The Business of Empire
Driving Question: How did the development of new economic systems and new oceanic empires support each other?
The expansion of overseas empires changed European economic systems. In turn, these new economic systems helped Europeans operate empires like businesses. In this lesson, you’ll learn about the rise of capitalism and how this economic system helped finance imperialist ventures.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand why new economic systems and innovations emerged during this period.
- Evaluate the interactions between European empires and new economic systems.
- Use the historical thinking practice of continuity and change over time to assess the impact of transoceanic connections.
Vocab Terms:
What has changed? What has stayed the same? Later in this lesson, you’ll consider these questions to review what you’ve learned over the last two units. First, get comfortable with this this way of thinking, which is called continuity and change over time (CCOT).
Use this map of European explorers and the global silver trade to help students understand the growing interconnectedness of the global economy in this period.
The Spanish Empire extracted huge amounts of silver from their colonies in the Americas. The sudden abundance of this precious metal totally reshaped global economic patterns.
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Guiding Questions
The Spanish went looking for gold in the Americas, but they actually found silver. Unfortunately, all that silver led to death, inflation, and other not-so-good things.
Key Ideas
This activity requires some classroom prep, but it’s worth it! Be sure to download and print the narratives in the activity ahead of time. You’ll also need a large ball of yarn and large sheets of paper to indicate continents and countries/regions. To see how other teachers set up their rooms, and for a handy slide deck to accompany this activity, check out this Community Forum post.
The emerging system of capitalism supported the expansion of European empires—just as those empires helped expand the system of capitalism. These articles and activity will help you see the global connections that made it all possible.
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
This is the first CCOT activity in the course. If you’re looking for a few instructional tips, check out our quick one-pager, which includes the CCOT Tool and related Feedback Form.
We’ve already discussed the importance of understanding how things change—or don’t change—over time. In this activity, you’ll get to practice this skill.
In this unit, you’ve learned about how the world transformed as a result of new global connections. Now, it’s time to reflect on how what you’ve learned has changed what you think.
Sometimes, to be successful you have to think outside of the box. That’s exactly what the Dutch East India Company did to dominate the spice trade in Southeast Asia.
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Guiding Questions
For a time, the Dutch East India company dominated the spice trade in southeast Asia, using some clever financial innovations. But was this capitalism or something else?
