The Global Flow Of Silver Trade

Yet despite any conjectures drawn from accounts of scholars, merchants, officials and priests it is impossible to know the full extent of the economic and social effects of silver without the voice of the common people. It was the commoners, laborers, slaves, farmers and peasants which bore the full brunt of the trade. Their every day lives relied on day to day paychecks, which mandated how they survived. It is the rise and fall of poverty in the peasantry, the social unrest or benefit of the commoners that would reveal the true effect of silver. The majority of all of

Socially, China has been impacted greatly from the introduction of silver into their nation. In document 1, Ye Chunji, a Ming Dynasty county official, spoke about the differences between the “frugal” and “extravagant” man in an order limiting expenses. He states that a frugal or poor man understands his limitations and can live off very little unlike a wealthy or extravagant man

During the Post-Classical Era merchants played an incredible role in shaping the course of different

"The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company, 1660-1760." EHnet. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.

The changes that took place regarding trade between 300-1450 impact other parts of history. One effect of the occurrence of trade in this region was the

During the sixteenth century, both the Ottoman and Tokugawa Japanese empires had political and economic similarities and differences. Politically, these empires were alike because both had centralized bureaucracy but different because they had very distinct ways of keeping order within their empires. Economically, they were similar because both depended on trade yet different because of their willingness to trade. After close analysis the Tokugawa Japanese empire was more successful economically.

Two ships can arrive at the same destination; however that does not necessarily mean that they used the same route on their journey. Such is the same with the industrialization of Britain and Japan. Both rose to become the two great pioneers of the modern world; however the paths they took to success were different. This paper will compare Japan and Britain, exploring the causes of its industrialization, and how the countries drastically changed because of it. What sets Britain’s industrialization process apart from Japans is that it did not have a role model to base its development on; it was the first industrial nation. Therefore the cause of its industrialization must have much

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.

The global flow of silver managed to redefine the social structure in many societies, as well as dramatically altered the basis of the economy in many European and Asian countries. Despite the economic change that came from the mass production of silver and its use as a standard currency, the growth of the silver industry brought as much change socially and culturally as it brought economic transformation. Many people viewed the conversion to silver being the standardized currency as a huge hindrance to their daily lives, but the silver industry brought wealth to many societies and became a necessity in trade. On one side of things, the flow of silver throughout the world brought a wave of economic change, as mentioned in documents 3,5,6,

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

Doc. 3 interprets how people had to borrow silver and loans because people couldn’t afford to pay taxes. This document is reliable because it comes from a court official and it is a Chinese source. Doc. 5 comes from a Chinese source, the writer contrasts how trade use to be before the arrival of silver. Now, they must only pay with silver, which they must receive from a loan shark.

From 1500 to 1700 Spanish colonial America and Tokugawa Japan led the world silver production. In the early 1570’s, the Ming Chinese government made it an obligation that all domestic taxes and trade fees be paid in silver. Due to these events it led to many social and economic effects on the global flow of silver from the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century. It had an effect on them religiously, trade wise, and their life styles. Documents 1 and 6 talk about how the introduction of silver production caused some affect towards them in a negative way towards their religion.

Economically, silver being traded increased labor work and attracted many foreign people. Portugal advanced hugely because of silver. The Portuguese believed that they “had great ships that went to Japan every year, and brings back more than 600,000 coins worth of Japanese silver. The Portuguese use this Japanese silver to their great advantage in China” The Portuguese believed they had a major advantage towards the Chinese because it was their biggest source of income as well as all of the other commodities such as silk, copper, etc. The silver increased trade ports and benefited the Portuguese building Cape Verde. (Document 4) In another case, high prices ruined Spain. Without knowing, the Spain benefited Chinese ships by paving “with granite cobblestones brought from China as ballast (a heavy substance used to improve the stability of a ship) in Chinese ships coming to get silver for China.” This helped out China because they increased their trade of silver and other interesting Asian

two, four, six, seven, and eight all discuss how silver benefited the economy in favor of the

Spring details the century between 1450 and 1550. Brook opens the chapter with Zheng Tao’s statement, “Those who went out as merchants became numerous, and ownership of land was no longer esteemed (Brook, p. 86). The soaring trade practice resulted in fluctuating opinions regarding merchants. Despite the commercial success, merchants were responsible for disrupting the Confucian social order. The resulting effects upon gentry culture are soon apparent.