WEBVTT

00:00.000 --> 00:03.800
Mercantilism and the Age of Exploration

00:03.800 --> 00:09.480
The Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries was driven by European nations seeking

00:09.480 --> 00:11.480
wealth and power.

00:11.480 --> 00:16.240
Central to this era was mercantilism, an economic theory that measured a nation's strength

00:16.240 --> 00:19.680
by its wealth, particularly gold and silver.

00:19.680 --> 00:24.640
To achieve this, countries focused on exporting more than they imported, relying on colonies

00:24.640 --> 00:28.440
for raw materials and exclusive markets.

00:28.440 --> 00:34.160
Members like Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan, backed by monarchs,

00:34.160 --> 00:37.920
set out to claim lands and secure trade routes.

00:37.920 --> 00:43.520
Columbus' 1492 voyage opened the Americas to European colonization.

00:43.520 --> 00:49.280
While Vasco de Gama's route to India gave Portugal control over the spice trade.

00:49.280 --> 00:53.480
Magellan's expedition proved the world's roundness and expanded knowledge of global

00:53.480 --> 00:55.680
geography.

00:55.680 --> 01:00.320
These explorations connected continents and established global trade networks, but

01:00.320 --> 01:04.560
the impacts on indigenous populations were devastating.

01:04.560 --> 01:10.320
Colonization led to forced labor, land seizure, and diseases like smallpox that decimated

01:10.320 --> 01:12.200
native communities.

01:12.200 --> 01:17.320
In regions like the Arabian Peninsula, European control of sea routes disrupted traditional

01:17.320 --> 01:19.120
trade networks.

01:19.120 --> 01:24.600
While Portuguese and British monopolies overshadowed local merchants, regional trade persisted,

01:24.600 --> 01:27.440
keeping the peninsula a vital hub.

01:27.440 --> 01:32.520
The age of exploration reshaped the world, creating wealth and trade networks that fueled

01:32.520 --> 01:34.120
European dominance.

01:34.120 --> 01:40.440
However, it also brought suffering to indigenous peoples and disrupted economies, leaving a complex

01:40.440 --> 01:43.400
legacy of both connection and exploitation.