Christian L. Ferzola Professor Chang Social Foundations-III Sec: 4:55-6:10 10/28/2013 Snapshot in time: Globalization in the Early Modern Era By the 16 th century, people throughout the world had built complex societies with unique cultural traditions. Robust agricultural communities dominated most of the Mediterranean, Asia, and Europe, most of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Central and South America. By this time, people had created an elaborate system of transportation channels that bolstered travel, thus promoting transcultural communication and trade. This worldwide intermingling of traditions is an essential agent in positive historical development. Likewise, multicultural interaction has been a vital aspect of human development since the dawn of our species existence. Yet, it is thanks to advancements in naval and navigational technology in the early modern era, where we truly begin to see cross-cultural contact take place on a global scale.
Transcript
Christian L. Ferzola Professor Chang Social Foundations-IIISec: 4:55-6:10 10/28/2013
Snapshot in time: Globalization in the Early Modern Era
By the 16th century, people throughout the world had built
complex societies with unique cultural traditions. Robust
agricultural communities dominated most of the Mediterranean,
Asia, and Europe, most of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Central
and South America. By this time, people had created an elaborate
system of transportation channels that bolstered travel, thus
promoting transcultural communication and trade. This worldwide
intermingling of traditions is an essential agent in positive
historical development. Likewise, multicultural interaction has
been a vital aspect of human development since the dawn of our
species existence. Yet, it is thanks to advancements in naval and
navigational technology in the early modern era, where we truly
begin to see cross-cultural contact take place on a global scale.
Countless goods were traded amongst these newly formed trade
paths, however perhaps one of the most interesting items
exchanged in terms of its impact on the world’s economy and
profound cultural significance, were trade textiles.
Investigating further into the textile market during this era
lets one see the important role it played in these theaters.
European sailors in the 1500’s began to shape trade routes
connecting various, distant lands through passage of the
Atlantic, Indian, Mediterranean, and Pacific waters. These
pathways of trade allowed and nurtured direct contact between
civilizations of the eastern and western hemispheres for the
first time. In particular, the Portuguese were some of the first
to fund such transoceanic exploration, subsequently reaping the
benefits off of their often-chancy voyages. A. R. Disney,
Portuguese historian and author, defines Portugal’s role in the
navigation and unearthing of Africa’s Atlantic Coast. He states:
“The Portuguese were in the forefront of this momentousprocess. They were the principal European pioneers of African coastal sailing, and it was they who first rounded the southern tip of Africa, finally passing from the Atlantic into the Indian Ocean. Their voyages along these coasts were therefore the prelude to one of the most significant breakthroughs in world history – the linking of
the Atlantic maritime communications system to that of the Indian Ocean.” (p. 27)
It is clear then, that Portugal was at the forefront of
naval progress during this time period. Historical figure Prince
Henry of Portgual, more commonly known as Prince Henry the
Navigator, dominated the Moroccan Port of Ceuta in the late 15th
century and further sponsored a succession of voyages south,
along the West African coast. By infiltrating port cities along
these journeys, Portugal would not only diversify its economic
opportunities, but influence culture and traditions of the
peoples they came across. Setting a precedent for future
Portuguese pioneers such as Bartolommeo Dias and Vasco Da Gama,
Prince Henry’s expeditions propelled Portugal’s diplomatic and
economic strength for future generations. Securing trade routes
along the Atlantic-African Coast, around the Cape of Good Hope,
and further into the Indian Ocean basin, Portugal’s extensive
maritime endeavors lead to the development of port cities such as
Såo Jorge da Mina, Cape Town, and Goa. In Pieter Emmer’s debate
on early modern globalization entitled, “The Myth of
Globalization: The Atlantic Economy, 1500-1800”, he admits that
Portugal was only one of two European nations where international
trade accounted for more than 10% of it’s economic prosperity.
Evidently then, Portugal’s movement towards this global exchange
in the late 15th and 16th century was innovative and profitable,
influencing other nations to adopt this method of commerce.
