WHAP reading quiz
What were the most important motives for exploration?
The most important motives for exploration were the search for basic resources and lands suitable for the cultivation of cash crops, the desire to establish new trade routes to Asian markets, and the aspiration to expand the influence of Christianity.
What was the most abundant treasure in the Americas?
According to the Spanish, the greatest attractions of the Americas were precious metals. But, silver was the most abundant American treasure.
Who was Afonso d'Alboquerque?
Afonso de Albuquerque was the commander of Portuguese forces in the Indian Ocean during the early sixteenth century. His fleets seized Hormuz in 1508, Goa in 1510, and Malacca in 1511.
How were cross-cultural exchanges different after 1500 C.E.?
After 1500 C.E, cross-cultural interactions took place on a much larger geographic scale, and encounters were often more disruptive than in earlier centuries. Most of the exploring was done by the Europeans, but the Ming dynasty
(Early Modern Era -1450-1750). What changes will we see during this era as compared to Period 3 (600-1450)?
Because of the Columbian Voyages to the Americas, the Columbian Exchange took root. Goods and religions were exchanged between the east and the west hemispheres. The Europeans were finally able to obtain luxury goods from the east, and Islam spread to Asia and Africa, Christianity to the Americas, and Buddhism within Asia. Not only that, but there was a mixing of peoples when Africans, Europeans, Asians, and Native Americans were brought together in the Americas. That resulted in new ethnic groups, radical groups, and changing gender roles. Although trade was prosperous, the world's economic and productive systems were agricultural. Over period four, new innovations changed the traditional way of agriculture. It also raised the demands for labor. global conquests and new money making opportunities meant the creation of newly important rich people, businessmen and investors. They wanted to challenge the older, land-based elites. Exploration trade and conquest cost money and rulers came up with ways to collect taxes and generate revenue so that they could expand and consolidate their power.
Describe the putting-out system.
Capitalist entrepreneurs delivered unfinished materials like raw wool to rural households. Men and Women in the countrysides will spin the wool into yarn to make garments while the entrepreneur paid them for their services, picked up the finished goods, and sold them to the market. Rural labor was plentiful so entrepreneurs didn't spend a lot on wages and received profit. The system represented an early effort to organize efficient industrial production.
Over the long-term, how did the Columbian Exchange impact global population? Explain.
Disease epidemics started by the Columbian Exchange caused the worst demographic decline in all of history. Between 1500 and 1800, over 100 million people may have died of diseases imported to the Americas and the Pacific Islands. In the Eastern Hemisphere, however, population rose due to the increased nutritional value of diets enriched by the global exchange of food crops and animals.
Why did the Europeans desire trade routes other than the Silk Road?
During the fourteenth century, travel on the silk roads became much less safe than before because of the collapse of the Mongol empires and the spread of the bubonic plague. When the silk roads were united under the Mongol empire, the safety of merchants were guaranteed. Also, Muslim mariners brought Asian goods to Cairo where Italian merchants purchased, but the prices were too high.
What advantages did the English and Dutch merchants have over the Portuguese?
English and Dutch merchants had two main advantages over the Portuguese. First, they sailed faster, cheaper, and more powerful ships, which offered an economic and military edge. Also, they conducted trade through an efficient form of commercial organization, the joint stock company, which enabled investors to realize profits while limiting the risk to their investments.
Describe some of the environmental effects of global trade.
First, pressures fell on some animal species as they became commodities on the world market. For example, hunters sought the pelts of fur-bearing animals in China so they can sell them. By the sixteenth century, humans exploited the world's natural and agricultural resources by buying, selling, and exchanging them. They also sold certain commodities as cash crops.
Describe the city of Gao.
Gao had about 75K residents, many of whom participated in the trans-Saharan trade that brought salt, textiles, and metal goods south in exchange for gold and slaves. The emperors were all Muslims who supported mosques, built schools to teach the Quran, and maintained an Islamic University in Timbuktu.
Why was maize so important in East Asia?
Maize became important in East Asia because it grew in eco-niches that were unsuitable for rice and millet production.
Describe some of the new technologies that allowed trade to occur on a larger scale.
Mariners needed sturdy ships, navigational equipment, and sailing techniques that would permit them to make their way across the seas and back. European sailors learned to construct strong ships and they increased the maneuverability by building a rudder onto the stern. They also had square sails and triangular sails. The most important navigational equipment were the compass and the astrolabe. Last, European mariners gradually compiled a body of practical knowledge about the winds and currents that determined navigational possibilities in the age of sail.
