Transcript Mercantilism

Age
of Exploration
Economic
Issues
From Regional Networks to
Global networks
Mercantilism
• an economic theory that states that the world
only contained a fixed amount of wealth
and that to increase a country’s wealth, one
country had to take some wealth from
another
either
Have a higher
import – export ratio
Actual conquest of
new lands and
resources
combination of both
Favorable Balance of Trade
• Regulated commerce could produce a
favorable balance of trade.
• In general, tariffs should be high on
imported manufactured goods and low
on imported raw material.
• Need capital and labor
– Translates to silver and slaves in this era
Economics influenced events
• Favorable balance of trade
– Having exports exceed imports
• The theory of mercantilism was a set of principles that
dominated economic thought in the seventeenth century.
• According to mercantilists, the prosperity of a nation
depended on a large supply of bullion, or gold and silver.
• To bring in gold and silver, nations tried to have a favorable
balance of trade.
• In order to maintain a favorable balance of trade, the goods
exported must be of greater value than those imported.
• The development of colonies and trading posts played an
important role in mercantilism, since they were both sources
of raw materials and markets for finished goods.
Mercantilism
Building of Empires
Was this the rise of West?
• Islamic Empires
– Ottoman (land and sea)
– Safavid
– Mughal
• Iberian Peninsula (Sea Empire)
– Spain
– Portugal
• East Asia
– Ming dynasty (early attempts then regional control)
• 1644 Manchu (Jurchens) take over China
– Japanese Tokugawa
• Late 1500s and 1600s
– Economic growth of the Dutch
– Rise of the French and English
Complex issues – Global context
(CAC)
• Conceptual tools
• Contingency
– Dependent on other developments.
– Other that Developments that occur independently in the world and
could have taken other directions and therefore events and their
occurance not inevitable or that they do not have to correlate
– Vast amounts of silver in Americas and labor force from Africa
• Accident
– Events just happen to occur at the same time – sort of like a comet
that occurred at the Battle of Hastings
– Also relates to where resources are located – some countries have
their coal supply near a river
• Conjuncture combination of events that occur independently
that then interact to create a unique historical moment
– Independent events converge
– Eventually come together
Because of connections of W.
Europe and Asia

Squash
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Avocado
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Peppers
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Sweet Potatoes
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Turkey
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Pumpkin
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Tobacco
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Quinine
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Cocoa
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Pineapple
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Cassava
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POTATO
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Peanut
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TOMATO
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Vanilla
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MAIZE
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Syphilis
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Trinkets
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Liquor
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GUNS
The “Columbian
Exchange”
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Olive
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COFFEE BEAN
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Banana
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Rice
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Onion
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Turnip
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Honeybee
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Barley
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Grape
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Peach
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SUGAR CANE
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Oats
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Citrus Fruits
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Pear
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Wheat
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HORSE
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Cattle
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Sheep
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Pigs
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Smallpox
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Flu
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Typhus
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Measles
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Malaria
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Diptheria
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Whooping Cough
Inter-related Systems
late 1400s to early 1700s
• The goal of a the nation was to become self sufficient
in order to be able to determine your own destiny
– Beginning idea of nation-state
• The result of their actions was
– Growth of empires
• Hegemony – dominance of one group over another
– With or without force
» Either economic control, military control, cultural preferences such
as religion
– Culture accepted as dominate (Early River Valleys, Sparta, Zhou,
Medici, Saxons, Spanish – Portuguese in Americas, Russia and Balkan
area between 1700 and fall of Soviet Union, British Victorians in Africa
and South Asia, America post World War II)
• Needed new resources
• Had to control the shipping and land trade routes
Bullionism (gold)
• Bullionism was the belief that the economic health of a
nation could be measured by the amount of precious metal,
gold, or silver, which it possessed.
• Bullionism dictated a favorable balance of trade.
• Each nation tried to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
• Those who founded new industries should be rewarded by
the state.
New Weapons Technology
Economic Impact
• Leads to a world economy which was created by
the Europeans during the late 16th century
• Sea power was necessary to control foreign
markets.
– A powerful merchant fleet would obviate the
necessity of using the ships of another nation and
becoming dependent on foreign assistance.
– In addition, a fleet in being could add to a nation's
prestige and military power.
• Established an international exchange of foods,
diseases and manufactured products
Columbus’ Four Voyages
Other Voyages of Exploration
European Exploration
Mexico Surrenders to Cortés
The First Spanish Conquests:
The Incas
vs.
