Option B (Economic)
Jordi Rosales
Renaissance
During the renaissance, money was a big part of everything. North Italy was a large area for merchants and traders since it was heavily populated. It acted as an international trade for Europe with spices, clothes, silks, and silver being big resources of the area. Since the printing press came into play during that era, books were also a big part. Books were being printed at a faster rate causing books to be bought more and making them more affordable for people. Venice became a big part of the "book trade" going on in Europe helping Italy get more attention and more spending. With all this in mind, the economy during the renaissance did more growing with lots of trade and buying being done at the time.
Qing Dynasty
Things during the Qing dynasty led its economy to be great. Under the rule of the emperors during the dynasty, the population pretty much doubled. Land that could be cultivated for a use of crops lacked in the area causing a need for new technology. Trade was a part in helping the economy grow with the Qing being able to trade with most of Asia. After the first half of the dynasty being in control, the economy started to decline. With the population growing at a fast rate, the Qing's economy could not meet the needs of the population. Since the Qing relied on silver to make its currency it worsened things. More silver was leaving the country and less was coming in which caused depreciation of the currency. The Qing started with a good economy but couldn't handle the population which caused the economy to drop.
Silver Trade
Silver became a big thing for both Spain and China. When the Spanish settled in South America, they discovered silver. For China and Spain, silver became a must have. Since they both were bringing in lots of silver they decided it would be a good idea to use it as their currency. The Spanish had so much silver and was putting out so much money that it's currency value slowly started to go down. Spain was not doing a good job of controlling the amount of silver and pretty much led to their economy failing. Silver had the same effect on China as it did in Spain. China used silver as their currency but since so much silver was coming in and none was going out it caused the currency value to also go down. In conclusion, the silver trade damaged the economy of the two countries with most silver being brought in.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman empire started with a very successful economy. They had a sorta tax system and were in between two big regions. They acted as a trade area between the East and West. The city of Istanbul had most of its trading areas and merchant located there. The Ottoman empire was very strict about their trading and what resources were allowed out. They mostly kept resources that would help out their military. The ottoman had a lot of different taxes. Taxes on Muslim was done by tithes which means 10% of all the earnings. Taxes on Non-Muslims were paid by poll tax. The Ottoman also had everyday taxes, one being marriage tax. Although the Ottoman had these taxes and were strict about their government soon enough its economy declined. Since the Ottoman was mostly trading with the East, the Europeans were finding other ways to the East and this caused less trade and merchants being in the area. Silver that was being brought in from the world also had a hand in it causing inflation in the empire.
Mughal Empire
The Mughal had an overall good economy. They were mostly reliant on trade and agriculture. Agriculture was the Mughal's main source of income and was the empire's source of living. They traded and cultivated multiple cash crops such as millets, oil seeds, spices, sugar cane, and cotton. The improvement of shipping in the area helped the Mughal trade their crops and allow their economy to grow. At the time, the Portuguese had introduced the cultivation of tobacco and potatoes which gave the Mughal another source of trade. Overall the Mughal's economy had no decline and grew more as time progressed.