Emmer goes on to describe the “Second Expansion Circuit”
which essentially gave rise to a more complex and defined system
of trade not just across oceans but inside Europe as well. He
argues three major differences between the first expansion, taken
forth by the Portuguese and Spanish, and the second, subjugated
by the Dutch, French, and English. He argues:
“The development of the second expansion circuit differed radically from its predecessor. First, it came intoexistence much later, thus allowing the merchants and shipping rms to pro t from the experience of the Spanish fi fiand the Portuguese. Furthermore, it should be stressed that the second system was based on, and integrated with, the trade in Europe. The Spanish and Portuguese colonial merchants, on the other hand, had not been able to build up experience in trading and shipping within Europe before expanding their activities to other continents. As a consequence, most of the products brought to Europe from theIberian colonies had to be distributed by non-Iberian merchants, whereas the second system was able to handle boththe intercontinental as well as intra-European trades. Third, the second expansion system was able to lower freightrates considerably by using innovative ship-building techniques.” (p.108)
Fundamentally, this secondary expansion in trade networks
maintained old routes sought out by the apparently more
adventurous Spanish and Portuguese, but abetted the methods in
which exchanges took place. Advances in technology promoted
faster and more efficient modes of transporting goods, cutting
costs and stimulating economic growth. Furthermore, nations like
England and the Netherlands had an opportunity to reinforce and
stabilize their merchants inside Europe as well as
internationally, legitimizing future transactions. This permitted
further trading activity, hence giving rise to large-scale
amalgamated business in the form of joint-stock companies.
In 1602, the Dutch founded the rst large-scale joint stockfi
company with permanently available operating capital for trade
and shipping to, from, and within the Indian Ocean and China Sea.
Emmer explains further, “Since 1594, Dutch merchants had formed
companies for shipping and trade with Asia, and these smaller
companies were united thanks to mediation by the government of
Holland into one ‘United East India Company’.” (p.110). Although
the Dutch republic backed these companies, they remained
independent entities and were effectively free from direct
government intervention, allowing them to pursue “a policy aimed
at long-term goals”, more specifically to surpass the Portuguese
in the european-asian trade market. The company traded mainly
teas, spices and textiles with port cities in the Indian Ocean,
in extremely large quantities throughout an incredibly impressive
trade network. The figure depicted below by Hofstra University,
gives one a better understanding of just how sizeable the trade
routes were.
Statistically speaking, the Dutch East India Company
utilized over 4’700 ships, with almost a million European
employed workers, pushing over 2.5 million tons of goods across
the ocean. The profits organizations like the ‘VOC’, as it’s
often abbreviated, generated from the textile trade with India in
particular, were immense. Showing upwards of a 75% increase in
revenue during the late 17th century. The largest individual
benefactors from such high profit margins were normally top
executives, a possible foreshadowing of such wealth dividends in
today’s society? Perhaps. However, in order to adapt with ever-
changing trends in supply and demand, the company’s large revenue
was often redistributed to finance further expansion in the form
of ships, port offices, and human labor. Further promoting free
trade, and with it, transcultural interaction.
Furthermore, being that the Dutch East India Company was so
immeasurable large, it obviously had political, and military
impressions on those areas it did business with. In order to
maintain trade relations (essentially profits) with certain
islands and port cities, the Dutch would sometimes have to employ
martial action. By the same token, it would be in the company’s
best interest to have men in positions of political power
throughout these stages of commerce. One example of the ‘VOC’
using violence to preserve its trade monopoly in a region took
place in the 1620’s on an Indonesian archipelago known as the
Banda Islands. It is said that almost an entire native population
was wiped out in an effort to make room for Dutch plantations. It
is plainly seen then that these organizations were willing to go
to extreme measures to secure returns. This demonstrates the
aggressive diplomacy often employed by such corporations. Having
said that, there is far more than just monetary and political
value present in the goods that companies like the ‘VOC’ traded.
Beginning in the 16th century, the pinnacle of European
foreign navigation brought about the budding of an ample textile
trade. European voyages to the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia
resulted in the discovery of valuable, exotic textiles. As these
sailors came to the realization that textiles were a welcomed
currency for other goods, the canon of the textile trade grew
exponentially. Textiles merged the traditional patterns, fabrics,
and talents of the cultures that fashioned them, as well as some
of the visual preferences of their clientele. Intrinsically,
textiles offer an opportunity to explore broad networks of
cultural and physical exchange and the acute conditions in which
the objects were finished and expended.
Trade textiles, which were literally created by one culture
to be sold to another, often reveal a collection of designs.
Craftsmen in the East and the West constantly invented fresh and
exotic decorations, thus stimulating free trade and competition.
They functioned as the principal objects that provoked pervasive
notions of what was attractive in clothing and home ornamentation
across cultures. Textiles served as a symbol of prestige for
their owners, announcing the wearer's superiority and wisdom of
the greater world. Readily available, these fabrics impacted the
material culture of the locations where they were marketed and
produced, resulting in a shared language of imagery and design,
familiar around the globe.
