Historical Evolution - Asia

Historical Evolution – Asia:

By 3000 B.C - comparable civilizations have been established in the Indus River Valley of present-day Pakistan, as well as the Ganges River Valley in India. From this origin, India boasts of the world's longest continuing culture. Neolithic Chinese Culture, on the other hand, originates from Northern Asia and is dated to 8000 B.C.. By 1500 B.C. the first literate, city-building, and metalworking civilization was established as the Shang dynasty. 2000 B.C. - Indus culture was shaken by invasion of Aryans from the north, which introduced Sanskrit, the mother language to modern English, in a addition to more male-orientated and aggressive deities to early Hinduism.

Invasion of Alexander the Great in 326 B.C introduced minor Greek influences into culture and population, he encouraged his 10,000 soldiers to take Indian wives.

Sixth century A.D - Gupta mathematicians were able to compute square and cube roots, solve equations, understood values of zero and infinity, figure pi to the ninth decimal, and that lay the foundation for trigonometry, three dimensional geometry and calculus. Early Indian astronomers understood the earth orbited the sun. Gupta dynasty physicians contrived a vaccination for small pox, successfully completed cesarean sections, and practiced plastic surgery. For leisure early Indians invented chess. Europeans did not claim these accomplishments until centuries later, often observing them transmitted by Arabs during the crusades.

Medieval India was attacked by many forces Circa 1000 A.D. Islamic forces caused destruction of Universities and Monasteries. Southern India rebuffed Islamic raids, and established a new Hindu Kingdom in 1336. This encouraged extensive trading with southeast Asia. Southeast Asians eventually prospered, and established their own civilizations. These civilizations were noted for monumental architecture, particularly the Cities of Angkor.

From 1526 until 1858, India was governed by a series of Mughal emperors. Akbar (1483-1530) brought Rajputs under his rule, which united much of modern day India. Mughal emperors were sons of Akbar, who continued to destroy each other. One of these, named Aurangzeb, exterminated his opponents by targeting the majority Hindus-that fractured a culture once unified by Akbar. By this time, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries had established themselves on the Indian Coast. This was the prelude to British Colonization.

In 1600, Queen Elizabeth authorized an East India Company for trade. Trade was repulsed in the Spice Islands by the Dutch, who had established a Dutch East India company in 1602. British ships, with superior cannon powder, put the Dutch and Portuguese on the defensive, and gave the British an opportunity to establish fortified trading sectors in Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay. For India, the British