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The Commercial Revolution
The Commercial Revolution
I. The Enlightenment1. if scientific laws govern physical objects…
laws govern social behavior
2. movement called “Enlightenment” concerned with ideas about nature of “man” & concept of “good gov’t”
3. most considered dangerous to status quo
A. Philosophy of the Enlightenment
1. “philosophes”
2. focus on reason & faith in science
3. religious tolerance & political equality
4. kings did NOT rule by divine right but by consent of people
5. unjust ruler=revolution
Thomas Hobbes
B. Thinkers:John Locke: tabula rasa (“blank
slate”)
Hobbes: “life is nasty, brutish, & short”
Rousseau: “noble savage”
Voltaire: toleration
“I disapprove of what yousay, but I will defend to thedeath your right to say it.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
II. Commercial Revolution
1. Wealth from exploration causes urban explosion
2. Urban class: bourgeoisie (burghers in German)
3. city of Amsterdam emerged as financial center of Europe
--developed ‘financial technology’ to manage overseas business (“flyboats” and “East Indiaman”)
Dutch East India Company Fleet
A. The Netherlands1. Netherlands: few domestic resources led to
major technological innovations & overseas trade
2. attracted skilled craftsmen (many expelled from Iberia and Protestant “outcasts”)
3. developed textile industry, sugar refining, beer brewing, cutting tobacco, ceramics industry, printing
4. gov’t decentralized control…encouraged economic interaction
Dutch EconomicsDutch Economics1. Dutch Banks: reputation for security,
accepted all currencies, attracted deposits from all over Europe
2. Joint Stock Companies: backed by gov’t charters to establish trade monopolies & then sold shares to raise capital (Dutch East India Company)
--shares bought/sold on ‘stock exchange’ (Amsterdam Exchange)
3. Insurance Companies: by 1700 standard practice to ensure long voyages
Dutch Economic Empire
B. New Economic Rivals1. Dutch ships dominated sea trade in Atlantic & Indian
Ocean until…
2. Britain broke Dutch dominance through series of wars (1660-1700)
3. Britain major creditor nation
4. creation of central banks & low-interest loans: “financial revolution”
5. France unsuccessful in taxing aristocracy
6. Britain ‘winner’ of commercial war
C. The Urban World 1. wealth & poverty side by side
2. structure of family transformed:
– limited family size – delayed marriages in all classes– prostitution, brothels & disease spread– prevalence of gang rapes by poor young men
D. The Rural World1. ‘freedom’ did not improve life for most peasants
2. rural-urban migration
3. new bourgeoisie bought up rural land (‘gentry’)
4. ENV change exacerbated difficulties (“Little Ice Age”, deforestation)
--coal replaced wood as main fuel
5. beginning of cottage industries in rural areas (ie: spinning)
The Enclosure Movement:
– English landlords fence off land, privatize ‘commons’
– selected breeding of sheep, cattle– importation of crops from New World: potatoes
& corn
Essay #2 2005 Exam: Change over Time
Analyze the social and economic transformations that occurred in the Atlantic world as a result of new contacts among Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas from 1492-1750.
