During the period 1550-1800, the colonization of the Americas by European civilizations led to massive shifts in economic power from the West to East and vice-versa. An increase in global competition among western civilizations and against their asian counterparts drove Europeans to search for wealth elsewhere, and thus colonizing the Americas. One of the easiest ways to generate a profit, increase a civilizations wealth, and ultimately their military power was through the silver trade. In monopolizing said trade, Europe was able to establish a somewhat steady economic connection to the very wealthy Asian civilizations. However, european nations were struggling to keep control of the silver trade out of Asian hands, which caused major shifts …show more content…
As shown contextually in document 5, Asia was replacing their barter and tax payment from goods and services to silver. Such a change requires and very large supply and circulation of said precious metal. China was willing to pay a lot for said metal as its new economic system depended on it. In order to cash in on this potential gold rush, for lack of a better word, european nations sought elsewhere for a supply of silver they could control, ultimately leading to the colonization of the Americas and military conquests of isles like the Phillipines and Indonesia. The pattern of the silver trade shifted as Europeans now expanded it to reach more of the western hemisphere by establishing mines in Brazil and other areas. Documents 1 and 3 showcase in detail how connected the west and east now became because of the silver trade, which previously resided in Asia predominantly. Silver went from the mines in the east (Japan) and sometimes isles (Philippines), to the colonies, and ultimately China after the chinese merchant ships would travel to said colonies and pick up the silver. Such an increased connected between the west and east is seen again post-Renaissance. As Europe is going through a revival, it seeks wealth elsewhere, like european nations in the later centuries. Europe begins expeditions and forges relationships with eastern nations …show more content…
Europe’s monopolization of the silver trade did not provide the continent with as much wealth as it had hoped, yet it still was the backbone of many european economies. The desperation of Europe to hold on to said industry led the nations involved to change their tactics from not only gaining wealth from Asia, but extracting it too. One of the main contributors to this shift in the pattern of the silver trade was Spain, as it monopolized the industry until the 17th century. The purpose of document 2 was to show others in the silver business that Spain was a strong and dominant force over the silver industry and perhaps to discourage chinese sale of goods in order to protect spanish domestic production. Spain did so by creating artwork that showcased Spanish technological advancement (doc 2) and by increasing the flow of information about Chinese affairs in the colonies to the Spanish crown (doc 4). Both of these tactics send a message to others in the silver business - Spain is best equipped to run the silver industry and any funny business will be reported to the crown. This set a precedent of unity and centrality, one of the most threatening features a civilization can possess. If a nation is unified, it can conquer others and protect itself. Circa 500 B.C.E., The Persian empire also utilized the flow of information to protect its
Politically, World Powers craved practically nothing but silver from Asia. (Document 8) When silver was in such high demand, the business structure in many places changed dramatically. In China, the previous Bill of Credit, where citizens could purchase items with means other than money (for example, rice, wheat, or chicken) was removed and it was heavy enforced that everybody must pay for everything with silver. (Document 5) Lust for silver caused many political injustices around the world as well. Antonio Vasquez de Española, a Spanish priest wrote about the brutality existing between Spain and the Potosi Indians
In this process, they succeeded in influencing Japan greatly. However, they were not as successful with China. At the end of the eighteenth century, China’s goods were much sought after by Britain. However, the Chinese saw Europeans as savages and did not want to trade with them. During trade, there was an imbalance in China’s favor, because the Europeans were forced to buy Chinese goods using silver.
The modern world is linked through networks of communication and exchange between peoples. These exchanges between regions has changed cultures, economics, and politics. Through time the cultural influence between regions has consisted of many factors and elements but comes down to the spread of religion and religious teachings , movement of peoples, technological and cultural advancements affecting trade and commerce. Beginning with the Middle Ages in the years 1100-1500 , Africa, Asia, and Europe developed and influenced each other in several different ways. Starting with religion. The birth of Islam in the Middle East rapidly spread throughout Afro- Eurasia. Islam was attractive to people who were uninterested in the requirements of Christianity and the Church.
1. Persia and Greece took different approaches to the political system, each yielding differing results. Persia’s system seemed to be more organized, as is evidenced by the lines, “Darius divided the empire into about twenty provinces, each under the supervision of a Persian satrap, or governor, who was often related or connected by marriage to the royal family” (page 111, paragraph 14). Greek’s style is shown in the lines, “Ultimately, the tyrants were unwitting catalysts in an evolving political process. Some were able to pass their positions on to their sons, but eventually the tyrant-family was ejected” (page 120, paragraph 25). Persia stuck with their government once Darius I came into power and he put his system into effect.
