chp 14

I. Europeans and Asian Commerce
A. Europeans wanted commercial connections with Asia.
1. Columbus and Vasco da Gama both sought a route to Asia
2. motivation above all was the desire for spices (though other Eastern products were also sought)
3. European civilization had recovered from the Black Death
4. national monarchies were learning to govern more effectively
5. some cities were becoming international trade centers
6. the problems of old trade systems from the Indian Ocean network
A.  Muslims controlled supply

1. Venice was chief intermediary for trade with Alexandria; other states resented it

2. desire to find Prester John and enlist his support in the Crusades

3. constant trade deficit with Asia

B. A Portuguese Empire of Commerce

1.     Indian Ocean commerce was highly rich and diverse

2.     Portuguese did not have goods of a quality for effective competition

3.     Portuguese took to piracy on the sea lanes

1.     Portuguese ships were more

maneuverable, carried cannons

2.     established fortified bases at key

locations (Mombasa, Hormuz, Goa,

Malacca, Macao)

4.     Portuguese created a “trading post

empire”

1.     goal was to control commerce, not

territories or populations

2.     operated by force of arms, not

economic competition

3.     at height, controlled about half of the

spice trade to Europe

5.     Portuguese gradually assimilated to Indian

Ocean trade patterns
a. carried Asian goods to Asian ports b. many Portuguese settled in Asian or

African ports
c. their trading post empire was in steep

decline by 1600

C. Spain and the Philippines

1.     Spain was the first to challenge Portugal’s control of Asian trade

2.     establishment of a Spanish base in the Philippines

1.     first encountered when Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigated the globe (1519–1521)

2.     Philippines were organized in small, competitive chiefdoms

3.     Spaniards established full colonial rule there (takeover occurred 1565–1650)

d. the Philippines remained a Spanish colonial territory until 1898, when the United States assumed control
3. major missionary campaign made Filipino society the only major Christian outpost in Asia
4. Spaniards introduced forced relocation, tribute, taxes, unpaid labor
a. large estates for Spanish settlers, religious orders, and Filipino elite
b. women’s ritual and healing roles were attacked
5. Manila became a major center with a diverse population
6. periodic revolts by the Chinese population; Spaniards expelled or massacred them several times
D. The East India Companies
1. Dutch and English both entered Indian
Ocean commerce in the early seventeenth century

a. soon displaced the Portuguese