The Commercial Revolution was a period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism which lasted from approximately 1520 until 1650. Voyages of discovery in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries allowed European powers to build vast networks of international trade, which in turn generating a great deal of wealth for them. This growing global economy was based on silver, which allowed the purchase of goods (like Chinese spices) which Europeans desired but had nothing of similar interest for which to exchange it. Until this time there had been no economic theory; the stresses of the new global order, however, brought about two opposing theories of how a nation accumulates wealth: mercantilistic and free-trade policies. Mercantilism inflamed the growing hostilities between the increasingly-centralized European powers, leading to such famous conflicts as the American Declaration of Independence. Another important outcome of Europe's "commercial revolution" was a foundation of wealth needed for the industrial revolution. This article is about the continent. ... World map of colonialism at the end of the Second World War in 1945. ... A painting of a French seaport from 1638, at the height of mercantilism. ... mary elline m. ... // Events June 23 - Claimant King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland arrives in Scotland, the only of the three Kingdoms that has accepted him as ruler. ... International trade is the exchange of goods and services across international boundaries or territories. ... The world economy can be represented various ways, and broken down in various ways. ... Economics is the social science studying production and consumption through measurable variables. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and make it easier to understand, this article or section may require cleanup. ... U.S. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is a document in which the Thirteen Colonies declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. ... The Industrial Revolution (sometimes known as the First Industrial Revolution) was one of the major technological, socioeconomic and cultural changes in the late 18th and early 19th century resulting from the replacement of an economy based on manual labour to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. ...

This period was marked by the creation and loss of many fortunes, for instance of Portugal, Spain, England, and France. Spain amassed approximately 200 tons of gold and 16,000 tons of silver through its endeavors in the New World, taking control of Portugal in 1580, and eventually losing the entire quantity. The English also ventured to the New World, mainly North America, creating colonies there. The French followed the English to the New World, and settled Quebec in 1608. They did not populate North America as much as the English did, because they did not allow the Huguenots to travel to the New World and the heavy governmental regulations placed on trade in France discouraged settlement. The French also created the French East India Company, a joint-stock company, in 1664. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ... Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ... Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ... This article refers to a colony in politics and history. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 75 24 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 2nd 1,542,056 km² 1,183,128 km² 176,928... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia May 14 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen. ... In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. ... The French East India Company (French Compagnie des Indes Orientales) was a commercial enterprise, founded in 1664 to compete with the British and Dutch East India companies. ... A joint stock company is a special kind of partnership. ... Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ...

The abundance of money caused widespread inflation, which widened the gap between the rich and the poor. The inflation was worsened by a growing population but a static production level, low employee salaries and a rising cost of living. This, combined with overpopulation, affected the system of agriculture. The landholding aristocracy suffered under the inflation, since they depended on fixed rents paid by peasant tenants that were becoming poorer and unable to pay their lords. Failed attempts were made by the aristocracy to counteract this by creating short-term leases of their lands to allow periodic revaluation of rent. The manorial system (manor system of lord and peasant tenant) eventually vanished, and the landholding aristocrats were forced to sell pieces of their land in order to maintain their style of living. This attracted the rich bourgeois (from "burghers", the city-dwelling middle class), who wanted to buy land and thereby increase their social status. Former "common lands" were fenced by the landed bourgeois, a process known as "inclosure" which increased the efficiency of raising livestock (mainly sheep's wool for the textile industry). This "inclosure" forced the peasants out of rural areas and into the cities, resulting in urbanization and eventually the industrial revolution. Overpopulation occurs when the population of a living species exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. ... Generic plan of a mediaeval manor; open-field strip farming, some enclosures, triennial crop rotation, demesne and manse, common woodland, pasturage and meadow Manorialism or Seigneurialism describes the organization of rural economy and society in medieval western and parts of central Europe, characterised by the vesting of legal and economic... See aristocracy (social studies; social classes). ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ... Inclosure (also commonly enclosure), refers to the process of subdivision of common lands for individual ownership. ... A textile is any type of material made from fibers or other extended linear materials such as thread or yarn (1). ... The Industrial Revolution (sometimes known as the First Industrial Revolution) was one of the major technological, socioeconomic and cultural changes in the late 18th and early 19th century resulting from the replacement of an economy based on manual labour to one dominated by industry and machine manufacture. ...

During this period (1450-1600 s), the global economic center shifted from the Islamic Mediterranean to western Europe (Spain, France, the Netherlands, and to some extent England). This shift was caused by the successful circumnavigation of Africa opening up sea-trade with the east: after Portugal's Vasco Da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and landed in Calicut, India, a new path of eastern trade was possible ending the monopoly of the Ottoman Turks and their European allies, the Italian city-states. The Dutch city of Antwerp replaced it as the meeting-point of the primary players in the global economy, from (1485-1576). Antwerp had one of the first money exchanges in Europe, a Bourse, where people could change currency; later, the Bank of Amsterdam, following the example of a private Stockholm corporation, began issuing paper money to lessen the hassle of trade, replacing metal (coin and bullion) in exchanges. Antwerp was sacked in 1576 by the looting soldiers of the Spanish Fury, and economic exchanges moved elsewhere. Events March - French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen April 15 - Battle of Formigny. ... 1597 1598 1599 - 1600 - 1601 1602 1603 |- | align=center colspan=2 | Decades: 1570s 1580s 1590s - 1600s - 1610s 1620s 1630s |- | align=center | Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century |} // Events January January 1 - Scotland adopts January 1st as being New Years Day February February 17 - Giordano Bruno burned at the... Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... To circumnavigate a place, such as an island, a continent, or the Earth, is to travel all the way around it by boat or ship. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama (IPA: /; born c. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the third largest city (pop. ... The Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, Antwerp) in the Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to a number of triptychs by Renaissance Belgian painter Rubens. ... // Events August 5-7 - First outbreak of sweating sickness in England begins August 22 - Battle of Bosworth Field is fought between the armies of King Richard III of England and rival claimant to the throne of England Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. ... Events May 5 - Peace of Beaulieu or Peace of Monsieur (after Monsieur, the Duc dAnjou, brother of the King, who negotiated it). ... A stock exchange is an organization of which the members are stock brokers. ... The Old town in Stockholm from the air (help· info) is the capital of Sweden, located on the east coast at the entrance of lake Mälaren. ... Paper Money is the second album by the band Montrose. ...

See also

• Age of Discovery

The so-called Age of Discovery or Age of Exploration was a period from the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century, during which European ships traveled around the world to search for new trading routes and partners to feed burgeoning capitalism in Europe. ...

References

Marshall, Michael (1999). "From Mercantilism to 'The Wealth of Nations'". The World & I 5 (Special Edition).

Your momma's house is a reference!