Download Commerce in a Global Age WHAP/Napp Do Now: “In the early

Commerce in a Global Age
WHAP/Napp
Do Now:
“In the early seventeenth century, the Dutch had the most efficient economic system in
Europe. The Dutch Republic bordered the North Sea, reclaimed land from its waters and
lived from its largesse. Fishing was the Republic’s great national industry. With their
windmills and their dikes, the Dutch reclaimed land from the sea. With such an investment
of capital and energy the Dutch worked their land carefully and efficiently. They
developed new methods of crop rotation, planting turnips in the fall to provide winter food
for humans and sheep. At other times of year they raised peas, beans, and clover to restore
nitrogen to the soil. With these cropping patterns, the Dutch no longer had to leave onethird of their land fallow each year. They farmed it all, increasing productivity by 50
percent. In addition, the Dutch built one of the largest textile industries in Europe, based
on wool from their own sheep and on huge quantities imported from England.
On the seas and in the rivers, the Dutch were sailing 10,000 ships as early as 1600, and for
the next century they dominated the shipping of northern Europe. The Dutch also
developed commercial institutions to underpin their dominance in trade. The bourse, or
stock exchange, was opened in Amsterdam in the mid-sixteenth century and in 1609 the
Bank of Amsterdam was established.
In 1602 Dutch businessmen founded the Dutch East India Company, a joint stock
company dedicated to trade in Asia. The Company captured several Portuguese ports, but
concentrated on the most lucrative of all the East Asian centers, Java and the Moluccas, the
Spice Islands of today’s Indonesia. In 1619 the Dutch East India Company founded
Jakarta, which served as its regional headquarters until 1950 when Indonesia won its
independence. In 1623 they seized Amboina in the Moluccas, killing a group of
Englishmen they found there, and forcing the English back to India.
In 1600 Dutch traders reached Japan. In 1641, all other foreigners were expelled, but,
because they did not engage in missionary activity, the Dutch were permitted a small
settlement on Deshima Island, off Nagasaki, and were the only European traders allowed in
Japan. In 1652, the Dutch captured from the Portuguese the Cape of Good Hope at the
southernmost tip of Africa and established there the first settlement of Afrikaners, South
Africans of Dutch descent. In North America, the Dutch established New Amsterdam on
Manhattan Island but the English conquered it and in 1664 renamed it New York.
Despite their gains, the Dutch could not ultimately retain their supremacy. An aggressive,
skilled small country simply could not continue to compete with two aggressive, skilled
large countries (Britain and France). ~ The World’s History
1- Why did the Dutch have an efficient economic system in the early 17th century?
________________________________________________________________________
2- Identify successes of the Dutch East India Company.
________________________________________________________________________
3- Why were the Dutch able to remain in Japan when others were expelled?
________________________________________________________________________
4- Who were the Afrikaners? ________________________________________________
I. Motivation for Global Trade
A. Deliberate century-long Portuguese effort to explore a sea route to Asia, by sailing
down West African coast around South Africa to Calicut in southern India in 1498
B. Immediate motivation: spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, pepper
C. Western Europe: recovered from plague, monarchies taxing more effectively,
gunpowder weapons, growth of cities
D. Capitalist economy: market exchanges, private ownership, capital to invest
E. Search for all-water route to Asia: to avoid Muslim and Venetian monopolies
F. Rumor: mysterious Christian monarch, Prester John, in Asia or Africa?
II. Complexities
A. But few products of less developed Europe were attractive in Asian markets
B. Europeans were required to pay in gold or silver for Asian spices or textiles
C. Persistent trade deficit contributed to intense desire for precious metals
D. Portuguese voyages along West African coast: seeking direct access to gold
E. Enormously rich silver deposits of Mexico and Bolivia: temporary solution
F. Yet Portuguese learned Indian Ocean merchant ships not heavily armed
G. Portuguese: “trading post empire,” aimed to control commerce with arms
H. By 1600: other European countries contested Portugal’s monopoly
I. Spain was the first to challenge Portugal’s position
J. Spaniards established themselves on “Philippine Islands”…named after Philip II –
Discovered on Ferdinand Magellan’s “round world” (1519-1521)
K. Far more important than Spanish were the Dutch and English (1600s): organized
their Indian Ocean ventures through private trading companies
III. British and Dutch
A. British East India Company and Dutch East India Company: had government
charters, trading monopolies, power to make war and govern
B. British East India Company: India…Dutch: Indonesia
C. Dutch controlled production of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace
D. British traded with permission of Mughals or local rulers or bribes
E. Slowly evolved into a more conventional form of colonial domination
F. Yet Tokugawa expelled Christian missionaries and isolated Japan
IV. Silver Trade
A. More than spice, silver trade gave birth to a global network of exchange
B. Mid-16th discovery of rich silver deposits in Bolivia, and simultaneously in Japan,
suddenly provided a vastly increased supply
C. 1570s, Chinese Ming authorities consolidated a variety of taxes into a single tax
(Single Whip), which its huge population was now required to pay in silver
D. This sudden new demand for silver caused its value to skyrocket
E. Foreigners with silver could now purchase far more of China’s goods
F. At the world’s largest silver mine in what is now Bolivia, the city of Potosí, some
families held funeral services for men drafted to work the mines
G. Infusion of silver in Spain generated more inflation of prices than growth
H. Shoguns used profits from silver to developed a market-based economy and invested
heavily in agricultural and industrial enterprises
1- What was the Portuguese “plan” for exploration?
