Early Modern States of China: Map & History

Not much is known about when the Tagalog people came to occupy the lands surrounding Manila Bay, but linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust speculate that the Tagalogs and other Central Philippine ethno-linguistic groups originated in Northeastern Mindanao or the Eastern Visayas. The Tagalog language is believed to have branched out from a hypothesized "proto-language" which linguists have dubbed "Proto-Philippine language," another branch of which was the Visayan languages.

From Wikipedia: Maynila (historical polity) · Prehistory: Tagalog migrations (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Portuguese and Spanish records in the 1500s state that Maynila was the same as the kingdom that was referred to as the Kingdom of Luzon (Portuguese: Luçon, possibly from the name "Lusong"), and whose citizens had been called "Luções".

From Wikipedia: Maynila (historical polity) · Government and politics: Maynila as the Kingdom of Luzon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Historians widely agree that the larger coastal polities which flourished throughout the Philippine archipelago in the period immediately prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonizers (including Tondo and Maynila) were "organizationally complex", demonstrating both economic specialization and a level of social stratification which would have led to a local demand for "prestige goods".

From Wikipedia: Maynila (historical polity) · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

According to the account of Rajah Matanda as recalled by Magellan expedition members Gines de Mafra, Rodrigo de Aganduru Moriz, and expedition scribe Antonio Pigafetta, Rajah Matanda's father (whose name was not mentioned in the accounts) died when he was still very young. Rajah Matanda's mother (also unnamed in the Spanish accounts) then became the paramount ruler of the Maynila polity. In the meantime, Rajah Matanda, then simply known as the "Young Prince" Ache, was raised alongside his cousin, who was ruler of Tondo, although not specifically named in the Spanish accounts.

From Wikipedia: Maynila (historical polity) · History: Territorial conflicts with Tondo (before 1521) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

One specific exception to the predominance of Anitism in early Tondo and Maynila was that the apex-level leaders of these polities identified themselves as Muslims, as did the migrant sailor Luzones who were encountered by early 15th century chroniclers in Portuguese Malacca. However, the various ethnographic reports of the period indicate that this seemed to only be a nominal identification ("Muslim by name") because there was only a surface level acknowledgement of Muslim norms (avoidance of pork, non-consumption of blood, etc.) without an "understanding of Mohammedan teachings." Scholars generally believe that this nominal practice of Islam actually represented the early stages of Islamization, which would have seen a much more extensive practice of Muslim beliefs had the Spanish not arrived and introduced their brand of Iberian Catholicism.

From Wikipedia: Maynila (historical polity) · Culture and society: Coexistence with and syncretistic adaptation from other beliefs (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Maynila, along with Tondo, was a prosperous trading settlement by the 16th century, ruled by Bruneian aristocrats intermarried with the Tagalog elite. The ruling class were fluent in both Malay and Tagalog, and many of the people in Maynila were literate, compared to those of the Visayas. It was because of this relationship that the Tagalog language used in Maynila began absorbing Malay words into their own vocabulary. Somewhere in the early 16th century, the ruler of Maynila, Rajah Salalila or Panguiran Salalila, was married to a daughter of Sultan Bolkiah and princess Puteri Laila Menchanai of Sulu. Apart from ruling over Maynila, Panguiran Salalila was also acknowledged by the chiefs of Mindoro to be their overlord.

From Wikipedia: Maynila (historical polity) · History: Influence of Brunei (early 16th century) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

There was an eighth province, the County of Drenthe (corresponding to the modern province of Drenthe), but this area was so poor that it was exempt from paying federal taxes, and as a consequence, it was denied representation in the States General, which is why the official name of the state was the "Seven United Netherlands" and not the "Eight United Netherlands".

From Wikipedia: Dutch Republic · Politics (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During the Dutch Golden Age in the late-16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch Republic dominated world trade, conquering a vast colonial empire and operating the largest fleet of merchantmen of any nation. When Southern Europe was experiencing poor harvests, the Dutch very profitably exported surplus grain from Poland. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world. In 1650 the urban population of the Dutch Republic as a percentage of total population was 31.7 percent, while that of the Spanish Netherlands was 20.8 percent, of Portugal 16.6 percent, and of Italy 14 percent. In 1675 the urban population density of Holland alone was 61 percent, compared to the rest of the Dutch Republic, where 27 percent lived in urban areas.

From Wikipedia: Dutch Republic · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The year 1672 is known in the Netherlands as the "Disaster Year" (Rampjaar). England declared war on the Republic, (the Third Anglo-Dutch War), followed by France, Münster and Cologne, which had all signed alliances against the Republic. France, Cologne and Münster invaded the Republic. Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis, who had accomplished a diplomatic balancing act for a long time, were now the obvious scapegoats. They were lynched, and a new stadtholder, William III, was appointed.

From Wikipedia: Dutch Republic · History: Franco-Dutch War and Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672–1702) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Dutch culture also declined both in the arts and sciences. Literature for example largely imitated English and French styles with little in the way of innovation or originality. The most influential intellectual was Pierre Bayle (1647–1706), a Protestant refugee from France who settled in Rotterdam where he wrote the massive Dictionnaire Historique et Critique (Historical and Critical Dictionary, 1696). It had a major impact on the thinking of The Enlightenment across Europe, giving an arsenal of weapons to critics who wanted to attack religion. It was an encyclopaedia of ideas that argued that most "truths" were merely opinions, and that gullibility and stubbornness were prevalent.

From Wikipedia: Dutch Republic · History: Culture and society (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Long-term rivalry between the two main factions in Dutch society, the Staatsgezinden (Republicans, Dutch States Party) and the Prinsgezinden (Royalists or Orangists), sapped the strength and unity of the country. Johan de Witt and the Republicans did reign supreme for a time at the middle of the 17th century (the First Stadtholderless Period) until his overthrow and murder in 1672. Subsequently, William III of Orange became stadtholder. After a 22-year stadtholderless era, the Orangists regained power, and his first problem was to survive the Franco-Dutch War (with the derivative Third Anglo-Dutch War), when France, England, Münster, and Cologne united against his country.

From Wikipedia: Dutch Republic · Decline (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Jurchen people had traditionally lived in Manchuria and were then divided into three tribes, the most powerful of which during the Ming dynasty was called Jianzhou Jurchens, living around the Changbai Mountains. In order to attack and suppress the Northern Yuan dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor sent military commissions to gain control of the Jurchen tribes in Manchuria. The Ming government divided the Jianzhou Jurchens into three wei (a military subdivision during the Ming dynasty), collectively known as the "Three Wei of Jianzhou". The leaders of the Jurchen tribes were usually chosen as commanders of the wei.

From Wikipedia: Later Jin (1616–1636) · History: Rise of Jianzhou Jurchens (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The fall of the Ming and the Qing conquest that followed was a period of catastrophic war and population decline in China. China experienced a period of extremely cold weather from the 1620s until the 1710s. Some modern scholars link the worldwide drop in temperature at this time to the Maunder Minimum, an extended period from 1645 to 1715 when sunspots were absent. Whatever the cause, the change in the climate reduced agricultural yields and cut state revenue. It also led to drought, which displaced many peasants. There were a series of peasant revolts in the late Ming, culminating in a revolt led by Li Zicheng which captured Beijing in 1644.

From Wikipedia: Southern Ming · Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)