Maritime Empires from 1450 to 1750

Economic Strategies for Empire Building

Mercantilism

• Dominant economic system in Europe during this period.
• Definition: A state-driven economy focusing on accumulating mineral wealth through maintaining a favorable balance of trade.
• Concept: Wealth viewed as a limited pie; goal to get the biggest piece (more gold/silver).
• Encouraged competition between nations for resources.
• Colonies were used to create closed markets for exports, boosting the imperial economy.

Joint Stock Companies

• Definition: Limited liability businesses chartered by the state, funded by investors.
• Investors could only lose the money they invested (limited liability).
• Often granted trade monopolies in various regions.
• Enabled mutual interdependence between the state and merchants.
• Example: Dutch East India Company
  • Chartered in 1602, monopoly over Indian Ocean trade.
  • Dutch expanded influence, accumulating wealth.
• Contrast: Spain and Portugal
  • Funded ventures through the state, less competitive in this period.

Changes and Continuities in Networks of Exchange

Changes

• Atlantic System of Trade
  • Movement of goods, wealth, and labor between east and west hemispheres.
  • Significance of Silver and Sugar:
    • Large-scale sugar production in Caribbean plantations increased demand.
    • Silver mining (e.g., Potosi) was crucial for Spanish wealth and trade.

Labor and Trade Practices

• Coerced Labor: Indigenous people, indentured servants, and enslaved Africans.
• Joint stock companies and silver flow maintained trade networks.
• Continuation of Regional Trade:
  • Despite European dominance, Afro-Eurasian markets thrived.
  • Overland routes (e.g., Silk Roads) still controlled by Asian powers.

Social Effects and Cultural Synthesis

African Slave Trade

• Gender Imbalance: Predominantly male labor force.
• Family Structure: Increase in polygyny due to male depletion.
• Cultural Synthesis: Development of Creole languages combining African, European, and indigenous languages.

Influence of Christianity

• Spanish and Portuguese missionaries spread Christianity in the Americas.
• Cultural imposition often met with resistance.
• Syncretism: Blend of Christianity with native beliefs.
• Efforts by missionaries to protect indigenous populations sometimes successful.

Conclusion

• Mercantilism and Joint Stock Companies were central to empire expansion.
• The Atlantic system and coerced labor were key in maintaining economic growth.
• Cultural exchange led to significant social and cultural impacts across the globe.