Chapter 18 - Renewing the Sectional Struggle

1. Introduction
Silver became the global currency of the early modern period:
Japan had been providing much silver, but the major source became Spanish silver
from its Latin American colonies
Spain had a huge silver mine at Potosi (Incan Peru) where the Spanish revived the
mita labor of forcing native labor to mine silver in harsh conditions
Uses of Spanish silver:
o 1/5 went to the Spanish crown which used it for construction, building armies
and waging religious wars
o Most of the silver sent to Spain ended up going to merchants who then traded
it away to Asia
o Other Spanish silver went to its Philippines colony where they traded with
Chinese for luxury Asian goods
Most of the silver ended up in China
o Silver began to replace paper money which had been unreliable and
overprinted
o Ming Dynasty then began to accept all taxes in only silver led to domestic
economic instability and made it difficult for the poor to pay taxes
o Europeans began to complain since all their silver ended up in China which
wasnt buying any European goods thus causing trade imbalance
Most of the silver ended up in China
2. The Wests First Outreach: Maritime Power
Europeans began to learn about the larger world around them:
o Europeans had traveled to China since Mongol times, but with bubonic
plague, the breakdown of Mongol Empire, and the Ottoman takeover of
Constantinople, travel on the postclassical Silk Roads became less safe.
o Crusades of the late medieval era introduced Crusaders to Asian markets
o Muslims still brought Asian goods to Cairo (Egypt) where Italian merchants
paid high prices for them and charged even higher prices to European
nobility who were demanding more Asian goods, especially spices.
o Vikings had traveled across the Atlantic, reaching Greenland and North
America where they had established a temporary colony at Vinland
o Mongol invasions also increased interaction between Europe and the East
although fall of Mongols made China unknown again
o Writings of long distance travelers like Marco Polo helped introduce
awareness of luxury Asian goods
3. Technology: A Key to Power
New nautical and maritime technology:
o Mapmaking improved
o Beginning around the 12th century, Europeans began to use a rudder
(diffused from China to Europe by way of the Indian Ocean) which allowed
them to steer ships
o Two types of sails: square sail (for forward wind) and lateen triangular sail
(for crosswind) which allowed them to master any kind of wind
o Most important were magnetic compasses and astrolabes (soon replaced by
cross staffs and back staffs)
o Compasses were a Chinese invention diffused across the Indian Ocean
Gunpowder weapons
o European metal smiths created guns and cannons for Chinese gunpowder
which Mongols had brought over although early guns were not very accurate
o Nonetheless, gunpowder helped Europeans conquer
With the gunpowder + maritime, Europeans had an unprecedented advantage on
th
the sea well into the 20 century

4. Portugal and Spain lead the Pack

Portugal:
o Mariners from the relatively poor kingdom of Portugal were most prominent in
the early search for fresh resources and lands.
o Beginning in the 13th century, Portuguese seamen started to venture away
from the coasts and into open Atlantic waters, where they sought seals, fish,
whales, timber and lands where they could grow wheat to supplement
Portugals meager resources.
Prince Henry the Navigator (Port)
o Created a navigational school and sponsored explorations of North Africa
where he attacked Muslims, the Azores in the Atlantic, and the west African
coast where they exchanged European horses, leather, textiles and
metalware for gold and slaves
Vasco de Gama
o Portuguese under Bartolome Dias first went around the Cape of Good Hope
(South Africa) but quickly turned back
o First to get all the way around and into Indian Ocean markets was Vasco de
Gama in 1498 and he brought back a boatload of cinnamon and peppers
which immensely enriched him.
o By 1550, the Portuguese had established up to 50 trading posts in the Indian
Ocean in an attempt to build a port monopoly. French, Dutch and English
followed Portugal into the Indian Ocean.
Spain
o Spain, like Portugal, had a western location which made Atlantic travel easy
and had recently kicked Muslims out of the Iberain Peninsula (Reconquista)
o Like Portugal, Spain also went to expand territory, gain access to markets,
and spread Christianity
Christopher Columbus
o While the Portuguese were busy with an Atlantic-African route to the Indian
Ocean, Genoese sailor Cristoforo Colombo was convinced that a shorter
westerly route existed (his math was dumb)
o Portugal rejected him because of his stupid calculations and because Dias
had already gotten around southern Africa, but monarchs Isabel and
Ferdinand of newly unified Spain agreed to invest in his voyages
o Columbus reached land in October 1492, which he renamed San Salvador
and found a native Taino group called Guanahani, whom he called Indians.
o He then traveled around the Caribbean looking for gold and made a request
to Indians to pay his respects to the Chinese emperor. When he returned to
Spain, he reported to the king and queen that he had landed in waters just off
of Asia. What an idiot.
Ferdinand Magellan
o European exploration of the Pacific started with the Portuguese Ferdinand
Magellan who, like Columbus, sailed for Spain and believed that Asia was a
relatively short distance away.
o Portugal had little interest in Magellans services since they had already
discovered a route to Asia via Africa and the Indian Ocean, so Magellan
decided to sail for Spain.
o Magellan picked up Philippines, Guam and Maluku for Spain during the first
voyage around the world.The trip took 3 years, and only 1/5 ships and 35/280
men survived the expedition during which sailors ate rats, leather, and often
died of scurvy (due to lack of fruit and vegetables)
All in all Spain picked up Florida, Southwest North America, Mesoamerica and
Peruvian South America, Philippines, Guam, and West Indies

