Part VI Chapter.docx

Part VI Chapter.docx

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PartVIChapter

ThediscoveryofAmerica...certainlymadeamostessential[change].ByopeninganewandinexhaustiblemarkettoallthecommoditiesofEurope,itgaveoccasiontonewdivisionsoflabourandimprovementsofart,whichinthenarrowsphereofancientcommerce,couldneverhavetakenplace....Thesilverofthenewcontinentseemsinthismannertobeoneoftheprincipalcommoditiesbywhichthecommercebetweenthetwoextremitiesoftheoldoneiscarriedon,anditisbymeansofit,ingreatmeasure,thatthosedistantpartsoftheworldareconnectedwithoneanother.

AdamSmith.

Theearlymodernperiodfrom1500to1763wasoneofthemorecriticalperiodsinhumanhistory.ItwasatthistimethatEuropeanexplorersmadethegreatdiscoveriesthatdisclosednewcontinentsandtherebyheraldedtheglobalphaseofworldhistory.DuringthisperiodalsotheEuropeansbegantheirrisetoworldprimacybecauseoftheirleadershipinoverseasactivities.Certainglobalinterrelationshipsthatdevelopedduringthesecenturiesnaturallybecamestrongerwiththepassageoftime.Hencetheyearsfrom1500to1763aretheperiodwhenglobalunitygotunderway—theperiodoftransitionfromtheregionalisolationismofthepre-1500eratotheEuropeanglobalhegemonyofthenineteenthcentury.Thepurposeofthischapteristoanalyzetheprecisenatureandextentoftheglobaltiesthatdevelopedinvariousfields（seemapofWorldoftheEmergingWest,1763,p.382）.

I.NEWGLOBALHORIZONS

ThefirstandmostobviousresultofEurope'sexpansionoverseasandoverlandwasanunprecedentedwideningofhorizons.Nolongerwasgeographicknowledgelimitedtooneregionorcontinentorhemisphere.Forthefirsttime,theshapeoftheglobeasawholewasknownandcharted（seemapofWesternKnowledgeoftheGlobe,1to1800C.E.,p.350）.ThiswaslargelytheworkofthewesternEuropeans,whohadtakentheleadintransoceanicexploration.BeforethePortuguesebeganfeelingtheirwaydownthecoastofAfricaintheearlyfifteenthcentury,EuropeanshadaccurateinformationonlyofNorthAfricaandtheMiddleEast.TheirknowledgeconcerningIndiawasvague.ItwasstillvaguerregardingcentralAsia,eastAsia,andsub-SaharanAfrica.TheveryexistenceoftheAmericasandofAustralia—letaloneAntarctica—was,ofcourse,unsuspected.

By1763thepicturewasaltogetherdifferent.Themaincoastlinesofmostoftheworldhadbecomeknowninvaryingdegreesofdetail,includingtheAtlanticcoastoftheAmericas,thePacificcoastofSouthAmerica,thewholeoutlineofAfrica,andthecoastsofsouthandeastAsia.IncertainareasEuropeanknowledgewentbeyondthecoastlines.TheRussianswerereasonablyfamiliarwithSiberia,andtheSpaniardsandPortuguesewithMexico,CentralAmerica,andpartsofSouthAmerica.NorthoftheRioGrandetheSpaniardshadexploredconsiderableareasintheirfutilesearchforgoldandfabledcities,andfurthernorththeFrenchandEnglishrangedwidely,usingthecanoesandtheriver-lakeroutesknowntotheIndians.

Ontheotherhand,thePacificcoastofNorthAmericawaslargelyunknown,andAustralia,thoughsightedonitswestcoastbyDutchnavigators,wasalmostwhollyuncharted.Likewise,theinteriorofsub-SaharanAfricawasalmostcompletelyblank,andsowascentralAsia,aboutwhichthemainsourceofinformationstillwasthethirteenth-centuryaccountofMarcoPolo.Ingeneral,then,theEuropeanshadgainedknowledgeofmostofthecoastlinesoftheworldduringtheperiodto1763.Inthefollowingperiodtheyweretopenetrateintotheinteriorofcontinentsandalsotoexplorethepolarregions.

II.GLOBALDIFFUSIONOFHUMANS,ANIMALS,ANDPLANTS

TheEuropeandiscoverieslednotonlytonewglobalhorizonsbutalsotoanewglobaldistributionofraces.Priorto1500thereexisted,ineffect,worldwideracialsegregation.TheNegroidswereconcentratedinsub-SaharanAfricaandafewPacificislands;theMongoloidsincentralAsia,Siberia,eastAsia,andtheAmericas;andtheCaucasoidsinEurope,NorthAfrica,theMiddleEast,andIndia.TodaythispatternhasbeenfundamentallyalteredtothepointwherehalfthepeopleofAfricandescentliveoutsideofAfrica.By1763thisradicallydifferentracedistributionwasclearlydiscernible.TheRussianshadbeguntheirslowmigrationacrosstheUralsintoSiberia.MuchmoresubstantialwasthemassmigrationtotheAmericas—voluntaryinthecaseoftheEuropeans,involuntaryfortheAfricans.

