1. Ch. 15: Global Commerce 1450–1750

3. Intro The Atlantic slave trade was and is enormously significant.
The slave trade was only one part of the international trading networks that shaped the world between 1450 and 1750.
Europeans broke into the Indian Ocean spice trade
American silver allowed greater European participation in the commerce of East Asia
fur trapping and trading changed commerce and the natural environment

4. Intro cont…
Europeans were increasingly prominent in long-distance trade, but other peoples were also important.
Commerce and empire were the two forces that drove globalization between 1450 and 1750.

5. Bonds of Commerce: The Asian Sea-Trading Network
Trade Network- stretched from Middle East to Africa
3 Main Zones
Arab Division- glass, carpet, and tapestry manufacturing
China- paper, porcelain, and silk textiles
Japan, Southeast Asia, and East Africa- raw materials- ivory and spices
Trade passed along coastal routes- central control and military force were absent in trade network

6. Europeans and Asian Commerce
Europeans wanted commercial connections with Asia.
Columbus and Vasco da Gama both sought a route to Asia
Motivation above all was the desire for spices (though other Eastern products were also sought)
European civilization had recovered from the Black Death
National monarchies were learning to govern more effectively

7. Europeans and Asian Commerce
Some cities were becoming international trade centers
The problems of old trade systems from the Indian Ocean network
Muslims controlled supply
Venice was chief intermediary for trade with Alexandria; other states resented it
Constant trade deficit with Asia

8. A Portuguese Empire of Commerce
Indian Ocean commerce was highly rich and diverse
Portuguese did not have goods of a quality for effective competition
Portuguese took to piracy on the sea lanes – they used force
Portuguese ships were more maneuverable, carried cannons
Established fortified bases at key locations (Mombasa, Hormuz, Goa, Malacca, Macao)

9. A Portuguese Empire of Commerce
Portuguese created a “trading post empire”
Goal was to control commerce, not territories or populations
Operated by force of arms, not economic competition
At height, controlled about half of the spice trade to Europe
Portuguese gradually assimilated to Indian Ocean trade patterns
Carried Asian goods to Asian ports
Many Portuguese settled in Asian or African ports
Their trading post empire was in steep decline by 1600

10. A Portuguese Empire of Commerce
Portuguese voyagers- set up forts- not huge impact
Traders
Initially ivory, pepper, animal skins, and gold for slaves
Mulattos and Portuguese spread inland
Trade leads to political, social, & religious relations
Euro impressed with power of interior kingdoms- Benin
Attempt of Christian conversion
Kongo most successful- king and kingdom converted
Relationship in Kongo ends with people enslaved

11. A Portuguese Empire of Commerce
First contact- appreciation, curiosity- thought Portuguese looked strange
Portuguese- set up port cities on West, commercial/ military/missionary goal
Patterns of Contact
Fortified trading stations
Force and Diplomacy employed
Alliances w/ local rulers
Commercial relations- money in #1 factor

12. Portuguese Vulnerability
Portuguese could NOT enforce their power in Asia
Many Portuguese ignored gov’t and traded independent
Corruption among trading officials
Dutch & English challenged Portugal
Dutch captured Malacca & built fort at Batavia in Java in 1620
Dutch decided to control only some spices- NOT all

13. Spain and the Philippines
Spain was the first to challenge Portugal’s control of Asian trade
Establishment of a Spanish base in the Philippines
First encountered when Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigated the globe (1519–1521)
Philippines were organized in small, competitive chiefdoms
Spaniards established full colonial rule there (takeover occurred 1565–1650)
the Philippines remained a Spanish colonial territory until 1898, when the United States assumed control

14. Spain and the Philippines
Major missionary campaign made Filipino society the only major Christian outpost in Asia
Spaniards introduced forced relocation, tribute, taxes, unpaid labor
Large estates for Spanish settlers, religious orders, and Filipino elite
Women’s ritual and healing roles were attacked
Manila became a major center with a diverse population
Periodic revolts by the Chinese population; Spaniards expelled or massacred them several times

15. European Tribute Systems in Asia
Europeans accepted Asian rulers in return for permission to trade
Portuguese & Dutch conquered Sri Lanka to control cinnamon
Dutch went to Java to dominate coffee production
Spanish conquered N. Philippines but failed in Islamic south
European Tribute Regime
Indigenous peoples lived under own leaders and paid tribute in products produced by coerced labor under direction of local elites

