World History

Unit 5

Unit 5 - The First Global Age (1200-1750 Ad)

5.1 Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires

1. Who ruled the major political states in Asia around 1300? Which states do they rule?
   Around 1300, the Mongols ruled the major political states in Asia. They ruled Timurid, the Chatagai, the Ming Dynasty, and the Golden Horde.
2. What was the devshirme system?
   The devshirme system gave the emperor a personal army - young Christian boys - that were basically slaves trained to be elite soldiers.
3. What role did enslaved people play in these empires? In what context did this arrangement develop?
4. Why do some historians call these three empires “Gunpowder Empires?” Why might other historians disagree with this label?
   They are called the Gunpowder Empires because they had the unique distinction of being created by the use of gunpowder.
5. What are some commonalities among the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires?

5.2.1 Archipelago of Trade

1. Why is the Afro-Eurasian system of long-distance trade described as an archipelago?
   The Afro-Eurasian system of long-distance trade was described as an archipelago because since most of its products were luxury items, this trade network was concentrated on strategic urban centers, ignoring vast rural areas, which mostly continued to rely on local markets. The cities were, therefore, like islands of production in a sea of rural areas.
2. What was the effect of the Mongol Empire on trade?
   The Mongols made trade safer and more unified.
3. What role did this regional trade network play in helping Johannes Gutenberg create his printing press?
   The regional trade network helped Johannes Gutenberg by providing a path for the technology to reach Europe from China.
4. What impact did annual fairs have on the European economy?
   These fairs helped boost production, improving European trade and finances.
5. What was one negative effect of interconnected trade?
   The negative effect of interconnected trade is the spread of disease.

5.2.2 Guilds, Wool, and Trade

1. How do Nick and Trevor describe the Afro-Eurasian trade system in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries?
   Nick and Trevor described the 13th and 14th century trade system as large and complex.
2. Why did people in Flanders and northern Italy buy English wool?
   Northern Italy and Flanders were Europe's biggest cloth manufacturing regions. The best wool came from England.
3. Who produced wool in England?
   Large portions of the English population were involved in producing wool.
4. How did the wool trade empower the merchant classes? What role did guilds play in this process?
   The wool trade empowered the merchants by allowing them to advance money to the sheep owners, guaranteeing wool every year.
5. Why was wool important for England?
   Wool was important for England because it made commoners as rich as the nobility.

5.2.3 Silk and the Song Dynasty

According to Francesca, where was silk produced in the era of the Song Dynasty, and what were some of the most important export markets? According to Professor Xiaolin Duan, how did the economy work during the Song Dynasty? Who made silk, in particular? Other than clothing, what other uses were there for silk? According to Professor Duan, was the silk trade part of a wider Afro-Eurasian trading system? How? What does the Pictures of Tilling and Weaving tell us about who did most of the work to produce silk? Does Professor Duan believe that there was an industrial revolution in China in this period? What evidence is there for it?

5.2.4 Zheng He

1. How did Zheng He come to have three names? His birthname is Ma He, he was awarded the name Zheng He as a gift for defending the Zhenglunba Reservoir, and he gained the nickname Sanbao Taijian after exploring the Indian Ocean and beyond.
2. What did Zheng He do as the admiral of the Ming Dynasty? As admiral of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He led seven expeditions into the Indian Ocean.
3. How does Xu Zu-Yuan describe these journeys, and how does this contrast to later Portuguese expeditions in this region? Xu Zu-Yuan describes these journeys peaceful trading expeditions, which contrasted to the militarized Portuguese conquest of ports and regions.
4. How does Geoff Wade describe these journeys, and what is his evidence? Geoff Wade describes these journeys as missions intended to display the Ming's might and dominance over the region. His evidence is the 20,000 soldiers counted in each expedition as well as several regional battles.
5. How does the artist use art and design to contrast and illustrate the two big theories about Zheng He’s voyages? The artist used passive waters (appearing blue and calm) to describe the trading voyages, in contrast with the stormy waters (appearing purple and treacherous) to describe the military conquest.

