Christopher Dollins
World Civilizations since 1660
Dr. Clements
January 17, 2015
Answer 1 Portugal was a very goal driven country in the entry to global trade. Gold, slaves, and an India spice route were among these goals. As well as military distinction, Muslim Christianizing, and the search for the mythical African Christian King. With their long history of seafaring and the support of Prince Henry “The Navigator”, they set out to complete these goals. The acquisition of important port cities such as Lisbon, Malacca, Calicut, Hormuz, and Goa, laid the foundation for riches for Portugal.
Answer 2 The Spanish had several holdings in the Americas. With the conquering of the Mexica and Inca Empires, Spain continued to grow their territory. With the fall of Cuzco in 1533, Spain held New Spain, Peru, New Granada, and La Plata viceroyalties. The acquisition of territory was most likely due to greed and search of gold and silver. The Spaniards were very aggressive in their conquest of new territories and empires.
Answer 3 Although the Chinese took the lead in exploration, after the death of Zheng, all of the voyages were stopped, either due to cost or court opposition. With a growing population and healing economies after the Black Death, Europeans desired Eastern goods. Many inventions such as the compass and caravel along with major support from monarchies led to many voyages and ultimately the beginning of the true global trade.
Answer 4 Before European intervention, a traditional way of slave trading in Africa viewed slaves not only as property, but as dependents who might eventually become part of the family. The majority of slaves were women; they took care of domestic chores. A woman slave would wash the clothes, cook, clean, spin cotton, and do light agricultural work. The men would mainly deal with the animals and tend to the crops. It was beneficial for a family to purchase or raid for more slaves to gain control of more land. Land was not owned by individuals and was rationed to families depending on the amount of laborers they had. This increased production for the family and pushed for more slaves. With the spread of Islam, the trans-Saharan slave trade also increased. Islamic religion allowed slavery. Most slaves were exported to Asia, and the eastern Mediterranean. The Swahili people and culture were created by the intermarrying between the Arab, Persian, and African slaves. Islam also encouraged the freeing of slaves when the owner died. Although Islam increased the slave-trade, it also increased emancipation.
Answer 5 The trans-Atlantic was much larger than the trans-Saharan trade. From the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century over 12 million slaves were sold from West and west central Africa. The slave trade was more important to the European plantations in the New World. Communities were helped in the production of food and goods by slavery in Africa. But the economy of colonial powers depended on sale labor. The Middle Passage was not very kind to slaves. An estimated 1.5 to 2 million slaves died due to being poorly fed, abused, or the spread of disease. Most were sold in Brazil by the Portuguese. The need for slaves increased the scope and efficiency of the raiding as well as firearm increase in Africa. Slaves could be marched for hundreds of miles before being sold on the coast. While the slaves were more important to global economy in the trans-Atlantic trade, the slaves had a much easier trip and life in the trans-Saharan trade.
Essay
The world’s aspiration for new, exotic things and desirable goods led to global connections that had
