Robert W. Strayer
Ways of the World: A Brief Global
History with Sources
Second Edition
Chapter 14
Economic Transformations:
Commerce and Consequence, 1450–1750
Copyright © 2013 by Bedford/St. Martin’s
I. Europeans and Asian Commerce
A. A Portuguese Empire of Commerce
1. Economic weaknesses but military strengths
- European goods not in demand
- Used maneuverable ships and cannons to attack
merchants/ports to establish ports for themselves as
bases
2. Mombasa, Hormuz, Goa, Malacca, and Macao
- Portuguese control
- Entrance into Asian market, naval power
3. “Trading post empire”
- Portuguese did not go after colonies, only coastal
ports
I. Europeans and Asian
Commerce
4. Entry into Asian trade
- More profitable than trade of European goods
- Married Asian women, developing new port
culture: Luso-Asian
5. Decline after 1600
- Empire was poorly run
- Other European countries began to move into
the Asian trade network (Spain, Netherlands)
I. Europeans and Asian Commerce
B. Spain and the Philippines
1. Lure of the Spice Islands
- Spain saw Portugal gaining wealth and wanted in
2. Magellan’s voyage (1519–1521)
- Lasting impact: Spain established contact with the
Philippines
3. Spanish rule (1565–1898)
- No central government in islands
- Success in spreading Catholicism
- Peaceful conquest
4. Mindanao and Islam as an ideology of resistance
5. Manila and the Chinese
- main port and focus of Spanish economic activity
- poor treatment of natives led to revolts and massacres
I. Europeans and Asian Commerce
C. The East India Companies
1.
2.
3.
4.
Organized monopolies that could make war
Dutch seizure of the Spice Islands and Taiwan
- Seized islands to monopolize cloves, mace, and nutmeg
- Dutch killed, enslaved or let starve 15,000 natives
- Would destroy lands when natives not cooperating
- Teamed up with Chinese and expelled in 1662
British work with Mughals in India in textile trade
- British could not get into spice trade, so focus shifted to India
- Established ports in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras
- Imported cotton textiles for their home economy
“Carrying trade” and bulk commodities
- Transported goods from one trading port to another
- Shipped bulk items: pepper, textiles, tea and coffee
I. Europeans and Asian Commerce
D. Asians and Asian Commerce
1. Limited European impact in Asia
2. Japan initially open but Tokugawa Shogun closed
- Europeans initially welcomed for trade, weapons, and
new faith
- Tokugawa expelled foreigners, executed Christians,
and forbid travel abroad
- Only Dutch allowed at ONE port for ONE year
II. Silver and Global Commerce
A. Discovery of Bolivian and Japanese silver deposits
- new phase in economic history
B. Spanish American silver to Manila and then China
- 85% world’s silver from Spanish America
- Most silver made its way to Asia (China)
C. Chinese taxes paid in silver
- led to increased demand for silver in China
D. Potosí
- Most important Spanish silver mine, in Andes
- Devastating impact on environment: pollution,
deforestation, flooding
E. Rise and fall of Spanish economy
- Silver generated inflation (BAD)
- Elite were aristocratic and looked down on entrepreneurial system
- Did not welcome Jewish and Protestant merchants in country
- With price of silver falling, Spain loses dominance in Europe
II. Silver and Global Commerce
F. “General crisis” of the seventeenth century
- World wide inflation
G. Japan’s silver management
- Managed silver more successfully
- Laid groundwork for industrialization in 19th century
H. Commercialization, specialization, and deforestation
in China
- Due to high demand for silver, China became more
commercialized
- Led to specialization in agriculture & craft production for
exports
I. China and India out-produce Europe
III. The “World Hunt”: Fur in Global
Commerce
A. North American and Siberian fur sources
B. European population growth and “Little Ice Age”
- As population grew, so did demand for fur
- “Little Ice Age” also increased demand
- Prompted the Dutch, French, and British to move in
C. European goods traded for American furs
D.Impact on Native American societies
- gained new wealth, new goods
- impacted by European diseases
D.Siberian furs to Europe, China, and the Ottomans
E.Impact on Siberians
IV. Commerce in People: The Atlantic
Slave Trade
A. The Slave Trade in Context
1. Varieties of slaveries before 1500
2. Uniqueness of slavery in the Americas
- 12.5 millions Africans sent to Americas
- Primarily male
- Used for plantation agriculture
- Status became hereditary, no rights, distinctly
“African”
3. Sugar and other plantation crops: tobacco and cotton
IV. Commerce in People: The Atlantic
Slave Trade
B. The Slave Trade in Practice
1. African slave traders
- Europeans did not rely on raiding, but waited on
coasts for slave traders with human cargo
2. European and Indian goods to African consumers
- Traded humans for weapons and manufactured
items
3. Where did the slaves come from?
- Prisoners of war
- Debtors
- Criminals
IV. Commerce in People: The Atlantic
Slave Trade
C. Consequences: The Impact of the Slave Trade in
Africa
1. Negative demographic and economic impact
- population growth slowed
- slowed economy
2. Corrupting effect
3. Rising labor demands on women and polygamy
- less men meant more women in labor
- men took more women as wives
4. New opportunities for women
5. Options and choices for African states
- Not all Africans participated in slave trade