Silver was a major commodity during the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century. Not only did countries trade this precious metal, but they also utilized it to pay for taxes and trade fees. Silver, of course, had a major impact on the society and economy in general. Considering all of the various ways people were able to use it, silver altered the way these countries functioned. This corresponds with the main topic. The global flow of silver influenced the social and economic factors of the mid-sixteenth century and early eighteenth century by transforming the way citizens purchased their necessities, adjusting the method trade and taxes were performed, and finally by reducing the value of items.
To begin, the first reason of how the global flow of silver influenced the social and economic factors of the mid-sixteenth century and early eighteenth century was by transforming the way citizens purchased their necessities. For example, in Doc. 4, Ralph Fitch, a British merchant, talks about when the Portuguese travel from Macao to Japan, carrying special materials such as white silk, gold, and perfume. It also shows that they bring back a large amount of coins, 600,000 coins worth of Japanese silver. The Portuguese escort these substances back to China, with other grandeur merchandise. In another case, in Doc. 5, Xu Dong Qiu Ming, a writer, converses about how in the past dye shops would let customers have a numerous quantity of pieces of cloth dyed before settling accounts and charging the customers. Now, when they get their cloth dyed, they get a bill, which has to be paid with silver received from a moneylender. This exhibits that the sole object that anybody needed to use to acquire something was silver.
Subsequently, the second reason of how global flow of silver influenced the social and economic factors of the mid-sixteenth century and early eighteenth century was by adjusting the method trade and taxes were performed.
