Silver Trade Negative Effects

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The increased global flow of silver from the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century resulted in both economic and social effects for the parties involved. The Chinese, who were the consumers of silver, gained economically from the silver trade, but suffered in terms of social effects because of the hardships placed on the lower classes while the English and Portuguese were able to integrate themselves more into the world by participating in the increasing trade. It also declined Spain’s economy over time as the producers and caused misfortune to those who were forced to excavate the precious metal. Some of the biggest effects of the silver trade are observed in the Ming Dynasty China. The Chinese government was able to gain riches because they were trading “perishable…show more content…
If they continuously trade with European territories at that rate, they would gain significantly more silver than if they traded the same materials within China, leading to a richer Chinese government. He Qiaoyuan does seem suspicious however, because he mentions that his native province produces commodities that are valuable in the trade. His statement may be driven by the fact that he wants personal or provincial gain from the silver trade. As the Chinese government sees the value in silver, they make laws that all taxes and fees must be paid in silver. This requirement encourages a wider social gap between the rich and the poor in addition to other restrictions (Doc 1, 3, 5). In an attempt to keep more silver in the Chinese government, they had begun to limit the amount of expenses that is spent on weddings (Doc 1). If they took this measure to limit expenses on weddings, then it can be inferred that other ceremonies or events could have also received less funding. Ye Chunji explain how that one bar of silver
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