TheinfluxchangedtheAmericasfrompurelyMongoloidcontinentstothemostraciallymixedregionsoftheglobe.ImmigrationofAfricanscontinuedtothemid-nineteenthcentury,reachingatotalof10millionslaves.Europeanimmigrationalsosteadilyincreased,reachingahighpointatthebeginningofthetwentiethcenturywhennearly1millionarrivedeachyear.ThenetresultisthattheNewWorldtodayispeopledbyamajorityofwhites,withsubstantialminoritiesofblacks,Indians,mestizos,andmulattoes,inthatorder（seeChapter35,SectionI,andmapofRacialDistributionintheWorld,p.384）.

Thenewglobalpatternthatresultedfromthesedepopulationsandmigrationshasbecomesofamiliarthatitisnowtakenforgrantedanditsextraordinarysignificancegenerallyoverlooked.Whathappenedintheperiodto1763isthattheEuropeansstakedoutclaimstovastnewregions,andinthefollowingcenturytheypeopledthoseterritories—notonlytheAmericasbutalsoSiberiaand,eventually,Australia.WecanseethevitalimportanceoftheredrawingoftheworldracialmapifweimaginedthattheChineseratherthantheEuropeansfirstreachedandsettledtheunderpopulatedcontinents.InthatcasetheproportionofChinesetothetotalWorldpopulationwouldprobablybeclosertothreeoutofsixratherthanoneoutofsix,asitisnow.

Theintermixtureofhumanraceswasaccompaniedinevitablybyacorrespondingintermixtureofplantsandanimals.Withafewinsignificantexceptions,allplantsandanimalsbeingutilizedtodayweredomesticatedbyprehistorichumansinvariouspartsoftheworld.Theirdiffusionfromtheirplacesoforiginhadproceededslowlyuntil1500,whenglobe-spanningHomosapiensbegantransplantingthembackandforthamongcontinents.AnimportantcontributionoftheOldWorldwerethevariousdomesticatedanimals,especiallyhorses,cattle,andsheep.TheNewWorldhadnothingcomparable.Thellamaandalpacawereofrelativelylittlevalue.OfcoursetheNewWorlddidhavehugebisonherds,estimatedtohavetotaled40to60millionanimals.TheIndianshadhuntedthemforfoodandhidesbuthadkilledonlyabout300,000'ayear,wellbelowthenaturalreplacementrate.Europeansbegankillingthematfirstformeat,andafter1871forhidestobemadeintocommercialleather.Theslaughterroseto3millionayear,whichdecimatedtheherdstothepointofextinctionbytheendofthenineteenthcentury.Nowbisonsurviveinafewcarefullymanagedherds,whicharebeginningtocompetewithcattleasameatsourcefortheAmericanconsumer.

TheAmerindiansalsocontributedtheirremarkablestoreoffoodplants,particularlycornandpotatoes,butalsocassava,tomatoes,avocados,sweetpotatoes,peanuts,andcertainvarietiesofbeans,pumpkins,andsquashes.SoimportantaretheseIndianplantsthattodaytheyareresponsibleforaboutone-halfoftheworld'stotalplant-foodproduction.Inadditiontothesefoodplants,theAmericanIndianswereresponsiblefortwomajorcashcrops:

tobaccoandcotton,aswellasseveralnativeAmericandrugsthatareprominentinmodernpharmacology.Theycontributedcocaforcocaineandnovocaine,curareusedinanesthetics,cinchonabark（thesourceofquinine）,daturausedinpainrelievers,andcascaraforlaxatives.

Theinterchangeofanimalsandplantswasnot,ofcourse,confinedtoEurasiaandtheAmericas.Theentireglobewasinvolved,asisillustratedstrikinglyinthecaseofAustralia.Australiaisnowaleadingworldexporterofprimaryproductssuchaswool,mutton,beef,andwheat,allcommoditiesfromspeciesthatweretransplantedfromelsewhere.ThesameistrueofIndonesiawithitsgreatrubber,coffee,tea,andtobaccoproduction,andofHawaiiwithitssugarandpineapples.

Todaytheglobalintermixtureofhumans,plants,andanimalscontinues,thoughatanacceleratingpaceassteamshipsandjetplanesreplacecanoesandsailboats.Frequentlythemixingoccursaccidentally,andwithrepercussionsthatsometimesaredisastrous.Forexample,marinecreaturesofalltypesarebeingtransferredroutinelyeverydayfromoneendoftheworldtoanotherintheballasttanksofships.Dumpedintonewhabitatswhentheshipsmakeport,billionsoforganismsspreadout,sometimesreplacingnativespecies.Scientistssamplingtheballasttanksof159JapanesecargoshipsarrivingatCoosBay,Oregon,discoveredintheirballastwaters367differenttypesofplantsandanimals,mostlyinlarvalform."Wefoundshrimps,crabs,fish,barnacles,seaurchins,starfish,worms,jellyfish,clams,snails,reallythecompletespectrumofmarinelife....Perhaps5to10percentofspeciesintroducedtoanewenvironmentbecomeestablishedthere."1

Ballastsarebynomeanstheonlyproblemincontrollingspeciesdiffusion.Therapidlyincreasingvolumeofglobaltradeandtravelprobablyisthemostimportantdiffusionforcetoday.Speciesarespreadingeverywherealongwithliveanimals,plants,andseeds,andalsowiththeships,planes,andtrucksonwhichtheyaretransported.Thediffusion,ofcourse,isatwo-wayprocess—outwardfromtheUnitedStatesaswellasthereverse.TheslipperlimpetwasinadvertentlyexportedfromtheUnitedStatestoEuropeinthe1880swithashipmentofoysters