The period between 1450 and 1750 was the beginning of modern world transformation. Along with social, cultural, and political transformation in between 1450-1750, there is also significant transformation in the economy of different continents due to trade, slavery, colonialization, exploration, and advancement in technology. Let's explore the examples of how transformation took place in Asia, Africa and Europe in that period. In Asia, particularly India and China played a critical role in global economy between 1450-1750. China during Ming dynasty period (1368 to 1644), economy boomed. Due to development of infrastructure and agriculture techniques in that period, Chinese people recovered from the famine and doubled the population growth. Although the trade route …show more content…
Africa is a hub of gold. European colonialized them and captured the gold and silver which plays an important role in African and European economy. Not only did they capture their resources, they were involved in enslaved trade, which is significant transformative economic activity. They traded human slaves in exchange for European goods. Later on, 15th they also exchanged gold, copper, silver, slave with many countries such as Iran, America, Portugal etc. The effects of this trade on African societies are vividly captured in a letter from King Afonso I of the Kongo to King Joo of Portugal in 1526:"The merchants are taking every day our natives, sons of the land and the sons of our noblemen and vassals and our relatives... they grab them and get them to be sold; and so great, Sir, is the corruption and licentiousness that our country is being completely depopulated..." (Afonso I, 1526). The period between 1450-1750 is also a transition period of Europe moving from feudal to capitalist economy. explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, play a crucial role in the economic growth of
Around the beginning of the sixteenth centruy, many countires had started to explore farther away and finding new territories. New products like sugar and taobacco began to emerge around the world in many places. Many countries in Europe were gaining power due to the control of colonies in the Americas. Asian countries did not explore as much, but still managed to remain large and powerful for a while. The global flow of silver had economic effects on inflating prices of goods and stimulating econimic policy of mercantilism, and social effects on negative effects on the lower class around the world during the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century.
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
In documents one and two they explain and evaluate the trading system and routes of the African empires, kingdoms, and cities. Document one shows the layout of the Aksum trade center and the routes which lead to and from it. Aksum is an empire located right by the Red Sea, its location made it an important international trading center. African trade centers mainly focused on the exchanges of salt and gold. Since the red sea ports are controlled by the rea sea and Aksum was located right by it, its locations made it the center of the trade center. However, in document two it describes the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade. The trans-Saharan gold and salt trade was controlled by the rich and powerful Ghana kingdom. The king had shields
From 100 CE to 600 CE the Chinese had many cultural and political life changes and continuities. A political change was in the end of the Classical Chinese period when the Han Dynasty fell. A cultural change during 100 CE to 600 CE was the paper invention that led to passing down cultural rituals. Not only were there changes but there was also continuities in the Chinese political and cultural life. An example of a cultural continuity is the increasing power of Buddhism. A political continuity is the ruler of the Chinese wanting the people to be protected with for instance The Great Wall of China.
...e, unlike the surrounding nations which were powerful, rich empires, Africa consisted of small tribes and kingdoms. These kingdoms’ greatest exports would consist of gold, salt, and slaves, in exchange for the goods imported from the surrounding empires.
In conclusion, during the 15th and 16th centuries Europeans visited the Atlantic Coast in the African states to observe for gold and silvers. They took advantage of the Africans to get their desires when the Africans acknowledged them to be equal which drove into Africa’s downfall.
African society used bodies of water such as the Nile, the Red Sea, and many more to transport goods across the continent and generate profit. For example, the city of “Aksum reached its height between 325-360. Aksum’s location made it an important international trading center.” After analyzing the map of trade routes in Document 1, it is clear Aksum was strategically built to have ties to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. These two bodies of water give the city the freedom to import and export goods. Additionally, this work of trade did not come without reward. Cities who succeeded in the business became overly wealthy and had surpluses of gold and other riches. A king, Mansa Mansa, who expanded the Mali kingdom to be twice the size of Ghana, was not afraid to show his wealth as he showered other cities in riches out of generosity. In Cairo, Egypt, “there was no person, officer of the court, or holder of any office of the Sultanate who did not receive a sum of gold from him.” This is just one of the many examples of wealth in african cities and empires. What is impressive is the fact that before European trade became an influence, African people had already created a successful and very profitable system of
In the great empires of Africa they developed many things. In the Axum (Aksum) Empire (Ethiopia, in present time) they developed a trade route that stretched of Asia to Africa and back. Document one, states that people in the trade route traveled along the Red Sea. This affected the Axum Empire in many ways. They (Axum people) had gained wealth because it was a great trade point and from it, it was introduced to religions, Christianity and Islam. Another empire is called the Kingdom of Ghana in Western Africa. They became one of the richest civilizations due to commerce. In document two, it states that the amount of wealth was visible because of what the pages were wearing. They had on gold. Even the dogs guarding had on silver and gold.
