- (Subject)
- starting point
- read doc briefly and summarize what it says
- if given essay prompt, ask why doc is relevant
- Context
- historical situation when it was written?
- what event might author be responding too?
- Audience
- what kind of doc is it?
- who was this doc intended for?
- why he write it?
- Purpose
- Help understand why author might have said whatever it is
- why was it created?
- Speaker
- what do we know abt the person speaking/writng
- how is it relevant to doc
- consider
- social position
- race,ethnicity,nationality
- profession
- gender
IN CLASS NOTES
- Economics
- social study that refers to the consumption,distribution,and production of
resources
- market economies often use money as a “rationing device”, but economics is not
necessarily abt $$$
- Trans Atlantic Slave Trade
- 12.5 million Africans to americas
- shipped across the Atlantic in the infamous “middle passage”
- African diaspora brought elements of African culture such as religious ideals,
music, and artistic transitions and cuisines into American cultures
- Unique properties of slavery in the Americas
- central to the economies of colonial America, which utilized a “plantation” system
- slave status inherited across generations and there was little hope of eventual
freedom for the vast majority
- dimension of race
Eval the extent to which the Spanish Empire benefitted from the silver trade between 1450-1750
, Although initially, the Spanish empire was seen as socially superior to other Western European
states from silver, ultimately, it did not do much for the Spanish Empire economically as many
aristocrats took no action to build enterprises from silver and the use of silver lead to high
inflation rates.
High inflation
- Massive increase leading to dimished value
- funded military campaigns so required lots of money for military, goods and services go
up cause i
-social seen as superior compared to other Western European states “envy of others”
- fueled military and political ambitions
Commerce and Consequence
1450-1750
European and Asian Commerce
● Vasco de Gama(Portuguese) first to sail to India
○ effort to explore sea route to Africa up East African coast to Indian ocean
○ trying to find goldfields
● Reason for exploration
○ Desire for tropical spices, most importantly pepper
○ Other east goods: silk,cotton,rhubarb,precious gems
○ Prester John(made up ruler in Asia or Africa who was Christian)
○ Wanted to repair European civilization
■ become more organized
■ taxing subjects
■ military force
■ cities growing for international commerce= economies based on market
exchange,private ownership, become capital
● Previous east goods were:
○ Source of supply:
■ in Muslim hands, specifically egypt
■ in Venice
○ people in venice upset of the Muslim monopoly over Indian Ocean trade
○ europeans mad that it centered mainly in Venice
○ super expensive east goods whereas European goods not as good
■ paid in cash,gold,or silver
■ lead to trade deficit
■ made people want to explore for metals
■ luckily, they mined in silver deposits of Mexico and Bolivia
● Portuguese Empire of Commerce
○ were not very familiar with Indian Ocean network
■ differed in geographic and diversity of people
■ mainly middle eastern and Asians