Strayer Chapter 15

Strayer first gives a brief summation of Columbus’ early voyages as well as other prominent explorers and their immediate impact upon the Columbian exchange. He then goes into discussing the backstory of the Black Plague, and its effects upon European population. Then he goes into a brief synopsis about mediterranian trading blocs such as Venice and how the rise of Islam disrupted trade for Europeans, causing the age of exploration, slavery, the implied triangle trade ad nauseam.

The Portuguese had a choice to be peaceful traders or a military, mercantile power.  While Asian goods were attractive in European markets they weren’t attractive,nor lucrative in European markets.  The Portuguese didn’t have much in the way of military and economic rivals in the trading lanes of the Indian ocean, so they jumped at the opportunity to dominate these trade routes. Their ships were fast and highly maneuverable if they did come upon any threats such as pirates, opposing naval forces, or coastal fortifications which they could bombard.

The Portuguese also acquired a foothold in coastal India and Asia where they established colonies such as Macao through bribery and negotiations with Asian leaders, forcibly using strong-armed tactics. This was not without some resistance. Some 1,500 people were killed when the protestors resisted giving up their acquisition of large quantities of cotton and silk in Mombasa, east Africa.  The Portuguese created the “trading post empire” in the Indian Ocean, mostly to control the flow of materials and resources they wanted. The Portuguese were not very interesting and colonial land acquisition itself in the far East as much as other colonial powers. The Portuguese found themselves outnumbered by Asian traders, so they’d sometimes marry local women to gain trading rights and property rights.

Spain, of course, would attempt to challenge Portugal’s monopolies on trade routes in the Indian Ocean by the 16^th Century.  The Spanish annexed the Philippines as a base of trading operations since the the Dutch and Portuguese had already established trade monopolies in Borneo, Sumatra, India, and east Africa. The Spanish also were very zealous in their missionaries proselytizing in the territories they acquired compared to other colonial powers. The annexation of the Philippines was described as “bloodless.” Taxes and alms were used to subdue native populations as part of Christian life and many Spaniards were known to marry into Filipino families. The rising prosperity of the Philippines under Spanish rule also attracted Chinese and Japanese merchants to settle the islands.