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1493
Charles Mann
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First single trade network in history centred on Philippines C16. Chinese wanted silver; Westerners wanted everything Chinese, particularly silk and porcelain.
New Western foods into China. Sweet potatoes and maize could be grown in the dry uplands, which had before been unsuitable for rice. Farmers cleared new land; deforestation resulted in erosion and catastrophic floods
The silver that Cortez's conquest brought to Spain allowed monarchy to embark on a series of non-stop, costly foreign wars. The flood of silver wasn't enough to pay all the soldiers, and they constantly mutineed. Spain defaulted on its debts 5 times between 1550 and 1630. Each time they borrowed more money, at rates of up to 40%. So much silver imported that its value dropped, even as output of mines was dropping. Inflation rose rapidly through C16, doubling then trippling. But wages didn't rise so got constant revolts from starving peasants.
Slave trade also transported malaria virus. Africans had some immunity, Europeans had none, so in summer, white mortality rate sky high. This intensified slave trade, because Euros reluctant to move to dangerous areas.
Govts tried to restrict silk imports by limiting them to set number of chests. Chinese designed presses that could mash such huge quantities of silk into the chests that they took 6 men to lift them.
C16-C18 Europe suffered famines at least once a decade. Changed with intro of potatoes from America. Where peasant farmers had had to leave half their fields fallow each year, now they could plant htemin potatoes, effectively doubling their output. Potatoes got people through the 'hungry months' of early summer before seed crops ripened. And old potatoes were fed to livestock, for the first time keeping them alive through winter.
Irish actually best nourished people in Europe. A iet of potatoes and milk actually provided all necessary vitamins.
3 necessary fundamentals for the INdustrial Revn - steel, fossil fuels and rubber (rubber provides the gaskets and washers that stop machines leaking.
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