5.2.5 New World Networks, 1200-1490s

1. Where were most of North America’s networks of exchange located? Why? Most of North America's exchange networks were mainly centered along river valleys, due to the rich soil for farming, easy drinking water access
2. What was significant about Aztec marketplaces? Aztec marketplaces had significant numbers of daily visitors.
3. How was the Aztec Empire maintained? The Aztec empire was maintained by requiring its people to pay tribute (s form of taxation).
4. What challenges did the Inca Empire face when trying to unify? How did they overcome it? When the Inca Empire was trying to unify, it overcame the vast geographical challenges by employing athletic boys as runners to carry important messages for the empire.;;
5. What was the mita (Mit’a) system? The mita system is basically a tax paid by laboring for that part of the year.
6. What was unusual about Inca trade? Most of their trade happened within the empire, while trading with other empires was pretty rare.

5.2.6 Pre-colonial Caribbean

1. What were the two major moments of migrations to the Caribbean islands and when did these take place? The two major moments of migrations to the Caribbean islands took place in 5000 BC (Central and South America) and about 500 BC (From South America).
2. Dr. Hofman states that the soil has to be opened like a book in order to learn about these early Caribbean peoples. What types of information can archaeologists learn by doing this? By opening the soil like a book, archaeologists learned about information like food, diet, trade, and transport of the peoples that lived there.
3. What were belief systems like in the early period of migration? How did these beliefs change in the later periods? In the early period, they believed in their ancestors; later periods showed a more conceptualized and more symbolized belief system (belief in inanimate objects like beans).
4. How do we know that there were continued contacts and exchanges between islands and between the Caribbean islands and the mainland of Central and South America in the pre-colonial period? Continued contacts and exchanges between islands and mainland in the pre-colonial period were confirmed by the existence of dog teeth that originated in South American mainland.
5. How did the indigenous Caribbean peoples help the Spanish and what occurred as a result of this help? First, the indigenous peoples had a role to the Spanish as translators and guides exchanging their knowledge; that rapidly changed into a situation where the indigenous peoples were enslaved.
6. Who were the Kalinago and where did they settle? The Kalinago were an indigenous group who resisted Spanish control.

5.2.7 Aztec Empire

1. What did Aztec society have in common with ancient Greece? Aztec society and ancient Greece made use of the city-state form of government.
2. What was the Triple Alliance, and in what context did it develop? The Triple Alliance was a union consisting of the city states of Texcoco, Tlacopan, and Mexico-Tenochtitlan which developed under the context of conquest.
3. How did the system of city-states help Hernando Cortes conquer the Aztec Empire? The system of city-states helped Cortes by creating a large army consisting of soldiers from neighboring city-states who had issues with the Aztec Empire.
4. The author of the video describes the Aztec Empire as advanced. What evidence does the author give for this claim and is the author’s argument convincing? The author gives engineering projects (such as the causeways and bridges leading into Tenochtitlan and the dams providing water storage and flood control) as evidence of an advanced empire.
5. How did Aztec political communities differ from Maya political communities? Mayan communities were autonomous city-states; Aztecs were not... meaning that they paid tribute to a central authority.

5.2.8 Macuilxochitl

1. Who was Macuilxochitl and how does she describe herself? Macuilxochitl was a poetess of the Mexica (Aztec) People.
2. She describes the Tenochtitlan (Aztec) conquest of Tlacotepec as “forays for flowers [and] butterflies.” What does this mean?
3. She writes that Axayacatl spared the Otomi warrior partly because he brought a piece of wood and deerskin to the ruler? What does this tell you? This act tells that Axayacatl was a forgiving ruler.

5.2.8 Macuilxochitl

5.2.9 Trade Networks and the Black Death

1. How did the success of the Mongol state help the Black Death spread? The unifying rule of the Mongol Empire made these remarkably diverse interactions possible. But it also meant that, after people mingled, they brought both their cargoes of luxuries and plague-infected rats back to diverse and distant lands.
2. How many people are estimated to have died from the plague? As many as 100 million people across Afro-Eurasia may have died from the plague.
3. What do gerbils have to do with plague? Gerbils carried fleas, which carried the plague.
4. Where was plague the worst? Why? The plague was worst in Europe, due to its crowded, damp, and poorly sanitized cities.
5. How did the plague affect economies? Living standards increased, as survivors of the plague demanded higher wages.

