Global Commerce

Between 1450 and 1750, commerce is what shaped the world.  Slave trade was a big part of that, but is also just one part of the global commerce in this time period.  Another force that drove globalization in this time period was empire.  Europeans were well-known for their long-distance trade.  They wanted to do business with Asia.  Very rich and diverse commerce was found on the Indian Ocean.  It surprised me that Portuguese carried cannons on their ships.  They couldn't compete because they didn't have very high quality.  their main goal was to control commerce rather than territory.  It also surprised me that they controlled half of Asia's spice trade.  Spain and the Philippines were the first to challenge them with their small and competitive packs.  Even more important than the spice trade, was the silver trade.  It was a big cause for inflation in Spain and supported Japan's booming economy.  Fur trade was big in North America, but did start to go scarce around 1500 and started competition to obtain in.  Native Americans became dependent on European trade goods.  Russians also valued fur, only difference is that they weren't competing for it in Russia.  Capitalism changed the way people looked at economic relationships. Slave trade in Africa is responsible for a lot of the multi-regional linkages. It is also responsible for China and Europe's growth in population.  Slave trade also had a lot to do with global political changes.