Labor shortage and certainly did make room for immigrant newcomers. Combinations of indigenous, European and African people created a new society in the Americas. Europeans and Africans brought not only germs and their people but also their plants and animals. They also changed the environment. Even more innovative were their animals: horses, pigs, cattle, goat, and sheep. New domesticated animals made possible the ranching economy and cowboy cultures, hunting bison by horseback. American food crops spread widely in the Eastern Hemisphere. The American crops later provided cheap and reasonably nutritious food for millions of industrial workers. Exchange with the Americas reshaped the world economy because of the silver mines of Mexico and Peru and the millions of African slaves to the Americas. The plantation owners of the tropical lowland regions needed workers and found them by millions in Africa. The slave trade which bought these workers to the colonies, and the sugar, and cotton trade, which spread the fruits of their labor abroad, created a lasting link among Africa. The Columbian was enormous network of communication, migration, trade, disease, and the transfer of plants and animals, all made by European colonial empires in the
(Bianchini, Lecture). There became extensive amounts of landless sons because of this demographic takeoff, and they eventually turn to piracy in order to make a profit. However, while Scandinavian men turned outwards for financial gain, also in the 8th century Western Europe’s economy began to improve. This positive economic turn was due to the influx of Arabic silver into the European economy. (Bianchini, Lecture). The influx of silver was mainly cause of the European slave trade that was happening across the Mediterranean and North Africa. The decrease of people and increase of silver became a major stimulant for the Western European economy (Bianchini, Lecture). Eventually, Western Europe’s progressing economy caught the Vikings’ attention. By realizing the wealth growing in Western Europe and that is was readily accessible, this was enticing for the Vikings to see and wanted it for
Generally, this might be the most-significant document in the History of the United States. This document showed all the horrible things that the crown had done to the colonists. It, therefore, contained all the major reasons as to why the U.S had to become its own independent country eventually. The British had been grossly the colonists’ rights through the imposition of taxes, and banning them from representing themselves in the Colony’s parliament thus making it impossible for them to formulate and pass laws that are significant to them. (Burgan, 2001) The colonists' main craving was to live prosperously and peacefully by having self-governance. Britain would however hear none of this. These declarations summed up each of these things to showcase the Crown and the colony government the need for these colonies to detach themselves from the British State. It was also used to as a propaganda document to give the Americans sufficient reasons to mount a rebellion against the colonizers.
When Spaniards traveled west in the 16th century, they were able to find extensive amounts of silver in the Americas. At around the same time, the Japanese were also able to find great deposits of silver in their homelands as well. As such, the silver trade started, or as some may say, the start of global economy. With this trade, places like Europe that had little to offer to major civilizations were able to get more involved with trade being that they now could produce silver that was highly sought after. As it was in such high demands, especially in places like China, the global economy rose. Not only was silver used in making jewelry and weapons, it was also used as currency, however, it wasn’t just normal currency, it became currency that
The boxwood tobacco pipe and the 17th century English sugar box are both important aspects of globalization. The tobacco pipe highlighted the reach of the tobacco smoking trend, and the connection between the Spanish and the Ottoman Empire. The battle depicted on the pipe is a physical representation of interconnection between the Ottomans and the Europeans. From Equiano, we see that conflict has a globalizing aspect as people encounter and trade with other cultures in the midst of battle. The sugar box became an appealing item throughout Europe not only because it served to house sugar, but because of its intricate, silver-based design. This catalyzed globalization in the Atlantic World, as wealthy Europeans commissioned the shipment of these items back to Europe. In turn, this connected the Americas with the Europeans, and illuminated the need for high-class products. Both of the objects found in the Museum of Fine Arts have globalizing aspects as they spurred on trade, highlighted overarching trends and demonstrated global
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, culture is, “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group, or the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a place or time.” Culture links individual people with common traditions and morals, incorporating fundamental aspects of society such as holidays, meals, and the mode of dress. It is intrinsic in the very identity of humans. Throughout history, the West unexpectedly rose to power rather than the flourishing empires of Asia. It is my belief that these traits and customs associated with culture are the underlying reason for the rise of the West.
Every country was once a suffering nation and in this paper, you'll find out how successful countries like Japan adopted western methods and used that to modernize itself. How the father of Egypt helped his nation's realize it's worth and most importantly how the modernizations of these countries relate to the modernization of England.
Spain at this point had lost so much power that they were also losing land in the Americas. Most of the silver mines went to the Europeans, but at least one third of the mines went to China, either directly transported by Spanish galleons of indirectly by the purchase of Chinese goods. “A significant hunk of the GDP of China- then the world’s biggest economy- was surrendered in order secure a white metal that was produced in the Spanish America and Japan… Think what else those resources could have been used for.” -Dennis Flynn. The Spanish empire’s silver trade was the first truly global market and its consequences were dire, even if it did make some people. Both Spain and China experienced inflation that made their governments weaker for a while. The environment suffered and the search for all of the precious metals led the Spanish to find and eventually destroy two of the world’s great empires, the Aztecs and Inca. And many thousands were killed mining silver and the mercury used to refine it. Through all of this it leads Spain in a great struggle to rebuild, one future leaders would have to figure
The Portuguese “Age of Discovery” led to the beginning of European expeditions which located the pre-established trade networks that predated the “outdated and inefficient” routes known as the Silk Road. Faster travel via the West coast of Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope provided a favored method of reaching India and China without the dangerous of robbers and bandits. Columbus’s discovery of the “New World” in 1492 and the signatory commitment to the Treaty...
The time of exploration was a significant period in history, in which the desire for expansion of one’s prosperity was established. Claiming new territories not only broadened a country’s empire and power, but it also opened new doors of opportunity through trade. During this time, Western Europe was having great difficulty keeping up as they relied on subsistence agriculture from neighboring countries to prevent its population from starving (Henretta, pg. 17). The residents of Europe who were not particularly wealthy or of noble birth struggled with many hardships in their daily lives. However, when the economic revolution began, Europe evolved, and the success of trade brought in many positive aspects such as the ability to tax goods
The impact of European expansion into Southeast Asia traces its roots back to the late 15th century with a series of voyages that sought a sea passage to India in the hope of establishing direct trade between Europe and Asia in spices. Before 1500 European economies were largely self-sufficient, only supplemented by minor trade with Asia and Africa. Within the next century, however, European and Asian economies were slowly becoming integrated through the rise of new global trade routes; and the early thrust of European political power, commerce, and culture in Asia gave rise to a growing trade in lucrative commodities—a key development in the rise of today's modern world capitalist economy. The European expansion in Asia was not only for trading