In the production and distribution narrative, we generally hear about expanded trade routes as a purely good thing. How does this article affect that view? This article affects that view by pointing out that our connections help us to communitcate, but they also make us vulnerable.

5.2.10 The Renaissance

1. According to the author, what was the Renaissance? The Renaissance was a cultural movement in late medieval and early modern Europe.
2. What did Renaissance thinkers and artists in Italy believe they were doing? The artists and writers of the Italian Renaissance believed they were creating something totally new by reviving the teachings of the ancient world.
3. According to the author, how did historians in the nineteenth century use the Renaissance to build narratives?

How did different types of people experience the Renaissance? How did trade help start the Renaissance? How does the author use connections with the Islamic world to challenge the narrative that the Renaissance was all about reviving Greek and Roman culture? What does the author argue that the painting, “The King’s Fountain,” shows us about life in Renaissance Europe? Third read: evaluating and corroborating Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this article matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions: How does your interpretation of the Renaissance change if you explain it through each of the three course frames? How would you describe the Renaissance to somebody who knew nothing about it? Use evidence from the article to support, extend, or challenge the idea of a uniquely European cultural movement that started in fourteenth-century Italy.

5.2.11 Disease!

1. How did migration and population density contribute to the historical rise and fall of disease rates?
2. Why might hunters and gatherers have had fewer diseases than farmers or pastoralists? Hunters and gatherers have had fewer diseases due to their isolated nature.
3. What made ancient Greece more susceptible to disease? Trade made ancient Greee more susceptible to disease.
4. What are some world historical effects of plague?
5. Did the Black Death or the Great Dying have more fatalities? Why did one have much higher mortality rates? The Great Dying had more fatalities because the Amerindians were largely disease free before European contact.
6. How did population density and disease contribute to European colonization in the Americas? Europe's growing population was creating more pressure to colonize the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
7. Why do we have relatively lower disease rates now? Why are disease rates in danger of rising again? Massive improvements in science and medicine contribute to relatively lower disease rates today.

5.3 Colombian Exchange

5.3.1 Crops that Grew the World

1. What’s the difference between staple crops and cash crops? What different effects did they have? Staple crops are a main food source that help increase population, while cash crops transform the economic system.
2. How did European plantation owners maximize profits? European plantation owners maximized profits by farming huge numbers of the same species of plant and forcing enslaved people to farm the vast fields of cash crops.
3. In what ways did European colonists impact networks and production and distribution?
4. How did European use of crops and animals affect the environment in the Americas? European use of crops and animals had a destructive effect on the environment in the Americas.
5. What effect did the introduction of the potato have on European populations? How did this change over time? Many European populations came to depend on the potato.

5.3.2 The Colombian Exchange

1. What were indigenous communities like before the Columbian Exchange? Before the Colombian Exchange, indigenous populations thrived across North and South America, some of whom lived in large urban areas.
2. Why were indigenous Americans so vulnerable to diseases? Indigenous Americans were so vulnerable to disease, partly due to a lack of genetic diversity- only small groups of humans had initially crossed over from Asia.
3. How did epidemic diseases affect the environment and the economy? Epidemics affected the environment and the economy by resulting in massive demographic shifts which allowed forests to regrow and prey to flourish again. But the low population resulted in a labor shortage which contributed to the rise of the Atlantic slave trade.
4. What animals were domesticated by humans in the Americas, before and after the Columbian Exchange? In the Americas, before the Columbian Exchange, only llamas and alpacas and some small animals were suitable for domestication. Europeans brought horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, among others.

1. The author of this article argues that the “Columbian Exchange completely changed the face of the world.” Based on the evidence in this article, do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not? Based on the evidence in this article, the assessment "the Columbian Exchange completely changed the face of the world" is agreeable due to the geographical scope - across continents-, the massive demographic shifts -which altered the landscape-, and the subsequent Atlantic slave trade -which contributed to a population increase.

