This watershed period called "the long 16th century" by historian Immanuel Wallerstein was characterized by rapid population growth, the rise of capitalism, religious controversy and global exploration.
Influenced by the writings of Fernand Braudel and ImmanuelWallerstein (historians who helped establish a tradition of global comparative history), large numbers of Japanese intellectuals are beginning to realise that a global economic system existed in the areas around the Indian Ocean, the Arabic Sea, the South China Sea, and the East China Sea long before the westernisation of the world.