During the Early Modern Era between 1450 and 1750, the first global economy was established as the economies of the Americas and Afro-Eurasia became integrated. Goods began to be produced for a global market and many new groups gained power and influence due to the expanding world economies. Trade also began to be considered as a profitable venture, especially with the European ideology of mercantilism, and new exchange routes were sought out. The first global economy developed because Chinese and Indian demand for silver made it a global currency, European expansion connected different regions of the world, and states actively promoted trade. This economy functioned as a polycentric world system of overlapping regional networks of exchange,
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In the Ottoman Empire, the government built military posts and trading stations throughout the region. These stations were known as caravanserais, and they offered merchants private rooms and secure storage for their goods (Hubbell 6). This made trade through the Ottoman Empire easier, serving to expedite connections across Western Asia. In Europe, England and the Netherlands chartered the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company respectively. These were joint-stock companies that ventured to the Indian Ocean and had the power to go to war and govern conquered peoples. The companies earned a profit through transit trade within Asia and could therefore purchase Asian spices and textiles without having to pay for them in gold or silver from Europe. Asian goods were then transported to Europe and the Americas, where they were very popular (Strayer 676-77). State promotion of trade during the Early Modern Era helped integrate the world economies and thus contributed to the first global …show more content…
Firstly, during the period labelled as the Little Ice Age, there was an average temperature decrease of about 2 to 3 degrees. In some more frigid areas, such as present-day Greenland, Norway, and Finland, people were forced to abandon formerly productive land. Heavy rains caused by the Little Ice Age destroyed crops and caused famine across northern Europe, Central Asia, and perhaps North America (Fernández-Armesto 443-45). Furthermore, monsoon patterns affected the transportation of goods across the Indian Ocean trade network. Monsoon winds were an important feature of the Indian Ocean; a ship could be stranded at port for several months until the winds changed direction (Pomeranz and Topik 1304). Therefore traders in the Indian Ocean needed to understand the monsoon patterns and choose accordingly a time of year to travel. The environment could significantly affect how and when trade occurred during the Early Modern
In the Ottoman Empire, the government built military posts and trading stations throughout the region. These stations were known as caravanserais, and they offered merchants private rooms and secure storage for their goods (Hubbell 6). This made trade through the Ottoman Empire easier, serving to expedite connections across Western Asia. In Europe, England and the Netherlands chartered the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company respectively. These were joint-stock companies that ventured to the Indian Ocean and had the power to go to war and govern conquered peoples. The companies earned a profit through transit trade within Asia and could therefore purchase Asian spices and textiles without having to pay for them in gold or silver from Europe. Asian goods were then transported to Europe and the Americas, where they were very popular (Strayer 676-77). State promotion of trade during the Early Modern Era helped integrate the world economies and thus contributed to the first global …show more content…
Firstly, during the period labelled as the Little Ice Age, there was an average temperature decrease of about 2 to 3 degrees. In some more frigid areas, such as present-day Greenland, Norway, and Finland, people were forced to abandon formerly productive land. Heavy rains caused by the Little Ice Age destroyed crops and caused famine across northern Europe, Central Asia, and perhaps North America (Fernández-Armesto 443-45). Furthermore, monsoon patterns affected the transportation of goods across the Indian Ocean trade network. Monsoon winds were an important feature of the Indian Ocean; a ship could be stranded at port for several months until the winds changed direction (Pomeranz and Topik 1304). Therefore traders in the Indian Ocean needed to understand the monsoon patterns and choose accordingly a time of year to travel. The environment could significantly affect how and when trade occurred during the Early Modern