5.3.3 The Columbian Exchange

1. What effects did the Columbian Exchange have on the global biological landscape?
   The Columbian Exchange homogenized the world's biological landscape.
2. What were the demographic effects of the Columbian Exchange in the Americas?
   The Columbian Exchange had a deleterious effect on the demographics in the Americas.
3. In what context were Europeans able to take over Aztec and Inca lands?
4. How did animals from Afro-Eurasia impact the Americas?
   Animals from Afro-Eurasia where a benefit to the Americas, providing food, agricultural help, and transportation.
5. Out of the four categories discussed—disease, animals, plants, and people—which had the biggest effect on Afro-Eurasia, according to John Green? What were some of those cultural and demographic effects?
   According to John Green, New World plants had the biggest effect on Afro-Eurasia.
6. Initially, the Columbian Exchange led to the decimation of the population of the Americas, mostly as a result of disease. How did this pattern of demographic decline change over time?
   The world population doubled between 1650 and 1850 because New World food was more caloric than Old World food.
7. By the end of Era 5, what were the principal global effects of the Columbian Exchange?
   The principal global effects of the Columbian Exchange were population redistribution, lower starvation rates, and homogenization of diversity.

1. While the Columbian Exchange arguably made the world more similar and connected, its effects were unevenly felt in different parts of the globe. Use evidence from this video to think through these Era 5 Problems: How did changes in the environment, demographic changes, and new forms of coerced labor affect some regions of the world more than others? What were the impacts of the Columbian Exchange for people living in different regions and social classes around the world? Why and how were the impacts similar and different?
2. At the end of the video, John Green poses the question: “Are longer, healthier lives for more humans worth the sacrifice of an impoverished biosphere? And most importantly, how will your conclusions about those questions shape the way that you live your life?” How might the patterns and trends presented in the video have importance for other studies, later history, or your life more generally?
   The patterns and trends presented in the video have tremendous importance for other studies, later history, and on the personal scale. These patterns and trends that were set over 500 years ago have shaped the current system and if people were more informed, they would be pressed to make better personal personal choices to produce a desired global effect.

5.3.4 The Disastrous Effects of Increased Global Interactions c.1500 to 1600

1. Why is it difficult for historians to determine the scale of the Great Dying?
   It is difficult for historians to determine the scale of the Great Dying because there is insufficient information on indigenous population numbers prior to European contact.
2. What groups of people migrated to the Americas involuntarily?
   Non-elite Europeans and young African men and women were two groups of people that migrated to the Americas involuntarily.
3. What do the categories “mestizo” and “mulatto” mean? Who came up with these categories?
   The Spanish colonial government came up with the labels of mestizo and mulatto to describe European, indigenous, and African people mixing together.
4. How did the population of sub-Saharan Africa change as a result of the Columbian Exchange? How did this affect production and distribution?
   As a result of the Columbian Exchange, the loss of young women and men to the Atlantic slave trade network violently removed millions of productive people from African communities. Production and distribution was affected sharply.
5. What was the plantation complex? Whom did it benefit?
   The plantation complex was a system of large farming estates created by Europeans for commercial agriculture in the Americas.

1. The author claims that “demographic changes in both the Americas and Africa were mostly disastrous for indigenous peoples. European economies and communities were the ones that mostly benefited from their arrival in the Americas and from the Atlantic slave trade network.” Using this article and other articles and videos in this lesson, find evidence that supports, extends, or challenges this claim.
   To support the claim that demographic changes in both the Americas and Africa were mostly disastrous for indigenous peoples but beneficial for Europeans, the article and lesson provide a wide range of details ranging from the plantation complex - the European system of large farming estates, using Americas' land, the Columbian Exchange - which saw a decrease in indigenous populations coupled by an increase in European population, and the effects of forced labor on enslaved men and women whose work was done solely to maximize profits for Europeans.