________________________________________________________________________
2- What motivated the Portuguese in their exploration?
________________________________________________________________________
3- What advantages did Western Europeans have regarding exploration?
________________________________________________________________________
4- Why was silver being “drained” from Western Europe and sent to Asia?
________________________________________________________________________
5- Define trade deficit.
________________________________________________________________________
6- How did Western Europe’s persistent trade deficit affect the region?
________________________________________________________________________
7- Why were the Portuguese able to establish a “trading post empire”?
________________________________________________________________________
8- How did Spain begin to challenge Portugal’s “monopoly”?
________________________________________________________________________
9- What were the British and Dutch East India Companies?
________________________________________________________________________
10- Where did the British East India Company largely focus its attentions?
________________________________________________________________________
11- Where did the Dutch East India Company largely focus its attentions?
________________________________________________________________________
12- Why did the British East India Company often have to “work” with the Mughals?
________________________________________________________________________
13- What had the Tokugawa shoguns done in Japan?
________________________________________________________________________
14- What was the first global trade?
________________________________________________________________________
15- How did this trade link the Americas, Asia, and Europe?
________________________________________________________________________
16- What was the Single Whip Tax?
________________________________________________________________________
17- What Chinese Dynasty implemented the Single Whip Tax?
________________________________________________________________________
18- Why did the Single Whip Tax increase the demand for silver?
________________________________________________________________________
19- What could foreigners with silver now do as a result of the Single Whip Tax?
________________________________________________________________________
20- Identify two facts about Potosí.
________________________________________________________________________
21- Define inflation.
________________________________________________________________________
22- Why did the silver trade lead to inflation in Spain?
________________________________________________________________________
23- How did Japan’s shoguns use profits from the silver trade?
________________________________________________________________________
1. Which New World commodity was of
the greatest value to the Spanish
monarchy?
(A) Potato
(B) Tomato
(C) Silver
(D) Sugar
(E) Quinine
2. What was the long-term impact of
the massive influx of silver into the
Spanish economy that resulted from
its domination of the New World?
I. Inflation and unwise government
spending
II. A permanent economic advantage over
other European powers
III. Development of the most sophisticated
banking system in the world
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II
(E) I and III
3. The initiative for Western
exploration and conquest came from
the kingdom of
(A) Spain
(B) Sicily
(C) France
(D) Portugal
(E) Tunisia
4. Which statement most accurately
describes Japanese participation in
the global trade network?
(A) The Japanese were quickly enslaved
by the colonizing Europeans.
(B) The Japanese warmly accepted
Western commercial interests and
became part of the dependent zones
of the global trade network.
(C) The Japanese did display some
openness to Christian missionaries
and they were also fascinated by
Western advances in gunnery and
shipping.
(D) After 1600 all Europeans were
banned from Japan, but Japanese
traders continued to travel and trade
abroad.
(E) Japan, like China, showed no interest
in any aspect of Western trade.
5. Which of the following changes best
justifies the claim that the late 1400s
mark the beginning of a new period
in world history?
(A) The rise of the Aztec and Inca
empires
(B) The economic recovery in AfroEurasia after the Black Death
(C) The incorporation of the
Americas into a broader global
network of exchange
(D) The emergence of new religious
movements in various parts of the
world
Thesis Practice: Change over Time – Interregional Trade: 600 C.E. – 1750 C.E.
Analyze changes and continuities in interregional trade from 600 C.E. to 1750 C.E.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________