Chinese Exploration and Spanish Exploration

There were different reasons that made Spain and China to enter their exploration paths. Though the main reason that led to China and Spain exploration was trade, they both had different intention during their trade transactions. Spanish on their exploration were looking for territories to colonize as they also looked for opportunities to form new trade. In 1521 during the time when Ferdinand Magellan was on an expedition to circumnavigate the Earth, Spanish had already arrived at Philippine and attempted to colonize it. The Spanish vessels sailed on the directions of favorable winds in search of valuable items and new colonies to rule. However, China seemed to have different objective; as a result of the increasing population, there was the need for the rulers under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to form trade with the outside world to improve the economy. When China and Spain formed trade, each of them was interested in exchanging buying item which were in shortage; as such, China and Spain traded with each other different items. For Spanish sailors, they had borrowed loan in form of silver from Mexico but were in shortage of silk and porcelain which their demand were high in European countries. On the other hand, Ming Dynasty decided to shift China’s economy from bronze or copper to silver money exchanges. The introduction of the silver money exchange in China allowed it to form trade with the outside world. As a result, China traded porcelain and silk for silver with Spain (Mungello, 2013).

The increasing population in China served as another reason that made merchants to expand their trade routes to sustain their families back home who were frequently hit by famine and drought. As such, it can be seen that China’s reason for its exploration was to sustain the dwindling economy which could not support the rapidly growing population. Spain was interested in increasing its commercial power in America and European countries. Another difference in trade approach by the two countries was that Spain was entire and capitalist country; expanded its trade for profit. However, during the 16^th century after the rise of the Qing’s Empire, Ming’s intellectuals started viewing the commercialism as annoying, and traders and merchants were being seen as something of a suspect. With the influence of Confucian ideas, China society emphasized production over exchange, focusing on countryside over city and, preferring continuity over change or mobility. In other words, Qing’s Empire introduced socialism which limited China’s trade exploration to other countries, unlike Spain that engaged in market capitalism (Mungello, 2013).

Both China and Spain explorers affected people that they met during the trade in different ways. For instance, China’s trade with Spain and other countries in the West, men and women back at home in China were increasingly drawn in production of silk threads and finished textiles for export. There were high demand for raw materials that were required for the exports and as a result, men were drawn into intensive agricultural production to supply the raw commodities. During the Golden Age in Spain, China’s merchants had made fortunes in the economic upswings; however, this was at the expense of the literate, unemployed civil servants. As a result, the lack of unemployment angled the literate people to venture in arts and literature, producing many books and play scenes such as “The Lute” play that was featured in 1610. Spain merchants opened trade opportunities for people especially in Manila, making the local people to engage in trade activities (Mungello, 2013).

References

Mungello, D.E. (2013). The great encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800. Maryland:

Rowman & Littlefield