Zynab Harleem
HIST 1220-06
3/2/2018
TRADE IN THE 1500-1700
Commerce is a very important determining factor a country successfulness in 1500s - 1700s. Commerce lead to conquests, development, warfare exchange of mainly goods and payments at the beginning of the 1500s.Trade between the 1500 - 1700 was a period of blooming expansions of the economic system (Weinstein, Donald, and Peter N. Stearns 2016). Commerce in the 1500s was international and explorational in terms of search for wealth to further develop the European communities after the black death. Commerce brought people of different backgrounds together leading to the formation of new relationships, interfered with the old ways, human rationality, humanity, significant changes in the
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The discovery of the Indian ocean route was a breakthrough to future developments and enhancement of European countries. In the early 1500s the population in Europe was growing after a decline due to the black death and so were its communities and trading centers. Countries like Spain, Portugal, England, and France started taxing people and using the taxes to equip and build their military which enhanced their trade relationship in the coming centuries. They were able to build bigger ships with taxpayers money to aid their conquest. The first set of goods that lead to the conquest were spices such as pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and cloves (Robert Strayer and Eric Nelson 2016). Other commodities such as textiles, rubies, and sapphires were in demand too but not as high as those of the spice (Robert Strayer and Eric Nelson 2016). Trade created routes for exploration and exploitation. Since there was no proper road channel to get to other countries for trade, the important route of transportation was sea, where the big ships constructed using taxpayers money came in handy. The Portuguese were the first set of people that started the conquest by sailing down to the Indian Ocean. But there was a problem, other foreigners (non-Europeans) did not show much interest in …show more content…
Fur producing animals such as beavers, rabbits, sable, matten, and deer found in North America were used to produce fur and sold in European countries at quadrupled price. Not a lot of European traders were involved in trapping or hunting fur bearing animals, they bought the skin or furs from Indians and Native Americans that had hunted them in North America. In return for this trading activity Europeans introduced the Native Americans to alcohol, tobacco, guns, gunpowder, and other destructive goods that the Asians did not find attractive (Robert Strayer and Eric Nelson 2016). Hunting of these fur bearing animals lead to relocation and extinction these animals. Animals such as deer, beaver and many others moved deep into the forest to avoid being hunted. Fur prices varied with the weather, so during the cold seasons Europeans increased the prices of their fur. The disadvantage that came wit fur trade between the Europeans and Americans was that the American were exposed to the European diseases and they did not have access to medicine, the deaths that occurred from the diseases decrease the population of Native Americans (Robert Strayer and Eric Nelson 2016). Fur trade also led to the Native Americans to take advantage of the opportunity to rely more on European goods because they could not produce those goods. The Native Americans got along with the Europeans as some of them got
It caused conflict between tribes as they fought over areas of land that would provide them with the most furs (Effects of the Fur Trade). The fighting over land eventually lead to the death of numerous Native Americans. The only reason conflict arose was from European greed. Furs were the only thing they began to care about Natives became dependent on the Europeans for more than just iron tools and cooking utensils, they also began trade for firearms and ammunition. Also, as a result of devoting time to getting furs, they had to trade for European food to sustain themselves through the winter (Effects of the Fur Trade). Not only had the Europeans drastically affected the ecosystem in the hunting of the furs, they also started to effect the Native American way of life. This changed the habits of some tribes from regular nomadic movements to the claiming of territories to further their stake in the ever growing fur trade. After trading for some items became less useful, Europeans started to trade alcohol which would have lasting consequences present even in today’s Indigenous people (Effects of the Fur
However, the French began to face strong competition in the fur trading industry, which caused many problems between different European nations and different native tribes. Therefore, the trading of fur allowed early seven- teenth century French explorers to establish peaceful relations with the Natives, however, com- petitive trading also incited much quarreling between competing colonies and Indian tribes. Since the early seventeenth century, French explorers had been able to keep peaceful relations with the Native Americans as a result of fur trading. Samuel de Champl...
