Changes And Continuities Of The Columbian Exchange

From the mid-15th century to the mid-16th century, regions all over the world were connecting. due to the Columbian Exchange, a widespread transfer of culture, human populations, and technology was spread around the world through trade routes. Christopher Columbus traveled around the world and along the way he discovered the Americas. This discovery was the start of a connection between continents. The common economic connection between nations was silver which predated paper currency. The paper currency innovation originated from China in the Yuan and Ming China. Although paper money was a significant innovation that many international regions wanted, it was the silver trade that was dominating worldwide at the time. Many people believed Europe drove the silver trade because Spain was stealing silver from Mexico and Peru, and bringing the stolen silver back to Spain. Various trade routes opened and Europe was able to exchange large amounts of silver for goods

However, it was really China who was driving global silver trade, not Europe. China had goods such as gunpowder, the compass, silk, and porcelain. The flow of silver trade during the mid-16 century to the early 18 century had a profound impact on the world, due to the demand of Chinese goods and ideas heard along the trade routes, enabling economies and societies to benefit internationally.

China's location along the silk roads allowed it easy access to water, which in turn, formed successful international relationships such as with the trading port of Manila which was an important hub for Asian and European trade. Not only was the Philippines benefiting from China’s silver distribution, a Spanish scholar, Tomas de Mercado, in 1571, explained how people in Europe also had a strong desire for China’s goods. He said, “Cobblestones