unit 4 Columbian exchange, labor systems, and effect of maritime exploration

flashcards mostly meant for active recall use in retaining info. most answers are in the form of examples, and are not sample answers you would use for a legitimate response (SAQ, DBQ, etc.)

explain continuity in the trading world during 1450-1750 even with European entry into networks of exchange

middle east, south asia, southeast asia, and east Asian merchants continued using trade networks that they had always used for centuries before European entry, even benefiting from the profits of european trade connections. Asian land-routes still almost entirely dominated by Asian empires ex. ming and qing dynasty. Peasant and artisan labor in exports continued and intensified with the growing European demand for cotton, silk, and various textiles.

ex. merchants such as the Gujaratis in the mughal empire continued to use trade networks, increasing their own wealth

define the Columbian exchange

transfer of diseases, plants, animals and people between the old and new worlds.

how were diseases brought to the western hemispheres? what kinds of diseases were spread?

when Europeans first arrived in the Americas they brought various disease vectors with them (rats, mosquitos, fleas) devestating the demographics of indigenous populations, as they had never before been in contact with eastern hemisphere diseases. the consequences of the transfer of these diseases made eventual take-over much more achievable.
1. malaria (mosquitos transfered by enslaved Africans transported for plantation work
2. measles (highly contageous)
3. small pox (most devestating for the indegenous peoples, killing half of their populations and in some places 90%. referred to as the great dying)

describe the various plants exchanged from both hemispheres

from old to new world= wheat, grapes, olives and Asian and African crops such as sugarcane, rice and bananas were introduced
from new to old world= potatoes, tomatoes, and maiz introduced and diversified their diets, leading to healthier populations and population growth seen in places such as Ireland.

how did European authorities economically profit from their colonies?

planted (usually) single crops on massive plantations worked on my coerced laberors for cashcrops (food grown primarily for export) like sugar, tobacco, and cotton, which were exported to Europe for substantial profits.
ex. large scale operations like sugarcane plantations on Caribbean colonies saw enslaved Africans usually doing all the difficult labor.

describe the various animals exchange between the east and the west. what positive and negative effect did this have on indigenous people?

pigs, sheep, and cattle brought to the Americas with no natural predators both thrived and disrupted local ecosystems, such as overgrazing or competition with natural herbivores, putting strains on indigenous farmers. The introduction of the horse, however, revolutionized indigenous societies by making them able to efficiently hunt massive herds of buffalo.

explain the various new labor systems incorporated into American colonies

colonial economies were largely structure on the basis of agriculture, implementing new labor systems such as
race-based chattel slavery (property, used at the will of the owner, slavery becomes hereditary, associated with skin color to “justify” their brutality),

Encomienda system - spain coerced indigenous laborers to work for colonial authorities in “exchange for food and protection” similar to feudal systems, main focus on controlling indigenous populations

Hacienda systems - spainards owned large agricultural estates on which indigenous laborers coerced to work upon, crops exported and sold on the global market. wide focus on controlling food production for economic benefits.

which ways did labor systems in colonial holdings demonstrate continuity/existing labor systems?

spain used the inca mit’a system of labor for their silver mining opperations. In British colonies, the prevalence of indentured servitude reflected existing European practices (usually 7 yr contract that laberor signs to pay for passage to colonies)

explain examples of change in European involvement in trading networks?

with the rise of the Atlantic system,

the movement of goods (such a as sugarcane, increasing the demand for more crops in Europe),
the movement of wealth (from silver exports with Spaniards exploding massive silver mine opperations such as Potosi, ejected into european economies used to purchase Asian goods such as silk, porcelain, and steel, additionally traded across Atlantic system, satisfying Chinese demand for goods in the process and developing the commercialization of their economies.)
and finally the movement of labor (New Spanish labor systems, the reliance on enslaved Africans for coerced labor)

all maintained the global flow of silver and various trade monopolies granted by the state to charter joint-stock-companies, emphasizing mercantilism in European economics.

explain European marti-time expansions effect on societies

great effects of the African slave trade included the gender imbalance (roughly 2:1) through the high demand for male laberors, changing family dynamics and structure and increasing polygyny in African societies. The entrance of European influence also created the conditions for cultural synthesis, in which Africans adopted many creole (mixed) languages after being transported to the Americas

explain European Maritime expansions effect on belief systems

spanish and Portuguese expansion of Christianity in south America, sending Catholic missionaries to their colonies among indigenous allowed for the basis of cultural exchange (mostly imposition as resistance was faced with fierce retaliation) leading to syncretism in blending indigenous belief systems with European ones (sometimes African ones)

how was resistance displayed against European authoritarian power?

1. the fronde
   - Louis XIV adopting absolutism and emphasizing wars of expansion, increasing taxation and governance led to widespread exasperation in noble groups, leading them to encourage peasant rebellions. resistance ultimately crushed, and monarchy only increased in power

how did resistance become adopted by enslaved communities?

1. maroon societies in the Caribbean and south American regions maintained a population of free blacks, serving as endless enticement for other enslaved people to abandon their field and flee to join the communities. in Jamaica, British colonial authorities attempted to crush these communities but under the leadership of Queen Nanny they successfully defended their autonomy through well fortified, natural borders such as thick forests.

how did various states respond repressively toward ethnic diversity during this time period?

Antisemitism prominent in Portugal and spain after the European victor at Grenada during the reconquista, restablishing christianity at the state religion.
While Qing dynasty manchu rulers took measures to adopt Chinese culture, such as Kangxis imperial Confucian style portraits and implementation of Confucian style civil service exams, they ultimately made a sharp division between ethnic Han and Manchu peoples. Highest positions were reserved for manchu people, but by far the most prominent example of this division were the rules requiring ethnically Han people to wear their hair in the traditionally braided Queues of Manchu origin, constantly reminding them of their foreign domination.

how did various states respond tolerantly towards ethnic diversity during this time period?

Jewish tolerance seen in the ottoman empire under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II, opening his empire to Jewish migrants from Europe. Some rose to prominence and many contributed to the Ottomans economic and cultural environment, but non-muslims were still required to pay the Jizya tax.
Akbar the great of the Mughal empire goes a step further by implementing high religious tolerance, refusing the Jizya tax on non-muslims and funding various temples for Hindus. Akbar even married Hindu princesses, promoting ideas of diversity.

explain the rise of new elites as a result of European Maritime expansion

spanish caste system in the americas imposed upon by powerful Spanish conquistadors working to establish a new social hierarchy among their colonized territories>
peninsularies, (Spanish born in spain)
creoles (Spanish, born in America)
mestizos (Spanish with indigenous heritage)
mulattoes (spanish with African heritage)
native americans
African slaves
the caste system erased native variety of cultural and linguistic groups by ordering their society under the control of an elite Spanish minority.

Explain how elites struggled during this time period?

russian boyars, land owning aristocrats holding great power for centuries, abolished under peter the great concered with absolutist policies and establishing power under himself.