Throughout the Middle Ages, cities in Afro-Eurasia grew as trade centers due to advantages such as faster transportation from the waters of the ocean. Calicut brought merchants together from all around Asia because the government protected them through laws and policies, also of their spices exclusively pepper. As a result of the exchanges happening in Calicut, there was a war between Calicut, Portuguese and Chinese forces heavily armed with men and many lethal weapons. People from China and Portugal wanted to trade for Calicuts specialties, specialties like spices especially pepper that made them more wanted than others. From trading people inherited culture, religion, and ups and downs from trade.
Toward the end of pre-colonial times in Europe, due to the fall of Constantinople, many European nations felt the need to find an alternate route to the East Indies. The trade of rare goods such as spices, rice, exotic fruits and silk fabrics were much in demand, but came at extreme prices. In the beginning of the ‘Age of Exploration’, Portugal was in the forefront with the early explorers Henry the Navigator, Zarco and Tristao Vaz Teixeira, and Diogo Silves discovering the Madeira Islands, the Azores, and the exploration of Africa respectively, but King John the II of Portugal was unconvinced by Christopher Columbus’s pleas to fund his plan to sail West to the East Indies. Columbus made many demands for self-profit, including ten percent of any riches with which he returned, and even an ‘Admiralty’. Subsequently, Columbus took his plans to Queen Isabella of Spain. Spain acquiesced, and Columbus set off on his fateful journey. The Roman Catholic Church was very interested in expanding the Christian faith during this time and applied its influence on the monarchy. Religion also played a large personal role as Columbus truly believed that God spoke to him, and guided his hand. Additionally, at this time in Europe, land and food were at a premium. The monarchs of the era were fully aware that the acquisition of more land, slave labor and possible natural resources would greatly increase their power, prestige and subsequent wealth. After learning of Columbus’ successful return and the Treaty of Tordesillas (which divided the New World between Spain and Portugal), King Henry VII of England threw his hat into the ring and sent John Cabot sailing from Bristol on an attempt to find a shorter route to the ‘Indies’. Not to be left out in ...
Fur trading started between the Europeans along with the Aboriginals when the most valuable beaver pelts were substituted for metal and clothing goods such as iron knives and axis, copper kettles, blankets and trinkets. The beaver pelts were well desired by the Europeans for the reason that using this fur for headgear provided an elegant way to keep dry. However these pelts were for fashion, as men and women could be instantly noted within the social hierarchy by according to their beaver hats. It was so valuable that the sand on the floor was filtered to save every hair that had fallen off. For the Europeans, captivating advantages of the rich furs from the Indians in the New World was a major factor in generating handsome profits, and there is no other pelt exchanging business enterprise like the Hudson's Bay Company.
Another key resource in the attraction to Canada was the fur that was available. In the 17th and 18th century, fur was in high demand in Europe. Fur pelts were seen as fashionable, and of high value at the time. Beavers were a main provider of fur pelts, and were decreasing in amount within Europe, due to the high demand and mass production of these fur pelts in Europe. This relates to why the Europeans were very motivated to trade with Canadians, as these fur pelts would have been of high value and demand in Europe, creating a boost in the economy and profit for the merchants. In Europe around 1600, North American fur was also seen as of higher quality than European fur, thus concluding that in many ways North American fur was of a greater value and ‘superior’ to fur originating in Europe. These were main reasons that
During the 15th century Europe had numerous changes. The population expanded rapidly which gave rise to new classes of merchants. European nations were very wealthy when it came to spices. Therefore, they traded them on the land route from Asia. These land routes were controlled by the Turkish Empire, which lead to many problems for the countries who were trying to trade these spices and acquire other valuables. This then steered them to begin searching for other routes of trade to essentially cut out the “middle man”. A race then began to erupt between many European countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, and England. These four countries all wanted to be the first to discover new land. However, Portugal pulled ahead and sailed along
France pushed westward in pursuit of its one valuable resource, the beaver. European fashion setters valued beaver fur hats for their warmth and luxurious appearance. Demands for the fur grew. French voyageurs even recruited Indians into the fur business in order to help with the hunt. French fur-trappers and their Indian partners ranged from all over North America in pursuit of the beaver. They hiked, rode, snow shoed, sailed, and paddled across astonishing distances and ever deeper into the heart of the continent.
