Topic 4.8 SAQ-style Questions

Answer the following 10-multi-part questions: 

SAQ 1

• A. Identify ONE technological development that made transoceanic trade possible between 1450 and 1750.
• B. Explain ONE way transoceanic trade increased global economic interconnection during this period.
• C. Explain ONE way increased global trade affected social structures in any region.

SAQ 2

• A. Identify ONE continuity in global economic systems between 1450 and 1750.
• B. Explain ONE change in agricultural labor systems during this period.
• C. Explain ONE reason demand for labor increased in the global economy.

SAQ 3

• A. Identify ONE example of an economic development that strengthened European states.
• B. Explain ONE way mercantilism affected the relationship between colonies and European states.
• C. Explain ONE way mercantilism affected social hierarchies in Europe.

SAQ 4 (Source-Based — Thomas Mun)

The following excerpt comes from Thomas Mun’s England’s Treasure by Forraign Trade (1664).

“The ordinary means therefore to increase our wealth and treasure is by foreign trade… to sell more to strangers yearly than we consume of theirs in value… The State must regulate commerce and make use of colonies for raw materials and markets.”

• A. Identify ONE economic policy described in the excerpt.
• B. Explain ONE way this policy could strengthen the power of European states.
• C. Explain ONE way policies like this contributed to the growth of merchant elites.

SAQ 5

• A. Identify ONE way plantation economies differed from traditional peasant agriculture.
• B. Explain ONE economic factor that led to the expansion of plantation economies.
• C. Explain ONE social consequence of plantation expansion in the Americas.

SAQ 6 (Source-Based — Olaudah Equiano)

The following excerpt comes from Olaudah Equiano’s narrative describing the Atlantic slave trade (1789).

“Families were separated without mercy… husbands from wives… children from parents… The system treated human beings as merchandise and enriched merchants and planters.”

• A. Identify ONE economic system described in the excerpt.
• B. Explain ONE way this system reshaped social hierarchies in the Americas.
• C. Explain ONE way African cultural traditions persisted despite the conditions described.

SAQ 7

• A. Identify ONE way economic developments increased global interconnection between 1450 and 1750.
• B. Explain ONE role silver trade played in global commerce.
• C. Explain ONE way increased global trade contributed to conflicts between states.

SAQ 8

• A. Identify ONE example of continuity in social hierarchies during the period 1450–1750.
• B. Explain ONE way new economic systems created new social elites.
• C. Explain ONE regional difference in how social structures changed during this period.

SAQ 9

• A. Identify ONE way commercial capitalism changed economic opportunities.
• B. Explain ONE way merchant elites gained influence during this period.
• C. Explain ONE reason traditional elites maintained power despite economic changes.

SAQ 10

• A. Identify ONE major change in global trade networks between 1450 and 1750.
• B. Explain ONE way economic developments reinforced existing inequalities.
• C. Explain ONE way economic developments created opportunities for social mobility.