5.3.5 Transatlantic Migration Patterns — The Voluntary and Involuntary Movement of People

1. According to the article, what three key events shaped transatlantic migration patterns in this period? According to the article, three key events that shaped transatlantic migration patterns were the European Reformation, the decimation of the indigenous American population, and the development of the sugar plantation system.
2. What were the main reasons Europeans voluntarily migrated to the Americas in this era? In this era, migration to the New World from Europe was driven by the European Reformation, the decimation of the indigenous American population, and the development of the sugar plantation system.
3. How did the forced labor of African and indigenous people in the Americas affect the lives of working class Europeans?
4. What nineteenth century trend began to change transatlantic migration patterns yet again? The abolishment of the slave trade began to change migration patterns.

Third read: evaluating and corroborating Finally, here are some questions that will help you focus on why this article matters and how it connects to other content you’ve studied. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to this question:

1. How did the shape of communities change in the Americas due to the circulation of both voluntary and involuntary migrants? Which groups were easily able to shape their new communities, and which groups appear to have had more difficulty? How might these different experiences affect societies in the Americas, still, today?

Due to the circulation of both voluntary and involuntary migrants, communities in the Americas became multi-cultural. With the gradual abolition of of the slave trade, demand for voluntary workers increased, drawing European and Asian migrants.

5.3.6 Amonute

1. Who was Amonute? Amonute was the real-life Pocahantas.
2. How did Amonute become important to the English settlers in Virginia? What are the key elements of the story John Smith told about her? Amonute became important to the Virginia English settlers because she acted as an interpreter between the English settlers and the Native Americans. John smith told that she saved his life.

5.3.7 Religious Syncretism in Colonial Mexico City

1. What is the difference between Spanish conquistadors and missionaries? Conquistadors were brutal, missionaries were peaceful.
2. What were some reasons the Spanish were so eager to get people to convert? The Spanish thought that conversions would prevent rallying and revolts.
3. What were some strategies used by the Spanish to try to convert the indigenous population? Some of these strategies included referring to colonialism as a "religious conquest".
4. What were some things that motivated some Aztecs to convert? Some Aztecs converted to obtain protection from the conquistadors.

5.4 The Transatlantic Slave Trade

5.4.1 Impact of the Slave Trade - Through a Ghanaian Lens

1. How do Ato Ashun and Trevor Getz describe society around Cape Coast prior to the Atlantic slave trade? Overall, the authors suggest that the society around Cape Coast prior to the Atlantic slave trade was diverse and complex, with significant social, economic, and political factors shaping people's lives.
2. What, according to Ato Ashun, were some of the economic impacts of the Atlantic slaving system on the coastal region? The Atlantic slave trade fueled the development of several provisioning and redistribution markets and allowed for the accumulation of vast wealth that was used to finance a wide range of endeavours and consumption patterns. Due to internal and foreign conflicts, which continue to this day on the continent, the formerly stable and developed African states lost their strength and split.
3. According to Akosua Perbi, how did the Atlantic slaving system affect how people lived? Most fundamentally, it produced deep social divides between the rich white and poor black communities, the consequences of which still haunt American societies now, many years after emancipation.

5.4.2 Domingos Álvares

1. When and where was Domingos Álvares born? Domingos Álvares was born in 1710 in the small community of Naogon, West Africa.
2. What was Álvares’ occupation, and why did this lead to his capture and sale to European enslavers by the King of Dahomey? Álvares was a priest; this led to his capture and sale to European enslavers because the King of Dahomey saw priests and healers as a challenge to his power.
3. Why was Álvares imprisoned in 1733? In 1733, Álvares was arrested on suspicion because the famliy of his new owner began to suffer from mysterious illnesses.
4. Why did the Catholic Church try to imprison Álvares in 1742? In 1742, the Catholic Church tried to imprison Álvares because they were suspicious of the religious components of his practice.
5. How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate the importance of community to Álvares? To demonstrate they importance of community to Álvares, the artist uses art and design by displaying the different environments he has been in throughout his journey and making him the center of attention in each photograph.

