original article [x]
Global Commerce. Asia to the Europeans were like the Fountain of Youth to Ponce de Leon. The journey across the Indian Ocean towards the East would result in valuable benefits that could revive and strengthen their economies and personal well-being and wealth, often referred to as "riches". Among these benefits were various goods such as spices/textiles and the development of trade systems and relationships between countries. The main contestants in this race to obtain the Eastern riches were the Portuguese and the Spanish. When I think of dominant European countries, France/Spain/Italy come to mind - not Portugal. Being that Portugal is one of the smaller countries of Europe today, it is strange to think that they were such a force to be reckoned with back then. There isn't much attention paid to them, so it was weird for me to think of them as sailors and a leading pioneer in Europe's journey to the East and an integral part in the creation of a global trading system.
The section on the Spanish invasion of the Philippines revealed a lot of information I was unaware of. I did not know that the Spanish settled there to "get ahead of" Portuguese in the "race to gain access to the riches of the East". The Philippines proved especially important to Spain during the Silver trade, as it was the destination for Spain's hoard of silver which were collected from all around the world (Bolivia>Mexico>Pacific>PI.. WOW. Now that's what I call a trip. And I thought my 5-hour flight from Hawaii to California was ridiculously long.) Random note: I thought it was interesting how the Philippines was considered an Asian country in this book. There is a lot of debate going on about whether or not Filipinos are considered Asians or Pacific Islanders. Being Filipino myself, I always considered myself Asian, but other sources seem to suggest not.
Silver is described as the fuel that got the vehicle of trade traveling across international borders - even more than the spice trade, the silver trade "gave birth to a genuinely global network of exchange". The Chinese especially benefited from their role in this industry, which resulted in a stabilizing and increasing economy, and enough funds to continue manufacturing other goods such as textiles. Because Chinese goods were "cheap and well-made", their European counterparts found it difficult to compete. I found it amusing how laws were made in 1717 that prohibited the French from wearing fabric created in India and China, so they may protect the French industry.
While their economic success is reason for celebration, the Chinese poem by Wang Dayue snaps us back to reality as he describes a result of commercialization. One result if deforestation - "hills resembled heads now shaven clean of hair". I really like this line: "they felt an anxious mood / that all their daily logging might not furnish them with fuel". It's a vicious cycle: they need to exploit natural resources to produce goods, but if they use up too much too often, they won't have enough to use as the fuel for their factories and cars, or even enough to use as warmth or food, things for their for basic survival. The saddest effect of global trade is the kidnapping and use of people for slaves. Too make a long story short since my post is getting really long, its such an unethical issue, but at the same time, they've helped build industries and countries, so there is much to be thankful for if you look at it from that view. Not to say that slavery is at any point a good thing, but its true that there are benefits from that system.
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21st Century Chickens. I really don't know how to approach this issue, since they both seem right and wrong from either side. If I were forced to pluck and kill the chicken myself, I would most definitely be forced to become a vegetarian since I cannot stand the idea that I am murdering a living being for my own enjoyment. I would say that animal cruelty altogether is an extremely horrible thing, but modern packaging does put the image of a live animal in the farthest part of my mind. I think that packaging is necessary, however, to enforce safety and good health standards in the modern society. I can't imagine the kinds of dangers and diseases that people would suffer from if food like chicken and beef were left up to the consumers to clean and prepare themselves.
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