Chapter 16
The World Economy
The West’s First Outreach
Rising awareness of the world around them
(Crusades) combines with several key
disadvantages
Ignorance of wider world
Early explorations (Vikings) unsuccessful
Belief that the world was flat (seriously)
New Technology
Explain the importance of each in your
notes space:
Round-hulled sailing vessels
Compass
Cartography (mapmaking)
Explosives
Portugal and Spain lead the Pack
1434—Portuguese explore the African coast
Henry the Navigator
Vasco da Gama reaches India (1498)
1514—Indonesia
1542—Japan
Spanish fleets move west
Columbus
Amerigo Vespucci
Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigates the globe
Question Slide
Characterize early European
exploration—motives, methods and
interactions with native peoples.
Northern European Expeditions
France, England and Holland (Protestants) join the
hunt against Spain & Port. (Catholics)
Used lighter, faster ships
Britain permanently weaken Spanish Armada in 1588
(signals end of Spanish domination)
Charter trading companies
Dutch East India Co.
British East India Co.
READ the In Depth section on “Causation and
the West’s Expansion”
Toward a World Economy
THREE major changes
Columbian Exchange
New Import-Export Patterns
Emergence of new overseas empires
Columbian Exchange
Refers to the exchange of plants, animals
and disease between the Old World and
New World
Question Slide
Compare the effects of the Columbian
Exchange on the Old & New Worlds.
West’s Commercial Outreach
West dominates ocean trade routes, but key
players from post-classical period retain power
Muslims active in M.E. and Swahili Coast
Indian Ocean trade still has many players
China and Japan remain independent
Profit allows Europeans to :
Defeat Ottomans (only potential, Muslim threat)
Gain more harbors in Africa
Influence formation/colonization of international trade
cities (Constantinople, Moscow, St. Petersburg and
Nagasaki)
Imbalances in World Trade
Intense competition between European nations
Core Nations—profit from world eco., control
banking & shipping, import raw materials in
exchange for manufactured goods (mercantilism)
Dependent Nations—produce low-cost goods
(cash crops) or human labor in return for
manufactured goods
Question Slide
Who are the core nations and
dependent nations?
International Inequality
Core-dependent system still in place today
Asia and parts of Africa still outside of the
c-d system, as were some in Latin America
Rise of coercive labor systems
Racial intermixing in Americas creates new
groups (mestizos and mulattoes)
How Much World in World
Economy?
China—benefits w/out fully participating (rebuffs
European efforts at contact)
Japan and Korea—initial interest followed by selfimposed isolation
India (Mughal Empire) encourages European port
cities in Indian Ocean trade
Middle East (Ottomans and Safavids) focus on
building land-based empires
Russia—still isolated until the 18th century
(d@%* Mongolians!)
Expansionist Trend
17th c.—Western traders advancing into
India
Trade companies extending influence
18th c.—Europeans starting to view
powerful trade networks (India) as sources
for materials and markets as opposed to
trade partners
Eastern Europe brought into the fold
Colonial Expansion
Establishment of colonies in Americas,
parts of Africa and Asia
Balance of power shifting in South Asia
The Americas
Advantages—guns, germs, steel (this sounds vaguely
familiar…)
Spain colonizes West Indies, C. and S. America
Vasco de Balboa
Francisco Pizarro
Initial control is loosely organized (just here for
the booty) but becomes more organized as
plantation economies form (we came, we
conquered, we farmed)
British & French North America
Holy crap this is a long section! To sum it up:
North American colonies are very different form Latin
American colonies
English, French and Dutch settlers dominate (variety of
motivations to settle N. America)
Value of N. American products small by comparison to
L. America (fur vs. silver/gold)
Colonies will eventually become more valuable
Colonies become models of Western styles (more so
than L. America), and Western political ideology will
shape its future revolutions
Native American groups decimated by disease; slavery
shapes southern colonies
North America and Western Civ.
Key Western habits transplanted to New
World
Family patterns (Americans marries slightly
earlier)
Emphasis on children, familial affection
(awww…)
Political and economic ideas reflect Western
ideals
Africa & Asia: Coastal Trading
Stations
Africa still largely unexplored—harsh climates,
rough rivers, disease
Exceptions—Cape Colony (Boers)
SE Asia—Dutch East India Co. controlled parts of
Indonesia and Thailand
S. Asia—Mughals weaken while British and
French vie for control
Calcutta
Seven Years War
Impact on Western Europe
Competition creates hostility
Creates first “world war”—Seven Years War
Ordinary Europeans benefit from new
plants, animals and foods, especially corn,
potatoes and sugar (yum, yum and yum)
Impact of the New World Order
Coercive labor systems impact New World,
west Africa & Eastern Europe
Individuals in many areas profit from trade
Many profit from new goods
Silver improves the economies of many—
China, India etc.
The World Economy & the World
Its complex (now there’s a shock)
Who wins and who loses?
Who was winning but no longer is?
Who do you think will win in this next unit?
Who cares? (wait, don’t answer that one)