1. Robert W. Strayer
Ways of the World: A Brief Global History Second Edition and 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

2. Economic Transformation
European and Asian Commerce
Vasco da Gama (Portuguese) voyage to India
Years of creeping down the west coast of Africa, around the tip of South Africa – to India
Reached India in 1498
European desired spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and most wanted pepper, Silk, cotton, rhubarb, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires also in demand
Europe had recovered from the Black Death 14th century

4. 15th century monarchs in Europe were taxing their growing population (Spain, Portugal, France and England)
Building large armies with gunpowder weapons
Cities were growing rapidly – Netherlands and Northern Italy (Venice) were centers of trade
This gave birth to economies based on market exchange, private ownership, and accumulation of capital for investment

5. For many centuries goods from Asia trickled into the Mediterranean from the Middle East
Muslims were in control of trade
Egypt was the transfer point and Italy (Venice) monopolized the trade distribution to the rest of Europe
Portuguese sailed to India to circumvent both the Venice and Muslim monopolies

6. Some Christians were motivated to find and join with the mythical Christian king known as Prester John, against their common enemy the Muslims. Another crusade
Asia was not interested in many European good = trade deficit for Europe
Europeans were required to pay for Asian goods with gold or silver
Portuguese trips to Africa -African goldfields
1st the Portuguese then the Spanish, French, Dutch and English made their way to Asia

7. A Portuguese Empire of Commerce
Indian Ocean trade – Africans, Arabs, Persians, Indians, Malays, Chinese and others
Portuguese wanted to participate in this trade but they had no trade goods that were of interest
They quickly realized that their ships with cannons could over power those people who trade here
Indian Ocean was without a dominant naval power since the Chinese stopped exploration

8. Portuguese quickly established fortified bases in key locations
– Mombasa in East Africa, Hormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, Goa on the west coast of India, Malacca in Southeast Asia, and Macao on the south coast of China
Some bases were obtained by force – Mombasa 1505 Portuguese sacked the city killing some 1,500 people and captured supplies of cotton and silk
Portuguese created a trading post empire

9. Their goal was to control the trade not territory
Portuguese king called himself “Lord of Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India.”
Tried to create a monopoly of trade
Tried to require all to purchase a cartez (pass) and pay duties of 6%-10%

10. Failing to control this trade as they hoped the Portuguese would assimilate into ancient trading patterns
Outnumbered by Asian traders
Many married Asian women
Many settled into Asian of African societies
By 1600 the Portuguese trading empire was in decline

13. Spain and the Philippines
Spain was the first European country to challenge Portugal’s dominance of the sea
When spices came to Europe on Portuguese ships, Spain rushed to catch up
They quickly took control of the Philippines – named after King Philip II
Spanish first stopped here when Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the world

14. Archipelago of islands – thousands
No nation controlled this region
Close to China, weak society and no competing authority allowed Spain the opportunity to take this control
Colonial rule established

15. Military post established
Missionary effort followed
Philippines became a Christian kingdom except the island of Mindanao in the south where Islam had gained some strength here
People forced to relocate to Christian centers
Forced to pay tribute, taxes, and labor

16. Large land estates developed by the Spanish
Some resisted but Spain was able to gain full control
Manila soon became a prosperous trading center – population 40,000 plus
Japanese and Chinese started to settle here to take part in trade
Chinese resisted conversion to Christianity and were often treated with hostility
,000 people killed almost the entire Chinese population

17. The East India Companies
Dutch and English also entered the spice trade
Together they overtook and displaced the Portuguese
Often by force - they were economically and militarily stronger
By 1600 the English and Dutch organized their trade through private companies

18. British East India Company & Dutch East India Company
They received charted from the governments granting them trading monopolies
They had the power to make war and govern conquered people
Dutch forcibly gained control of a number of Spice Islands
Island of Banda (nutmeg) the Dutch killed, enslaved or left to starve the entire population 15,000 people
Dutch planters replaced the islanders

