Profits from Conquests in the Americas

When European powers like Spain, Portugal, and Britain conquered the Americas, it brought them access to the global trading networks. Japan also rose in power because of their richly-filled silver mines. From the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century, this increase in conquest helped the Spanish in increasing silver production and the Japanese also had direct access to silver mines as well, which helped with their initial economies but only worsened the conditions of the lower class individuals being exploited. This in turn brought economic influences that weakened the power of nations like China and Spain that originally profited from the silver trade by receiving and trading with silver; however, Europe discretely rose above other nations with their initial grip in the silver trade.

Spain originally profited from the access to silver in the Americas but with time, the American Indians developing hardships which increased with the value of silver and China and the Philippines later benefitted more than them. Tomas de Mercado, a Spanish scholar (Doc 2) stated how Spain couldn’t profit from the access to silver because it was being imported to Chinese regions by the Manila port where the investments actually stayed. Their economies couldn’t get better because other regions profited more like the Philippine islands, which they conquered and China, which was receiving the silver. Another person who advocates the social aspect of why Spain was not benefitting from the silver trade was Antonio Vasquez de Espinosa, a Spanish priest. He wrote that Potosi, a silver mine, was being exploited for its natural minerals but in the process, it also became the home to horrid conditions for mine workers (Doc 6). The Native Ameri...

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...ucated on the economic principles that define his nation. This helps him to make a good inference as to why Europe should continue on with this trading network, even though they only gain luxury goods from it. He is looking from all points considering he sees the value of the choice in fostering cultural connections as well as helping their economy.

From the mid 16th century to the early 18th century, conquest into the Americas and the discovery of silver there brought along internal peasant and Native American class exploitation which hurt their economic standings and lowered their social standings; also, China and Spain, countries which originally profited from the silver trading networks slowly got negatively affected by the global flow of silver. However, the Europeans grasped this moment to slowly rise above the others and show their clear European advantage.