16. The East India Companies
Dutch and English both entered Indian Ocean commerce in the early seventeenth century
Soon displaced the Portuguese
Competed with each other
ca. 1600: both the Dutch and the English organized private trading companies to handle Indian Ocean trade
Merchants invested, shared the risks
Dutch and British East India companies were chartered by their respective governments
Had power to make war and govern conquered peoples

17. The East India Companies
Established their own trading post empires
Dutch empire was focused on Indonesia
English empire was focused on India
French company was also established

18. The East India Companies
Dutch East India Company
Controlled both shipping and production of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace
Seized small spice-producing islands and forced people to sell only to the Dutch
Destroyed the local economy of the Spice Islands; made the Dutch rich- Batavia, Malacca
When spice trade failed- relied on fees charged for transporting goods within Asia
Buy Asian products then selling to other traders

19. The East India Companies
British East India Company
Was not as well financed or as commercially sophisticated as the Dutch; couldn’t break into the Spice Islands
Established three major trade settlements in India (seventeenth century)
British navy gained control of Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf
Could not compete with the Mughal Empire on land
Negotiated with local rulers for peaceful establishment of trade bases
Britons traded pepper and other spices, but cotton textiles became more important

20. The East India Companies
Dutch and English also became involved in “carrying trade” within Asia
both gradually evolved into typical colonial domination

21. Asian Commerce
European presence was much less significant in Asia than in Americas or Africa
Europeans were no real military threat to Asia
Missionaries
Conversion occurred in isolated regions (N. Philippines)- gov’t turned over to missionaries
New Brand of Christianity-
Many had no idea what they were agreeing to
Forced Conversions
Clung to traditional ways- public bathing, drinking, talking to dead- Asia maintained its identity

22. Japan’s Reunification
16th century: Nobunaga (daimyos)- used firearms
Deposed last Ashikaga shogun in 1573 but was killed in 1582 before finishing conquests
Toyotomo Hideyoshi- mast of Japan in 1590
Launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea
Died in 1598
Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed shogun
Ruled from Edo (Tokyo)
All Daimyos brought under his control
Political unity was restored

23. Asian Commerce- Japan
Portuguese reached Japan in the mid-sixteenth century
Japan at the time was divided by constant conflict among feudal lords (daimyo) supported by samurai
At first, Europeans were welcome

24. Japan & European Challenge
Many European missionaries came to Japan
Traders brought firearms, clocks, printing presses to trade for Japanese silver, copper, and artisan products
Japan began to manufacture own firearms- changed warfare
Nobunaga protected Catholic missionaries- thought of them as counterforce to Buddhist opponents
Jesuits- converted thousands
Hideyoshi- less tolerant of Christianity- feared Europeans would try to conquer Japan

25. Asian Commerce- Japan
But Japan unified politically under the Tokugawa shogun in the early seventeenth century
Increasingly regarded Europeans as a threat to unity
Expulsion of missionaries, massive persecution of Christians
Japanese were barred from travel abroad
Europeans were banned, except the Dutch at a single site
Japan was closed off from Europe from 1650 to 1850

26. Japan’s Isolation 1640’s- only Dutch & Chinese visited Japan to trade
Western books banned
Mid-17th century- absolute isolation
Tokugawa- expanded his authority
Neo-Confucian Philosophy started “School of National Learning” based on indigenous culture
Some elites continued to follow Western developments

27. Age of Eurasian Closure
1700: Europeans only had minimal effect on people in South & Southeast Asia
Trade Routes linked Europe, Indian Ocean world, Philippines & Americas
Europeans established commercial centers & introduced sea warfare
Asian system survived- Europeans accepted rather than fight
European ideas did not impress Asians- had minimal effect

28. Silver and Global Commerce
The silver trade was even more important than the spice trade in creating a global exchange network.
Enormous silver deposits were discovered in Bolivia and Japan in the mid-sixteenth century
In the early modern period, Spanish America produced around 85 percent of the world’s silver
China’s economy was huge and had a growing demand for silver.
1570s: the Chinese government consolidated taxes into a single tax to be paid in silver
Value of silver skyrocketed
Foreigners with silver could purchase more Chinese products than before

30. Silver Silver was central to world trade.
“silver drain” to Asia: bulk of the world’s silver supply ended up in China (most of the rest reached other parts of Asia)
Spanish silver brought to Europe was used to buy Asian goods
Silver bought African slaves and Asian spices
The Spanish “piece of eight” was widely used for international exchange
Potosí, Bolivia, became the largest city in the Americas (population: 160,000) because it was at the world’s largest silver mine
The city’s wealthy European elite lived in luxury
Native American miners lived in horrid conditions

