Chapter 4 Chapter 2 The Roots of Western European Expansion

In the late Middle Ages, the Eurasian world had an unusually significant development.On the one hand, the Islamic and Confucian empires closed themselves off and became more and more rigid; on the other hand, the western end of Eurasia was undergoing an unprecedented and thorough transformation.Nearly every aspect of Western European life is undergoing profound changes.The massive expansion abroad is one manifestation of the new dynamics in Western Europe. This expansion had an extremely important influence on the subsequent history of the whole world.It enabled Western Europeans to control the overseas routes, to reach, conquer and settle the sparsely populated vast areas of North and South America and Australasia; thus, it changed the regional distribution of various ethnic traditions in the world.Finally, through expansion, the rapidly increasing wealth and power of Western Europe in the nineteenth century was able to penetrate and control the ancient centers of Eurasian civilization in the Middle East, India, and China.

All of this is truly unprecedented in human history.Never before has one part of the world succeeded in dominating the rest; the effects must therefore be far-reaching.The world has achieved a new and unique unity.By the end of the Eurasian phase of world history and the beginning of the global phase, interregional connections—economic, intellectual, and political—had been formed; initially slowly, but steadily and irresistibly. blocked. It is a plausible feature of these major developments that they were initiated and completed in the traditionally least developed and most obscure regions of Eurasia.Before the end of the Middle Ages, most areas in Western Europe were backward.Culturally, it gets more from the outside world than it can give; economically, it is also very backward in some aspects. It desperately wants to get spices from South Asia and silk from China, but it has nothing to exchange for itself; Militarily, it is safe to say that the East has invaded the West far more than the West has invaded the East.

So, how to explain this unexpected and striking transformation?Why did Western Europe suddenly become a driving force in world affairs?No explanation is possible from any single factor or event, such as the landing of Columbus on the American continent. The Vikings stumbled upon North America in the 11th century; they spent about a hundred years trying to maintain a settlement there, but failed.On the contrary, after Columbus discovered America, people from various European countries followed suit and invaded North and South America in large numbers and irresistibly.The outcome of the two events is quite different; it shows that in the five hundred years from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries Europe had certain developments which made it claim and enable overseas expansion.The nature of these developments and the manner in which they proceeded are the subjects of our present discussion.

The expansion of Europe can be explained to some extent by the expansionism of European Christianity.Quite unlike the other great religions of Europe, Christianity was imbued with universalism, conversion zeal, and militancy.From the very beginning, Christianity has emphasized the universality and declared itself a world religion; active missionary work has always been the main feature of the Christian church from the time of the apostles to the present.Moreover, the Christian Church has never hesitated to use force in order to convert heretics and infidels.The belligerence of Christianity stems from the god of vengeance and punishment worshiped by Jewish nomads.Christian writers often use war as a metaphor, seeing the human world as a battlefield between God and Satan.It is not surprising, then, that Christian leaders often employ forceful methods in carrying out the command to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone" (Mark 16:15).

The belligerence of Christendom was also a response to the frequent invasions of Europe by the East in earlier periods.Europe is a remote area of ​​Eurasia, backward and sparsely populated. It was often ravaged by barbaric and pagan Indo-Europeans, Germans, Huns, Magyars and Arabs in the early days.Thus, the Europeans who inhabited this large remote area in the Middle Ages faced the pagan Slavic and Baltic peoples to the east and the Muslim Arabs to the south.The Europeans responded with a barrage of crusades; the most ambitious and world-famous of these, directed at the Holy Land, were also the least successful. Christianity's footholds in Syria and Palestine fell to Muslims in the 13th century, but other crusades achieved more lasting results.Around 1100, the Normans drove the Arabs out of Sicily.The Christians in Iberia carried out an anti-Muslim "reconquest" movement for two centuries; by 1250, they had recovered the entire peninsula except the Kingdom of Granada, which was confined to the southern corner of the peninsula.The Teutonic Knights spread Christianity to Prussia and the Baltic countries with their swords in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Therefore, Europe has a long tradition of expeditions, and overseas expansion is in a sense a continuation of this tradition.The reason why the early explorers and their supporters wanted to go east was partly out of religious considerations.They wanted to reach India and China; since Marco Polo traveled east in the 13th century, Europeans had known that there were some great powers there.Europeans also know that these countries are not Muslim, so they want them to unite with Christians.In addition, the legend about Pastor John in the Middle Ages has also been circulated among people for a long time; people say that in the far east, there is a place where people believe in Christianity, and Pastor John is their powerful ruler.Therefore, for several centuries, Christian leaders have been yearning to establish contact with Pastor John, and attack the Muslim world from both east and west.The Europeans did not find Reverend John, but they did encounter strange new peoples in Africa and North and South America—peoples who were uncivilized and unreligious, and, therefore, fit subjects for conquest, salvation, and conversion. .

