The seventeenth century was characterized by the rise of new powers like the Zheng maritime network, Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and the Dutch East India Company (VOC). For the first time in East Asian history, armed maritime powers like the VOC or the Zheng faced off against more conventionally oriented territorial states like Tokugawa Japan or Qing China while trading powers like Siam pushed to take advantage of booming trade networks. This page will introduce you to the key states and personalities in this turbulent period.
