The Growing Spice Trade - Essay Example

There were several Indian ports from where large ships sailed towards the east to Kruse. In the sixteen and seventeenth century pepper became the main southeast Asian cash crop and by 1510 Sumatra and Malaya were producing about 2500 tones of pepper a year in contrast to 3600 tones exported by Kerala in South India (Tarling, 122). As time passed the need for other spices along with pepper kept on increasing. The increase in South East Asian production all went almost to fill the growing demands of Europe, and then the Portuguese intervened via the Indian Ocean.

When the English and Dutch arrived South East Asia became the major source of world spices and the center of competition for Portuguese, English, Dutch, Chinese and Indian buyers. The price levels were high throughout the period. The period from 1570-1630 was a prosperous time for Japan when the country unified and it increased its trade license to a number of countries.Cultivation for clove, cotton, sugar, benzoin, and pepper kept on increasing with time and this invited the interest of a number of nations to enter into South East Asia.

Factors for Economic development Of South East AsiaThere are a number of factors which played a key role in the economic development of southeast Asia; Industrialization especially in the sector of fishery, agriculture, and factory,Increase in urbanization,Export growth of goods and services,Population growth,Conflicts and riots between four major ethnic groups; Islam, Buddhism, Hindus, and Christians which had effected economy adversely,In order to improve economic activities in the region, few associations were formed including Asian Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

It has signed different trade agreements in order to boost South East Asia's economy.Impact on globalizationAs early as 13th-century globalization was carried out in South East Asia via long-distance trade. Focusing on world history; due to the spice trade, there was an exchange of religion, culture, and technologies. The silk route for many centuries was an example of overland interaction and was considered a trade route through central Asia. The Indian Ocean was a route for maritime trade to South East Asia.

Islamic merchants spread their religion and culture via these routes and few trading ports like Melaka in Malaysia became globalization centers of international commerce and culture. Chinese ships did great explorations through these centers. The spread of all cultures, new ideas, people, and religion bought the concept of what we call today, globalization.