Question

How did competition between European nations contribute to geographic changes around the world in the 16th to 18th centuries? Explain your examples.

Answer 1

Trade played a more central role in the mercantilist period of European history from 1500 to 1750 – sometimes referred to as early capitalism or trade capitalism – than in almost any other period.1 We must begin with the questions: When in human history did the first exchange of goods between Europe and the other four continents of Africa, Asia, America and Australiaoccur? Where are the origins of what one could describe as on-going exchange, as established economic relations to be found? These questions refer to an even larger global context because the global economic edifice changed fundamentally from "proto-globalization" to globalization .2 This process was primarily determined by Europe from the 15th to the 20th century. From the 16th century to 1914, trade within Europe at all times constituted the most significant portion of global trade, and the volume of that trade grew disproportionately quickly during the early modern period and into the modern period.3 National markets became increasingly interconnected, driven by numerous innovations in the areas of infrastructure, transportation, energy supply, and – not least – institutions (rules, constitutions, division of labour, currency standards, etc.). The transition from individual production to mass production  and the convergence of prices of goods and materials made transactions considerab

Answer 2

The competition for power and wealth of the European nations between the 16th and the 18th centuries contributed to big changes in the geography of the world, both the knowledge of it, and the change of the landscape as well.

The European nations in attempt to become stronger and richer, managed to discover many new places around the world, that were totally unknown in the so called ''Old World''. The discoveries of the Americas, Australia, Antarctica, and thousands of islands across the world, significantly changed the way the world was seen until then. There were suddenly multiple other continents, lots of new things were discovered on them, and the maps changed pretty much on a yearly level.

Also, as the European nations were managing to get hold onto the new lands, they started to farm large portions of land, mostly with cash crops. That practice contributed to the change of the geography on regional level, were lots of swaps, marshes, small lakes, were drained, river flows relocated, forests cleared, grasslands replaced, so the landscape in a very short period of time changed totally.