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course. At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions:

1. How is Álvares’ biography evidence of the kinds of networks people built across regions, and the transfer of ideas from one region to another in this era? Being bounced around from one part of Brazil to another, Álvares' biography is evidence of how a network, such as the slave trade, existed and was a factor in ideas being transferred from one region to another.
2. How does this evidence support, extend, or challenge your understanding of the impact of the Columbian Exchange? The evidence extends the understanding of the Columbian Exchange by giving a glimpse of what was considered ordinary life at the time.

5.4.3 Race and Coerced Labor Part I - People as Property in the Americas

1. What was the legal status of enslaved people of African descent in the Americas? In the Americas, Enslaved people of African descent were legally defined as property.
2. How did this legal status impact enslaved people’s experiences? Because of this legal status, most enslaved people were required to perform forced and unpaid labor for the duration of their lives.
3. What information does the advertisement announcing the escape of an enslaved person in Jamaica give us about the person named York? The advertisement gives information about his physical appearance and his likelihood of leaving the island for free on board a vessel.
4. How did laws and beliefs around race impact enslaved people and free people of color? During the period of slavery, societies in the Americas were organized around a belief in societal inequality. This impacted enslaved people and free people of color by giving the latter a limited number of rights.
5. What information do the articles from the French Code Noir give us about the way race worked in the French colonies in the Americas? The articles from the French Code Noir informs readers that in the American French colonies, race largely separated and divided people.

5.4.3 Race and Coerced Labor Part II - Motivations and Justifications

1. What contradiction does the system of slavery in the Americas highlight, according to the author? According to the author, the system of slavery in the Americas highlights the contradiction that proud supporters of freedom and liberty all used and profited from slavery.
2. What was the principle motive for using enslaved labor? Money was the principle motive for using enslaved labor.
3. How were the people in William Clark’s 1823 painting Cutting the Sugar Cane, Antigua economically related to Harewood House in Leeds? The people in the 1823 painting profited from the exploitation of the people in the sugar plantation painting.
4. In what ways did people use religion to justify slavery? Slavery's proponents argued that slavery existed in the Bible, or that it was God's plan that Africans be enslaved.
5. In what way did people mis-use science to argue in favor of slavery? Were these arguments sustained by evidence? People claimed, in the name of science, that those of African descent lacked intelligence and had a natural need to submit to white authority. Some medical doctors even argued that freedom was damaging to the mental health of the enslaved. These claims were not sustained by evidence and have been disproven by scientific research.

1. What is the difference between a “motive” and a “justification”, as the author uses them in this article? As the author uses them in this article, a motive is why something happened and a justification is what made it seem fair.
2. How is it possible that the same society could create both important ideas about individual sovereignty and the rights of citizens, and a system of perpetual, violent enslavement? What particular set of ideas made it possible in this context? It is possible for the same society to create ideas surrounding fairness while engaging in unfair acts thorough deception.

5.5 New Economic Systems

5.5.1 Overview of new economic systems

1. In what ways was the European use of credit in this period a continuation of older practices? In what ways was it a change? Use of credit in this period is a continuation of ancient examples of credit and interest, such as ancient Mesopotamian tables used to keep track of barley that must be paid back. It became a change because charging interest was banned by the Church.
2. What was the impact of Fibonacci’s book, according to the author? Fibonacci's book spread the use of his mathematical knowledge, containing ideas that solved existing economic problems.
3. Why was a bill of exchange useful? Bills of exchange were useful because they helped people conduct cashless transactions, sometimes across long distances, without immediately having the money on hand.
4. What financial innovation did the British East India Company and Dutch East India Company rely on? The British and Dutch East India Companies relied on the joint-stock model, which enabled companies to fund colonizing projects better than governments. These were companies, not governments, yet they performed colonial administration in India on behalf of the British and the Dutch.
5. What was the economic role of colonies, for Europeans in this era? For Europeans in this era, colonies served as sources of new raw materials needed to generate profits, and they additionally served as new places for Europeans to sell their finished goods.
6. Was the development of the system of capitalism, in this era, an example of innovation (invention), or diffusion (the spread of ideas), or both? What evidence supports your response? The development of the system of capitalism is an example of both innovation and diffusion because the diffusion of math led to the innovation of new economical systems.

