During the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century, the increased flow of silver worldwide influenced social and economic changes in all lands linked by trade. The flow of silver had beneficial effects such as the increase in contribution of nations in global trade and greater economic opportunities. However, it also had detrimental effects such as forced labor, and divisions between social classes.
Although the large increase of silver flow into China was beneficial, it created harmful effects. The Chinese government during the 1570s required all domestic taxes and trade fees to be paid in silver; however, the increased flow of silver aided the people of China in following this rule set out by the Chinese government. As a Ming
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For example, Spain was one of the most prominent contributor to the silver trade because it had many colonies and was a mercantilist economy. The Spanish had the quinto system where one-fifth of the silver collected in the colonies would directly go to Spain, the other four-fifths of the money would be used in trade. However, Tomás de Mercado, a Spanish Scholar, states the fact that Asian commodities had a high price (Doc 2). This resulted in all the silver to flow to Asia instead of Spain holding onto it. Additionally, although the flow of silver into Asia was hurting the Spanish and the European economy, they still continued to trade with the Asians (Doc 8). Charles D’Avenant, an English scholar, states that Europeans cannot stop trading their silver that lasts for Asian goods that are temporary as they have already gotten a taste of the luxury. He also states that it is a social issue as people of all degrees feel the need to buy Asian goods, no matter how expensive. The Europeans have too high of a demand for Asian commodities to stop the flow of silver into Asia. Furthermore, Antonio Vázqez de Espinosa, a Spanish priest concerned with the Spanish invasion of the Native American society (Doc 6). The Spanish authorities set up the mita system for the Native Americans where one-seventh of the men in the native village population were sent to work in the silver mines of Potosí. This shows the negative effect of the silver trade as it describes the horrible conditions that the Native Americans face while working in the mines. This is comparable to the encomienda system around the same timeline. The Spanish started settling in Southern America and began pursuing profitable plantation (sugar) and mining business; however they needed a labor force. In the encomienda system, the Spanish were given the right to force the Native Americans to work on their plantations and
Because the Chinese government were being inspired by the flow of the silver production they decided that all taxes and trade fees be paid in silver which affected China’s economy in a way that it would decline. In document 1, Ye Chunji, a county official of Ming China, orders an issue dealing with a limitation on wedding expenses. He doesn’t want people to live a lavish life and waste all of their money. He wants them to be cautious
The increased flow of silver altered the worldwide global trading both socially and economically. The global flow of silver from the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century caused social and economic issues by creating social impact in China, changing the economic purpose for trading, and the overall exchange between the Chinese and European nations.
Silver production in the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century increased substantially due to Spaniards gaining control of Potosí. This led to them creating mines in the area, which was rich in silver. By doing this, they substantially increased the silver in the hands of the Spaniards, which they mainly used to pay for luxury goods and products from Asia. The silver trade had long reaching effects on the social and economic state of empires and countries worldwide from the time period of the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century. Socially, the silver trade affected the Chinese social mindset and structure and caused them to change. Economically, the silver trade negatively affected the economy of Europe overall.
Documents 3,5,6, 7 and 8 all mention how the economy changed dramatically due to the arrival and growth of silver as a currency. In document 3, a Ming dynasty court official writes about how the silver coin is hard to come by because the government is hoarding all of it. They take silver for taxes but do not redistribute it to the people. He is writing this because he is trying to convince the emperor to distribute the silver more appropriately to the people, and because his family is obviously not doing well financially. He is a court official who most likely has small influence in the government and writes in hopes of getting the emperor to consider spreading the wealth to the lower classes of China, to save his family, and other families like his. Document 5 expresses a different, but somewhat related view about how silver has become a hindrance to regular business interactions, because customers can no longer trade items of their own to purchase goods, they have to go through a lengthy process to pay everything in silver. Document 6 shows a counter point of view about the wealth that the mining of silver has brought to Spain. Document 7 is a report written to convince the emperor of China that there is much wealth to be found in foreign trade, because of how much silver some countries will pay for Chinese goods. Finally, document 8 examines how European countries are able to purchase Asian commodities freely because of their immense supply
Document 2 strongly states that silver flow began to snowball towards the Asian commodities in Asia, rather than those in Spain. This was due to the fact that prices of Spanish commodities were very high and people turned to the less costly Asian commodities. As an effect, silver flow started to concentrate in Asia and around Asian commodities. Wang Xijue, a Ming dynasty court official, reports to the emperor in document 3 about the scarcity of silver coin and the negative effects it has on the value of grain. Grain was a main cash crop in the Ming dynasty in the late 16th century and when the price of grain dropped, cultivators earned less of a profit. This snowball effect was directly based upon the price of silver because when the government takes the silver and doesn’t distribute it, there is less silver to pay for the grain. As a result, this reduces the amount of food produced and the population of the dynasty is reduced as less land is put into cultivation. Silver’s indirect effect on the amount of food produced affected many societies throughout the globe in the mid-seventeenth century and early eighteenth century. Document 4, 5 and 6 are expressing the constructive economic impact on the global flow of silver. In document 4, the positive economic effect on the global flow of silver is that silver coins are a great use of currency. Portuguese use the Japanese silver coins to their
In Document 3, Wang Xijue explains how the government collected way more silver in taxes than they dispersed across the total economy. This collectively lead to the poor getting poorer and the rich and government getting richer, thus intensifying the socioeconomic gap. When the Chinese turned to silver, they were able to open up and trade with many other countries in Europe and Asia for their luxury goods. Even though this proved beneficial at first, as China turned to only silver. Document 3 outlines that, in the late 1570’s, there was a large scarcity of silver, which lead to much economic downfall, because many farmers could not afford enough land to grow food, as well as the crop yields were very poor those years.