The service of God and the search for gold were probably the strongest of the many motives that drove Europeans to venture abroad.When da Gama arrived in Calikuta, he explained to the astonished Indians that he had come in search of Christians and spices.Likewise, the conqueror Bernal Díaz wrote in his memoirs that he and his companions went to the American continent "in order to serve God and His Majesty, as all men aspire to do, to bring light to those People who are still in the dark and get rich." The reason why the Protestants in northern Europe ventured overseas was also out of religious considerations, but to a slightly lesser extent than the Iberians.Sir Francis Drake wrote in his propaganda for the colonies of America:

This kind of militancy and the spirit of trying to change heretical beliefs are obviously lacking in other Eurasian peoples.It is true that Muslims conquered vast territories with the sword; in this sense they too were warlike.But in general, they were indifferent to the religious beliefs of their subjects.Usually, they are not more interested in whether their subjects believe in Islam, but whether they pay tribute to themselves.Muslims lack the overriding zeal with which Christians must save the souls of heathens from hell.Likewise, Buddhism was accepted outside India not so much because of the dedicated missionary activity of monks as because of the gradual spread of Indian culture by peaceful travelers and immigrants.Buddhism spread not by force, but by the appeal of its teachings and rituals.

The Chinese are probably the least dogmatic in religion.Early Christian missionaries to China were deeply impressed by the mutual tolerance of the people they met there.They were amazed and delighted that the Chinese allowed them to spread the Gospel freely. Bishop Andrew of Perugia wrote in 1326: "In fact, in this vast empire, all men under the whole world, of every nation and of every sect, are free according to their convictions. to live freely; for they hold the view, or rather, the false view, that every man can be saved in his own religion. Nevertheless, we may preach the scriptures freely and without hindrance.” Matteo Ricci, the eminent Italian Jesuit, lived in China from 1582 to 1610, and his non-aggression, non-aggression, and freedom of religious belief towards the Chinese were equally great. for surprise.He wrote:

The differing degrees of zeal with which the religions of the world have converted heresy are still evident today. In 1958 Marvin A. Franklin, Methodist bishop of Jackson, Mississippi, also articulated his position on the question of controlling the universe; man can take.He said: The intellectual context of Western European expansion was much more ambiguous than its religious context.The so-called "Renaissance turmoil" increased individualism and secularism.Theological and Christian control of real life was challenged and eventually superseded by the new moral and social norms of the time, derived from individual inquiry.A new conception of the human being himself had gradually emerged—a new confidence in human dignity and creativity.Human beings don't need to think about God's judgment on the afterlife, but only need to develop their inherent potential, especially the ability to think.Erasmus, a Dutch priest and scholar, triumphantly published the realization that man is neither beast nor savage.He said:

The new emphasis on humans and their abilities clearly helped overseas expansion more than earlier medieval views.On the other hand, this point can easily be exaggerated and needs to be carefully corrected.In fact, Renaissance Europe was not focused on science.Some of the leading figures of the time saw things more often from a philosophical and aesthetic perspective than from a skeptical and objective perspective.They retained to varying degrees certain medieval ways of thinking.They insist on believing and celebrating the grotesque and the unbelievable.They went on to find the philosopher's touchstone.They still believed in astrology and mistook it for astronomy.Nor did the Reformation change this anti-humanist tendency. In the sixteenth century, Luther's and Calvin's view of human helplessness and corruption, as the humanists celebrated human beings, was a new insight, and its influence was far greater than that of the latter.In fact, the Reformation represented an anti-worldly and anti-realist tendency that only became stronger in the sixteenth century. The Iberian pioneers of overseas expansion were certainly not humanists.Prince Henry the Navigator, for example, was portrayed by his contemporaries as a straight, pious, and valiant ascetic rather than a humanist.Although he always generously supported seamen and surveyors, he was not interested in learning and various arts.It is said that he founded a school for astronomy and mathematics at Sagres, but