Social and Economic Effects of the Circulation of Silver
Social and economical effects of the circulation of silverBetween the years of 1500 to 1750 the increased flow of silver caused social andeconomic effects throughout the world. The regions of the Americas, Europe, and Asia, whichwere connected through the silver trade, were significantly affected as the Europeans entered theglobal economy and the growing social distinctions within Ming China.In China, the increased flow of silver bullion heavily affected Chinas economy when theMing Dynasty decreed that all taxes and trade fees be paid in silver. In the 1570s, the increasingscarcity of silver coin endangered the Ming economy as people were unable to pay for their taxes.This problem was presented by Wang Xijue to the Ming Emperor in 1593 in order todemonstrate the need of silver coin in China. As a court official, Xijue most likely felt that thedeclining economy may lead to public unrest and eventually to rebellions against the government,and he hopes to circumvent this through his report to the emperor (document 3). Likewise, HeQianyuan, another court official, denotes the declining economy of the Ming through a report tothe emperor on the possibility of repealing the ban on foreign trade. He Qianyuan mentions thatthe price of silk in China is worth two to three times as much in the Philippines and that manynative products are highly desired by foreign merchants. Once again, Qianyuan wants to repealthis ban on foreign trade in hopes of improving the Ming economy and for China to becomeprosperous so that the common people will not rebel or become uneasy (document 7). Ye Chunji,a county official of Ming China, creates an order to limit wedding expenses paid in silver. As a
result of the growing scarcity of silver in China, As a county official, Ye Chunji hopes that thepeople of China will live frugally and not extravagantly in an effort to help the decliningeconomy by having people live frugally and to spend money on more necessary items than tolive extravagantly and waste money (document 1). Furthermore, the effects of silver taxes andtransactions is shown through Xu Dunqius essay in The Changing Times. In Xu Dunqius essay,he shows the change over time from Chinas barter economy system to a more market economy.Customers were required to pay trades and taxes through silver coins compared to earlier timeswhen customers were able to trade items for other items. Though Xu Dunqiu is relativelyunbiased as he is only stating facts about the Ming economy, this document can be used toexplain the decline of traditional Chinese society as well as the economy (document 5).However, not only China was affected through the increased flow of the silver trade.Spain, at first having benefited Spain early on, led to a decline in the economy of the Spanish