Get 2006 Annotated DBQ Rubric: Global Silver Trade Effects

THE ROLE OF SILVER IN CREATING A WORLD MARKET. More than the market for any other commodity, the silver market explains the emergence of world trade. China was the dominant buyer of silver. On the supply side, Spanish America (Mexico and Peru) erupted with unprecedented production of the white metal.

Spaniards at the time of the Age of Discovery discovered vast amounts of silver, much of which was from the Potosí silver mines, to fuel their trade economy. Potosí's deposits were rich and Spanish American silver mines were the world's cheapest sources of it.

A steady supply of gold and silver was necessary to keep the value of a states currency high. It was also important because Europe had a limited supply of gold and silver, so looting the silver deposits of South America was very important to states like Spain, that had incurred debts because of recent wars.

Between 1550 and 1800, the Europeans had control over the Americas and silver. This spurred the connection between almost the whole globe through the development of the silver trade. The global silver trade developed with the preference of GOVERNMENT USE despite the consequences of downturn.

Expert-Verified Answer. Contributing factors to the patterns of the global silver trade between 1550-1800 include large cities and ports, economic demand, and the use of government tax. The existence of the world silver trade was influenced by China's need for exclusively silver.

The global flow of silver from the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century caused social and economic issues by creating social impact in China, changing the economic purpose for trading, and the overall exchange between the Chinese and European nations.

Thus, the increased flow of silver caused social and economic effects in all region associated with trade such as Ming China, Spain, Tokugawa Japan and England by increasing trade and wealth but also profoundly weakening the state of these countries such as increasing social division, competition, and inflation.

Economic demands across the world, government taxation of silver, and the linking of the world by importing and exporting silver into great cities and ports all contributed to the patterns of global silver commerce between 1550 and 1800.