that is only a fiction.A well-known historian who studies European expansion said: "No matter how the Renaissance is explained, ... the early progress of the great geographical discovery began alone, accompanied by various motives and assumptions in the Middle Ages. Prince Henry and his His captains were basically medieval. Even Columbus ... went about his world-famous adventure in a largely medieval, traditional way." So what the "new level of intelligence" can explain is not so much the cause of European expansion before 1500 as the impetus and irresistible force of European expansion after 1600.but.An explanation of the latter is also very important in itself.The fact remains that in Western Europe there was an intellectual uproar that was absent in the rest of Eurasia.This fundamental difference is of great significance. In China, Confucianism continues to dominate society.It venerates the old and despises the young; it venerates the past and despises the present; it venerates established authority and despises change; thus making it an excellent instrument for maintaining the status quo in all respects.In the end, this led to an atmosphere of resignation and orthodoxy which precluded the further development of ideas; this helps explain why China, despite its initial successes in the invention of paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass, But then it lagged behind the West technologically.After making these early inventions, the Chinese failed to come up with a series of scientific principles. The situation in other Eurasian countries is basically the same as that of China.In the Ottoman Empire, for example, the Muslim academy emphasized theology, jurisprudence, and rhetoric at the expense of astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.Graduates of these academies have no idea what the West is doing and have no interest in finding out.No Muslim Turk would believe that a Christian pagan could teach him anything of value.Though occasionally a visionary would appear to warn of the dangers of this iron curtain of thought separating the Ottoman Empire from neighboring Christendom, such a man was exceedingly rare.Katib Celebi, a renowned Turkish historian, philologist and encyclopedia compiler, is one of them.He lived in the first half of the 17th century.Because he was born in a poor family, he failed to receive formal higher education.However, it turned out that Saion lost his horse.He was not required to engage in the superficial, over-analyzed special study of the holy lore of the Muslims, which had become the dominant feature of Turkish education at that time.The fact that he was self-taught largely explains his lack of prejudice against Western learning. Celebi wrote a lot in his life.After the crushing defeat of the Turkish fleet in 1656, he compiled a concise naval manual.In the preface to the book he stresses the need to master geography and cartography.He wrote: Celebi captures the link between Europe's intellectual progress and its overseas expansion.In his last work, before his death in 1657, Çelebi warned his countrymen that if they did not abandon their dogmatism, they would soon be "gazing at the world Eyes as big as a bull's eye."His predictions were quite prescient.The Turks remained steeped in their own religious superstitions and, like other non-Western peoples, paid dearly for it.The pagan Christians, by virtue of their new learning, finally became the masters not only of America, but of the old Moslem and German empires. The significant economic development of Western Europe in the Middle Ages was an indisputable and obvious factor that prompted Western Europe to expand overseas.The rapidly growing economic resources and vigorous vitality of Western Europe enabled Western Europe to respond greatly to Columbus's discovery of America.This response was entirely different from that of earlier Viyu expeditions, which were trivial and ineffective.It should be pointed out here that during the Middle Ages, the development of the European economy was not continuous.From 900 to 1300, the economy grew steadily, but in the 14th century, there was a decline, which was caused by a combination of factors.These factors included: successive years of poor harvests and famines, which were particularly severe in 1315 and 1316; the Black Death, which first struck in 1348-1349 and killed three One to two-thirds of human life, and then it happened periodically over several generations; the Hundred Years' War between England and France and other conflicts in Germany and Italy.Not long after 1400, though.The economy started to recover, and since then, the trend in economic development has generally been upward. Thus, with the exception of a recession in the 14th century, Western European economies grew fairly steadily after the centuries of the early Middle Ages.One reason