AP World Unit 5 DBQ

Historical Context

Between the 1500s and 1700s, global trade networks expanded dramatically as European empires connected the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The Spanish discovered massive silver deposits at Potosí and used Indigenous labor to mine it, while China shifted toward a silver-based tax system under the Ming dynasty. At the same time, rising demand for Asian luxury goods tied Europe and the Americas into a global flow of silver. This growing dependence on silver reshaped economies in every region linked to these trade routes.

Thesis

The global silver trade strengthened Asian economies, destabilized European ones through inflation and wealth drain, and intensified forced labor in the Americas; together, these effects show how silver became the core of early modern global exchange and created unequal economic relationships across continents.

Topic 1

One major impact of silver was its ability to restructure Asian markets, especially in China, where silver became essential for everyday transactions and state revenue.

Document 5 (Xu Dunqiu)

Xu describes how Hangzhou’s dye shops used to accept payment in goods like rice, wheat, soybeans, or chickens, but by 1610 they demanded silver only, and customers needed to borrow it from moneylenders.

How it supports the thesis:

This document shows that silver dependency reached deep into everyday urban life. Even small, basic services that used to run on barter or mixed payment now required silver. This demonstrates that China’s internal shift toward a silver-based economy was dramatic and widespread — exactly why China became the world’s biggest magnet for silver.

Document 3 (Wang Xijue)

Wang explains how the government demanded silver for taxes but distributed very little back into the economy, causing farmers’ incomes to fall as grain prices dropped.

Supports thesis: Shows how silver-based taxation destabilized Chinese agriculture and increased economic pressure on rural communities.

Document 7 (He Qiaoyuan)

He Qiaoyuan argues that foreign merchants crave Chinese goods and will pay high amounts of silver, showing how China became a global magnet for silver.

Supports thesis: Highlights China’s power in global markets and how Chinese demand drove the entire silver economy.

HAPP: As an advisor suggesting loosening trade restrictions, he pushes a pro-trade, pro-silver stance.

Outside Evidence

China consolidated all taxes into a single silver payment under the “Single Whip” policy. This forced peasants to obtain silver no matter their location or income, increasing demand for silver across every level of society.

Topic 2

Another major effect of the silver trade was economic disruption in Europe, where the outflow of silver caused inflation and growing concerns over dependence on Asian goods.

Document 2 (Thomas Mercado) 

Mercado argues that Spain suffers because silver prices rise and silver flows out to pay for Asian luxury goods.

Supports thesis: Shows Europe experiencing inflation and loss of wealth due to dependence on China and the Philippines.

Document 8 (Charles D’Avenant) 

D’Avenant criticizes the way Europe sends gold and silver to Asia but receives only luxury goods that don’t return economic value.

Supports thesis: Demonstrates European anxiety about the economic drain caused by Asian demand for silver.

Complexity

Even though the silver trade strengthened China’s market position and drained European economies, its effects weren’t as straightforward as they appear in the documents. Europe’s complaints about wealth loss (Docs 2 and 8) overlook the fact that European merchants and companies also profited from expanding access to Asian goods and new commercial networks. At the same time, while China seemed economically dominant because foreigners brought silver in exchange for silk and porcelain (Docs 1, 3, 7), its growing dependence on silver for taxes and daily transactions created long-term vulnerability when silver inflows later declined in the 1600s. These contrasting outcomes show that the global flow of silver reshaped each region differently, with both benefits and hidden weaknesses emerging across China, Europe, and the Americas.