The world trade part 2

Power Point Assignment 2

By

Kevin Schwartz

Spices and Other Things

When Asia Was the World Economy

• The Asian economy started to boom as exploration continued.• The West and East started to become connected by trade routes

and expansion.• Vast amounts of different commodities were imported and exported.• The Portuguese were the first to attack the principle “the sea

belongs to no one”• They were also the first to use force in manipulating trade.

The Economic Culture of Drugs • The definition of

“drugs” is much different today than it was 500 years ago

• They were meant for spiritual and physiological experiences, many having to do with religions and rituals.

• These drugs created culture and social practices.

• Governments would rather tax drugs and cultivate them to benefit the state rather than spend money on stopping drug use.

Aztec Traders • Europeans discovered the

thriving Arab, Indian, and Chinese trade networks in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

• In Mesoamerica, there were large-scale trade networks where almost any commodity could be found.

• There were hardly any beasts in this area however, and many traders had the burden of having to carry their own goods on their backs.

• The Aztecs even had a their own caste that specialized in commerce.

Potatoes • When potatoes were found in

the 1550s, they weren’t received well by the Europeans.

• They preferred the New World crops such as tobacco, coffee, cocoa, and sugar .

• When the potato made any progress at all, it was usually because of harsh times or in the wake of misery.

• This crop is very profitable, it requires hardly any work or tools, may be planted in extremely high altitudes, and can survive even the harshest weather.

• The potatoes high yields and ease of storage made them the food of choice for armies or military ready statesmen.

Sweet Revolutions • Sugar was introduced to the

world through war, slavery, and trade.

• It combined an Asian plant, European capital, African labor, and American soil truly making it an international crop.

• The sugar plantation was perhaps the first modern factory.

• The sugar industry was almost solely based on the work of slaves and after many years of slavery in Haiti, they would begin their revolution.

• The slaves refused to grow sugar and fought for nearly 14 years seizing the island and either killing or exiling the free population.

• There were some 30,000 whites and mulattos that shared Haiti with about 480,000 slaves.

Where There's Smoke . . . • The Americas were a

wasteland at first, with extremely harsh winters, leaving the Europeans to starve and freeze.

• The Indians used tobacco in just about everything they did: religious activities, smoking, snorting, eating. They offered it to their gods and pulverized it for various activities.

• Many Europeans became extremely wealthy just by being in the tobacco business and trading with the Indians.

• Back in Europe, smoking tobacco became one of the most popular activities, even though the upper class and the King were against it.

Mocca Is Not Chocolate • For 300 hundred years

coffee Arabica was an Arabian monopoly.

• As it spread throughout the Islamic World, it became almost intertwined with their religion and religious practices.

• Europeans, however were very slow to adopt the coffee habit.

• It was very expensive due to the production, middlemen, and transport.

• Until the 1690’s, it coffee was found solely on Yemen.

Chocolate • The cacao bean had been

a prized commodity in Mesoamerica since before Christ.

• It was considered to be a stimulant, intoxicant, hallucinogen, and aphrodisiac.

• Chocolate was greatly desired in the Aztec marketplace, but was very rare.

• Cacao beans were so rare, that they were sometimes used as money.

• Ascetic priests were among the first to make chocolate popular in Spain and its surrounding countries.