Trade Routes 1770/1780

[Stefan Haertel]

Hey,

does anybody here have/know of a map, preferably on the internet, that shows global trade routes around 1770/1780 somewhat accurately? I'm particularly interested in ones that would pass Cape Horn.

Thanks

 

[Stefan Haertel]

Come on, this is more interesting than WW2!

To me, at least.

 

[Verbose]

Yes, it is. I agree.

I did snoop a bit (not a lot) when you first popped the question. But didn't turn up anything useful on line at least.

 

[Stefan Haertel]

Do you have anything offline you can roughly describe to me?

 

[Israelite9191]

Go to the Never Ending Stories sub forum and the map requests thread (stickied). You might find someone willing to make one.

 

[Louis XXIV]

I don't have a map, but one trade route is the triangle slave trade (West Africa, the Caribbean, New England). I think the Saharan trade through Timbuktu still existed. The Iroquois were losing their influence, but Beaver trade through Iroquois territory to the colonists probably still existed. Trade with China around the Cape of Good Hope, etc.

 

[Rambuchan]

Stefan Haertel: I saw this thread when it got opened and posted. I went off immediately to look for the maps you requested. But I found nothing in that graphic form. Is it just that map form of information that you want, or are you happy to read words that will give a 'picture' of it?

If it's just a map, it's a tough old request you've made of us! And I searched for quite a while!

I also agree that it's a lot more interesting that WW2.

 

[Birdjaguar]

I have a map, let me see if I can find it online.

EDIT: I could not find it online, so I scanned it. Let's see if you can read it! It is from the Times Atlas of World History published by Hammond in 1980 and is on page 199. There are several other maps also, but this one seemed the best. It is a great atlas if you can ever find it. When you look at the trade routes, you'll see that they didn't use Cape Horn, too risky. Spanish treasure from the Philippines came across the Pacific to Mexico, and travelld overland to Vera Cruz then was loaded onto galleons for the trip to Spain.

 

[Stefan Haertel]

Thanks everyone for your efforts. Especially Birdjaguar, that's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks mate

Now, what I'm also looking for is basically information about trade routes that went around Cape Horn, especially in the 18th and early 19th century... maps, text info, anything is welcome!

 

[Birdjaguar]

Thanks everyone for your efforts. Especially Birdjaguar, that's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks mate

Now, what I'm also looking for is basically information about trade routes that went around Cape Horn, especially in the 18th and early 19th century... maps, text info, anything is welcome!

Your welcome. Since I had one, maybe I will have the other too! And as it turns out I do. It is in the same atlas, but this one spans two pages and Cape Horn is cut off. It shows the major sea routes and products exported to Europe from the colonies in 1870. Cape Horn traffic can be inferred though.

I will scan it in and post it in sections in the next couple of days.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Sorry it took so long, but here it is. One is the eastern hemisphere the other the west.
See the new post below.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Whoa! What happened to the thumbnails?

We'll try this.

 

[Rambuchan]

Those maps are awesome Birdy! Might have to go get a copy of that book sometime. Nice one.

 

[Goa]

By the way, does anybody know what europeens exported mainly during tis time? I think it is well known what was imported (tea, spices, cotton, coffee, ...?), but what exactly was exported, especially to India/East Asia?

 

[mrtn]

Actually they had real problems finding stuff the asians wanted. Mostly they had to pay in silver.

 

[Goa]

Thanks for the response.

I just read an article on wikipedia about the opium wars (very interesting read), and this gives an additional answer: Opium from India.

So if I understood correctly, the english exploited indian peasants in order to screw the chinese society by making them addicts of opium for being able to buy this nice chinese stuff like porcelaine and silk... hooray to the classical christian values.

 

[Verbose]

Thanks for the response.

I just read an article on wikipedia about the opium wars (very interesting read), and this gives an additional answer: Opium from India.

So if I understood correctly, the english exploited indian peasants in order to screw the chinese society by making them addicts of opium for being able to buy this nice chinese stuff like porcelaine and silk... hooray to the classical christian values.

The trick was to get something the Chinese might want besides silver. Opium seemed to work. And then of course it became a matter of forcing the Chinese to take the opium instead of any silver at all. But initially it was just attempting to find a way around having to fork out precious metal by the ton, thus increasing the profit margin on the China trade (which was always huge anyway).

 

[Rambuchan]

There's one thing I haven't yet understood about the European use of silver in such trade. I'm of the understanding that the European economies of this time and indeed earlier were valued upon and fixed to silver. But what I wonder about is, when Europeans stumbled upon all that silver in the New World, didn't their currencies get ridiculously undervalued with such large amounts of silver being injected?

 

[mrtn]

Most of the silver and gold from the new world came to Spain, and they did get problems from this. IIRC this propped up their economy artificially, and when the silver finally ran out the Spanish economy took a nose dive, as they hadn't modernised as much as other European nations.

 

[Dell19]

In 1557, on the very first year as Spanish king, Philip II was forced to declare the country bankrupt. Spain had for many years undercut its tax base and what was worse, had no control of the price-fluctuations from the inflow of American silver and gold. It was impossible for the Spanish minister of finance to forecast any repayments as all costs fluctuated volatile. The spending was based on the planned budget, but the inflow was irregular at best which made Spain spend more than it actually had, thus the Great Bankruptcies of 1557 and 1596.

Thats from the AGCEEP mod for EU2. The second bankrupcy was apparently a couple of years after the defeat of the Armada.