At the end of XV^th century China, under Ming dinasty, still kept her isolationist policy forbidding her citizens to travel abroad. It isolated China, broke trade and fatally deprived nation from sea exploration at same time europeans were ready to do it themselves. When ban came to an end, at 1567, initiative was irreversibly at european hands.

Mongols still were a power on west steppes and Golden Horde still persisted, but many nations, mainly Turks, had already got independence. One of these new nations, Ottoman Turk Sultanate, had completely defeated Byzantine Empire after the epic taken of Constantinople at 1453. At 1475, the now called Ottoman Empire crossed Danube and kept moving west. Although Bizantium had fallen, main part of her legad still survived in the Principality of Moscow. At 1480, when she refused to keep paying tribute to Golden Horde, and put to an end mongol influence at east Europe, Moscow had assimilated most of russian principalities and expanded east.

Portuguese expeditions to explore african coast started next. At 1487-1488, Bartolome Dias turned Cape of Good Hope and discovered that west african coast went up north, which made possible trips between East and Europe. At 1488, Pedro da Covilha arrived India through Red Sea and Vasco de Gama by west african coast at 1498. In Africa, Songhoi had become from 1464 the hegemonic power, eclipsing Mali.

Columbus believed that East could also be reached sailing west. Finally, Isabella I of Spain, the Catholic Queen, gave him a fleet at 1492. What he found out, although he didn't notice it, was the american continent. Major power in America was the Inca Empire, which had started her expansion at 1470 conquering Chimu Empire, and became the widest empire that had never existed there at 1492. Aztecs dominated Central America and Missisipi culture cities were in decadence while deep North America became low populated. At 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas splitted world between spanish and portuguese.

Early XVI^th century met radical changes in political and economic world status. Ottoman expansion and the fallen of Lodi dinasty at north India leaded to decisive military confrontations in Europe and South Asia, while portuguese and spanish sea expansion collapsed empires and trade nets all around the world.

The most dinamic empire at the end of XV^th century was Ottoman. They ruled Black Sea for over two centuries after Constantinople taken but the most important conquests took, however, place at Asia and North Africa. In 1514, armies of the new Safavid persian dinasty were destroyed at Chaldiran, which temporarily left under ottoman control west of Safavid empire. Ottomans also succeded against Mameluks in Egypt at 1516-1517 which not only opened for conquest new territories in Arabia and North Africa, but also brought egyptian wealth to sultan hands. In 1521, Suleyman the Magnificent retried ottoman expansion to Europe, invading Hungary after the Battle of Mohacs at 1526. When, at 1529, put Vienna under siege, ottomans seemed invincible.

On East, at 1500, with India, Eastern Indies and Southeast Asia splitted, Indic Ocean trade was open for a new exploitation. Chance was taken by portuguese traders and explorers. At 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque took Malacca, an important spices export port, and in subsequent years portuguese opened trade routes to south China. They established a trade factories net and kept at bay arab and ottoman traders with her warships.

Portuguese trade factories at western african coast began to monopolize gold dust trade, so far centered at Songhoy as western destiny of trade caravans through Sahara; and Songhoy became debilitated and an easy prey for neighbourgs.

While portuguese sailors opened new routes to East, spanish succesors of Columbus came in touch with american empires. Aztec Empire felt under Hernan Cortes in 1519-1524; and Inca, splitted because of an empire inheritance conflict, were not able to confront Francisco Pizarro expedition at 1530. Spain was in the early years of an inmense territorial expansion and ready to exploit silver resources which would rule world economy for more than a century.

For this whole century, Europe and Asia had a nonstopable demographic growth. European prosperity joined with better life conditions at Asia, India and Midde East. However, african population and conditions of life stayed as they were, and in America europeans caused a demographic disaster.

Spanish Empire was the widest world had known so far, with Mongol Empire exception, but it destroyed ancient cultures and decimated native populations, extremely vulnerable to european diseases, although some others, like sifilis, travelled from America to Europe and became a feared killer from early XVI^th. Portuguese and spanish expansion in America slowed down the pace after Inca Empire taken: except well organized Aztecs and Incas, populations were spread and far away and conquerors had few needs to keep exploration, thus they decided to exploit what they had conquered. At 1545 rich Potosi mines exploitation started; silver were transported to Seville and ended spreaded all over Europe and world through trade.

Spanish political and military power reached her apogee in 1580 decade, when Philip II of Spain claimed portuguese crown because of premature portuguese king's death. Both kingdoms stayed joined for sixty years, but portuguese possesions abroad kept being ruled from Lisboa. Portuguese asian power decayed when Netherlands started a conquest campaign against portuguese trade factories all over the world.

English and netherlanders pirates raided spanish cities at America and attempted to assault silver fleets. French Huguenots (protestants) settled down in Florida and Amazonas and were expulsed from Florida by spanish forces, but portuguese took more than a century to do it from Amazonas. French explorers as Jacques Cartier came deep into North America through San Lorenzo's river, while the spanish Francisco Coronado opened new routes at north of Mexico.

In Africa. Ottomans reduced spanish positions at north, while the surprising portuguese defeat in Alcazarquivir in 1578 at Morocco hands lead directly to the union of Portugal with Spain because of death in combat of her king, Sebastian I. Morocco planned an even more spectacular expedition through Sahara in 1590-1591 which ended with debilitated Songhoy Empire. In subsaharian africa, moslem Kanem Empire became the most powerful state. Portuguese coast control was threatened by first time at 1596 with netherlanders arrival to Guinea.

In Mediterrean Sea a fleet formed by Austria, Venetia and Spain defeat Ottoman fleet at Battle of Lepanto after several ottoman victories, but cristian nations coalition ended soon.

Russian conquest of Kazan and Astracan at 1550 decade had brought russian frontier to western coast of Caspian Sea. Since then Russia started a sistematic expansion through Siberia.

From 1550, Ming Empire of China was threatened not only by mongols but also by japanese pirates. Japan asolated Korea, a vasail state of Ming. Portuguese trade factories made a direct contact between european and asian economies, but, because of their traditional reluctancy to foreigners, both China and Japan made as much as they could to keep european traders under strict control.