Chapter 14 (First Half)

Daniel Guerrero

Professor Patricia Andrews, MA

01/15/19

Chapter 14 (first half)

The European conquest of the Americas has had an enormous impact on the global economy. The

Europeans desire to continue to do business was to move their markets into Asia. Europeans wanted

to go to Asia because the desire of foreign luxury goods but it was also for their spices. Europe's

population began to recover after the effects of the black death (1348). At the same time this was

happening, European monarchs were developing more efficient means of governing. There was also

a lot of problems over sea. Trading became one of the most reliable source that European city states

needed. The trading system was a problem because the Muslims controlled the supply of goods from

Asia. The biggest problem that Europe had was the fact that it had nothing of value to trade with

Asian creating an enormous trade imbalance. Europe always had to purchase with gold and silver to

have Asian goods such as spices. The Asian ports and the Asian economy were much wealthier than

the Portuguese or other European economies. Soon the Portuguese realized that the Indian Ocean

trade was unarmed, they used their ships and cannons to attack merchants and ports taking whatever

they wanted. They Portuguese had such a powerful game plan with their military system that they

later over took he existing ports in East Africa, the Persian Gulf, India, Southeast Asia, and China.

Later on, Portuguese trading system that they thought one day they would take over, soon it came to

an end around the year 1600. "Spain was the first to challenge Portugal's position." (Strayer, 606)

Ferdinand Magellan is known as the first around the world voyage. The island known as the

Philippines was named after King Philip the Second. The Spanish soon came to realize as an entry

point into Asian Trade.