31. Silver Silver vastly enriched the Spanish monarchy.
Caused inflation, not real economic growth in Spain
Spanish economy was too rigid
Spanish aristocrats were against economic enterprise
Spain lost its dominance when the value of silver fell ca. 1600

32. Silver & Japan
Japanese government profited more from silver production than did Spain.
Tokugawa shoguns used silver revenues to defeat rivals and unify the country
Worked with the merchant class to develop a market-based economy
Heavy investment in agriculture and industry
Averted ecological crisis, limited population growth

33. Silver & China
In China, silver further commercialized the country’s economy.
People needed to sell something to obtain silver to pay their taxes
Economy became more regionally specialized
Deforestation was a growing problem; wasn’t addressed as it was in Japan
Europeans were essentially middlemen in world trade.
Funneled American silver to Asia
Asian commodities took market share from European products

34. The “World Hunt”: Fur in Global Commerce
Europe’s supply of fur-bearing animals was sharply diminished by 1500.
There was intense competition for the furs of North America.
French were prominent in St. Lawrence valley, Great Lakes, and along the Mississippi
British traders moved into Hudson Bay region
Dutch moved into what is now New York

36. North American Fur Trade
Europeans usually traded with Indians for furs or skins, rather than hunting or trapping animals themselves
Beaver and other furry animals were driven to near extinction
By the 1760s, hunters in the southeastern British colonies took around 500,000 deer every year
Trade was profitable for the Indians
Received many goods of real value
Huron chiefs enhanced their authority with control of European goods
But Indians fell prey to European diseases
Fur trade generated much higher levels of inter-Indian warfare

37. Fur Trade & Native Americans
Native Americans became dependent on European trade goods.
Iron tools and cooking pots
Gunpowder weapons
European textiles
In result, many traditional crafts were lost
Many animal species were depleted through overhunting
Deeply destructive power of alcohol on Indian societies

38. Russian Fur Trade Russian fur trade
Profits of fur trade were the chief incentive for Russian expansion
Had a similar toll on native Siberians as it had on Indians
Dependence on Russian goods
Depletion of fur-bearing animal populations
Russians didn’t have competition, so they forced Siberians to provide furs instead of negotiating commercial agreements
Private Russian hunters and trappers competed directly with Siberians

39. In Pursuit of “Soft Gold”
What is the “Human Cost” of the fur trade in Siberia and North America compared with other forms of large scale trade that developed in the early modern period?

40. Commerce in People: The Atlantic Slave Trade
Between the mid-fifteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, the Atlantic slave trade took an estimated 11 million people from Africa to the Americas.
Millions more died in the process
Vast human tragedy
African slave trade transformed the societies of all participants
The African diaspora created racially mixed societies in the Americas
Slave trade and slavery enriched many
Slavery became a metaphor for many types of social oppression

42. The Slave Trade Most human societies have had slaves
Africans had practiced slavery and sold slaves for centuries
Trans-Saharan trade took slaves to the Mediterranean world
East African slave trade

43. The Slave Trade
Slavery took many forms, depending on the region and time period
Slaves were often assimilated into their owners’ households
Children of slaves were sometimes free, sometimes slaves
Islamic world preferred female slaves; Atlantic slave trade favored males
Not all slaves had lowly positions (in Islamic world, many slaves had military or political status)
Most pre-modern slaves worked in households, farms, or shops

44. The Slave Trade – American Distinctiveness
Distinctiveness of slavery in the Americas
The scale and importance of the slave trade in the Americas was enormous
Largely based on plantation agriculture, with slaves denied any rights at all
Slave status was inherited
Little hope of manumission
Widespread slavery in society that valued human freedom and equality—unlike anywhere else except maybe ancient Greece
Slavery was wholly identified with Africa and with “blackness”

45. Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Origins of Atlantic slavery lay in the Mediterranean and with sugar production
Sugar production was the first “modern” industry (major capital investment, technology, disciplined workers, mass market)
The work was very difficult and dangerous—slaves were ideal
At first, Slavs from the Black Sea region provided most slaves for Mediterranean sugar plantations
Portuguese found an alternative slave source in West Africa

46. Africans as Slave Labor
Africans became the primary source of slave labor for the Americas
Indians died of European diseases
Europeans were a bad alternative: Christians from marginal lands couldn’t be enslaved; indentured servants were expensive
Africans were farmers, had some immunity to diseases, were not Christian, and were readily available
Long debate on how much racism was involved

