Unquestionably, the primary benefit of the silver to Europe was that for the first time it gave Europeans a commodity that could be traded in Asia. Subsequent consequences of the discovery of silver were an increase in the practicality of new, European controlled sea-trade routes connecting parts of America, Asia and Europe; the accumulation of capital in Europe allowing the shift from feudalism to capitalism to take place; and ultimately, an increase in the power of Western European nations. The importance of Silver to the "World Economy" will first be described. Other important consequences of American silver will then be examined, as will the impact of these on "World Trade". The discovery of American silver was made in a world that wanted
The Indian Ocean region was a trading hotspot from 650 C.E. to 1750 C.E. This area has stayed similar in the fact that India has always been a major trading power in this area, but in later times other countries began to take control and dominate the Indian Ocean and its influence on commerce. When the Muslims first began using trade routes in the Indian Ocean basin they used past technologies such as the compass and lateen sails to travel around the Indian Ocean, and by around 1750 C.E. They were still using these nautical technologies to help them navigate through this region.
Trade in the Indian Ocean was affected by different changes of many political powers and it was the main factor of spreading of religion, and linking cultures. Then Indian Ocean trade route kept transporting the same goods, but the way these goods were transported from place to place changed as technology advanced. The trade route in the Indian Ocean stayed the same by trading the same goods as they did in the beginning, such as ivory, wood and exotic animals from India from Africa in early trade and also traded spices with India such as: pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. Also, this route stayed the same culturally by having the same continuous spread of religious ideas like Muslim merchants who held the religion together by sharing a common belief and language. The political aspect of The Indian Ocean trade route stayed the same by evolving and successfully growing under the rule of strong empires.
Between 1750 and 1850 the most important colonial possession in Asia was British India. Differing from the changes that British India brought to North America, the changes that the British made in Asia did not bring political independence. The East India Company was chartered in 1600 by the crown and was quickly made into a large powerful authority. The East India Company quickly took over India’s imports and exports in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries along with controlling the Chinese economy greatly with the power of opium imports. Britain operated on claims that their system was based on free trade but the practices that they followed showed anything but that.
Once merchants realized this, they started charging more. This then made England want to find their own way to get the tea and other goods for cheaper. Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492 in search for a faster way to India for these goods. This resulted in the discovery of North America. In the 1700s, the clipper ship was invented.
China and Portugal during the Age of Exploration When the Chinese finally managed to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty during the Middle Ages, foreign interests increased. With the support of Ming Emperor Yung-Lo, China pursued expansion and trade. Zheng-He, a Chinese Muslim, set out to India, Persia and Africa from 1405 to 1433. Around that time, Portugal commenced their expansion voyages. Despite the fact that the Chinese had a larger population, Portugal was the one who went on to become the dominant nation in the Indian Ocean during the Age of Exploration.
As trade routes in the Indian Ocean used to import and export goods stayed the same, Indian and semi-coastal Indian cities continued attract trade throughout 650 CE and 1750 CE, but in the midst of the continuities were changes such as the increased European presence and involvement. When trade routes emerged in the medieval era, the Indian Ocean trade route became a successful and the first trade route which operated across an ocean. Between 650 C and 1750 CE seasonal monsoon winds were taken advantage of to direct ships towards the Indian Ocean basin. These winds would move in predictable patterns for sailors and merchants to plan the direction they travel in and the structure of ships to suit the wind. Monsoon winds aided sailors and merchants since travel time was shortened by sailing quickly with the wind.
Yangwen Zheng, the author of The Social Life of opium in China, 1483-1999, mainly focused on how opium affected the social and cultural life in China rather than discuss the political aspect. He believed that opium helps us understand social control. Here are the few research questions that Yangwen Zheng had pointed out: (1) how opium items transformed from a medicine to a luxury item? (2) Why opium became so popular and widespread after people discovered its recreational value? (3) How and when did opium come to lodge itself within the sophisticated Chinese material culture?
Hay argued that establishing equal access to commerce would benefit American traders and the U.S. economy, and hoped that the Open Door would also prevent disputes between the powers operating in China. For the United States, which held relatively little political clout and no territory in China, the
The trade patterns remained the same in previous years. Not only goods and products were traded through out years, but even more importantly was the cultural interactions and diffusion that took place. For instance, the Muslim empires adapted paper money from the Chinese. This was very important when most of Asia was taken over by the Mongols. Kublai Khan expanded the network of the Silk Roads, trading heavily with the Dehli Sultanate and Ilkhanate to the south and south west, appropriately.