19. British East India Company
Established 3 major trading posts in India
Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta and Madras
British naval gained control of Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea replacing the Portuguese

20. On land however they could not compete against a more powerful Mughal Empire
Secured trading bases with approval of Mughal Empire
India cotton became very important as demand rose in England
Hundreds of villages transformed to produce cotton

21. Asian and Asian Commerce
Mughal India, China and Japan
Japan – 16th century Portuguese arrived here later followed by Spanish, Dutch and English merchants
Feudal conflict between lords (daimyo) who each had their own warriors (samurai)
European merchants were welcomed

22. Military technology, ship building, geographic knowledge, commercial opportunity and religion were attractive to Japanese
300,000 Christian Church memberships 2nd ½ 16th century
17th century Japan unified under a supreme military commander (shogun) from the Tokugawa clan
New government started to view Europeans as a threat

23. Christian missionaries were expelled / Christianity suppressed
Execution and torture of 62 missionaries and thousands of Japanese converts
Japanese forbidden to travel abroad
Banned all Europeans traders / not Dutch who did not seem interested in spreading Christianity
Japan leadership closed Japan off from the emerging world of European commerce

24. They did maintain a trade link to China and Korea
Despite European naval dominance in the Indian Ocean
Asian merchants still were able to profit from the new bountiful trade
Arabs, Indian, Chinese, Javanese, Malay, Cham and others
Southeast Asian merchants were mostly women

25. Overland trade within Asia was in Asian control
Christian merchants from Armenia helped to link Europe with Middle East and Central Asia
Thousands of Indian merchants and money lenders (Hindus mostly) lived throughout Central Asia, Persia, and Russia
The Asian network was successful even as Europeans militarized their seaborne commerce

26. Silver and the Global Commerce
Silver was attributed most as giving birth to the global network of exchange
“Silver went around the world and made the world go round”
Bolivia and Japan – silver deposits discovered in 16th century
Spanish America produced 85% of the world’s silver

27. Spain’s Philippines was the link to the silver commerce
Manila was the destination of Spanish shipments of silver
1st direct link from Americas to Asia and the beginning of a web of Pacific commerce
China had a huge demand for silver
Population required paying tax in silver
Foreigners with silver could purchase silk and porcelains

28. Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch went to Manila to sell Chinese goods for silver
Most of the world’s silver went to China
Much of the silver sent from America to Spain was spent in Europe to buy Asian products
Silver paid for African slaves and spices
Silver coin “piece of eight” used by merchants North America, Europe, India, Russia and West Africa as medium of exchange

29. Silver transformed what it touched
Potosi’ in Bolivia attracted people it had 160,000 populations
Native population forced to work the mines – horrible conditions
Mining caused deforestation, soil erosion, and flooding
Also allowed local population to operate small scale businesses and make some profit

30. Spain itself became very wealthy
Rulers purchased items to pursue political and military ambitions around the world
Silver also caused inflation in Spain
Silver prices dropped in early 17th century Spain lost its position as the dominant European power
Inflation caused instability

31. Japan however used its silver to build up their military and defeat enemy warlords and unify the country
Japan also allied themselves with merchants to create market based economy
They also invested heavily in agriculture and industry -They protected their forests
Families tried to have fewer children – late marriage, contraception, abortion, and infanticide
Japan’s population slowed – avoiding an ecological disaster

32. China – to pay taxes more and more people had to sell something – labor or products
Communities that grew mulberry trees had to buy rice from other communities
Economy became regionalized
The large Chinese population fueled the global commerce

33. The “World Hunt”: Fur in Global Commerce
Early modern era furs joined silver, textiles and spices as major global trade items
European demand for furs increased and prices rose drastically.
Less fur animals in Europe, colder than average weather
Economic incentive to find furs