Explain the global significance of silver.
Most American silver made its way to Spain and markets throughout Europe, where European merchants traded it for silk, spices, and porcelain in the markets in Asia. Some also went from Acapulco in Mexico to Asia. Silver quickly traveled throughout the world and simulated global trade
How did the arrival of Muslim merchants to sub-Saharan Africa altar society?
Muslim merchants who arrived in sub-Saharan Africa after the eighteenth century, brought trade that encouraged the formation of large kingdoms and empires in west Africa and thriving city-states in east Africa. Under the influence of maritime trade, regional kingdoms replaced the imperial states of west Africa as peoples organized their societies to take advantage of commerce. The city-states of east Africa fell under the domination of the Portuguese seeking commercial opportunities in the Indian Ocean basin.
Explain the structure of a joint-stock company.
Private merchants advanced funds to launch these companies, outfit them with ships and crews, and provide them with commodities and money to trade. Although they enjoyed suppose, the companies were privately owned. Unhampered by political oversight, company agents concentrated on profitable trade. Their charters gave them the right to buy, sell, build trading posts, and make war in the company's' interests.
How did silver impact the development of labor?
Rapid growth created a great demand for labor. Spanish administrators mostly relied on voluntary labor, but they also adapted the Inca practice of the mita system to recruit workers for difficult and dangerous chores that free laborers wouldn't accept. Under the mita system, authorities annually required each native village to send a seventh of its males to work for four months in the mines. They received payment for their work, but the wages were low and the conditions of work were harsh.
To what extent was Spanish and Portuguese America a mixed, multicultural society
Spanish and Portuguese territories became multicultural and ethnically mixed because of migration patterns. Most migrants were men and because of the small numbers of European women, Spanish and Portuguese migrants entered into relationships with indigenous women, which gave rise to an increasingly mestizo (mixed) society.
How did Sunni Ali transform the Songhay Political Administration?
Sunni Ali built an elaborate administrative and military apparatus to oversee affairs in his realm. He appointed governors to oversee provinces and instituted a hierarchy of command that turned his army into an effective military force. Also, he created an imperial navy to patrol the Niger river, which was an important commercial highway.
Why did smallpox not impact European society as much as society in the New World?
The Europeans had a certain number of victims, but the survivors gained immunity to it through exposure at an early age. When they traveled to the New World, however, those peoples didn't have immunity. Also, smallpox wasn't a threat to European society because it didn't carry away adults, who were responsible for economic production and social organization.
Why can the Manila Galleon Trade be referred to as the "New Silk Road?"
The Manila Galleon Trade can be referred to as the "New Silk Road" because the route incorporated Europe and Asia, just like the Silk Road did.
What allowed for the facilitation of food and crops during Period 3 (600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.)?
The early expansion of Islam had facilitated the diffusion of plants and food crops throughout the eastern hemisphere during the period from 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.
How did Christianity influence the Europeans to trade?
The goal of expanding Christianity also drove Europeans into the larger world. Christianity is a missionary religion and the New Testament urged them to spread their faith throughout the world. For example, Prince Henry the Navigator promoted voyages of exploration in west Africa to enter the gold trade, discover new trade routes, gain intelligence about Muslim power, win converts to Christianity, and make alliances against the Muslims with any Christian rulers he might find. The goal of Christianity became a powerful justification and reinforcement for the more material motives for the voyages of exploration.
What was the goal of Portuguese mariners?
The goal of the Portuguese mariners was not to conquer territories, but, rather, to control trade routes. They did that by forcing merchant vessels to call at fortified trading sites and pay duties there.
How did capitalism (privately run businesses a.k.a joint stock companies) encourage exploration and trade?
Trading companies spread risks attached to expensive business enterprises, but they also took advantage of extensive communications and transportation networks. They also organized commercial ventures on a larger scale than ever before.
What made the Columbian Exchange different from the earlier rounds of biological exchanges?
Unlike earlier processes, the Columbian exchange involved lands with very different flora, fauna, and diseases.
Who was Vasco da Gama? What did he find upon his arrival to India?
Vasco de Gama was a Portuguese mariner who led a fleet of four armed merchant vessels with 170 crewmen. He was planning to go to india by sailing around Africa. Upon his arrival, he found that India was a wealthy and cosmopolitan society. He also realized that the merchants weren't interested in his goods.