for this is that after 1000 the invasions ceased with the Magyars and Vikings ending their attacks.This is important because it spares Western Europe from the devastation of Eastern Europe by the successive foreign onslaughts which lasted until the Turks' crushing defeat at the end of the seventeenth century.Eastern Europe acted as a shock absorber for the West during those centuries, and thus greatly aided the latter's development, which is still not fully appreciated. This partly explains the remarkable population growth of Central and Western Europe between the 10th and 14th centuries.At the time, the population there had grown by about 50 percent; a growth rate that may seem insignificant today, but was at the time unmatched by any other roughly comparable area of ​​the world.The surge in population has prompted efforts to improve disaster technology to support population growth, and food growth has in turn made further population growth possible. There are two pathways for increasing agricultural production in Europe.One is to develop intensive farming, that is, to improve farming methods.The most prominent example of this is the gradual adoption of the three-wheel farming method from the 8th century onwards.This method reduces the amount of fallow land from one-half of the total cultivated land to one-third, greatly increasing productivity.More efficient use of horsepower also aided the development of agriculture.In ancient times, horses were of little use in the fields because the yokes used at that time would choke the horse's neck when it was pulling hard.In addition, horses often break their hooves and become useless due to lack of fastened shoes.However, by the 10th century, Europe had invented horse collars that were mounted on the shoulders of the horse without choking the horse's neck.Also, the horseshoe and the tandem harness were invented; the latter could be used to allow more than one pair of horses to pull a load together.The end result was that the horse, which was faster and more powerful than the ox, has since become an indispensable source of power in agricultural operations. Another avenue for increasing agricultural production in Europe was the development of large-scale cultivation, that is, the development of previously uncultivated areas. The fact that in the twelfth century France, Germany, and England were cultivated only about one-half, one-third, and one-fifth of their respective lands is surprising, but it is true indeed.At that time, the rest of the land was forest, swamp, and wasteland.Surrounding the small areas that have been cultivated are large areas that are uncultivated and waiting to be settled.European farmers streamed into these deserted areas, clearing forests, burning brush and draining swamps to make way for plows and hoes.Farmers not only cultivated the virgin land in their regions, but also migrated eastward into the sparsely populated vast areas of Eastern and Southern Europe.Just as the United States had a westward movement that reached the Pacific Ocean, Europe also had an eastward movement that reached the Russian border.For example, by 1350 there were 1,500 new settlements in Silesia, cultivated by 150,000 to 200,000 colonists. The appeal of new lands loosened the shackles of serfdom.The blackmails and restrictions of the past could not be imposed on people indefinitely, because they knew that going east would give them personal freedom and cheap land.The serf owners had to reduce their demands, otherwise, they would run the risk of the serfs fleeing one after another.Indeed, later, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, serfdom was imposed on the formerly free settlers east of the Elbe.At that time, the prices of grain and forest products rose and the market expanded. Serfs mainly took advantage of this opportunity to make profits, so they had to ensure the supply of labor. For this reason, they enforced serfdom.During this period, however, the peasantry in the West had largely become free and remained free, although the final lifting of the constraints had to wait until At the end of the 18th century, after the French Revolution began.The weakening of serfdom was a prerequisite for European expansion.It produced a more fluid society that could amass capital and provide the organization and free labor needed for exploration, conquest, and colonization.Therefore, it is no accident that the success of European countries in overseas ventures is directly proportional to the degree of freedom from feudal shackles. The growth of population and the development of agriculture correspondingly promoted the development of commerce and cities.Surplus grain was brought back by ship from the new farmlands to the more densely populated west, and the west in return provided the newly opened areas with all the tools and manufactured goods they