5.5.2 Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

1. When and where was Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz born?
   Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was born in 1648 in the village of San Miguel de Napantla, in what had once been the Aztec Empire but was then the colony of New Spain.
2. When Juana was a young girl, what did she first learn?
   When Juana was a young girl, she became fluent in the ancient language of her Aztec ancestors, Nahuatl, as well as Spanish, Latin, and Greek.
3. Where was Juana working and living when she was seventeen years old? What controversial writing did she complete at this time?
   When Juana was seventeen years old, she was a nun living in the church. She wrote Homeres Necios (you, foolish men).
4. What decision did Juana make so that she could continue studying? How did this decision cause problems for her later?
   Juana chose to be a nun so she can write. She was later censored by the church.

5.5.4 The Spanish Empire, Silver, & Runaway Inflation

1. How did the Inca Empire’s administration work, and how did they build in the mountains?

How did the Aztec and the Inca differ in how they treated conquered peoples?

1. What resource did the Spanish find instead of gold, and how did they extract this resource?
   Instead of gold, the Spanish found a mountain of silver and they extracted using the mit'a, i.e, paying below basic wages to indigenous peoples.
2. What were the economic results of Spanish silver mining in the Americas?
   After mining over 150,000 tons silver in the Americas (80% of the world's supply), between the 16th and 18th centuries, Spain became the richest nation in the world.
3. What other country had a problem with inflation? How did they try to deal with it, and were they successful?
   China had encountered inflation of its own after printing the world's first paper money and they tried to deal with it by switching back to coins. They were successful- but only temporarily, due to changing their tax structure.
4. What were some effects of China’s new tax structure in the sixteenth century?
   China's new tax structure had an effect on silk because under the new structure, the government required taxes to be paid in silver. This led to an increase in silk production, which can be readily traded for silver, but with an over-abundance of silk and not enough buyers, silver coming in had become stagnant.
5. What were the overall global effects of Spanish silver mining?
   The overall global effects of Spanish silver mining were inflation that weakened their government, environmental degradation, and the destruction of two of the world's great empires, the Aztecs and the Inca.

John Green argues that Spanish silver mining had a huge impact that was both global and long-lasting. He claims that “this process led to the life that you have today, one where I can teach you history through the magic of the Internet.” Is his argument convincing? What other sources or facts support, extend, or challenge his argument?
His argument is convincing because silver is all around us today.

5.5.6 Capitalism and the Dutch East India Company

1. Why did the Dutch enter into trade in southeast Asia?
   The Dutch entered into trade in southeast Asia to fulfill Van Neck's plan to trade uprightly with all nations.
2. What was the VOC and why was it formed? What powers did it have?
   The VOC was an entity created to monopolize the East Indies trade. The VOC had the power to hire its own people, and also to wage war.
3. How did low interest rates help the Dutch?
   Since interest rates were low, debt was cheaper and the Dutch could invest two and a half times as much in pretty much anything than the English could.
4. Why was it easy for Dutch citizens to invest?
   Low interest rates made it easy for Dutch citizens to invest.
5. What were some important financial technologies used by the Dutch?
6. What key advantage did the VOC have over British companies?
   Government sponsorship and centralization gave the VOC an advantage over British companies.
7. How did the Dutch control trade in Southeast Asia?
   The Dutch controlled trade in Southeast Asia by monopolizing the spice trade.
8. What caused the VOC to decline and eventually go bankrupt?
   Ultimately, maintaining the monopoly cost more than the spices were worth, causing the company to bankrupt in 1799.
9. Why isn’t the VOC a good example of modern free market capitalism, according to John Green?
   According to John Green, the VOC isn't a good example of modern free market capitalism because VOC was supported by the government. Conversely, the VOC provides a chilling example of what has happened in the past when corporations become more powerful than states.

Does the example of the VOC support or contradict the argument, made elsewhere in this unit, that capitalism was the main system supporting European overseas trade in this period? Why?
The VOC supports the argument that capitalism was the main system supporting European overseas trade because the only difference between VOC and other entities is that the VOC was backed by the military.

