What specific historical term refers to bulk gold and silver used for backing national power and trading via coins under mercantilism?

Bullion.

What was the economic trigger that broke Western Europe's isolation in 1095 CE?

The Crusades. European soldiers met Arab merchants in the Middle East, introducing Europe to highly profitable Asian goods like spices, sugar, and silk.

Why did overland trade caravan routes through the Middle East motivate countries like Spain and Portugal to find a sea route to Asia?

They wanted to bypass Arab merchants and Italian ports (like Venice and Genoa) who controlled and heavily taxed the land routes. Bypassing these middlemen meant massive direct profits.

Which famous explorer directly inspired Christopher Columbus's western voyages?

Marco Polo. His 1200s travel stories about China's immense riches and advanced cities sparked intense European curiosity.

How did the political landscape of Europe change in the 1400s to allow for global exploration?

Decentralized feudal rule was replaced by powerful, larger nation-states (Spain, Portugal, England, France) with national laws, centralized wealth extraction, and standing armies capable of backing expensive expeditions.

What did Prince Henry the Navigator establish in 1420 to jumpstart the Age of Exploration?

A school of navigation at Sagres. It pooled the expertise of astronomers, geographers, mathematicians, and mapmakers to assist Portuguese sailors.

What breakthrough did Bartolomeu Dias achieve for Portugal in 1487?

He explored the southernmost tip of Africa, successfully locating and naming the Cape of Good Hope.

How did Vasco da Gama fulfill Portugal's primary maritime goal in 1497?

He sailed a wide arc south and west around Africa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and completed the first direct European sea route to Asia.

What was the focus of Portugal's empire compared to Spain's empire?

Portugal built a Trading-Post Empire focused on controlling coastal trade networks (like Africa's "Gold Coast" and parts of Asia) rather than conquering massive inland territories.

What did Christopher Columbus mistakenly believe when he arrived in the Bahamas (San Salvador) in 1492?

He believed he had successfully sailed west to the outskirts of China/Asia, which led him to misname the local indigenous people "Indians."

What was the purpose of the 1493 Line of Demarcation and the Treaty of Tordesillas?

To prevent conflict, the Pope drew a pole-to-pole line through the Atlantic. Spain got exclusive exploration rights to the west, and Portugal got the east.

What crucial geographical conclusion did Amerigo Vespucci reach in 1499?

He mapped the coast of South America and mathematically deduced that it was a completely separate continent previously unknown to Europe, not Asia.

Which Spanish explorer was the first to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas in 1513?

Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who viewed the Pacific after a difficult hike across the dense rainforests of Panama.

What is the primary measure of a country's national power under the theory of Mercantilism?

A nation's power depends entirely on its physical stockpile of gold and silver (bullion).

How does a mercantilist nation achieve a "favorable balance of trade"?

By exporting (selling) more goods than it imports (buying). This creates a trade surplus, forcing foreign rivals to pay the difference in gold and silver.

How did mercantilist governments intervene in their own domestic economies to boost exports?

They granted monopolies to key industry leaders and heavily regulated production to favor domestic manufacturing over foreign goods.

Under mercantilism, what was the primary purpose of an overseas colony?

To economically enrich the mother country. Colonies acted as a source of cheap raw materials and a captive market for finished manufactured goods.

What were colonies strictly forbidden from doing under a mercantilist trade system?

They were legally barred from manufacturing their own finished products and trading with competitive foreign nations.

Describe the flow of goods between a colony and a mother country.

Raw materials (lumber, iron, cotton) flowed from the colony to the mother country. High-value manufactured goods flowed from the mother country back to be sold in the colony.

What location produced roughly 80% of the world's silver in the 1500s-1600s, fueling global trade?

Potosí, a massive Spanish-controlled silver mining center located in modern-day Bolivia.

Where did a vast percentage of American-mined silver ultimately flow, and what was it traded for?

It flowed across the Pacific directly to Ming Dynasty China. China demanded silver currency and traded away luxury items like silk, tea, and porcelain.

What damaging economic impact did the heavy influx of American silver have on Spain's economy?

It caused severe, long-term inflation. Because silver became so common, its purchasing power dropped, and the prices of everyday goods skyrocketed (known as the Price Revolution).

How did the Commercial Revolution alter the traditional social hierarchy of Western Europe?

The urban middle class (merchants, traders, bankers) grew immensely wealthy through global trade, successfully challenging the social dominance of the traditional land-owning nobility.

