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Pope Paul V (Latin: Paulus V; 17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was Pope from 16 May 1605 to his death in 1621.<br/><br/> Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga was a Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyo of Sendai.<br/><br/> In the years 1613 - 1620, Hasekura headed a diplomatic mission to the Vatican in Rome, traveling through New Spain (arriving in Acapulco and departing from Veracruz) and visiting various ports-of-call in Europe. This historic mission is called the Keicho Embassy, and follows the Tensho embassy of 1582. On the return trip, Hasekura and his companions re-traced their route across Mexico in 1619, sailing from Acapulco for Manila, and then sailing north to Japan in 1620. He is conventionally considered the first Japanese ambassador in the Americas and in Europe.<br/><br/> Although Hasekura's embassy was cordially received in Europe, it happened at a time when Japan was moving toward the suppression of Christianity. European monarchs such as the King of Spain thus refused the trade agreements Hasekura had been seeking. Hasekura returned to Japan in 1620 and died of illness a year later, his embassy seemingly ending with few results in an increasingly isolationist Japan.
Following successful expeditions to the East Indies [Indonesia], the Dutch set up a factory and a fortress in Bantam, which was later moved to the new capital in Jakarta.<br/><br/> The Dutch East India Company, or VOC, was set up in 1602 to exploit the East Indies and, in particular, the Moluccas or Spice Islands, which were the world's major provider of nutmeg, mace, cloves and pepper. Until that point, the spice trade had been dominated by the Portuguese.<br/><br/> Between 1602 and 1796, the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships, and netted more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods.
Cornelis Matelief de Jonge (c. 1569 – October 17, 1632) was a Dutch admiral who was active in establishing Dutch power in Southeast Asia during the beginning of the 17th century. His fleet was officially on a trading mission, but its true intent was to destroy Portuguese power in the area. The fleet had 1400 men on board, including 600 soldiers. Matelief did not succeed in this. The Dutch would ultimately gain control of Malacca more than thirty years later, again joining forces with the Sultanate of Johor, and a new ally Aceh, in 1641. He was born and died in Rotterdam.
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese.<br/><br/> It was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia, including establishing colonies in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and India.
A highly decorative map of the East Indies from the Mercator-Hondius Atlas.<br/><br/> It extends from the Philippines to Timor and Sumatra to New Guinea, detailing the Spice Islands, a region of great importance to seventeenth century Europe, but one about which little was known at the time. Hondius based his map on portolan charts by Portuguese cartographer Bartolomeu Lasso. Of particular note is the comment Huc Franciscus Dra. Appulit, which appears by the unknown southern coast of Java, representing Drake's landing during his circumnavigation of the globe in 1577-80.<br/><br/> Of considerable contemporary relevance, the map also shows a highly stylised diagram of the Spratly Islands and perhaps the Paracels in the South China Sea, indicating ownership lying with Vietnam and Indochina, not - as vociferously claimed by the People's Republic - with China.<br/><br/> This map follows very shortly the extension of Dutch control over the islands. In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was formed, and within a couple decades the company came to control the region. Includes three strapwork cartouches, and European ships shown in the midst of battle. Other decorative features include two compass roses, rhumb lines and sea monster.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Jodocus Hondius (Dutch name: Joost de Hondt) (1563 – 1612) was a Flemish engraver and cartographer. He helped establish Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.
Akbar (Urdu: جلال الدین محمد اکبر , Hindi: जलालुद्दीन मुहम्मद अकबर, Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Akbar), also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of Emperor Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India. At the end of his reign in 1605 the Mughal empire covered most of the northern and central India.<br/><br/> Akbar was thirteen years old when he ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi (February 1556), following the death of his father Humayun. During his reign, he eliminated military threats from the powerful Pashtun descendants of Sher Shah Suri, and at the Second Battle of Panipat he decisively defeated the newly self-declared Hindu king Hemu. It took him nearly two more decades to consolidate his power and bring all the parts of northern and central India into his direct realm. He dominated the whole of the Indian Subcontinent and he ruled the greater part of it as emperor. As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by pursuing diplomacy with the powerful Hindu Rajput caste, and by marrying Rajput princesses.<br/><br/> Akbar's reign significantly influenced art and culture in the country. He was a distinguished patron of art and architecture. He took a great interest in painting, and had the walls of his palaces adorned with murals. Besides encouraging the development of the Mughal school, he also patronised the European style of painting. He was fond of literature, and had several Sanskrit works translated into Persian and Persian scriptures translated in Sanskrit, in addition to having many Persian works illustrated by painters from his court.<br/><br/> During the early years of his reign, he showed an intolerant attitude towards Hindus and other religions, but later exercised tolerance towards non-islamic faiths. His administration included numerous Hindu landlords, courtiers and military generals. He began a series of religious debates where Muslim scholars would debate religious matters with Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians and Portuguese Roman Catholic Jesuits. He treated these religious leaders with great consideration, irrespective of their faith, and revered them.<br/><br/> Akbar not only granted lands and money for the mosques but the list of the recipients included a huge number of Hindu temples in north and central India, Christian churches in Goa and a land grant to the newly born Sikh faith for the construction of a place of worship. The famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab is constructed on the same site.
Tokugawa Hidetada (May 2, 1579—March 14, 1632) was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. His mother was Saigō-no-Tsubone, the Lady Saigo.
Tokugawa Hidetada (May 2, 1579—March 14, 1632) was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. His mother was Saigō-no-Tsubone, the Lady Saigo.
Moses (Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה‎, Arabic: موسىٰ Mūsa) was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. He is the most important prophet in Judaism, and is also considered an important prophet in Christianity and Islam, as well as a number of other faiths.
The Pitcairn Islands, officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory (formerly a British colony), the last remaining in the Pacific. Only Pitcairn, the second largest and measuring about 2 miles (3.2 km) across, is inhabited.<br/><br/> The islands are best known as home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians (or Polynesians) who accompanied them. With only about 50 inhabitants from four families as of 2010: Christian, Warren, Young, and Brown), Pitcairn is the least populous jurisdiction in the world (although it is not a sovereign nation). The United Nations Committee on Decolonisation includes the Pitcairn Islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.
Chinese erotic art was a tradition that spanned from antiquity until its apex in the late Ming Dynasty (early 17th century). This art was not just produced for stimulation. Chinese erotica portrays ideals of feminine beauty, narratives on imperial and vernacular life, humour, tenderness and love. However, traditional Chinese erotic art remains a little known tradition because so much of it was destroyed during the Maoist era.<br/><br/> Foot binding (pinyin: <i>chanzu</i>, literally 'bound feet') was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.<br/><br/> Qing Dynasty sex manuals listed 48 different ways of playing with women's bound feet. For men, the primary erotic effect was a function of the lotus gait, the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound.