Global Commerce:Maritime Empires in

AsiaAP World History Notes

Time Period: 1450 - 1750

Europeans and Asian Commerce

European countries that got involved in Asian commerce = first the Portuguese, then the Spanish, French, Dutch, and British

Motivations for European involvement in Asian commerce: Exotic spices = cinnamon,

nutmeg, mace, cloves, and pepper

Chinese silk Indian cotton and rhubarb Precious gems = emeralds,

rubies, and sapphires

Europeans and Asian Commerce

At the time = Eastern goods came into the Mediterranean through the Middle East from the Indian Ocean

Europeans’ problems with this: Source of supply of goods =

Muslim merchants who charged heavy taxes

Once it got to Europe = Italian merchants (especially from Venice) had a monopoly over trade of these Asian products

They had no valuable products to trade in return so they had to pay in gold or silver for Asian goods

Europeans and Asian Commerce

Goal of Europeans in Asia = trade, not empire-building

A Portuguese Empire of Commerce

Portugal had to use its military to secure trade bases within the Indian Ocean did not have attractive goods that it could use to establish itself within the trade network

Easy to do because: They had more advanced

technology and weapons Merchant ships in the Indian

Ocean weren’t heavily armed Portuguese ships had

cannons; merchant ships did not

A Portuguese Empire of Commerce

Portugal set up fortified trade bases in:Mombasa in East AfricaHormuz at the entrance

to the Persian GulfGoa on the west coast

of IndiaMalacca in Southeast

AsiaMacao on the south

coast of China

A Portuguese Empire of Commerce

Portugal created a “trading post empire” within the Indian OceanGoal = control

commerce, not large territories or populations

Goal = control trading posts by force of arms, not by economic competition

Major thing Portugal controlled = the spice trade

Portuguese Policies in the Indian Ocean

Required all merchant vessels to purchase a cartaz (pass) to sail throughout the region

Charged merchant vessels taxes of 6-10% of their cargoes

Blocked the Red Sea route to the Mediterranean Sea

Monopolized the trade route around Africa to Europe

Portuguese Control in the Long-Run

Portugal never succeeded in controlling more than half of the spice trade to Europe

By 1600 = the Portuguese trading post empire was in steep declineCompetition from other European powersCompetition from rising Asian states like Japan and

Mughal India

Portuguese Control in the Long-Run

Portuguese just assimilated themselves into the old, traditional patterns of the Indian Ocean trade networkCarried Asian goods to Asian portsSold their shipping servicesMany settled in permanently in Asian or African

ports married native women, learned local languages, converted to Islam, etc.

Spain and the PhilippinesSpain was the first to follow

in Portugal’s footsteps

Established itself on the Philippine islands Named after King Philip II of

Spain

Spain set up outright colonial rule because: Close to China and the spice

islands Small and militarily weak

societies on the Philippines No competing claims for the

islands

Spain and the PhilippinesSpanish takeover of the

Philippines = easy and relatively bloodless

Used:Small-scale military

operationsGunpowder weaponsLocal alliancesGifts and favors to

native chiefsPageantry of Catholic

rituals

Remained a Spanish colony until 1898

Spain and the PhilippinesWith Spanish rule came:

Mass conversion to ChristianityRelocation from scattered

settlements to permanent, concentrated Christian communities

Taxes, tribute, and unpaid laborLarge estates owned by Spanish

settlers or prominent Filipinos

Responses to colonial oppression = short-lived revolts; flight to the interior mountains or bustling capital of Manila

The East India Companies

British and Dutch East India Companies

Both militarily and economically stronger than Portugal quickly overtook Portugal within the Indian Ocean network in the early 1600s

Established their own parallel and competing trading post empiresDutch = focused on IndonesiaBritish = focused on India

The East India Companies

East India Companies = private trading companies that use merchant investors to raise money and share risks

These companies were granted charters by their governments that allowed them to:Make warGovern conquered peoplesHold trading monopolies

Dutch East India Company

Trading posts = in Indonesia

Controlled production and shipping of: cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace (all spices)

Seized control of spice-producing islands with force and bloodshed

British East India Company

Trading posts = in India

Did not practice “trade by warfare” like the Dutch were no match for the Mughal Empire in India

Secured their trading bases on the coast with the permission of Mughal authorities

Usually took substantial payments and bribes

Focus = Indian cotton textiles

Asian Commerce

Impact of European involvement in Asian commerce = not very big on the major powers of South and East Asia (Mughal India, China, and Japan)

Europe posed no real military or economic threat to them

Were able to get rid of European intruders if need be

Japan and the EuropeansWhen European merchants first

arrived in Japan (1500s) Japan = tied down with interior conflicts between competing daimyos (feudal lords), each with his own band of samurai

Result = it was easy for the Europeans to stay there

European ideas taken by the Japanese = shipbuilding skills, military technology, geographic knowledge, commercial opportunities, and religious ideas

