Trading with the East

Trading with the East

By Marja Anderson

Trading with the East​

​How did Europeans establish trade in Asia?

Africa and the Americas had provided new wealth and trade for Europe. However, European explorers still wanted a sea route to Asia. They wanted to trade directly with China. That way, they would not have to go through empires in the Middle East.

Multiple Choice

Which desire contributed to the start of the age of Exploration

• Asian merchants' desire to export luxury goods

• Muslim rulers' desire to conquer new territories

• African traders' desire to find new markets for slaves

• European nations' desire to expand trade with other regions

The first Europeans to reach India were the Portuguese. Vasco da Gama found a sea route to Calicut in 1498. He could not start a colony, however. Muslim merchants in Calicut were suspicious and hostile. Da Gama had to fight his way out of the harbor. Another Portuguese explorer, Pedro Álvares Cabral, followed da Gama’s route to Calicut. Cabral managed to set up a trading post. It did not last very long. The men he stationed at the post were killed. To avenge the loss of these men, Vasco da Gama was sent back to India. In 1503, he finally set up a successful trading post.

Multiple Choice

What happened to the first Portuguese trading posts in India?

• The Europeans at the trading post were killed

• It was so successful that other European nations set up their own

• The Portuguese did not set up trading posts in India

• They set up a Christian mission and converted everyone to Christianity

After da Gama’s success, other Portuguese sailors followed, expanding Portugal’s trade with India and the areas surrounding it. Afonso de Albuquerque led expeditions to Goa, India in 1510, Malaka (in modern-day Malaysia) in 1511, and the Moluccas (in modern-day Indonesia) from 1512 to 1514. The Portuguese spread their culture along with their trade. In Goa, they forced many local people to convert to Catholicism and established a religious inquisition.

​

Multiple Choice

Which statement describes the main impact of the voyages of Bartolemeu Dias and Vasco de Gama?

• They demonstrated that it was easier to reach Asia by sea than by land.

• They opened sea routes that allowed Europeans to trade directly with Asia

• They made Europeans aware of the wealth of empires of the Americas

• They gave Portugal an early lead in controlling the transatlantic slave trade.

The Portuguese were also the first Europeans to reach China by sea. They did so in 1514. This was nearly 300 years after Marco Polo and his brother left Italy and crossed the Gobi Desert to reach China by land. By 1557, the Portuguese had a trading station in Macao, China. In 1570, China began trading with Spanish colonies in the Philippines. In 1619, the Dutch formed a colony in Taiwan.

Multiple Choice

Which factor explains why Portugal had and early advantage over other European nations in trade with India?

• the productivity of the Portuguese silk industry

• the successful voyages of Portuguese navigators

• Portugal's close relationship with the Catholic Church

• Portuguese control over the transatlantic slave trade.

Other Europeans Follow​

​How did trade increase between India, China, and the rest of the European nations?

After Portugal’s success, other explorers followed. Traders from the Dutch Empire formed the Dutch East India Company in 1602. This organization quickly became powerful in Asia. It established colonial outposts and trading centers in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Japan.

During most of the early and mid-1600s, the Dutch Empire fought with Spain. Part of the reason was a struggle to control trade with Asia. Portugal was united with Spain at the time. So, the Dutch East India Company attacked many Portuguese colonies in Africa, India, and Spain. Meanwhile, Spain founded colonies in the Philippines. It also founded colonies in North and South America.

​

Multiple Choice

What caused war between European nations in the early 1600s?

• They fought to control the American colonies

• They fought to control Asian trade

• They fought over religion

• They fought over gold

England and France soon became involved. They fought against Spain, the Dutch Empire, and each other. They fought for control of trade and colonies. The situation was tense. It led to a rise in piracy. Ship captains saw an opportunity to get rich. They attacked merchant ships carrying luxury goods from Asia and the New World. Some pirates were supported by their governments. They mostly targeted ships from enemy nations. Other pirates attacked any ship they could find.

​

Multiple Choice

What surprising fact is TRUE about pirates during this time?

• They were all criminals that if caught would be hanged

• They were always all male crews

• Some worked for their countries and only attacked enemy countries' ships

• All were well educated

The Dutch East India Company held onto its control of trade with Asia for a while. In the 1700s, however, power would shift to the British Empire and its strong navy. In 1600, England’s Queen Elizabeth had granted the English East India Company a charter to establish trade with the East Indies. The company set up several trading posts in Indian coastal cities by the mid-1600s. By the mid-1700s, the East India Company greatly expanded its control over trade with Asia. It had influence over much of India. It founded trading posts in China as well.

Multiple Choice

Which factor enabled England to expand its participation in the European trade with Asia?

• development of a powerful navy

• innovations in navigational technology

• purchase of the Dutch East India Company

• victory over France in the Hundred Years' War

Dominating India

Before Great Britain took control in the 1700s, traders from the Dutch Empire, France, and Portugal all built port cities along the Indian coast. They grew rich from the trade. These trading posts did not affect the Mughal Empire much. The Mughal Empire ruled most of India at this time. By the mid-1700s, however, the Mughal Empire had split into small states. As the English East India Company expanded its power, it became stronger than the Indian rulers. Soon it was governing much of India.

Multiple Choice

During most of the Age of Exploration, India was controlled by.

• Chinese soldiers

• Mughal emperors

• British and Dutch administrators

• Portuguese and Arab traders

The English East India Company remained a powerful force in India for another century. Slowly, though, it became little more than a representative of the British government. In the late 1700s, the company became regulated by an advisory board established by the British Parliament. In 1813, it lost its monopoly over the Indian trade with Britain. From 1857 to 1858, many people in India rose up against company rule. After this, the East India Company was dissolved and India became a formal British colony.

Multiple Choice

Which Asian country became a British colony in the mid-1800s?

• Japan

• China

• Indonesia

• India