How Did The Aztec World Change In The World

Throughout the Early Modern Era, European nations capitalized on advanced technology to expand their territories into the Americas, Africa, and India. The French and British established trading posts in India, which led to conflict. Queen Elizabeth the first was in power in England, sponsoring privateers such as Sir Francis Drake. The Portuguese settled in the southern and eastern coasts of Africa, and the Spanish gained control over Latin America. The Spaniards were able to conquer the Aztecs with such efficiency due to the weakened Aztec government. Much like China in the post-Classical Era, the Aztecs maintained a tributary system, requiring extensive tributes of money, goods, and humans for human sacrifices and work from their subjects.
After the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China, the Ming dynasty took over. The Columbian exchange introduced new products such as maize and America silver into China. During the period of 1500-1750 CE, the global flow of silver brought about many social and economical changes across the world such as the switch from a barter system to the usage of silver coins. This made it easier to trade, especially over long distances by placing a set value on certain goods. Despite the good it did for trade, the increased production of silver coins and silver refinement led to severe inflation. Silver was given the same value from when it was a rarity to when it was a commonality, causing an inflation that took a toll on the Spanish economy. To obtain these large quantities of silver, the Spanish used the indigenous people of Latin America to mine for the silver, creating social stratification between the Spanish and the indigenous
Antonio de Espinosa, a Spanish Priest, describes the terrible conditions at Potosí that the Native Americans had to deal with (Doc 5). The Spanish adopted a labor system similar to that of the Inca mita in which they used the indigenous people of the region to mine for them. Espinosa writes about the difficulties these “Indians” had to endure, such as dangerous exposure to faulty equipment and taxing working conditions (Doc 5). His view about how the desire for silver had affected the indigenous people shows that despite the many beneficial aspects of silver, it was also harmful. In China, tillers and farmers suffered from the increased usage of silver due to the scarcity of silver coins in their region. Wang Xijue writes in his report to the emperor about the reasons that the price of grain is cheap, even though it’s hard to grow, due to the government’s limited dispersion of silver. Although silver is required for taxes, the cultivators are not receiving any silver for their labor, thus causing the drop in grain prices. Xijue shares this information to alert the emperor to the struggles the common folk are having so that the government can find a way to support them. The fact that the lower classes were struggling economically demonstrates some of the negative effects of silver (Doc 3). The worth of Chinese goods outside