Chapter 14 Economic Transformations Commerce and Consequence 1450-1750

The Atlantic slave trade is a reminder of the enormous significance it had on commerce in human beings for the early modern world and its long last echoes that still are around in the twenty-first century. The slave trade was only one component of the international network of exchange that shaped human interactions between the time of 1450 and 1750. Europe quickly began growing prominence in long-distance exchange, they were not the only country that was a active trader. Other countries were Southeast Asians, Chines Indians, Armenians, Arabs, and Africans who played major roles in the making of a world economy during the early modern era. There was a rise in a commerce joined empire that became a global network during this time. With this economic transformation there would be a rise to new relationships, old patterns would come back and brought people who were once distant from one another together, enriched some, and impoverished or enslaved others. The wold world would be left behind, while a new on slowly emerged that came with much suffering and with growing inequalities. Many things would be gained but also lost in the transformation from the birth of a new global commerce. After Portugal began empire of commerce began to grow, Spain would challenge their position in increasing their empire throughout the world as well. Spain realized that they were behind in the race to gain access to the riches of East since Portuguese ships began to arrive in Europe with precious and profitable spices.. So Spain established themselves on what is known as today the Philippine Islands, named after the Spanish king Philip II. These islands were occupied by culturally diverse peoples and organized in small and highly competitive chiefdoms. This region was of little importance to countries like China and Japan who were the major powers in the area at the time. Since the Spanish saw that these spice islands, that were small and had militarily weak societies, the absence of competing claims, this encouraged the Spanish to establish colonial rule on the islands similar to the Portuguese style trading post empire. The Philippine Islands would remain as a Spanish colonial terrify until the end of the nineteenth century. With Spanish rule came a missionary effort, which turned Filipino societies into a major outpost of Christianity in Asia. Many features of Spanish colonial practice in the Americas found themselves happening in the Philippines as well. People that once lived in scattered settlements were either persuaded or forced to relocate themselves into Christian communities. People had to begin to deal with tribute, taxes, and unpaid labor which had not been part of their ordinary life before. The practices that were happening to the people in the Philippines was very unfair and Spain was the only country benefiting from their colonization, doing nothing in return for the people who lived there.