When looking at early modern textiles, it is easy to look
past the intricate and often unique process through which they
were created. Depending on geographic location, these cloths
could be created using those various materials available such as
flax, cotton, yucca, and silk. The fiber is weaved and or knitted
to create a piece of fabric, then dyed in numerous mediums and
embroidered with different color yarns. The amount of labor put
into making these products in the pre-industrial age places
emphasis on their inherent worth. Textiles could portray images
of battle scenes, writing, floral patterns each piece different
than the next. They even began to become more and more prevalent
in religious locations. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
demonstrates, “Textiles performed many functions in the Christian
Church, from altar hangings to copes and chasubles. Expensive
trade textiles from Iran, Turkey, India, and China found their
way into European churches as gifts from wealthy patrons,
reflecting the donor's high social status.”(metmuseum.org). This
shows that textiles had the ability to influence people in even
the most conservative setting. A piece created in India depicting
Bengal tigers chasing deer could be bought by a British sailor in
Calcutta, and sold to an Italian family as a household
decoration. This broadens not only that family’s knowledge of
distant culture, but also everyone whose hands it passed through.
This promotion of cultural collaboration was and never will be
present when trading gold bullion. That is why the textile
industry during this time was so crucial to human development,
because it was a way for people to experience and acknowledge
foreign values, traditions, and beliefs.
Innumerable goods were traded during the early modern
globalization. Spices, teas, precious metals, even human labor in
the form of slavery and indentured servitude, were traded in an
attempt to absorb all the possible wealth this newly
interconnected globe was sitting on. Tea, and silver from Japan
would be traded for spices in Southeast Asia, which would be
taken to Africa and traded for slave labor. These people then
would be shipped across the Atlantic and used to farm cash crops
in the Americas, which would then be sold back to the Europeans
for gold and weaponry. Trade during this time period was cyclic
in a sense that everyone had something to gain from another
portion of the globe and in order to get it, you needed to
bargain. Nonetheless, it wasn’t necessarily true that everyone
got what he or she bargained for. Yet, it was necessary to trade
otherwise you would become economically and socially
insignificant.
A good representation of this global trade during the early
modern era can be shown through the Columbian Exchange. Chapter
19 in McGraw-Hills text “The Origins of Global Interdependence,
1500-1800” defines such exchange, “the global diffusion of
plants, food crops, animals, human populations, and disease
pathogens that took place after the voyages of exploration by
Christopher Columbus and other European mariners” (p.382). Not
all outcomes of trade were positive, as stated above, biological
pathogens such as smallpox would ravage local populations that
were previously unexposed to such disease. “…and within a century
the indigenous population of Mexico had declined by as much as 90
percent, from about 17 million to 1.3 million”(p. 382). Epidemics
similar to this allowed outside populations to easily modify the
political, social, and cultural traditions of the native people.
However, over the long-term the exchange increased general human
population in the region thanks to the global spread of
agriculture and animals that it established. It is often
difficult to believe that some present-day stereotypes are
debunked by reexamining these trade routes. For example, Native
Americans had never seen a horse until the Europeans arrived on
their shores, yet we constantly see Native Americans riding
stallions across Great Plains as if they always surrounded them.
It also serves as a reminder that we have always been a globally
connected world, and within it, lies a bastion cultures and
traditions.
When looking to compare today’s international
relationships in commerce, and diplomacy in comparison to those
of the early modern era the differences arise immediately. Back
in the age of Christopher Columbus, there would be no distinct
law or normative behavior when arriving on the shores of an
unchartered land. While it was positive that we were discovering
other cultures and interacting on a more global-scale, the
commonly seen aggressive diplomacy would be laughable if tried in
2014. Nowadays we have international norms, and even more
legitimate, international law. We have created transnational
councils who can enforce and uphold these laws. We have
institutions that can finance an entire country out of debt. We
can now trade commodities twenty-four hours a day between the New
York Stock Exchange and the Nikkei Index. We have treaties and
diplomatic agreements that are revered and respected. We have
broken language barriers with online translators. We have
essentially created an infinitely connected world. Nevertheless
none of the above would ever be possible without the mistakes
made by those during the eras before us. So, although the 16th-
19th century was far different than our world today, it provided
vital precedents that allow us to work together far more
efficiently and less violently than in centuries prior. In a
hundred years time, it is very possible that a student will be
describing our era as violent and aggressive, however he would
never be able to do that without the mistakes we are making now,
and the solutions we put in place to better ourselves as a global
community.
Figure 1:
Works Cited
"16 - Exploring the Coasts of Atlantic Africa Pp. 27-44." 16. N.p.,
