Global trade due to the flow of silver had both positive and negative effects on the countries involved in this exchange. A map depicting the flow of silver between 1570 and 1750 shows the places the silver was transported before reaching its final destination. This final destination was often China, and once the Chinese got possession of the silver, they didn’t usually use that to trade. Instead, they used luxury goods that they manufactured, such as silk. This buildup of silver in China and the rest of Asia is known as the Silver Drain. The trade that was occurring in this time period created links between countries that had never traded before. A negative effect of the trade is that only countries that had silver, like Spanish territories
