5.2.5 Global Commerce

joint-stock company

A business that is owned by stockholders. Each stockholder owns a certain number of shares in the company, which allows for unequal ownership.

triangular trade

A trade route among Europe, Africa, and the Americas in which manufactured goods were brought from Europe to Africa and exchanged for slaves. Slaves were then transported across the Atlantic and exchanged for colonial goods like rum and tobacco. These goods were then brought to Europe, thus completing the triangle.

In one or two sentences, write the "big idea" or main point of this study.

Global commerce developed as a result of European exploration and colonization. The development of the global economy through trade led to both good and bad changes in the way different people lived and worked around the world.

7. What two countries battled for control of Asian trade? Which established colonies?

Portugal and Spain both wanted to control the trade routes with Asia. Spain established colonies, while Portugal only established forts.

mercantilism

The economic theory that countries should use trade to build up their stock of silver and gold. According to this theory, colonies exist solely to enrich the mother countries. For this relationship to work, the mother country has to maintain strict control over all aspects of colonial trade.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, people, disease, and culture between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas after Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492.

global economy

The interdependent economies of the world's nations, regarded as a single economic system.

Old World

The term used by Europeans to describe Europe, Africa, and Asia.

New World

The term used by Europeans to describe the newly discovered lands of North America, South America, and the Caribbean.

What were joint-stock companies?

These were businesses owned by stockholders and were used by British and Dutch merchants to fund trade expeditions around the world.

How might indigenous people of South America react to hearing their homeland described as the New World?

Answers will vary. Below is one way you may have answered. Indigenous people might be confused about why anyone would call their home "new," since they had lived there for their entire lives. Indigenous people might also find the term arrogant, since it implied that Europeans "discovered" something that had been discovered thousands of years before.

What types of foods became staples in different parts of the world with the Columbian Exchange?

Corn and potatoes became staple foods in Europe, but originated in the Americas, while bananas and sugarcane became important crops in Central and South America.

What is triangular trade?

It is a trade route between Europe, Africa, and the Americas that sent manufactured goods from Europe to Africa in exchange for slaves, who were then sent to the Americas in exchange for rum, tobacco, and other items. Those items were then sent to Europe and the cycle of trade continued.

How might things have been different for global commerce if Africa hadn't been able to supply Europeans with so many slaves?

Many answers are possible. One answer might be that with so much of the indigenous population of the Americas having died from European diseases, colonization probably would have happened much more slowly without the labor slaves provided. That would also mean that the world economy would have grown much more slowly, and it would have taken longer to settle the New World.

What was mercantilism, and how did it lead to the establishment of European colonies?

Mercantilism is the theory that a country is best off building up stocks of silver and gold. To do this, a country needs to have colonies it can strictly control all trade with, making sure the country exports more than it imports.

What is the Columbian Exchange?

The Columbian Exchange is the exchange of animals, plants, culture, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.

What is the Old World? What is the New World?

The Old World includes the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia. These were the parts of the world known to Europeans before European transoceanic exploration began. The New World includes North, Central, and South America. These were the areas Europeans felt they "discovered" during the Age of Exploration.