Global Flow of Silver Dbq

The global flow of silver managed to redefine the social structure in many societies, as well as dramatically altered the basis of the economy in many European and Asian countries. Despite the economic change that came from the mass production of silver and its use as a standard currency, the growth of the silver industry brought as much change socially and culturally as it brought economic transformation. Many people viewed the conversion to silver being the standardized currency as a huge hindrance to their daily lives, but the silver industry brought wealth to many societies and became a necessity in trade. On one side of things, the flow of silver throughout the world brought a wave of economic change, as mentioned in documents 3,5,6, and 7, but on the other hand, it brought new social distinctions as silver widened the gap between the rich and the poor, as mentioned in documents 1 and 6. Another aspect of the global flow of silver that influenced many areas was the cultural interactions that entailed, as mentioned in documents 2,4,7, and 8. An example of the passing and interacting of cultures would be the attraction of Asian commodities to Spain which were paid for in a heavy flow of silver as mentioned in document 2, which was viewed as many as the beginning of the end for Spain, as told by the Spanish scholar Tomas de Mercado. It would be helpful to see a document that showed the statistics of the economies of some Asian and European countries before and after the massive rise of silver in their societies, as this would help me to determine the facts of the total economic effects due to the flow of the metal. Another document that would be helpful would be a document showing the point of view of a peasant that may or may not have been directly affected by the flow of metal into his/her society. It would help clear up the social effects that entailed after the arrival and massive flow of silver. The economic effects that the global flow of silver brought