47. European Reason for Slavery
Slave was necessary-
High mortality rate
Low fertility rate (more men than females)
To keep stable numbers- import more
million slaves worked in Americas- 4 million of them in southern United States

48. Slave Trade in Practice
Slave trade was driven by European demand
But Europeans didn’t raid Africa for slaves; they traded freely with African merchants and elites
From capture to sale on the coast, trade was in African hands
Africans received trade goods in return, often bought with American silver

49. African Societies Destabilization of African societies
Many smaller societies were completely disrupted by slave raids from their neighbors
Even larger states were affected (e.g., kingdom of Kongo)
Some African slave traders were themselves enslaved by unscrupulous Europeans
Increasing pace of Atlantic slave trade
Between 1450 and 1600, fewer than 4,000 slaves were shipped annually
In the seventeenth century, average of 10,000 slaves per year taken to the Americas

50. Demographic Impact
In population in Africa (25 million) was half of what it would have been if there was no Slave Trade
Number of women enslaved in Africa grew to very large numbers- skewed proportion of men to women
New World food introduced to Africa helped them recover population loss from slave trade

51. Who was Enslaved?
People from West Africa (present-day Mauritania to Angola)
Mostly people from marginal groups (prisoners of war, debtors, criminals)
Africans generally did not sell their own peoples
80 percent of slaves ended up in Brazil and the Caribbean
5–6 percent in North America
The rest in mainland Spanish America or in Europe
About 15 percent of those enslaved died during the Middle Passage

52. Slave Destinations
Brazil received million Africans- about 42% of those who reached the new world
Caribbean Islands (sugar production)- St. Domingue and Jamaica- 1 million slaves
Trans-Saharan, Red Sea, & E. African slave trade (in Muslim hands)- 3 million slaves

53. Statistics 1450- 1850- 12 million Africans shipped across the Atlantic
10- 20% mortality rate on ships
million actually made it to Americas
160,000 per year died in Africa due to slaving wars or forced marches
million slaves sent to Americas
End of million slaves lived in Americas

54. Impact of the Slave Trade in Africa
Created new trans-regional linkages
Slowed Africa’s growth, while Europe and China expanded in population
Sub-Saharan Africa had about 18 percent of the world’s population in 1600 but only 6 percent in 1900
Slave trade generated economic stagnation and political disruption in Africa
Those who profited in the trade did not invest in production
Did not generate breakthroughs in agriculture or industry—since Europeans didn’t increase demand for Africa’s products, just for its people

55. Profitability of Slave Trade
Argument
Great profits, rise of commercial capitalism and origins of Industrial Revolution
Many profited from slave trade- ships, sellers, buyers
VS.
Risks & Costs
Profitability did maintain high standard
Slave trade was not very profitable in the long run

56. Impact of the Slave Trade in Africa
Political effects
Some kingdoms (Kongo, Oyo) gradually disintegrated
Some took advantage of the slave trade
Benin was one of the most developed states of the coastal hinterland
State dates back to about the eleventh century c.e.
Monarch (oba) controlled trade
Largely avoided involvement in the slave trade
Diversified its exports

57. Impact of the Slave Trade in Africa
Political Effects
Aja-speaking peoples to the west of Benin
Slave trade disrupted several small, weak states
Inland kingdom of Dahomey rose in the early eighteenth century
Was a highly authoritarian state
Turned to deep involvement in the slave trade, but under royal control
Annual slave raids by the army
Government depended on slave trade for revenue

58. Africa and the End of the Slave Trade
External influences caused end of slave trade in Africa
Africans had commercial alternatives- but did not affect supply of slaves
Enlightenment thinkers- condemned slavery and slave trade as immoral and cruel
Abolitionist movement gained strength and won abolition of slave trade in Wilberforce
British pressured other nations- final end of New World slavery occurred in 1888 w/ Brazilian abolition

59. Slavery: Old and New Activity:
Identify 3 examples of slavery in various world societies BEFORE Columbian Exchange
Rank in two ways
1. Degree of impact slavery had on societies
2. Societies’ relative harshness toward slaves themselves
EXPLAIN why you ranked each one
ADD two forms of African slavery in the Americas to list and identify where they should be placed in the rankings- Identify Why

60. Reflections: Economic Globalization—Then and Now
A study of global commerce in the early modern period shows both how different from and how similar we are to people of the past.
Globalization isn’t just a twentieth-century phenomenon.
But early modern globalization was much slower and on a smaller scale
Early modern globalization was not yet centered on Western civilizations
Early modern economic life was mostly preindustrial
Early modern globalization was tied to empire building and slavery