Francisco
Pizarro
Atahualpa
The Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494 &
The Pope’s Line of Demarcation
Negative Impact of Europeans
• The colonization of the Americas by the Spanish drastically
impacted the native civilizations
• Forced labor, starvation and especially disease took a toll
on their lives
• Ravaged by smallpox measles and typhus
• Hispaniola population of 250,000 1492 by 1538 only 500
survived
• MexoAmerican population dropped from 25 million in 1519
to 1 million in 1630
• Also changed were the social and political structures of the
peoples
• They were replaced with European styles of governance
and religious systems and new languages using new
schools and hospitals organized by the structure of the
church organized by parish and missions
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
African
Diaspora
Slave Trade
•
•
Existed in Africa before the coming of the
Europeans.
Portuguese replaced European slaves with
Africans.
–
–
–
•
Sugar cane & sugar plantations.
First boatload of African slaves brought by the
Spanish in 1518.
275,000 enslaved Africans exported
to other countries.
Between 16th thru 19th century (400 years)
about 10 million Africans shipped to the
Americas.
Slave trade originated at the rise of
the Islamic Empires by 900 CE
Chronology and Numbers
approximate
Atlantic:
1450-1860
11-12 million
Mediterranean:
700-1900
6-7 million
Indian Ocean (and Red Sea)
800-1900
2-3 million
Impact on Africa
• Hardest hit was Benin which was a creative and
brilliant society in the 16th century their population
declined and they lost their faith in their gods and
human sacrifice increased
• Taken first were the strongest young men and women
• Political unity within tribes such as the Ibo and the
Ashanti remained but these were the tribes which
contributed a large number of slaves, mostly by raiding
other tribes
• Trade routes shifted to the coast and away from the
subSaharan trade weakening the strong and influential
Songhai Empire
• There was some spread of Christianity which later
comes into conflict with Islam, religious wars which
draw in many Africans
Slave Ship
Coffin position below deck during
the Middle Passage
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New Patterns of World Trade
New Colonial Rivals (slave trade)
Slave Trade
Zheng He’s
Zheng He
440 feet long
Compared to
75 feet long
Ming withdrew
• Concerned about new
philosophies of the west
• Imports
– New Agriculture
• Cotton, potatoes, maize
– The Mexican Dollar
• Spanish silver pesos
– Eyeglasses
• Banned ship building and
withdrew treasure expeditions
Triangle Trade
Middle Passage
Transition from one dominate family of rulers
that inherited the position to political
ideologies and parliamentary processes
• First came centralization
– As monarchs (kings, emperors, sultans, khans,
caliphs, Raja and whether theocratic or emerging
parliamentary and anywhere in between) began
to centralize their empires, they realized the need
to be self-sufficient.
• Then came empires to maintain their position
• As their territories grew they needed growing
systems to control them which included a
methods to control the aristocracy (by birth
and inheritance) and a new type of aristocracy
The Colonial Class System
Peninsulares
Mestizos
Native Indians
Creoles
Mulattos
Black Slaves
Treasures
from the Americas!
Fleets
• Sea power was necessary to control
foreign markets.
• A powerful merchant fleet would obviate
the necessity of using the ships of another
nation and becoming dependent on foreign
assistance.
• In addition, a fleet in being could add to a
nation's prestige and military power.
Effects and Results of Methods of trade
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Sea Empire vs. Land Empires
Ships and navigation
Protection of high seas
Port development
New uses of gunpowder
Empires that are able to adhere to these principles were able
to dominate
England
Dutch had economic empire
Spanish & Portuguese (Iberian Empires)
Ottoman
– Didn’t have the wood for ships so naval power was issue
• Ming
– Hai jin edict halts the production of ships
– Concern about outside contact and the push of the Mongolians in
north
Dutch Economic Empire
Northern Renaissance
Sampling Officials of the Drapers Guild – Rembrandt - 1662
Dutch East India Company, 1602
Dutch Ship in Nagasaki
Late 18c
Scientific Revolution
René Descartes
The right environment French philosopher but lived in
Leiden
from 1628 to 1649.
Anton van Leeuwenhoek:
The Microscope & the Discovery of MicroOrganisms
The Spanish Netherlands:
Union of Utrecht, 1579
The United Provinces still recognized Spanish rule,
but, in 1581, they declared their independence.
Political and Economic Conflicts in
Europe carry to rest of world
• Hapsburg conflict of succession of the Holy Roman Empire with the
Bourbon claims known as the War of Succession
• 7 Years war (1754-1763)
– Battle of Plassey fought in India in 1757 as the Nawab were supported
by the French
• Sir Robert Clive defeats the forces resulting in the French being pushed from
India to Southeast Asia
• As Bengal became under the control of the British East India Trading
company– this becomes their first step in the control of South Asia and its
resources eventually becoming known as the “jewel in the crown” of the
British Empire
• French and Indian War in the Americas
• British get control of Canada
• Territory west of the Mississippi under French control was ceded to
the British
• Spain acquired Louisiana from France as a result of their support of
France during the war