Effects of the First Globalization

 

            European expansion had a profound influence on Africa, parts of Asia, and the Americas.  As Portugal was the first state to gain footing in these lands- due to its convenient seafaring location (Brotton, ch. 4)- others followed suit to disrupt the advantage Portugal would have in acquiring valuable resources.  Portuguese expansion also created the incentive to use slave labor as a means of obtaining these resources at minimal cost.

            In the Americas, the Colombian Exchange created opportunities to introduce new products to Europe that had never been used before, including potatoes, tobacco, and vanilla (Traver, The Columbian Exchange).  Conversely, European delicacies could be introduced and traded to the Americas, including cows, citrus fruits, and bananas (Traver, the Colombian Exchange).  Unfortunately, this also introduced disease to the Americas, leading to a population decline of many indigenous peoples.  European disease assisted the Spanish in establishing a massive extension of their empire in the New World (Traver, Impact on the Americas).  The depletion of Mexica and Inca warriors made it easier for the Spanish to defeat them, making the retrieval of resources like silver and sugar to send back to Europe easier in return, particularly through the help of imported slave labor from Africa.  The Spanish were not alone in importing slave labor; as time went on, Portuguese, British, French, and Dutch colonizers used them to help export American resources to Europe as well.

            The effect of the First Globalization on Africa was damaging in a different sense.  The implementation of the Atlantic Slave Trade resulted in the deportation of millions of African people to become slaves in the New World and Europe (Discussion, week 8).  This development seemed to justify the cultural image that blacks were racially inferior, starting a long-term trend in racism against blacks that is still relevant in today’s world.  The Portuguese were the first nation-state to buy slaves from Africans, and other nations followed suit.

            The parts of Asia that the First Globalization involved were in the southern part of the continent: mostly India, Indonesia, and Polynesia.  The Portuguese were brutal in their implementation of the spice trade in India, which included a massacre in Calecut (H.E.J. Stanley).  Tactics like these, along with supreme navigational skills, were how the Portuguese were able to monopolize the spice trade in Asia (Brotton, ch. 4).  The demand for spices was high in Europe because of their value in medicine and cooking.  Pepper was imported to Europe from India; cinnamon from Sri Lanka; and nutmeg, mace, and cloves from Indonesia (Traver, Spices).  In the far east (Polynesia), the Spanish were the first to implement a global trading network by colonizing the Philippines, using Manila galleons to trade spices and silver across the world.  The Dutch also colonized Indonesia and some of the Polynesian islands. 

Importantly, most of the colonization that took place in America, Africa, and Asia involved attempts by missionaries to convert the local populations to Christianity.  The people in these territories were seen as barbarians who needed to be converted by the life-saving affirmations of their European faith.  This kind of ethnocentrism seemed to justify the taking of land and enslaving people for European conquerors.  As European states competed for land, resources, and strategic advantages, the native populations of these areas suffered tremendously.  We are still seeing the fallout from the First Globalization today, as most of the underdeveloped world includes these places.

Most states during the Renaissance followed the Portuguese model of expansion, which included long sea voyages, colonizing distant lands, and converting the local population to Christianity.  The Portuguese also monopolized the Indian Ocean, started the Atlantic slave trade, and threatened to claim all land in the Americas, which mobilized other European nations to swiftly compete.  Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, was the first to circumnavigate the globe, which could have spelled global dominance for them if not for the rising influence of Spain.  In fact, the only reason Spain was able to overcome Portugal was through a technicality that split the western hemisphere heavily in their favor.  It was agreed in the Treaty of Tordesillas that Portugal could not occupy lands to the west of a certain meridian, which is how Brazil became the only American nation that recognizes Portuguese heritage.  It’s fascinating to me how such a physically small state changed the world in world in such profound ways!