34. North America
French claimed the lands around the St Lawrence River, great lakes and Mississippi River
British claimed area around Hudson Bay
Dutch along the Hudson River in what today is New York
These countries competed for American furs
Sothern British colonies – deer skins - hundreds of thousands

35. Few Europeans trapped animals for furs
Indians traded furs for guns, blankets, tools, rum and brandy
Large quantities of furs made their way to European markets
Beavers almost became extinct
Other animals were killed in great numbers reducing their availability
500,000 deer each year

36. Natives were able to obtain more modern tools and cookware
Europeans needed the natives to collect furs and this protected them from being enslaved as Europeans did elsewhere
Disease – came with the contact with Europeans
“Mourning Wars” capturing other natives and forcing them into your tribe –
Warfare between tribes increased and they competed to collect furs

37. Native populating decreased greatly
Indians dependent on European goods
Alcohol –rum and brandy=devastation to tribes
Binge drinking, violence, promiscuity, and addiction
Natives would sell anything they had for alcohol
Native women often married Europeans
Often these women were abandoned when the men returned to Europe

39. Expanding Russian Empire
Source of furs for Western Europe, China, and the Ottoman Empire
Soft Gold – Siberia
Europeans paid for furs with American gold and silver – enriched the Russian state
Disease here also decimated the native people who also became dependent on Russian goods
Russian authorities also took hostages to force the natives to pay their taxes and tribute

40. Commerce in People: The Atlantic Slave Trade
the trade in humans took 12.5 million people from Africa and shipped them to America
Middle passage (part of the Triangle Trade)
10.7 million deposited in America
1.8 Or 14.4 % died during middle passage

41. Many others perished during their capture and transport to African coast
Africa – Some societies disrupted, and strengthened others and corrupted many
African diaspora (global spread of African people)
Added to the populations and mixing of populations in America

42. Slavery since the beginning of civilization was an excepted practice associated with warfare and capture
Before 1500 the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean basins were the major area of slaves
Many African societies practiced slavery and sold slaves into the international market
Trans-Saharan slave trade funneled Africans into the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean basins (mostly Islamic World)

43. Slavery was different in different places
Some places children inherited the slave status of parents and other places they did not
Islamic world preferred female slave 2/1
Atlantic slave trade preferred males 2/1
American slavery was very distinct

44. Large numbers of slaves
Importance to the economy
Treatment of slaves
Slavery in America was inherited across generations
Treated as dehumanized property lacking and rights
Slavery was identified with “Blackness”
Slavery in part was connected to the sugar trade

45. Portuguese traders went to Africa looking for gold and food humans for sale
Sugar and later tobacco and cotton with fuel the need for slaves
1452 the Pope granted the king of Spain and Portugal permission to seek and capture slaves
(Muslims, pagans and other unbelievers)

47. Africa became the primary source of slaves
Some enslavement of the Natives (in America) but after a short period of time their numbers were reduced by disease
It was thought that Africans had immunity to tropical diseases

48. The Slave Trade in Practice
For over 4 centuries the Europeans relied on the African tribes to sell them slaves
Slaves were captured and transported to African coast.
European ships would collect them
Paid for with items desired by African elites
Guns were traded and helped increase warfare and capture of slave

49. African sellers also wanted textiles, metal goods, tobacco and alcohol
Slaves - Sold multiple times on trip to coast
Often branded
Held in slave dungeons
Most slaves found themselves in Brazil or the Sugar Islands

52. Consequences: The Impact of the Slave Trade in Africa
Slavery slowed the population growth of West Africa
Sub-Saharan population 18% of world’s population in 1600
6% in 1900
Caused economic stagnation

53. Political upheaval
Corrupted people and governments
More men than women
Women had to pick up the slack in labor
Men started having more than one wife

54. Women slaves became a status symbol to the elite
Some women would gain power in governments
Queen Nzinga of Matamba
Nigeria – Kingdom of Benin
King limited the slave trade
Allowed the kingdom to regulate the male population and not fall prey to neighboring societies

56. The End