The Role Of Global Trade In The Sixteenth Century

Between the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century, silver production or the increased flow of silver had an effect in the society and economy(both good and bad) throughout the world. While the Spanish colonial America and Tokugawa Japan were leading the world in silver production, the government of Ming China were making all domestic taxes and trade fees be paid in silver.

The global flow of silver from the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century had vast effects both socially and economically around the world. By this time an interregional trade network had been clearly established and world trade was booming. When China, a prominent trade nation, accepted silver as its currency and would only exchange for it, the importance of silver increased. This new rapid scramble for silver proved to be both beneficial and disastrous. While countries which were lucky geographically in their supply of raw silver could now trade prominently with China, demand created an increase of labor and social unrest. Reliance on silver both helped and hindered economies and societies, bringing

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.

This continued from the 800s to the 1300s. At this point of the time period, the Mongols had expanded throughout Eurasia. However, the only parts of the trade that were affected were the northern parts between Europe and Asia, because the Mongols concentrated on mostly China, Russia, and some parts of Eastern Europe. By the 1450s, the gold-salt trade started to decline, and soon, the center of trade started to shift away from the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. This was because the age of exploration started in Europe, and trade concentrated more towards the Atlantic Ocean.

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.

A major effect of the global flow of silver is the economic dependency required.In Document 5, Xu Dunqui Ming purposefully explains the growing of heavy silver use in his city’s economics in 1610, leading to silver becoming the required and standard payment for cloth dying and other services, along with silver now a necesity in their lives.Wth this new standard payment of silver in China, where it is unaccessible in their own environment, they depend on Europe and Spain to in exhange for China’s goods pay in silver to make it readily available for China’s inhabitants. In

    During the Classical Era, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East all existed relatively isolated from each other, with minimal interaction. By the end of the Classical Era, trade routes had developed and connected the regions. This created cultural diffusion and led the world into the Post-Classical ERa. During this era, trade networks impacted civilizations and culture by creating a more tolerant global climate, increasing and improving education, and speeding different religions across the land. These trade routes still impact the world today, often bringing controversy with such effects.

Following the travels of Christopher Columbus and the Conquistadores, the Spanish soon realized that they were as a matter of fact, not off the coast of China. But rather than completely abandon the area due to its lack of gold, silk, and spices, they decided to stay for the abundance of silver. In this, they enslaved and killed entire populations in their quest for this mineral. However, in doing so they practically started a new economic era for the Europeans. The heightened flow of silver from the mid-16th to the early- 18th century resulted in social and economic effects in trade centers around the world by further integrating the Europeans into the global trade market and consequently increasing social divisions in China due to improved

During the mid sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century, the usage of silver was immensely popular because of its dominance in trade such as the requirement of paying domestic taxes and trade fees with silver in the Ming Dynasty. Thus, the increased flow of silver caused social and economic effects in all region associated with trade such as Ming China, Spain, Tokugawa Japan and England by increasing trade and wealth but also profoundly weakening the state of these countries such as increasing social division, competition, and inflation.

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

The tendency of communities to specialize in some phase of economic activity made it necessary that they maintain commercial contact with other communities and countries in order to secure the things that they did not produce (Hope 16). Some villages, for example, specialized in fishing, others concentrated on metallurgy, while others made weapons, utensils, and so on. Traders traveled from place to place to barter and to purchase. Upon returning they were laden with goods that they sold within their own community (Hope 17).

The effect of the Global flow of silver is best understood in the context of increased mercantilist economies. The most highly-desired products were the ones grown and produced in Asia and the Indian Ocean region: silk, porcelain, and nutmeg from China; spices such as mace and nutmeg from Southeast Asia; cotton and cotton from India. As a result of increased mercantilist economies these luxury items became greater in demand.

During the 1600-1750s global trade allowed countries to make money from across the world. Global trade affected everyone in the country, from Rulers to regular people. Normal people could experience a wide variety of goods from exotic cultures. These goods ranged from furs from French North America to sugar from the Caribbean to tobacco from British colonies to coffee from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. When the availability of these products was disturbed so were the economic and political systems. Prices were also variable and depended on the supply and user demand. When prices of these item rise some countries suffer while others make profit.

Silver was the most important trading good, and the silver trade allowed for a global network of exchange. Silver was one of the most important products to be exchanged during this time.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the demand for Chinese goods in the European market created a trade imbalance because the market for Western goods in China were non-existent; China was very self-sufficient with their produce and tools that they didn’t require imported goods.(Fitzgerald, 1992 The Europeans were not allowed access into China 's interior market, the Chinese people didn’t have a necessity of imported items. European silver flowed into China when the Canton System, established in the mid-18th century, confined the sea trade to Canton and to the Chinese merchants of the Thirteen Factories. (Hanes, 2003) The British East India Company had a monopoly of British trade. The British East India Company began to auction opium grown in India to independent foreign traders in exchange for silver. (Hughs, 1972) The opium was then transported to the Chinese coast and sold to local middlemen who retailed the drug inside China. The flow of silver was increasing in numbers as well as the amount of opium addicts that had alarmed Chinese officials. (Lim, 2011) The drug weakened a large percentage of the population, and silver began to flow out of the country to pay for the opium. Many of the economic problems China faced later were either directly or indirectly traced to the opium trade. (Keller, 2012)