The immediate cause of the European voyages of discovery was the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. While Egypt and Italian city-state of Venice was left with a monopoly on ottoman trade for spices and eastern goods it allowed Portugal and Spain to break the grip by finding an Atlantic route. Portugal took the lead in the Atlantic exploration because of the reconquest from the Muslims, good finances, and their long standing seafaring traditions. In dealing with agriculture, The Portuguese discovered Brazil on accident, but they concentrated on the Far East and used Brazil as a ground for criminals. Pernambuco, the first area to be settled, became the world’s largest sugar producer by 1550. Pernambuco was a land of plantations and Indian slaves. While the market for sugar grew so did the need for slaves. Therefore the African Slave start became greatly into effect. Around 1511 Africans began working as slaves in the Americas. In 1492, Columbus embarked on his voyage from Spain to the Americas. The Euro...
When the Europeans explored the Americas, they were introduced to new plants, foods, and animals, as well as riches and land. Foods such as corn, white and sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, cacao, fruits, peppers, peanuts, sugar cane, and tobacco were many of the new foods enjoyed by Europeans. Some animals such as wild turkeys, llamas, and alpacas, were brought back to Europe. Native American Indians traded furs with the Europeans, which were luxury items throughout Europe. The discovery of lands rich in gold, silver, and other treasures prompted the conquistadors to launch expeditions to the Americas, while reports of newly discovered lands abundant in resources, lured many other Europeans to the Americas in search of a new and better life.
Trade was a major influence that came upon the Native American society. The Indians became dependent on fur trading, and they served as important trading partners to European Immigrants. By the 1700’s, the flow of trading goods steadily increased. This dramatically affected the natives lives by making them less self-sufficient. By 1750, almost every Indian man had a rifle or musket, and many Indian women relied on metal cooking pots and other utensils. Most of the Indians wore European made wool clothing, instead of leather or fur. The fur trading also affected Indian culture because as it grew more important, the Indians changed their ways of hunting and living so that they could focus on hunting the animals with valuable pelts, like beavers
In 1650 the British government adopted a unique policy into the international trade, a policy of mercantilism which states that a nation must export more than it imports in order to build economic strength. Specifically benefiting the British economy, England passed regulatory laws that created a trade system. This trade system illustrated that Americans provided raw goods to Britain and Britain used the raw goods to produce manufactured goods that were to be sold in European markets and then back to the colonies. The colonies were only suppliers of raw goods, so they could not compete much with Britain in manufacturing, also making it harder to trade with foreign countries. Contributing to the British Empire’s wealth was the certainty that
1.) As a whole, the entry of the Europeans into the Asian sea trading network had relatively little effect on the entire system. The entry of the Europeans into the network led to the establishment of new trade routes in the Indian Ocean to the southern Atlantic near the Cape of Good Hope. In water, the Europeans were superior militarily, but on land against fortified Asian settlements, the Asians far surpassed the Europeans technologically. The only superior items that the Europeans had were small, fast sea vessels such as caravels, clocks, and weaponry. This situation of inferiority led to the Europeans’ plan of adaptation to the Asian network instead of trying to control it. Although the Europeans had little to offer, the agricultural items introduced such as crops first cultivated in the Americas proved to be very sustainable and led to large amounts of population growth, but the growing numbers eventually led to the spread of epidemic diseases that ultimately ravaged both Asian and European populations.
In the early 1800's, seaboard ports were the largest centers of commerce. These were small towns, with basic transportation systems. Most of the goods exported were either simple products or seafood from the nearby ocean. Many farms surrounded the seaboard ports. The growing conditions were not too favorable, as the fields were muddy most of the time. Seaboard ports were an essential part of the local trade.
...ition of spices into the market during the Middle Ages not only created an economic boom but also led to the change in social, political, and religious outlooks of society. The vast importance of the spice trade opened the doors for nations to expand and create new relationships with neighboring regions, but most importantly it allowed individuals such as Columbus, Da Gama, Polo and other explorers to be able to discover new domains that eventually led to the colonization of the Americas today. Paul Freedman’s book does an excellent job in enlightening the reader of how meaningful spices were throughout the centuries and with the help of numerous primary sources, the message was clear just after reading the first chapter. The book allows us to have a better understanding of the fundamental importance spices played in shifting the medieval times into the modern era.