Economic Principle of the “Middle Man”

Economic Principle of the “Middle Man”

$13.74 for a box of 18 at

CostcoGranola Bar $1.00 at the deli

Deli (Retail)

Costco (Wholesa

le)

How much would it cost you to buy 18 granola bars at the deli?

$18.00

How much money would you save if you bought a box of granola bars from Costco? $4.26

Therefore, what does it mean, economics, to “skip the middle man”?

You can save money by buying wholesale prices, instead of retail.

I’m hungry!

“Skipping the Middle Man”Retail: 18 granola bars cost $18.00

Wholesale: 18 granola bars cost

$13.74

Estoy cansado de pagar a los italianos tan altos precios por

los productos de Asia!

Moi aussi!

Europeans were tired of paying the Italians high prices for Asian products. What did they do about it?

Europeans began “skipping the middle man”, sailing directly to Asia to buy their products at a lower price.

Which is it?

“The Age of Exploration” or

“The Age of Exploitation”

Glory

Gold

God

Early Portuguese Exploration• In 1419, Prince Henry the Navigator started a school in Portugal for sailors, captains, navigators, and mapmakers.

Prince Henry the Navigator Map of African coast discovered by

expeditions sponsored by Prince Henry

• In 1487, Bartholomew Dias reached the Southern tip of Africa.

Portugal

Bartholomew Dias

India

Bartholomew Dias

This was named the “Cape of Good Hope”. Why was it named that?

Portugal

• In 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa, reaching India.

India

Vasco da Gama

Why are the cities of Mombasa and Malindi important to the Portuguese?

Portugal’s Empire ca. 1500

African Middle

Kingdoms

• Rich cultures such as Mali, Ghana, and Songhai were at the center of the trade routes between North and West Africa.

• They were rich in gold, ivory, iron, and slaves.

Columbus…What was he attempting to do?

Why did Ferdinand and

Isabella of Spain support him?

Christopher Columbus

Strengths:Belief in self and abilitiesFaith in his idea of reaching the Indies and China by sailing WestAbilities as a sailorLuck

Weaknesses:Belief in self and abilities— made him arrogant and

cruel to crew and nativesFaith in his idea of reaching the Indies and China by sailing West—made him foolhardy in holding to the idea he’d reached the Indies.

First Voyage: Discovery

Crew: 87, 83 Andalucian sailors. Only 4 criminals seeking pardonsProblems: superstitions of crew (sea monsters, fall off edge of world)—Columbus disciplined severely, minimized distances (falsely) so they wouldn’t know how far they’d gone.

Failures: didn’t really find the Indies or China; didn’t find the riches expected

Successes: found new lands for Spain, found western and eastern routes that took full advantage of prevailing currents and winds

Second Voyage: Whoops!

17 ships with 1200 men (6 of them priests to convert the “Indians”) set out to find Indies spices and gold

300 died of disease. A hurricane destroyed all of the ships. Patching together two ships from the scraps, Columbus limped home in disgrace.

Third Voyage: Whoops 2.0

With 6 Ships, few volunteers and many convicts, Columbus set out to redeem himself.

First hope—Natives brought Columbus and his crew gold nuggets to trade at Hispaniola

Natives turned unfriendly and forced them to leave. Ships wormy and food rotten, but colonists wouldn’t help and Indians refused them food. After word of Indian killings reached the monarchs, Columbus and his brother were brought back to Spain in chains.

Fourth Voyage: Defeat

Privately funded, not patroned by Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus was still “Admiral,” but had no governing powers over colonists.

Although he sailed along the coast of South America, he found no riches, nor traces of the Indies or China and returned to Spain defeated.

Ferdinand Magellan• He was spurned by

his native Portugal… so who stepped up to support him?

• SPAIN!!!!!

And what is he known for?

ONLY PARTLY TRUE!

Concluding the Voyage

One by one the ships fell apart.

The Portuguese imprisoned some of the men in islands near Spain

Only 18 of the 250 men landed back at Seville.

The total time of the voyage was 12 days less than three years.

As penitence, the 18 survivors walked barefoot carrying candles to the shrine of the Virgin Mary.

Consider again the motivations…

Glory

Gold

God