CCOT Essay Example: Western Europe; Economic, Social

Despite how the trade economy expanded and the political status increased in Western Europe (600 - 1750 C.E.), there was much political disunity throughout Western Europe. After the discovery of the Americas, much changed in Western Europe’s economy. Because the start of mining and beginning of cash crops, they needed to import slaves. This created the Triangle Trade, and therefore brought much wealth to Western Europe. There was a large silver inflation because of the mining, and Spain and Portugal became extremely wealthy. Though the effect of the silver inflation was largest in Western Europe, it had effects across the world. At the beginning of the time period (600 - 1750 C.E.) Western Europe had little trade at all, let alone with the new world. The Crusades helped start trade back again, and then trade with the New World expanded it further by the end of the the period. At the beginning of the period Western Europe did not have very much political power. No one nation or state was powerful enough to cause major harm to the larger civilizations of the East. Once they began to build trade influence, though, all that changed. The Europeans saw how much potential there was in the Indian Ocean Trade route and decided to get in on it, in the meantime finding valuable resources in the Americas (by mistake). They brought great wealth back from all their endeavors, in turn bringing great power. Through the course of a few hundred years, Western Europe had become the most powerful part of the world. As the power of Western Europe increased, so did the conflict. Throughout the time period, many wars were fought, and the fragmented status of Western Europe stayed the same. The Hundred Years War, for example, accomplished nothing but to increase tension between Great Britain and France, though it did bring the end to knights and a beginning to gunpowder in Western Europe. Many other nations took up arms against each other and failed to work together, and instead