The Impact of Dominant Countries During the 16th and 17th Centuries

Dominant areas such as England, Holland, Spain, and France were so due to the fact that merchants, especially after the 15th century, had a higher social status from the increased trade network. The economies of those countries operated in a way such that many were self-serving through mercantilism, and they tended to export materials rather than import them. However, in dependent areas that were outside of core regions, they were imbedded economically to some extent. These areas produced low cost cash crops such as sugar, resulting in a new need for labor, which they acquired from the slave trade in Sub-Saharan Africa. In return, they traded with Europe for weapons. The Europeans were able to take advantage of this imbalance because not only were they in control, they did not rely on imports to support themselves.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, dominant countries in Western Europe such as England, Spain, France, and Holland emerged as core nations in global trade. These areas expanded their manufacturing operation and exported finished goods while importing raw materials and controlling banking and commercial services, which allowed them to become wealthy. Also, mercantilism was common in these areas in order to promote higher tax revenues, stimulating internal economies.

Outside of the European area, some places were becoming more dependent on core nations. They produced low cost goods such as silver and sugar, also supplied slaves to various countries from the Sahara to meet labor demands. These were areas that imported finished goods and exported raw materials.

This created world trade imbalance because as the core nations (usually Europeans) traded manufactured items, so they were able to control and profit from the international banking and commercial and shipping services.