Silver, the monopoly of the old world changed many things. In China, there was such a lust for silver that they now began interacting with Europe. Spain began venturing to the Americas in search for silver. Doc. 3, 5, and 6 talks about how China was hurting their own economy by hording the silver and they didn’t give it back out to their people, Doc. 2 and 4 explains Asian trade and how it changed China, Doc. 7 and 8 talks about how China benefited from the silver trade the most. Doc. 3, 5, and 6 talks about how China was hurting their own economy by hording the silver and they didn’t give it back out to their people.
Through the years of 15701750 the trading of silver reached its peak in the worlds’
The primary flow of silver had severe effects economically and socially from 15000-1750. Some effects are the economic imbalance which caused social suffering, the social anarchy of robbing and more, and when the economic imbalance caused them to be active within the trade business which helped their economy. Documents 1, and 3 show the social effects that evolved from economic aspects. In document 1 it shows that the demand of silver had effects on the poor and also the rich. The source of document 1 was Ye Chunji, who was a county official during the Ming dynasty.
From 1500 to 1750 silver production was led by Tokugawa Japan and Spanish colonial America around the world. Silver was important and very needed but hard to obtain. In China for example the government only accepted silver as a form of payment for domestic taxes and trade fees. During the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century the effects of silvers global flow was impacting. Socially, the silver flow caused people to suffer while turning others greedy making them unfair with trade. Economically , the global flow made it difficult for people to stay afloat.
Silver DBQ The economic and social effects of the global flow of silver from mid 16th century to early 18th century were as follows, the Spaniard economy was hurt by it, economy's became more monetized, class distinctions, and changes the mindset of European consumers. Around this time, the Ming Dynasty demanded that all taxes be paid in silver. This led to an increase demand for silver and merchants began to refuse other forms of payment.
Commodities have changed the cultures of many nations for good all across the world. Silver and spices both impacted the economics and culture of certain areas and nations. Production, distribution, and consumption of silver and spices differed in some areas, but overlapped in others, depending on where the commodity was found and what it was used for.
The effect that the production of silver and mercury had on the economy and the people and communities transcended as
The combination of increasing unemployment rate and food price created severe poverty across the nation (Goldfinger par. 1-3). The currencies in China, too, went through a lot of changes to accommodate the increasing trade. At first, the silver Spanish dollars became rare and increased in value so much that it was outlawed as a usable currency. However, at the same time, the Chinese copper currency were also being used less due to the fact that the metal was becoming rare and the administration of the currency was extremely poor. The Mexican dollar was introduced but the problem was not solved until paper money were used in 1853 (Goldfinger par. 2). To make the economy worse, during the First Opium War, China had to pay six million silver dollars to ransom Canton, and an additional nine million dollars were paid to foreigner traders for their loss. Later, twelve million taels of silver were paid to Britain and France under the treaties negotiated after the Second Opium War. All of those factors weakened the Chinese economy in the 1800s (Allingham par.5-9). However, the Opium Wars’ impact is everlasting, for “the Chinese have embarked on a long and arduous struggle to expunge the humiliations which they suffered during and since the Opium War…Foreign industrialists may continue to dream of the supposedly unlimited China market, but the Chinese…are determined to keep the 'open door' sufficiently ajar to import vital technologies, while keeping all unwanted
It is easy to understand the universal appeal of silver. Beginner and expert investors around the world choose silver more than any other precious metal. The cost of silver per ounce is lower than gold, making it accessible for beginners with a limited budget. Experienced investors recognize silver has value as both an investment and monetary metal. Diverse holdings are a key to financial success. Discover the basic truth about silver prices and what makes silver such an alluring investment opportunity.