Silver's Social and Economic Impact on Asia and Europe
Spain and Japan’s silver mining produced most of the world’s silver from the sixteenth to eighteenth century. The social and economic aspects were affected greatly by the discovery of new silver. Silver helped the Chinese economy, and hindered its social traditions, and caused inflation within Spain.
In China, the government incorporated all taxes into one, to be paid in silver. The writer Xu Dunqiu Ming stated that past traditions of bartering and trading with animals and food had been replaced with silver transactions. (Document 5) Wang Xijue, a Ming Dynasty court official, said that the government required all taxes and tariffs to be paid in silver. (Document 3) Paying in silver resulted in a changed Chinese economy like Ye Chunji, a county official, said in reference to wedding expenses paid in silver. (Document 1) It would help to have a commoner’s perspective on the changing Chinese tradition to analyze how silver trade affected daily life like suggested in Document 3.
Spain at first benefitted from the increase in silver, then ruined its economy from the amount of silver it was taking in. Spain’s role in silver trade was enormous from the amount of colonies in the Americas that it had. A Spanish priest, Antonio Vazquez de Espinos, claimed that Spanish mines in Americas put the Native Americans to work with mining large amounts of silver and exporting it in Potosi. (Document 6) The mined silver is smelted into silver coins and that are traded in China for luxuries, according to a Ming Dynasty official. (Document 7) Tomas de Mercado, a Spanish scholar, demonstrated that large amounts of granite cobblestones were used to pave streets in Manila and the Spanish Philippines, a luxury paid for with silver. (Document 2) Portuguese ships traveled to Japan and brought back mass amounts of Japanese silver that they could then use in Chinese markets for the purchase of luxury goods. (Document 4) Asian commerce drew nothing of substance from Europe, nothing but
In China, the government incorporated all taxes into one, to be paid in silver. The writer Xu Dunqiu Ming stated that past traditions of bartering and trading with animals and food had been replaced with silver transactions. (Document 5) Wang Xijue, a Ming Dynasty court official, said that the government required all taxes and tariffs to be paid in silver. (Document 3) Paying in silver resulted in a changed Chinese economy like Ye Chunji, a county official, said in reference to wedding expenses paid in silver. (Document 1) It would help to have a commoner’s perspective on the changing Chinese tradition to analyze how silver trade affected daily life like suggested in Document 3.
Spain at first benefitted from the increase in silver, then ruined its economy from the amount of silver it was taking in. Spain’s role in silver trade was enormous from the amount of colonies in the Americas that it had. A Spanish priest, Antonio Vazquez de Espinos, claimed that Spanish mines in Americas put the Native Americans to work with mining large amounts of silver and exporting it in Potosi. (Document 6) The mined silver is smelted into silver coins and that are traded in China for luxuries, according to a Ming Dynasty official. (Document 7) Tomas de Mercado, a Spanish scholar, demonstrated that large amounts of granite cobblestones were used to pave streets in Manila and the Spanish Philippines, a luxury paid for with silver. (Document 2) Portuguese ships traveled to Japan and brought back mass amounts of Japanese silver that they could then use in Chinese markets for the purchase of luxury goods. (Document 4) Asian commerce drew nothing of substance from Europe, nothing but