Socioeconomic Classes 1450 to 1750 - AP World History: Modern

Both Samurai warriors and British Knights held elevated positions in society. They served land-owning nobles, and could rise to political prominence through battle. They were distinctly above the peasants, and made a career of being a soldier. Note that Samurai were, by definition, warriors who served a specific noble. Ronin were masterless samurai, but were considered a fundamentally different class of person in society.

Christian missionaries began arriving in Japan for the first time in the sixteenth century and had immediate, if limited, success at converting the native population. However, the ruling government feared the mutinous impact of Christianity on the population and banned Christian missionaries from the country. The Japanese government would later ban all contact between Japanese people and foreigners, leading to centuries of Japanese isolationism.

Janissaries were soldiers in the Ottoman Empire who had been kidnapped as young Christian boys, enslaved, and forced to serve in the Ottoman armed forces. Most Janissaries came from Ottoman holdings in southern Europe.

In South American colonial society European settlers tended to mix much more freely with the native population than in North American colonial society. This can be evidenced by words like Mestizo and Mulatto which were used in the Spanish colonial hierarchy to denote those individuals who had been born of mixed European and native ancestry.

Millets have a long established history in areas of the world ruled by Islamic governments. Millets pertain to the rights of non-Muslim populations living under Muslim-rule. In the Ottoman Empire Millets were protected communities designed to ensure the legal protection of non-Muslim citizens in the empire.

The Spanish colonial hierarchy was headed by the peninsulares (settlers who were born in Spain), followed by the creoles (individuals whose parents had been born in Spain), and finally Mestizos (individuals who had European and native ancestry). Mestizos enjoyed some rights in Spanish America, but were prejudiced against by the peninsulares and the creoles.

In the Spanish colonial hierarchy creoles were individuals who were born in the colonies, but who had Spanish parents or grandparents. Creoles were considered second-class citizens and were beneath peninsulares in the social hierarchy.

The Vaishyas are the third highest of the four broad groupings in the Indian caste system. Of these options, only warriors would not be included as Vaishyas. Soldiers, warriors, and secular rulers would have been in the second caste (beneath the Brahmins) known as the Kshatriya. The Vaishyas were merchants and artisans.

In the Indian caste system, which was established by the nomadic Aryan people upon their arrival in India circa 3,500 years ago, Brahmins are at the very top of the hierarchy. Hindu priests are drawn from the ranks of the Brahmins and they are considered the most holy of all the castes.

During the medieval period, the status of women was most elevated in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Africa (outside of the Islamic north) societies were often matriarchal and would trace their lineage matrilineally. In almost every other society on Earth at this time, women were restrained and oppressed either through social custom or by law.

Peninsulares were at the top of the Spanish colonial hierarchy. Peninsulares were Spanish settlers who had been born in Spain and came to settle in Spanish America. The King kept the peninsulares distinct from the creoles (those who had been born in the colonies to Spanish parents) so as to better ensure his control over the administration of the empire.

Both Samurai warriors and British Knights held elevated positions in society. They served land-owning nobles, and could rise to political prominence through battle. They were distinctly above the peasants, and made a career of being a soldier. Note that Samurai were, by definition, warriors who served a specific noble. Ronin were masterless samurai, but were considered a fundamentally different class of person in society.

Christian missionaries began arriving in Japan for the first time in the sixteenth century and had immediate, if limited, success at converting the native population. However, the ruling government feared the mutinous impact of Christianity on the population and banned Christian missionaries from the country. The Japanese government would later ban all contact between Japanese people and foreigners, leading to centuries of Japanese isolationism.

Janissaries were soldiers in the Ottoman Empire who had been kidnapped as young Christian boys, enslaved, and forced to serve in the Ottoman armed forces. Most Janissaries came from Ottoman holdings in southern Europe.

In South American colonial society European settlers tended to mix much more freely with the native population than in North American colonial society. This can be evidenced by words like Mestizo and Mulatto which were used in the Spanish colonial hierarchy to denote those individuals who had been born of mixed European and native ancestry.

Millets have a long established history in areas of the world ruled by Islamic governments. Millets pertain to the rights of non-Muslim populations living under Muslim-rule. In the Ottoman Empire Millets were protected communities designed to ensure the legal protection of non-Muslim citizens in the empire.

The Spanish colonial hierarchy was headed by the peninsulares (settlers who were born in Spain), followed by the creoles (individuals whose parents had been born in Spain), and finally Mestizos (individuals who had European and native ancestry). Mestizos enjoyed some rights in Spanish America, but were prejudiced against by the peninsulares and the creoles.

In the Spanish colonial hierarchy creoles were individuals who were born in the colonies, but who had Spanish parents or grandparents. Creoles were considered second-class citizens and were beneath peninsulares in the social hierarchy.

The Vaishyas are the third highest of the four broad groupings in the Indian caste system. Of these options, only warriors would not be included as Vaishyas. Soldiers, warriors, and secular rulers would have been in the second caste (beneath the Brahmins) known as the Kshatriya. The Vaishyas were merchants and artisans.