5. Northern European Expeditions

Britain and Dutch
o
Both were Protestant countries that wanted to compete with Catholic Spain
and Portugal but unlike the latter, the former were not as interested in
spreading religion
o Also, English defeated Spanish in a naval war and Dutch won independence
from Spain, which allowed them greater room to explore the Atlantic and
create colonies
o Both used joint stock companies (British East India Company and Dutch East
India Company) for colonial investment which was more efficient than
government financed and administered colonization used by Spain and
Portugal
o English colonies: North America, West Indies, India
o Dutch: Indonesia and briefly in North America, Taiwan and Brazil
France
o Created colonies in West Indies, Canada and Indochina (Vietnam Cambodia
area)
6. Toward a World Economy: Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange - the global diffusion of plants, animals, humans, disease,
technology, etc - between the eastern and western hemisphere had a much more
profound impact because the exchanges were between places with radically different
flora, fauna, biological and ecological entities.
Diseases:
o Worst epidemic disease in New World was small pox. Beginning in 1519
indigenous population of Mexico dropped 80 percent from 17 million to 1.3
million.
o Epidemic disease usually spared places with low population density but
smallpox moved so quickly that it spread to North America even before
Europeans got there
o Columbian exchange epidemic disease was probably the worst population
disaster in history
o Disease also spread to other European colonies such as in Polynesia
Food
o Over the long term, however, Columbian Exchange actually increased global
populations thanks to new food sources provided by both hemispheres.
Populations in all continents continually rise (important!)
o Africans, Eurasians were initially indifferent to American foods but American
foods soon enriched diets and led to population growth
o Population rises everywhere because of better diet --> less death
o Many areas became dependent on potato which was from South America
Animals
o Horse, pig and cow in the New World led to better agriculture, technology and
food but more environmental devastation
7. The Wests Commercial Outreach
Even though Europeans tried to dominate Indian Ocean trade and control East Asian
markets, ultimately, most Arab, Indian and Malay merchants continued to play
prominent roles in the Indian Ocean without that much interference
However, West did start to gain key victories over the earlier dominators of trade:
o Battle of Lepanto: Spain defeats Ottoman Navy, ending hopes of Muslim
victory over European naval power
o Europe started to create port treaties and monopolies along the West and
East African coasts and in areas of India and Southeast Asia
o Portugal won control over Macau, Dutch won trading rights in Nagasaki
Japan, and Western traders won special rights in Russia and in

Constantinople
Dutch created a supply colony at Cape of Good Hope (Cape Town) which
eventually was taken by British

8. Imbalances in World Trade

Spain which had the early domination but lacked strong banking and lack of
commercial growth was soon replaced by England France and Holland
Mercantilism became the major economic model: amass precious metals and export
more than import
Europeans also applied tariffs to protect their economies and prevented colonies from
manufacturing. Role of colonies was to supply natural resources and labor to mother
countrys economy
9. System of International Inequality
Even though many suffered under the new system, some natives in colonies still got
wealthy.
o Some regional princes/local leaders got rich by supplying labor and food to
mines and cities
o Some local peasants werent affected by global economic conditions
Nonetheless, there were many many negatives for natives under European control:
o Natives were usually providing the labor for the European system
o Europeans made all the rules of trade
o Wealth doesnt stimulate local economies and went to mother country
o Forced to rely on mother country for manufactured goods, the colonies didnt
become self-sufficient
o Coercive labor systems spread
Dependent economies relied on system of cheap labor for cheap
goods
Natives were forced into the Encomienda system which was meant
to imitate European manoralism but turned into slavery of mestizos
(European + Native mixed ethnicity)
Importation of African slaves to Americas
10.

