Chapter 6: Economic Transformations: Commerce and Consequence

What was the one major advantage that allowed the small Portuguese fleet to dominate the Indian Ocean militarily? 

• They had large amounts of gold. 
• They could speak the languages of the cultures they encountered.
• Their onboard cannon could defeat other ships and coastal forts. 
• They intermarried with local leaders; families.

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the Portuguese Empire’s steep decline in the Indian Ocean by 1600? 

• It was overextended.
• Certain powers, such the Mughals and Japanese, resisted Portuguese control.
• They were heavily outnumbered in their outposts.
• The Spanish ousted the Portuguese from Asian waters.

What strategic significance did the Philippines hold for Spain? 

• Christianity was already established on the islands.
• They were close to China, but not ruled by China.
• They could be used to launch attacks on Portuguese forts.
• They were close to Australia.

What was one main difference between the establishment of the British East India Company in Mughal India versus the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in Indonesia? 

• The British learned the local languages; the Dutch did not.
• The British used treaties with local Mughal rulers; the Dutch violently conquered and killed many Indonesians.
• The British encouraged intermarriage with elite local women; the Dutch took local women as sex slaves.
• The British had to send 50 percent of their profits back to the government in London; the Dutch only had to send a small percentage of money back to their government.

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship of the new European trading networks in the Indian Ocean to other Asian commercial networks? 

• Europeans became just one small group among a vast number of thriving Asian commercial networks.
• Europeans destroyed and took over almost all other Asian commercial networks.
• Europeans gained access to commercial markets only where the local population converted to Christianity.
• Europeans ended up gaining little for their efforts, eventually leaving Asia empty-handed.

Which of the following was NOT a factor in the emergence of silver as the currency of global trade in the sixteenth century? 

• Skyrocketing Chinese demand for silver as a means for paying taxes. 
• The proximity of the Spanish Philippines to China.
•  The lack of any silver mines in Asia.
• The discover of vast silver mines in Bolivia.

What impact did the discovery of the world's largest silver mine at Potosi have on the native (mostly) Incan population there? 

• They grew suddenly rich.
• They were forced to work in deadly, hellish conditions.
• They had been so decimated by disease that they barely noticed the new mine.
•  Realizing how valuable silver was to Europeans, they began digging for their own mines throughout the Andes.

How did the discovery of the vast silver mines in South America affect Spain's position in Europe? 

• It allowed Spain to pursue political and military goals far beyond what they could afford previously.
• It vastly enriched all the citizens of Spain.
• It did nothing for Spain because most of the silver went straight to China.
• Most of the silver was stolen by pirates as it was shipped across the Caribbean and Atlantic.

How did the discovery of silver mines in Japan impact Japanese fortunes? 

• The ruling shogunate isolated Japan even more, fearing that greedy Europeans would conquer and enslave Japanese for their silver as in the Andes
• The ruling shogunate used the silver to buy a large military and luxury goods for the elites, but did nothing to help commoners.
• The ruling shogunate wisely invested wealth from the mines to create a sustainable market-based economy and ecology
• The ruling shogunate disintegrated into civil war and anarchy as factions fought over control of the silver mines.

In what way did the Chinese response to the global silver economy differ from the Japanese response? 

• The Chinese economy became diversified; the Japanese did not.
• Chinese merchants began exporting goods to other lands; Japan did not.
• Inflation destroyed the Chinese economy; but aided the Japanese economy.
•  Economic changes resulted in ecological devastation in China, but not in Japan.