Ch. 14

As European conquest grew to new heights, they discovered a commerce system reigning from East Africa to China. The main product on the market was Tropical Spices. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and pepper were used as preservatives. Other products such as silk, cotton, rhubarb, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires were also in high demand. But unfortunately for the Europeans, there were some problem for trade. First was that Muslims had their hands on most of the goods that they wanted. Another problem was, how were they going to pay for these Eastern goods. Europe also different have any trading valve appealing enough for the Asian markets. So how could Europe compete with a trade dominate world? Well the Portuguese learned that most of merchant ships in the Indian Ocean weren't heavily armed, and since the Chinese fleet withdrew from the Indian Ocean, the Portugese saw their opportunity to raid the merchant ships. Even if Europe hadn't caught up in an economical stand point, they sure did caught up in naval technology, and warfare.