John Green closes the video by claiming that, “the VOC provides a chilling example of what has happened in the past when corporations become more powerful than states.” Is this convincing? What other sources or facts support, extend, or challenge this assertion?
This is a convincing argument because the same paradigm is present in the modern day.

5.5.7 Yasuke

1. Where was Yasuke likely from and how did he get to Japan?
   Yasuke was likely from East Africa and traveled to Japan in the company of some Jesuit Missionaries.
2. What was Yasuke’s relationship with Oda Nobunaga?
   Yasuke was taken under Nobunaga's service and quickly became friends with him.
3. What happened to Yasuke after Oda Nobunaga was killed?
   After Nobunaga was killed, Yasuke was captured, but later released because he wasn't Japanese.
4. What else do we know about Yasuke?
   We know that we was taller than most Japanese people.
5. How does the artist’s depiction of Yasuke change across the page?
   The artist's depiction of Yasuke becomes more and more noble as the story goes on.
6. How does this biography of Yasuke support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about oceanic connections and networks in this period?
   This biography of Yasuke reveals how fragile international connections were during this time period.

5.5.8 Capitalism and Slavery

1. Why does the author argue that the relationship between capitalism and slavery has meaning today?

Why, according to some theories cited by the author, does capitalism theoretically promote free rather than enslaved labor? What evidence, from the United States, is cited to support the argument that enslaved labor was an inefficient system for the owners of businesses? How does the author connect abolitionism to industrialists? What evidence does the author present that the Atlantic slave trade may have helped to stimulate industrialization and capitalism? Third read: evaluating and corroborating At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions: One side of the debate in this article argues that capitalism and slavery were tied together in this era. But in the era following this one, slavery was abolished, while capitalism continued to grow. Does this point provide evidence that the two were not really related to each other? Why or why not? This article makes some surprising connections between slavery and capitalism. What are some ways that capitalism influences your daily life?

5.6.6 Magna Carta, the Glorious Revolution, and American Democracy

1. What was the Magna Carta?
   The Magna Carta was a constitutional document that guaranteed certain rights and freedoms in Great Britain.
2. What were the two sides of the English Civil War? Who won?
   The English Civil war was fought between those who supported the King (Charles I) and those who supported the English Parliament (a semi-elected body). The semi-elected body won because the simply killed the King.
3. What elements of the English Bill of Rights are also found in American democratic thought and documents?
   Democracy, constitutionalism and "no taxation without representation" are some elements of the English Bill of Rights that are also found in American democratic thought and documents.
4. Were the Magna Carta, the English Civil War, and the Glorious Revolution actually revolutionary?
   In actually they were not because, instead of resuliting in democracy, they resulted rather in a restored monarchy.
5. According to the article, why were English and Scottish political philosophers more popular in America than in England?
   According to the article, English and Scottish political philosophers were more popular in America than in England because, unlike England, the American colonies had lots of people owning land, instead of just a few. Also, they were far away from the British government and had to make decisions on their own. .

NOTES

At the start of the American War of Independence in late 1774, the First Continental Congress met to decide a course of action that would eventually lead to armed rebellion. Together, these representatives of the British colonies in North America wrote a Declaration of Rights and Grievances that demanded better treatment from the British King George III. In it, they demanded the liberties they believed were guaranteed by “the principles of the English Constitution, and several charters or compacts.” These included: freedom from taxation without representation the right to a trial by a jury of peers protection of life, liberty, and property These phrases should be familiar to anyone who knows a bit about the American Constitution and the development of democracy in what would become the United States of America. They were all taken from British legal and political documents. So, would it be fair to say, as many historians have, that American democracy is based on British (or English) ideas of liberty and rights?

The United Kingdom of Great Britain, which ruled the American colonies, was made up of a formal union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1707. Because England also ruled Wales and Ireland at this time, those countries also became part of Great Britain. Together, they formed a single political unit. Although the Continental Congress would later cite its “constitution,” Britain had no actual constitutional document, but rather a number of “charters or compacts” between the King and various parts of the population, which had grown over time. Most of them came from the English part of Great Britain.