How Much in the World Economy?

Those not in global economy dont grow as fast because:
o Dont have huge profits of European core nations
o Technologies dont change as rapidly
China:
o In China technological innovation slowed. Part of the reason for Chinese
slowdown of technology was that the two regimes favored political and social
stability over technological improvement, which they feared would lead to
unsettling change. Chinas loss of technology happened during a time that
Europe was making massive gains in technology.
o Still, China sold everything to Europe but bought little which led to European
frustration. Also, China highly regulated foreign trade to a very few number of
limited ports such as Macau and Canton. Chinese felt it didnt need outside
goods and refused British request to increase trade which led to tensions
between Britain and China. Britain also responded by making its own
porcelain which helped lead to industrial revolution.
Japan:
o Was initially open to Western influence and trade which they limited to
Nagasaki
o But soon, the leader (shogun) closed Japan off to the West because:
Western guns could end up in hands of rival nobles and warlords
Japan began to produce its own guns
Too many Japanese opening to Christianity
Japan closed to foreigners except few Chinese and Dutch again

th

limited to Nagasaki until 19 century when Japan would reopen

11.

12.

India
o

Mughal Empire was interested in Western goods and encouraged small port
colonies from Europeans
o Indians sold spices and cotton in exchange for silver
o However, India was more interested in domestic development and was
relatively uninterested in participating in global trade
Ottoman/Safavid Empires
o Like India, focused on internal developments
o Small presence of European enclaves in cities
Russia:
th
o Outisde of world trade until 18 century
o Largely agricultural and mostly trading with Central Asians
The Expansionist trend:
The first colonial possessions focused on S. America, W. Indies, N. America, W.
Africa
After this, colonization was expanded to Southeast Asia
Later, by the early 1700s, Western traders expanded to India as the Mughal Empire
was falling apart:
o British and French East India Companies controlled more of the Mughal
economy and ports
o British passed high tariffs and stopped import of Indian cotton as a way of
protecting its own cotton industry
o The goal was to create an Indian market for British goods
o Nonetheless, India still had internal manufacturing and was not as dependent
as was Latin America, but such manufacturing began to decline
The Americas: Loosely Controlled Colonies
Spanish first had colonies in West Indies (Caribbean) but then made the first
mainland settlement in Panama under Vasco de Balboa
Hernan Cortes: conquered the Aztec capital at Tenochtitlan (1519-1521). How he did
it:
o Able to create alliances with people sick of Aztec ruler
o Received logistical support from native allies who hated Aztec rule
o Advanced military: swords, muskets, horses, and cannons
o Disease brought by Spanish. Aztecs were unable to form any kind of
organized defense because of this
o Initially, some Aztec mistakenly thought Cortes was a god
Francisco Pizarro: Conquered the Inca (1530-1533). How he did it:
o Many Andean peoples hated the Inca rule and their high taxes and thus allied
with the conquistadores
o smallpox had already arrived
o Inca empire was already in a civil war/domestic dispute
o Pizarro pretended to call a conference with the Inca rulers but killed them all
except Atahualpa
o Atahualpa was forced to deliver a huge amount of gold and silver after which
he was executed
The earliest colonists and conquerors were gold-hungry volunteers
The colonial governments were loosely controlled by colonial governments back in
Europe
Initially, colonial governments left natives alone in exchange for tribute such as labor
However, over time, administration and rule became more formalized because of the
need to expand agriculture, make colony economically profitable, find new sources of
labor and missionary efforts

13.

