4.5 Maritime Empires Develop

• What year was the charter for the Dutch East India Company established?

  1602
• What transformation did maritime empires bring to commerce?

  • Shift from local, small-scale trading to large-scale international trade
  • Use of gold and silver instead of barter
  • Introduction of joint-stock companies for financing trade
• How did joint-stock companies support increased trade in Asia?

  They allowed investors to finance trade by buying shares in corporations.
• What were the keys to the development of mercantilist empires?

  Silver, sugar, and slavery.
• In the 17th century, how did Europeans measure a country's wealth?

  By the amount of gold and silver it possessed.
• What was the Commercial Revolution?

  The transformation to a trade-based economy using gold and silver.
• What were the four key factors that led to the Commercial Revolution?

  1. Development of European overseas colonies
  2. Opening of new ocean trade routes
  3. Population growth
  4. Inflation due to increased gold and silver circulation
• What is the Price Revolution?

  The high rate of inflation in the 16th and early 17th century.
• How did joint-stock companies benefit investors?

  They offered limited liability, reducing risk for investors.
• Which countries developed joint-stock companies in the 17th century?

  The Dutch, English, and French.
• What was the role of the Dutch in European commerce during the 17th century?

  They were the commercial middlemen, maintaining trade routes.
• When was the Bank of Amsterdam established?

  1609
• What were financial bubbles in the early 18th century?

  Speculative financial schemes that led to significant investor losses.
• What was the triangular trade system?

  • European goods sent to West Africa
  • Enslaved Africans transported to the Americas
  • Sugar or tobacco shipped to Europe
• What was the most profitable good from the Americas during the triangular trade?

  Sugar
• What was the significance of the Portuguese naval battle in 1509?

  It allowed the Portuguese to control trade routes in the Arabian Sea.
• How did the Atlantic slave trade affect West African kingdoms?

  It weakened them and slowed population growth.
• What were the political effects of the Atlantic slave trade on African societies?

  • Increased wealth for slave-raiding kingdoms
  • Greater reliance on European goods
  • More frequent and violent intergroup warfare
• Which societies became richer from selling captives to Europeans?

  The Dahomey and the Oye.
• How did the slave trade influence the availability of firearms in African societies?

  It allowed raiding societies to acquire guns, enhancing their power.
• What was the impact of the slave trade on the development of complex economies in Africa?

  It hindered the development of economies that produced their own goods.
• How did the loss of many people affect population growth in Africa?

  It slowed population growth.
• What was the impact of trade competition on African societies?

  It led to violence among societies and economic dependence on European goods.
• How did the slave trade influence the development of economies in Africa?

  It made societies slow to develop complex economies.
• What did the slave trade set the stage for in the late 19th century?

  European conquest and imperialism.
• Which African societies became richer from selling captives to Europeans?

  The Dahomey and the Oyo.
• What political effect did the exchange of slaves for guns have on societies like Dahomey?

  It allowed raiders to take advantage of rival societies without firearms.
• How did the slave trade affect intergroup warfare in Africa?

  It made warfare more common and bloodier.
• Which regions were most affected by the slave trade?

  West Africa, particularly present-day Ghana and Benin.
• What was the gender distribution impact of the slave trade?

  More than two-thirds of those taken were males, leading to an imbalance.
• What social change occurred due to the predominance of women in affected regions?

  There was a rise in polygyny and women took on traditionally male jobs.
• How did the Columbian Exchange impact population growth in Africa?

  It spurred population growth through an improved diet.
• What new crops were introduced to Africa through the Columbian Exchange?

  Maize, peanuts, and manioc.
• How did European empires in the Americas differ from earlier land-based empires in dealing with conquered peoples?

  • European empires erased social structures and cultural traditions.
  • Spanish and Portuguese empires managed to do this within a century.
  • Earlier empires allowed traditions to exist or tried to blend them.
• What replaced indigenous political structures in Latin America?

  Spanish and Portuguese colonial administrations.
• Who were appointed by Spanish royalty to act as administrators in the colonies?

  Viceroys.
• What were audiencias in the Spanish colonial system?

  Royal courts to which settlers could appeal viceroys' decisions.
• What challenge did the Spanish crown face in controlling New Spain?

  Slow transportation and communication networks made direct control difficult.
• What cultural loss did indigenous peoples experience due to European conquest?

  They lost a great deal of their culture and history.
• What did conquistadors do to native books?

  They ordered the burning of native books.