needed.As a result, commerce flourished and towns sprang up, especially along the Baltic coast.This development of the economy is extremely important.It signified the beginning of the rise of northwestern Europe; a trend that would later help the English and Dutch eclipse the Spaniards and Portuguese throughout the world. Not only trade within Europe was developing, but also between Europe and the outside world.The development of international trade at this time also began with the end of the Vikings' raiding activities; the terror of the Vikings' repeated raids on Europe had enveloped the European coast from the Arctic to Sicily in the 9th and 10th centuries.Another impetus for the development of international trade came from the Crusades from the 11th century onwards.Thousands of Europeans took part in these expeditions; and they returned home coveting the wonderful luxuries they had seen and enjoyed in the Orient.In addition, the Crusades also enabled the Europeans to take the Mediterranean from the Muslims, making the Mediterranean once again a major channel for merchant ships between the East and the West, as it had done in ancient times.A third reason for the growth of international trade was the creation of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century, which imposed unprecedented unity on much of the vast Eurasian continent.European merchants, especially the Italians, traded almost directly with the East, taking advantage of the peaceful, safe, and well-kept roads of the time. The expansion and strengthening of trade relations had a major impact.European economies began to adapt far more to international trade than did the economies of the more self-sufficient empires of the East.European consumers and producers became accustomed to and dependent on foreign goods and markets.As the population grows, so does the size of the transactions.Population pressures, combined with the dynamics of competition between states and city-states, drove merchants to seek new sources of production, new routes, and new markets.Their competitive attitude was very different from that of their Chinese contemporaries, who sailed thousands of miles, but for purely non-economic reasons (see Section VII of this chapter).They have no interest in trade, only to please their emperor by bringing exotic animals such as giraffes back to their self-sufficient homeland.For obvious geographical reasons, Europe was far from self-sufficient and desperately needed spices and other foreign products.This need, together with the rapid development of economic activities and vigorous economic vitality, eventually made Europeans sail across the oceans and European merchants in every port. Closely connected with the expansion of the economy was the development of technology, which was a prerequisite for European expansion, since Europeans would not have been able to reach India and North and South America without proper seagoing ships and navigational equipment.The reason Europeans succeeded in making significant technological advances in developing seafaring equipment is that during the Middle Ages they made steady, if not spectacular, but extremely important improvements in various tools and techniques. Professor Lynn White, a famous American historian, commented: "The most boastful thing in the late Middle Ages is not the cathedrals, epics or scholastic philosophy at that time, but a complex civilization established for the first time in history. This civilization was not built on The backs of toiling slaves or coolies were based primarily on impersonal power.” The waterwheel and windmill, invented and used for milling corn, logging, and draining swamps and mines, may represent this “nonhuman source of human power.Other useful inventions include the carpenter's pen, the crank, the wheelbarrow, the spinning wheel and the canal gates.It is true that the Greeks and Romans, for all their philosophical and artistic achievements, did not in a thousand years achieve as much as the medieval Europeans did in a short period of time in alleviating human toil by mechanical power. acquired over the centuries.This is probably due to the fact that Europe was less manpower-intensive, and that the undeveloped and newly colonized societies also required labor, thereby promoting invention.As medieval Europeans moved from a slave or serf economy to one powered by machine power, Western cultural development gained a new impetus. Greek scholar and Catholic cardinal Bessarion wrote a letter in 1444 that provides an interesting account of the technological progress made by Western Europeans during the Middle Ages.The scholar had previously lived in Rome for many years, and he was deeply impressed by the advanced level of Italian handicrafts.Therefore, he wrote to Constantine Paleologus, then ruler of the autonomous province of Byzantine