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From the 16th century  to the end of the 18th century, Europe's economic policy called mercantilism was widely practiced. This was because of the economic growth and the power of the Europeans. Mercantilism means that the basis of wealth of a nation is based on the amount of bullion it had. Bullion is the total amount of gold and silver that have not underwent the process of purification. Mercantilism triggered hostilities between and among European nations they aggressively competed for territories abroad. This competition reached Asia and totally changed the lives of the people

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The westerners exerted much effort to spread their religion in Asia. The Portuguese spread Catholicism in Goa and in the other islands of the Southeast Asia. The Spaniards, on the other hand, immediately converted the Filipinos to Catholicism by baptizing Rajah Humabon of the Cebu and his wife Juana on April 1521. The spread of Christianism in the Philippines resulted to significant changes in the culture of the country.On the other hand, the Dutch required women to convert to Christianism before getting married and that they should raise their children as Christians. The desire of the westerners to gain converts for their religion caused hostilities among the colonies. This led to fighting and deaths.

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Governor-General Jose Basco Y Vargas implemented monopoly of tobacco in the Philippines. Filipinos were forced to prioritized planting tobacco instead of planting food for their daily needs. This rule was created to fund he Spanish government. As expected, only the Spaniards profited from this. On the other hand, the dutch strictly required the colonies to spices. Private lands were prohibited from doing so because the harvests from these might compete with the spices of the government. Just like in the Philippines, the colonies of the Dutch neglected planting crops for their daily needs.

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France succeded in establishing colonies in North America, Africa and Carribean. They established the French East India Company in 1664 in an attempt to acquire territories in India. Because of the war previously mentioned in which the English defeated them, France lost its Indian territories to England. In time, even Quebec in Canada and some territories in Africa and the Caribbean went to England

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The Spaniards launched in the Philippines the Manila-Acapulco trade also known as the Galleon Trade. The Portuguese, on the other hand, controlled the Malacca Strait located in between the peninsula of Malaysia and the island of Samatra in Indonesia. Merchants usually pass this route. Spices were the most in-demand product in this trade network, however, only the westerners benefited from this. System negatively affected the colonies like what happened in the Philippines where the Filipinos suffered.

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Effects of the First Stage of Imperialism

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Effects of the First Stage of Imperialism

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The arrival of the westerners in Asia affected the colonies. Despite the difference in the experiences of the colonies such as the Philippines, Goa, Moluccas, and Batavia, the result of theses were the same for all of them. The effects became more intense as a result of mercantilism.

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•Robert Clive                        •Amerigo Vespuod                •Prince Henry                       •Jose Basco Y Vargas
•Bartholomew Diaz            •Ferdinand Magellan
•Alberto Albuquerque         •Christopher Columbus
•Elizabeth I                           •King Humabon                     •Prince Henry VII                 •Queen Juana
•King Henry VII

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In 1415, Portugal invaded the city of Cueta in North Africa. Many historians considered this as the start of exploration. The Portuguese learned that Africa has many sources of gold. Prince Henry sent ship captains to exchanged goods such as gold and fish. At the back of this trade is the motive of searching for a new route to the East.

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According to Marvin Perry, the first three reasons of exploration and colonization were God, gold and glory. The advancement of navigation is one of the most important factors which intestified the exploration of others territories. Advanced ships and skills helped ship captains in their journey. Ship could carry cannons and guns. The invention of astroble and compass also        helped the explorers. This led westerners to sail to Asia.

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The spirit of Renaissance helped launch the age of exploration and colonizatiion. The ship captains explored unfamilliar places.They were motivated by power and fame. This encouraged the westerners to lead exploration and colonization in the 15th century.

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The spread of Christianity was one of the reasons why the westerners traveled to different parts of the world. The spirit of the Crusades continued to dwell in them. The Spaniards and Portuguese believed that they had the mission of overthrowing the Muslims from other lands. They wanted to get Africa from the Muslims and make Asians Christianity. These goals came true because of Ferdinand Magellan and Miguel Lopez de legaspi who forced the people of the Philippines to convert

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The Rise of the Merchant Class in Europe

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The Rise of the Merchant Class in Europe

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Many European merchants funded the expeditions that explored lands and ocean to look for markets. Many of the leaders of the Europeans nations owed big amount of money from rich merchants and bankers. In their hope to acquire new lands, power, and wealth these monarchs supported the expedition of the merchants. Nobleman joined the journey. Thus cause the attention of the people away from Europe.

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The coming of the westerners to Asia was caused by many reasons. Nonetheless, their arrival marked another stage in the history of Asia.

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King Henry VII sent John Cabot to sail to Asia. It was Henry's Granddaughter Elizabeth I, who made England a powerful maritime empire because Henry VII's son Henry VIII, was not interested in overseas colonization.English East India Company was establish to search for lands to trade with, by the middle of the 17 th century, wars between England and France erupted. In 1757, Robert Clive of England won in the Battle of Plassey  against the combined forces of France and Bengal. This put an end to the desire of France to invade India. India was placed under England's control for many years.

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The Dutch took advantage of the decline of the Portuguese Empire and took over the latter's colonies. Dutch merchants establish an organization called the Dutch East India Company in 1602. The Dutch successfully invaded the Moluccas, Batavia ( now Jakarta and Indonesia) and malacca

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Economics is the initial motive of the westerners in going to Asia.The search for gold and spices led them to the continent. Products such as sugar and silk are from Asia. Spices that can be used as food preservatives are also from Asia.  The westerners wanted all of these. The problem was that Venice in Italy had a monopoly of trade with the Muslims. The Portuguese were aware of this thus, they searched for other routes going to the east

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The Spaniards and Portuguese were not the only nations to have the interest to reach Asia. The British, Dutch, and French likewise sailed and set up their colonies in Asia

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The knowledge gathered by Prince Henry helped Portugal to lead in the exploration of the oceans . Other Europeans nations followed Portugal and some of them, especially Spain, became Portugal's competitor. In 1488, Bartholomew Diaz reached the Cape of Good Hope  at the tip of Africa . This was Good News for Portugal. This was good news for Portugal. This was followed by another success as Vasco da Gamma reached calicut, India on May 20, 1498.
The most important journey sponsored by Spain was the one led by Ferdinand Magellan. His group reached the Philippines on March 16, 1521 and the Philippines became a colony for 333 years. In 1580, Spain conquered Portugal which resulted to the latter losing its territories. When it regained its independence in 1640, its old territories were already in the hands of England and Holland,

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A. Routes to Asia
B. Competition between Spain and Portugal
C. Establishment of Colonies
D. Mercantilism
E. Effects of the first stage of Imperialism