American Civilization In Period 4 Essay

The civilizations in Period 4 were different from those of Period 3. They expanded from transregional connections to truly global exchanges, roping the Americas and other previously unconnected lands into the networks of exchange. The trade, governments, and cultures of the world were all influenced by these connections, and the history of the world was, for the first time, truly shaped as a whole. The connection between Europe and the Americas was powerful and each strongly affected the other in political, economic, and social ways. Exchange with the Americas increased the competition between Europeans states. Before this contact, the competition still existed, but it was elevated by the new opportunities in the Americas. The fur trade

For Europe, the new goods from the Americas gave more things to trade, increasing the amount of money earned. Some countries realized that the lands of the “New World” were great for growing some things that didn’t grow well in Europe. An example of this is sugarcane. Portugal realized that sugarcane grew really well in Brazil and the Caribbeans, so it set up plantations that grew the lots of the crop. Portugal made a lot of money from this because sugar was in demand to sweeten food and drinks like coffee and tea. Silver was another product that played a role in this time period. When Spain found silver at Potosί in what is now present-day Bolivia, they made a lot of money. China was known as the “silver drain” of the day, so Spain could use the mountains of silver it has acquired to purchase cheap, but good quality goods from China. These goods could then be sold to people or other countries. The silver helped the economy through the goods it purchased, but it did not do much for Spain itself. The silver that was funneled into the country caused inflation, not really creating any economic growth. Sadly for Spain, when the price of silver dropped in the early seventeenth century, Spain lost its status as a dominant Western Europeans power, and its economy suffered. In the Americas, the competition between Native American states became more intense as the economic stakes grew higher. The