- — Asia:
Spice sultanates of Ternate, Tidore and Aceh flourish
Muslim sultanates controlling the clove, nutmeg and pepper trade grow rich and powerful, making the archipelago the hub of a global spice economy.
Era: The Spread of Islam and the Spice-Trade Sultanates
Sources: History of Indonesia (Islamic influence; Dutch rule) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Spread of Islam in Indonesia · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
Malacca, the great entrepot of the strait
Malacca grows into the most important trade centre in the region, where gold, spices, silk and tea pass between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, and Malay court culture flourishes.
Era: The Malacca Sultanate, Islam and the Spice Trade
Sources: Portuguese Malacca · World History Encyclopedia, Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- — Africa:
The salt caravans of Bilma
The azalai salt caravans carried Bilma and Fachi salt and dates southward to the Hausa markets, making Agadez and the eastern oases pillars of the trans-Saharan trade alongside the traffic in enslaved people.
Era: Aïr, the caravans, and the eastern reach of Songhai
Sources: Agadez · Wikipedia, History of Niger · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
Portuguese and European contact
Portuguese navigators reach the islands in the early sixteenth century; the Comoros become a provisioning station for ships crossing the western Indian Ocean.
Era: The Swahili-Muslim Sultanates
Sources: History of the Comoros · Wikipedia, Comoros: History · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Africa:
The first sugar-slavery plantations
Settlers planted sugar cane worked by enslaved Africans, creating one of the earliest Atlantic plantation economies — a model later exported to Brazil and the Caribbean.
Era: Empty islands and the first plantation society
Sources: The Portuguese Colonization of São Tomé and Príncipe · World History Encyclopedia, São Tomé and Príncipe · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of São Tomé and Príncipe · Wikipedia
- — South America:
- — South America:
Silver discovered at Cerro Rico
The discovery of immense silver deposits in the mountain above Potosi sets off a boom that makes the city one of the largest and richest in the world.
Era: Conquest, the Silver of Potosi, and Charcas
Sources: City of Potosi · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Bolivia: Early period · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Potosi feeds the Spanish empire
Potosi's silver becomes the principal source of bullion for the Spanish crown, financing its empire while consuming the lives of indigenous mitayos.
Era: Conquest, the Silver of Potosi, and Charcas
Sources: City of Potosi · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Bolivia: Early period · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
The silver of Potosi
The opening of the great silver mountain of Potosi makes Peru the crown's richest American realm, worked through the forced-labour mita that consumes Indigenous lives.
Era: Conquest and the Viceroyalty of Peru
Sources: Viceroyalty of Peru · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Peru: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Portuguese and French trading posts
European powers establish coastal posts but never hold ground inland; the island's kingdoms keep the terms of trade.
Era: Coastal Kingdoms & the Pirate Coast
Sources: Madagascar country profile · BBC News
- — Africa:
São Tomé a leading sugar producer
The number of sugar mills grew to around sixty, making São Tomé Africa's foremost sugar exporter and for a time one of the world's largest producers.
Era: Sugar, the slave trade and the revolt of Rei Amador
Sources: The Portuguese Colonization of São Tomé and Príncipe · World History Encyclopedia, São Tomé and Príncipe · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
The coast enters the Atlantic trade
European ships drew the rivers of the Sierra Leone coast into the transatlantic slave trade, exchanging goods and firearms for captives seized in raids and wars across the region.
Era: The Atlantic slave trade and Bunce Island
Sources: Sierra Leone · Slavery and Remembrance (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation), Sierra Leone (country overview and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade
For 250 years Spanish galleons exchange Chinese silks for Mexican silver across the Pacific, making Manila a hub of global commerce and an economic lifeline for the colony.
Era: Spanish Colonisation, Catholicism and the Galleon Trade
Sources: Manila galleon (Acapulco trade) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — North America:
Silver strike and rise of Tegucigalpa
A highland silver discovery draws prospectors and gives rise to Tegucigalpa, long a rival to Comayagua.
Era: Conquest, Lempira, and Colonial Silver
Sources: Honduras: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Honduras: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Toledo systematises the mita
Viceroy Francisco de Toledo organises the mita, a forced labour draft that compels indigenous men across the Andes to work the deadly mines and mercury refineries of Potosi.
Era: Conquest, the Silver of Potosi, and Charcas
Sources: Bolivia: Early period · Encyclopaedia Britannica, City of Potosi · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- — Africa:
Cacheu fortified as a slaving station
The Portuguese established a fortified post at Cacheu, which became the principal slave-trading centre on the rivers; captives were funnelled through it to Cape Verde and across the Atlantic.
Era: The Rivers of Guinea and the Atlantic slave trade
Sources: Portuguese Guinea · Wikipedia, A Guide to the History of Recognition: Guinea-Bissau · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, History of Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia
- — North America:
Trade shifts to Portobelo
Spain moves its Caribbean treasure port to Portobelo, whose fairs and fortifications anchor the trans-isthmus gold and silver route.
Era: Artery of the Spanish Empire
Sources: Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Panama: A Country Study · Library of Congress Country Studies
Economy & TradeThe 16th century
Economy & Trade in the 16th century
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged economy and trade — trade, currency, industry and resources, narrowed to the 16th century — 17 of them, drawn from 14 nations, running from 1500 to 1597. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 17
- Nations
- 14
- Earliest
- 1500
- Latest
- 1597
- Africa
- 7
- South America
- 5
- Asia
- 3
- North America
- 2
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.