Why did early capitalism expand during the 1500s and 1600s?

As city populations grew, demand for goods spiked. Private individuals looked to generate massive wealth by investing their own money (capital) into business opportunities.

What role did entrepreneurs play in the expanding capitalist economy?

They were individuals who combined money, ideas, raw materials, and labor to expand existing businesses and launch entirely new commercial ventures.

How did major banking families like the Medici (Italy) and Fuggers (Germany) lay the groundwork for modern corporate finance?

They accepted monetary deposits, offered long-distance business loans, managed currency exchanges, and issued early paper banknotes and checks to fund expensive global voyages.

Besides accepting deposits, making long-distance loans, and transferring funds, what two critical financial tools did chartered banks start issuing in the 1600s?

Banknotes and checks (along with exchanging foreign currencies).

Why did merchants and traders turn to wealthy banking families like the Medici and Fuggers to deal with trade money?

Overseas trading ventures were too difficult, costly, and took several years for fleets to return, meaning only governments and the rich could afford them without bank loans.

How do Joint-Stock Companies protect a large or small investor from financial ruin?

They sell stocks/shares in a venture. If a loss occurs, investors lose only the specific, small amount they personally chose to invest.

What extraordinary state-like powers did the Dutch government grant to the Dutch East India Company?

The power to make war, seize foreign ships, coin money, and set up colonies and forts.

Define the role of an Entrepreneur during the Commercial Revolution.

An individual who combines money, ideas, raw materials, and labor to make goods, expand a business, and fund new ventures.

What was the Columbian Exchange?

The massive global exchange of people, goods, technology, ideas, and diseases between the Eastern Hemisphere (Europe/Asia/Africa) and Western Hemisphere (Americas).

Name five major New World crops that Native Americans introduced to Europeans during the global exchange.

Corn, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, and beans.

What internal European conflict sparked by Martin Luther directly led to religious rivalries and land battles in North America?

The Reformation (which created Protestantism). This led to rivalries between Catholics (Spain/France) and Protestants (England/Netherlands) over New World colonies.

What major naval event in 1588 marked the official end of Spain’s total control over the world's open seas?

England's defeat of the Spanish Armada, which King Philip II sent to invade England and overthrow Protestantism.

What was the Northwest Passage?

A highly sought-after, hypothetical sea route through North America to Asia searched for by French, English, and Dutch explorers.

Match the early explorers to their respective aquatic discoveries regarding the Northwest Passage: John Cabot, Giovanni de Verrazano, and Henry Hudson.

• John Cabot (1497): Landed on Newfoundland.

• Giovanni de Verrazano (1524): Explored Nova Scotia.

• Henry Hudson (1609): Explored up to modern-day Albany and discovered Hudson Bay.

Which French explorers first mapped the Mississippi River in 1670, and who later founded New Orleans in 1682?

Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette explored the river; Robert Cavelier de La Salle later founded New Orleans.

Why did French explorers and settlers maintain a significantly better relationship with Native Americans than the Spanish did?

The French primarily wanted fish and furs instead of massive land farming. They learned native languages and posed a much smaller threat to the Native American way of life.

What foundational political belief from Judaism heavily influenced early American colonial legal thought?

The Covenant (agreement with God) and the Ten Commandments, which heavily reinforced the Rule of Law (the concept that laws must apply equally to all people).

What historic process did European thinkers develop in the 1500s after realizing that science requires math and physical experimentation?

The Scientific Method.

What was a Spanish Conquistador?

A Spanish soldier-explorer sent to conquer empires (like Cortés conquering the Aztecs and Pizarro conquering the Incas) and extract wealth.

What was the specific difference in purpose between a Spanish Mission and a Spanish Presidio?

A Mission was a religious community (church, town, and crop fields); a Presidio was a military fort built nearby to defend it.

Contrast Thomas Hobbes's and John Locke's opposing views on the unwritten Social Contract.

• Hobbes: Humans are naturally violent/selfish, so they must give up freedom to an absolute monarch for safety.

• Locke: Government exists solely to protect natural laws/rights (life, liberty, property). If it fails, the contract is broken.

Bonus Advanced Thought Question: Looking at your notes on Hobbes (humans are naturally born violent) versus Locke/Aquinas (humans are born with a right to learn and reason), which classic psychological debate does this mirror?

Nature vs. Nurture (Are humans naturally bad from birth [Nature], or does society, education, and learning shape their mind [Nurture]?).