British and French North America: Backwater Colonies

After the arrival of the Spanish, the Dutch, French and British started to explore the
North American coasts for resources of fish and a northwest passage (Arctic route to
Asia)
They never found the northwest passage but they got a lot of fish and decided to
make settler colonies.
French:
o Explored and built forts along the St. Lawrence, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
o Colonies at Port Royal and Quebec set up by King Louis XIV
o By 1755, New France had 55,000 settlers who lived under a replica of French
society with strong Catholic Church
Dutch
o Colony at New Amsterdam until it was invaded by English and renamed New
York
o Dutch were more interested in Asian colonies
English
o Colonies along the North American Atlantic Coast where some came for
economic opportunity and others came for religious freedom such as
Calvinists and Quakers
o Calvinist and Quaker societies often gave governing power to groups of
elders or wider congregations helped establish representative government
Compare and contrasts:
o French and English colonial ventures had private investor packing unlike
Spanish/Port who were backed by government funding and support
o Individuals had much more control over colonies than did individual colonies
in Iberian Empire
Seven Years War and Conflict
o During the 17th and 18th centuries almost all European conflicts spilled over
into the Caribbean and the Americas as well as into the Indian Ocean.
o Dutch dominated Indian Ocean trade in the 17th and early 18th but after a
while cotton and tea began greater importance than spices which caused
France and England to compete for India
o In the Americas, English and French fought for sugar islands and English
pirated preyed on Spanish shipping of precious metals (gold/silver) from
Spains Latin American colonies.
o Seven Years War = Great War for Empire
Commercial and political rivalries created the Seven Years War
which was really the first truly global war, fought on every continent
except the polar regions.
Britain and Prussia vs. France, Austria and Russia.
Britain wins and begins 150 years of global dominance
Led to American Revolution when Britain tried to tax colonists to pay
for the war
Britain took Frances Canadian colonies although it allowed France to
keep Caribbean colonies.
Britain took Florida fro, Spain although it allowed Spain to keep Cuba
Britain didnt immediately get an empire by winning but it helped pave
the way for an empire
Relations with natives:
o Unlike the Spanish, the English, French and Dutch did not encounter large,
urbanized civilizations such as Inca and Aztec
o Heavy migrations from Europe soon started to take native land away for
European family farms or plantations
o Cultural misunderstandings - Europeans justified takeover of land by claiming
that nobody had taken it yet (but this was because native Americans did not
have private property) and that the natives were wasting the land by hunting
(in Europe, hunting was a hobby of aristocrats even though it was a way of

o
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14.

15.

sustenance among natives)

North American natives did not have settled agriculture which made them
easier to displace
Some natives went off into the Plains taking advantage of the horse brought
by Spanish

North America and Western Civilization

North Americans married younger and had larger families because of more land
More child-centered than European family since children were needed for labor
Primarily nuclear family
Africa and Asia: Coastal Trading Stations
Europeans primarily focused on the coasts since they did not have the maps,
technology or manpower to penetrate the interior except for in
South Africa:
o Dutch East India Company had first established a colony at Cape Town in
1652 as a supply station for ships en route to Asia
o Settlers soon followed, first known as Boers (farmer) and then Afrikaner
(African)
o As European settlers expanded out of Cape Town in search for farmland,
they encountered natives who were both eventually decimated by European
guns and diseases
Philippines:
o Spanish military overcame local Philippine authorities and renamed it in
honor of king Philip II of Spain
o Spanish were able to conquer the local forces because the locals were
decentralized and had crappier weapons.
o Spanish policy in the Philippines revolved around trade and Christianity, and
Manila quickly became the hub of Spanish activity in Asia
o Spanish rulers and missionaries openly evangelized, encouraged conversion
to Catholicism, opened religious schools, taught literacy etc. At first they
encountered resistance but Philippines eventually became hard core Catholic
India:
o As Mughal Empire weakened, British and French began to fight over India
o Even before their last great emperor Aurangzeb died, French and British forts
were located all over Indian coastline
o British East India Company had to major advantages:
1. The company gained a station at Calcutta through a deal with local
princes
2. The company had enormous influence on British govt which could
provide naval and communication support
o The French East India did not have as much support by and influence on
govt and they were more interested in spreading Christianity unlike the British
o Both French and British recruited Indian princes as allies.
o During the Seven Years War, an Indian Bengali ruler attacked British and
kept British prisoners in an overcrowded death camp which led to 120 deaths
and the cry of blackhole of Calcutta to rally British forces
o British also made bribes to local Indian pricnes for more support
o British also gained Ceylon (Sri Lanka)