The Age of Exploration brought many unforeseen changes to the people of Africa. On a path seeking gold, glory, and God, many explorers reached new parts of Africa. Explorers were seeking a more direct route to Asia and believed they must travel through Africa to reach these Asian lands. Namely, Portugal was interested in this under the direction of Prince Henry. There, he believed they could capture the riches of Muslim trade and convert the natives to Christianity. King Henry died before the route to Asia could be accomplished but he laid the groundwork for later exploration and encounters with Africa. During the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, Europeans desire to find Asia greatly impacted the lives of native Africans through the slave
Africa is a land of riches like no other, so as expected, European countries would have some sort of desire to conquer properties in whatever way they did. As stated in African Colonies and their Exports Chart, countless of natural resources are found in different areas in Africa. Not only does the data show plenty of resources, but also a variety (Doc D). This confirms that Africa is a wealthy land that Europeans grew fond of and hoped to take over. Specified in Imports and Exports Graph, following the 1900’s, after the conference to divide up Africa was held, Britain decided to use Africa’s natural resources and specialize in many industries. The imports doubled from 4 million pounds, while the exports boosted from 2.5 million all the way to 21 million pounds (Doc. E). With this lucrative increase in trading and selling, it is fair to conclude that not only were resources a factor of beginning imperialism in Africa, but also a successful result.
Prior to colonialism of Africa, it was far from being economically unstable and had a good standing economy compared to the rest of the world. African countries such as Mali were involved in international trade and their wealth depended profoundly on the trade in gold, but also on the collecting of taxes. The Europeans detected how successful the African gold trade was and wanted to use this success for their own self-interested gains. This was a paradox towards Europeans because they were seen as this powerful nation because they colonized Africa, but still depended greatly on Africa’s supply of gold. “Caravans of Gold” expresses how significant Africa was in many situations, including how they contributed to the Europeans success as a nation.
With Europe in control, “the policies of the governing powers redirected all African trade to the international export market. Thus today, there is little in the way of inter-African trade, and the pattern of economic dependence continues.” Europeans exported most of the resources in Africa cheaply and sold them costly, which benefited them, but many Africans worked overtime and were not treated with care.
The immediate cause of the European voyages of discovery was the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. While Egypt and Italian city-state of Venice was left with a monopoly on ottoman trade for spices and eastern goods it allowed Portugal and Spain to break the grip by finding an Atlantic route. Portugal took the lead in the Atlantic exploration because of the reconquest from the Muslims, good finances, and their long standing seafaring traditions. In dealing with agriculture, The Portuguese discovered Brazil on accident, but they concentrated on the Far East and used Brazil as a ground for criminals. Pernambuco, the first area to be settled, became the world’s largest sugar producer by 1550. Pernambuco was a land of plantations and Indian slaves. While the market for sugar grew so did the need for slaves. Therefore the African Slave start became greatly into effect. Around 1511 Africans began working as slaves in the Americas. In 1492, Columbus embarked on his voyage from Spain to the Americas. The Euro...
The first leg of this trade was merchants from Europe bringing refined goods to Africa to trade for slaves. The merchants traded with chiefs and high authority leaders. The chiefs pretty much could and would trade whomever they
The Europeans saw Africa as being a great place to obtain all types of resources from labor to natural materials. Items such as cotton, coal, rubber, copper, tin, gold, and other metals were considered very valuable and readily available in Africa (Nardo). The industrial revolution had already become a strong influence on the countries that attended the Conference. They had spent the past...