The Shift of Powers

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Between the 1600’s and 1700’s, global power shifted away from Asian countries and towards European nations. Several developments led up to this exchange of power, but one of the primary causes is the discovery and utilization of the North and South America continents for natural resources. The exploitation of these continents led to acquisition of land, increased wealth and power, and the waning dependence on Asia.

With the discovery of new and unclaimed land, the European nations scrambled to lay claims over the vast areas and regions of the Americas. Only Europe, at the time, had access to the Americas. At the time, many European nations were having difficulties over the issues of overcrowding due to an increasing population. With the discovery of new land, many Europeans were eager to explore and learn about the New World. Some arrived for religious freedom, others arrived to create a new life and start anew. The continents were divided up to where Spain and Portugal controlled a majority of the southern and central part of America while Great Britain and France controlled the northern part (Bosch). Each region held different and fascinatingly new wonders and discoveries. Central and South America were the origins for sugar cane and cocoa beans that could be made into chocolate. The Spaniard, to their immense and gleeful delight, discovered that the Native American groups living in these regions had an immense amount of gold (Reilly 598). The group of Native Americans whom the Spaniards focused on the most was the Aztecs. During that time period, the Aztecs were very advanced in technology (Greene). Their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was located in the center of a lake at the time and contained drawbridges to keep enemies liter...

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...tic World Emerges. Davidson

County Community College, Thomasville. 8 Feb. 2011. Reading.

Greene, Shane S. "The Nation’s Beginning (Prehistory-1789)." Chapter 1

Section 1 The Nation’s Beginning (Prehistory-1789). Davidson Early College

High School, Thomasville. 1 Jan. 2011. Lecture.

Langdon, John W. "Chapter 22: Southern Asia and the Global Shift in Wealth and

Power, 1500-1800." Connections A World History. By Edward H. Judge. New

Jersey: Pearson Education, 2009. 533-55. Print.

Langdon, John W. "Chatper 23: Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1400-1800."

Connections A World History. By Edward H. Judge. New Jersey: Pearson

Education, 2009. 556-79. Print.

Reilly, Kevin. "Chapter 16: Atlantic World Encounters." Worlds of History: a

Comparative Reader Vol Two: Since 1400. 4th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Bedford/st

Martins, 2010. 595-635. Print.

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