet based on rice, fish, palms, and palm wine. In comparison to India, China, or even Europe after the Black Death, Southeast Asia was sparsely populated. People were concentrated in port cities and in areas of intense rice cultivation.
Another difference between Southeast Asia and India, China, and Europe was the higher status of women in the region. Women took the primary role in planting and harvesting rice, giving them authority and economic power. At marriage, which typically occurred around age twenty, the groom paid the bride (or sometimes her family) a sum of money called bride wealth, which remained under her control. This practice was in sharp contrast to the Chinese, Indian, and European dowry, which came under the husband’s control. Property was administered jointly, in contrast to the Chinese principle and Indian practice that wives had no say in the disposal of family property. All children, regardless of gender, inherited equally.
Respect for women carried over to the commercial sphere. Women participated in business as partners and independent entrepreneurs, even undertaking long commercial sea voyages. When Portuguese and Dutch men settled in the region and married local women, their wives continued to play important roles in trade and commerce.
In contrast to most parts of the world other than Africa, Southeast Asian peoples had an accepting attitude toward premarital sexual activity, and no premium was placed on virginity at marriage. Divorce carried no social stigma, and it was easy if a pair proved incompatible. Either the woman or the man could initiate a divorce, and common property and children were divided.