Silver Trade

During the time period of the 1570s to the 1750s, Spain and Asia dominated the silver trading network. Most of the silver distributed across the world came from their ports or ports in other countries controlled by them. Silver was beginning to be used across all aspects of life; silver was used as currency, traded for foreign luxuries such as Asian porcelain and silks, and was considered to be one of the most valuable traded goods. The silver trade that commenced among Spain and Asia affected the globe by enabling the wealthy to obtain and become accustomed to many luxury exports, yet not allowing the poor to have enough silver to fulfill necessary domestic affairs, and the trade made the silver supply very scarce and inflated the value of

Tomas de Mercado, a Spanish scholar, wrote in 1571 that the silver trade with Spain and Asia was ruining the economy; Spain was sending so much silver over and only receiving extensive amounts of granite in return. Granite was a luxury material; it was not an essential resource. Charles D’Avenat, an English scholar, also wrote in 1697 on the futile, excessive trading among Europe and how they were sending far too much silver without sufficient reimbursement; however, he defends and supports the trade, saying that Europeans have become so accustomed to foreign luxuries and how efficient they are in their daily lives. Yet, at the same time, many communities were suffering from the drastic effects of the silver trade. Wang Xijue, a Ming dynasty court official, wrote in a report to the emperor in 1593 that nobody was able to purchase from the surplus of grain due to the scarcity of silver; laborers were receiving less money and were not able to tend to any more land. His report is extremely straightforward: while it is a report to the emperor, he does not try to appeal to him. Rather, he portrays how the silver trade is affecting his people. Xu Dunqiu Ming, in his essay from 1610 about the city of Hangzhou, wrote that local dye shops now forced customers to pay their bills in silver, rather than their previous exchange of grain or poultry for dye services. He shows no bias in his

Everything from clothing, automobiles, and toothpaste come from countries without sufficient labor laws. In the United States, one of the most prominent countries that they purchase products from is China. Unlike the porcelain and silks sold 500 years ago, now China exports electronics, toys, synthetic fabrics, household supplies, and everything imaginable. While the United States benefits immensely from their products, China is not in the most favorable of conditions. Due to all of the factories in China, their environment is worsening. The fumes from the factories cause the atmosphere to be heavy with poisonous chemicals. China is still not a full democracy; however, their political positions and enforcement has improved drastically from previous years. While China does flourish and has massive amounts of wealth, it is still subject to the mentality that the country who flourishes the most (presumably the United States), others must suffer under