Chapter 6 - Economic TRanformation

Question 1

What sparked Europe’s interest in Indian Ocean trade?

Answer 1

Demand for tropical spices like pepper, cloves, and cinnamon.

Question 2

Why Europeans wanted to bypass Venetian and Muslim traders?

Answer 2

To avoid their control of the trade

Question 3

How did Europe’s trade deficit drive exploration?

Answer 3

They needed gold and silver to buy Asian goods.

Question 4

What was Vasco da Gama’s key achievement?

Answer 4

Found a sea route to India (1497–1499).

Question 5

Who was Prester John?

Answer 5

A mythical ally against Islamic powers.

Question 6

How did the Portuguese establish control of the trade in the Indian Ocean?

Answer 6

By setting up fortified trading posts and using military force to dominate key trade routes.

Question 7

How did Portuguese interactions in the Indian Ocean differ from those in the Americas?

Answer 7

In the Indian Ocean, they integrated into existing trade networks, while in the Americas, they colonized land and exploited resources directly.

Question 8

What goods drove Portuguese expansion in the Indian Ocean?

Answer 8

spices like pepper, nutmeg, and cloves

Question 9

How did Spain establish control in the Philippines?

Answer 9

Through colonization and converting locals to Christianity

Question 10

What role did Manila, Philippines play in global trade?

Answer 10

central point for silver and goods exchange between Asia and the Americas.

Question 11

How did Spain’s approach in the Philippines differ from Portuguese actions in the Indian Ocean?

Answer 11

Spain focused on land-based colonization and Christianization, while Portugal relied on naval power and trade posts.

Question 12

How were the both British and Dutch East India Companies organized?

Answer 12

private companies with state support

Question 13

How did the Dutch and British East India Companies differ in their strategies

Answer 13

The Dutch (bloodshed) used military force to dominate trade routes, while the British (bribe)negotiated with local rulers

Question 14

What part Dutch East Indian Company focused on?

Answer 14

Indonesia

Question 15

What part British East India Company focused on?

Answer 15

India

Question 16

What goods Dutch East India Company and British East India Company focused on?

Answer 16

Dutch - Spices - nutmeg, mace, clover
British - pepper, indian cotton textile.

Later, both started to deal with tea and coffee

Question 17

Japan and European Traders 1450-1750

Answer 17

First, Japan was fractioned and fight with each other and European traders were welcome and bunch of people converted to Christianity.

Then Japan united and Europeans were seen as a threat. Christians were expelled, Japanese were forbidden to travel and most traders were banned (except Dutch at a single town)

Question 18

Who dominated Indian Ocean trade despite European presence?

Answer 18

Chinese dominated spice trade between Southeast Asian and China.

Other southeast asian merchants were also there, many of them women

Question 19

How did Indian family firms effected the trade?

Answer 19

They controlled trade in India and provided high-interest loans to Europeans

Question 20

Where was majority of silver produced?

Answer 20

Spanish America

Question 21

Why did China become central to the silver trade?

Answer 21

Tax reforms requiring silver payments ( –> increased commercialization and regional specialization —> deforestation)

Question 22

What was the significance of Potosí in Bolivia?

Answer 22

A major silver mining city, it became one of the largest cities globally

Question 23

How did Spain handle its silver wealth?

Answer 23

rich crown, rigid economy, inflation, poverty, crisis

Question 24

How did Japan benefit from silver profits?

Answer 24

Japan united under Tokugawa shogun

economy growths, protecting forest

Question 25

Which European nations were most active in the North American fur trade?

Answer 25

The French, British, and Dutch

Question 26

What environmental impact did the fur trade have in North America?

Answer 26

Near extinction of beavers, habitat loss, and significant declines in deer populations.

Question 27

How did the fur trade affect Native American societies?

Answer 27

It caused disease, dependence on European goods, intensified warfare, and disrupted traditional hunting practices.

Question 28

How did the Russian fur trade differ from North America’s?

Answer 28

Russia imposed a fur tax on Siberian natives, used hostages to enforce payments, and had private Russian trappers competing directly with indigenous hunters.

Question 29

What were the main consequences of the fur trade for Siberian natives?

Answer 29

Disease, dependency on Russian goods, loss of land, and depletion of fur-bearing species

Question 30

Why was Africa the primary source of enslaved labor for the Americas?

Answer 30

Africans were skilled farmers, resistant to diseases, non-Christian, geographically accessible, and available in large numbers

Question 31

How did Europeans and Africans participate in the transatlantic slave trade?

Answer 31

Europeans waited on a African coast , while African merchants and political elites captured and sold slaves

Question 32

Who were most commonly enslaved (in Africa)?

Answer 32

often outsiders, such as prisoners of war, criminals, or debtors.

Question 33

What were the primary destinations of enslaved Africans?

Answer 33

The majority were sent to Brazil and the Caribbean, with smaller numbers to mainland North and Spanish America.

Question 34

What drove the peak of the transatlantic slave trade?

Answer 34

Labor demands on plantations in the Americas, particularly between 1700 and 1850.

Question 35

What was Palmares, and why was it significant?

Answer 35

Palmares was a maroon settlement in Brazil, housing over 10,000 people, including escaped slaves, Native Americans, and others.

Question 36

What factors led to the decline of the transatlantic slave trade?

Answer 36

the trade grew rapidly due to plantation expansion, peaking in the 18th century, but declined sharply after 1850 due to abolitionist movements and changing economic systems.

Question 37

What is abolitionist movement?

Answer 37

The abolitionist movement was a political and social movement that sought to end slavery in the United States

Question 38

Consequences of the Slave Trade in Africa

Answer 38

• slowed population growth in Africa
• economic stagnation
  -increased demand for women’s labor
• men marrying multiple women

Question 39

Economic Globalization Then vs now

Answer 39

Similarities
- Global circulation of goods like textiles, spices, and silver
- Emergence of international currency and markets
- Private enterprises operating on a global scale

Differences
- Scale and speed: Far fewer goods and slower communication.
- Reliance on preindustrial technologies (e.g., muscle, wind, water).
- Economic systems tied to slavery and empire-building.