Japan and the Europeans

Early 1600s = Japan unified politically by military commandersNow led by the lead

commander = shogunFrom the Tokugawa clan

Set up the Tokugawa Shogunate

Shoguns began to see Europeans as a threat to Japan’s new unity

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Japan and the EuropeansResult = Japan did the following:

Expelled Christian missionaries Violently suppressed the practice of

Christianity Included: Torture and execution of

missionaries and converts Forbade Japanese people from

travelling abroad Banned European traders from

entering Japan

Result = Japan became isolated from the world of European commerce for 2 centuries (1650-1850) Maintained trading ties with only

China and KoreaPainting of Japanese

authorities

Asian Commerce

Despite European naval dominance, Asian merchants did not disappear

Many commercial networks (run by Asians) continued to operate successfully

Chinese merchants = carried spices from Southeast Asia to China

Christian merchants from Armenia = active in overland trade linking Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia

Indian merchants and moneylenders = lived throughout Central Asia, Persia, and Russia & connected these regions to markets in India

YouTube: GCPGrey - Holland vs. the Netherlands (4:00)

What drove European involvement in the world of Asian commerce?

Motivating factors, including the desire for ★ tropical spices★ Chinese silk★ Indian cottons★ rhubarb★ emeralds★ rubies★ sapphires

Recovery of European civilization following the disaster of the Black Death was a factor.

Europeans were also driven by a resentment of the Muslim monopoly on the flow of Indian Ocean products to Europe, & the dislike that many European powers had for Venice’s role as intermediary in the trade.

Hoped to discover & ally with the mythical Christian kingdom of Prester John to continue the Crusades & combat a common Islamic enemy.

The need to secure gold & silver to pay for Asian spices and textiles also played a role.

A Portuguese Empire of Commerce: To what extent did the Portuguese realize their own goals in the Indian Ocean?

Spice Trade: 1000s of years - spices were a major trade item in the Indian Ocean commercial network, as this 15th century French depiction of the gathering of pepper in southern India illustrates. In the early modern era, Europeans gained direct access to this ancient network for the 1st time.

Original goal = creating a trading post empire that controlled the commerce of the Indian Ocean (at best only partially realized)They never succeeded in controlling much more than 1/2 the spice trade to Europe, & by 1600, their trading post empire was in steep decline.

Overall, Europeans created a network that became just one among a number of thriving Asian commercial networks that had already existed.

What powers were given to the East India Companies?

During colonial expansion, the major joint-stock companies who sought to do business in Asia were known as the East India Companies. These companies were given unprecedented political authorities by their home countries. Within their territories, they had power to pass legislation, wage war, negotiate treaties, issue their own currency, & administer own justice.

How did Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and British initiatives in Asia differ? Portuguese sought to set up a trading post (or "Ports") empire that

controlled the trade routes of the Indian Ocean. Later blended into local populations - assimilating to the culture.

Spanish established colonial rule over the Philippine Islands. Drew on their experience in the Americas, converting most of the population to Christianity, ruling over the islands directly, & setting up large landed estates owned by Spanish settlers.

How did Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and British initiatives in Asia differ? The Dutch & British organized their Indian Ocean ventures through private

trading companies, which were able to raise money & share risks among a substantial number of merchant investors.

Trading companies obtained government charters granting them trading monopolies, the power to make war, & the right to govern conquered peoples.

Established their own parallel & competing trading post empires; the Dutch seized control of some of the Spice Islands through violent & deadly force. While the British set up trading centers in India by securing the support of the Mughal Empire or of local authorities with treaties.

What foreign trade items can you identify in this image?

Note the European houses on the tea cup at the bottom left.

What does this indicate about Chinese willingness to cater to the tastes of their European customers?

What social class is this depicting?Foreign Trade items? • tea • porcelain cups, saucers, teapot, and bowl • a silk tablecloth • perhaps silk clothing on the figures in the painting

Social Class?• Her dress and surroundings indicate that she most likely comes from the upper class. • However, it is possible that she came from a prosperous family engaged in trade or one of the professions.

Marr's Plunder at 43:00

Silver and Global CommerceWorld historical importance of the silver trade?

Silver trade: 1st direct & sustained link between the Americas & AsiaIt initiated a web of Pacific commerce that grew steadily over the centuries.

Transformed Spain & Japan: states that controlled the principal new sources of silver.

Deepened already substantial commercialization of China’s economy, which fueled global commerce.

Became a key commodity driving long-distance trade & offered the Europeans a product that they could produce that was also in demand elsewhere in the world.

Potosi: Colonial-era painting above shows the enormously rich silver mines of Potosí, then a major global source of the precious metal and the largest city in the Americas.

Brutally hard work & poisonous exposure to mercury, which was used in the refining process, led to the deaths of many thousands of workers, even as the silver itself contributed to European splendor in the early modern era.

Mankind: The story of all of us. Potosi Silver Mine