mathiasdbq4-

Silver has been a primary trading product for many years. Each major civilization has played some role in the silver trade. The trades of silver throughout the world from 1500 AD to 1700 AD made the economies of great civilizations fluctuate. Some countries benefited from silver trade. Doc 4 states that the Portuguese in China were able to easily get necessary products such as gold and copper. This British merchant would take this point of view because he is jealous of the prospering Portuguese. Doc 6 also states that the Spanish colonies greatly benefited from the trade goods they received for the cost of their silver. Doc 7 explains that China makes double and sometimes triple the profit of selling everyday goods in the Philippines than in China itself. As seen through the eyes of a court official, it is good growth in the economy in China. China was not the only empire that received luxuries for the silver trade. Doc 8 explains how European life was made easier with Chinese products. The Europeans bought many types of household products from China with silver coin. Not everyone reaped the benefits of the silver trade. In Doc 2, a Spanish soldier explains how Spain’s economy fell during the flourish of the silver trade. The scholar takes a “blind” point of view and just reports what he sees in this document. Doc 3 shows how some China did not flourish. The farmers lost profit when the price of grain went down because of the silver trade. Doc 5 leads us to believe that dye traders in the Chinese empire also suffered great loss. Cloth was no longer dyed for vital trade goods but for silver. Doc 1 can be used to help explain the loss of money and value; however it requires another document from a Chinese trader. It could prove that the low class farmers were just trying to feed a family.
 * DBQ #4**