CH. 6

Basic Causes and Effects of the Creation of a Global Network

• Causes:

  • Desire for luxury goods (spices, silk, porcelain) from Asia.

  • European technological advancements in navigation (compass, astrolabe, improved ships).

  • Ottoman control over land routes made alternative trade routes essential.

• Effects:

  • Emergence of global trade networks connecting Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

  • Rise of colonial empires and exploitation of resources.

  • Spread of diseases, cultures, and technologies.

Europeans and Asian Commerce

• Products desired from Eastern markets: Spices (pepper, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon), silk, cotton textiles, and porcelain.

• Changes that allowed Europeans to begin exploration: Advances in shipbuilding (caravel), navigation tools (astrolabe, compass), and understanding of wind patterns.

• Nature of existing European commerce with the East: Limited; relied on Middle Eastern intermediaries to access Asian goods.

• Problems with existing system: High costs due to intermediaries; limited access to goods.

• Countries in the Indian Ocean trade system: India, China, Arab states, Persia, and African coastal states.

A Portuguese Empire of Commerce

• Unusual Portuguese advantages: Superior naval technology; well-armed ships; use of cannons.

• Purpose/limitations of trading post empire: Controlled key ports and shipping routes to monopolize trade but lacked resources to dominate entire regions.

• Steps to integrate into the Indian Ocean world: Forced treaties; established bases in Goa (India), Malacca (Malaysia), and Macao (China).

Spain and the Philippines

• Advantages of the Philippines as a base: Geographic proximity to China and the Spice Islands; scattered, ununified local societies.

• Attractiveness to Spanish conquest: Potential for missionary work; strategic location for Asian trade.

• Activities of Spanish rule in the Philippines: Spread of Catholicism; establishment of tribute systems; local rebellions suppressed.

• Chinese presence in the Philippines: Chinese merchants were essential for trade but faced periodic massacres due to tension with Spanish rulers.

The East India Companies

• Nature/Goals of Dutch/English companies: Joint-stock companies aimed to monopolize trade and maximize profit.

• Dutch spice trading experience: Controlled production/trade in Indonesia through violence and forced plantations.

• Experience in Taiwan: Brief colonization to produce sugar but lost control to China.

• British differences from Dutch practices: Focused on textiles in India rather than spices; relied more on diplomacy.

• Carrying trade’s solution to Europe’s trade balance problem: Transporting goods between Asian ports to earn profits in silver.

Asians and Asian Commerce

• Changes in Japan’s political structure: Tokugawa shogunate centralized power; restricted European influence except for limited Dutch trade.

• Effects on Europeans: Reduced European access to Japan.

• Continuities in trade: Indian Ocean trade persisted, with Asian merchants continuing active roles.

Silver and Global Commerce

• Role of nodes in the silver trade:

  • Potosí (Bolivia): Major source of mined silver.

  • Philippines: Key hub for Spanish silver trade to China.

  • Acapulco (Mexico): Point of transfer from the Americas to Asia.

  • Japan: Second-largest silver producer; used silver for trade with China.

  • Spain: Wealth funneled through Europe but caused inflation.

  • China: High demand for silver; became a central hub of global trade.

• Effects of silver on:

  • Spain: Brief wealth but economic stagnation due to inflation and overreliance on imports.

  • China: Economic boom; required silver for taxes, increasing demand.

  • Japan: Strengthened Tokugawa rule through silver-backed commerce and investment.

“The World Hunt”: Fur in Global Commerce

• Economic conditions encouraging fur trade: European demand for warmth; depletion of European fur animals.

• Climate changes: Little Ice Age increased demand for fur.

• Environmental effects: Overhunting led to animal population declines.

• Indigenous impacts: Became dependent on European goods; exposure to disease; cultural disruptions.

• Russian vs. North American fur trade:

  • Similarities: Relied on indigenous labor; environmental degradation.

  • Differences: Russia imposed tribute; North America used trade networks.

Commerce in People: The Atlantic Slave Trade

• Historical context: Slavery existed in Africa but was less exploitative; slaves were often prisoners of war or debtors.

• Sources: West Africa, particularly the coastal regions.

• Uses: Plantation labor in the Americas (sugar, tobacco, cotton).

• Social treatment: Slaves in the Atlantic system were dehumanized and treated as property.

• Differences in Atlantic slavery: Scale, racial basis, and harsh conditions compared to earlier systems.

• Alternative labor sources: Indigenous peoples (decimated by disease) and indentured servants (limited availability).

• “Benefits” of African slaves: Immunity to Old World diseases; farming experience; difficulty escaping.

• Development of racism: Justified enslavement through racial hierarchies.

• Role of African states: Supplied slaves in exchange for European goods.

• Effects on African states:

  • Demographics: Population imbalances due to loss of young men.

  • Economy: Increased dependence on European goods.

  • Political structure: Rise of powerful, militarized kingdoms (e.g., Dahomey).