Morea, suggesting to quietly send "four or eight young men" to Italy to learn handicraft skills and to learn Italian "to Familiar with what he said in the letter."Bessarion was particularly impressed by the hydraulic saw, which eliminated manual labor.He mentions "automatic saws for sawing wood, and waterwheels that run extremely fast and neatly."He was also obsessed with hydraulic bellows, writing, "In smelting and separating metals they used leather bellows, which, without the manipulation of hands, expanded and relaxed, and lifted the metal from its former earthy useless substance. seperate".Bessarion also said that in Italy, "anyone can easily learn ironmaking knowledge, which is extremely useful and indispensable to human beings".The significance of this letter as evidence is obvious: during the Middle Ages, the technical progress made in Western Europe was so great that an Easterner suggested for the first time that students should be sent to the West to learn "every practical art". In terms of European expansion, the most significant technological advances were in shipbuilding, nautical equipment, seamanship, and naval equipment.Between 1200 and 1500 the tonnage of the average European ship doubled or tripled.Galleys with a deadweight of 150 to 200 tons gave way to roundhulls of 600 to 800 tons. The stern rudder adopted in the 13th century quickly replaced the older and less efficient side steering device.Also, and just as important, in the 14th century, the Portuguese adapted the Arabs' jib rigging to allow the ship to sail more directly against the wind.These advances in boat construction and rigging represent a combination of some of the advantages of boats originally developed in northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.The end result was a larger, faster, and more maneuverable ship.In addition, the economic efficiency is also higher, because the boat at this time excludes 100 to 200 rowers and their rations and equipment, thereby greatly increasing the cargo capacity. Closely connected with advances in shipbuilding were advances in seamanship.In terms of nautical waters, the most important contribution came from the Mediterranean region.At that time, the Chinese seem to have had a magnetic compass, but it is still uncertain whether the Europeans got it from the Chinese or from the Arabs as intermediaries.Perhaps the magnetic compass of the Europeans was independently developed by themselves in the 12th century, and the location may be in the city of Amalfi, Italy.At any rate, though the compass is the most useful instrument to the navigator, its use requires the cooperation of several other instruments.The astrolabe, a copper dial used to observe the altitude of celestial objects, has been known to the world as early as 800 years ago, but it was not until around 1485 that it was first used by the Portuguese in Western voyages.This instrument is quite expensive, so it was quickly replaced by a quadrant with a simpler structure and lower cost.Determination of longitude raises more than one problem.Although the hourglass can be used to roughly estimate the time, it is only when Galileo discovered the principle of oscillation in the 17th century that the time can be accurately calculated. Voyagers were also assisted by compilations of nautical information and maps.Some of the voyages of medieval Mediterranean sailors are the earliest accurate maps that clearly show exact compass bearings and details about coastlines and ports.By the 14th century, the art of mapping had developed considerably, with major centers of development in Genoa and Majorca.In the Middle Ages, some learned dogmatists were always arguing about whether people could withstand the deadly sunlight and churning sea water at the equator; compared with the writings of these dogmatists, the medieval nautical charts are factual, objective, and refreshing. .The following two passages, quoted from fifteenth-century nautical charts, exemplify the truthful and precise textual descriptions on the charts: When the Europeans arrived in the highly developed and militarily powerful states of South and East Asia, they had a decisive advantage in naval equipment.The advantage of making one was only obtained when they began to expand overseas, because medieval naval warfare mainly consisted of breaking into enemy ships and engaging in hand-to-hand combat on deck. In the 15th century, European ships were already equipped with cannons, but the cannons were small in size, and the stones fired did not weigh a few pounds, but only a few pounds.They can kill people, but not ships.Therefore, they did not reject the traditional naval warfare tactics of attacking enemy ships, but supplemented them.Large artillery was already in use on land, as the Turks did when they successfully sieged Constantinople in 1453.However, these artillery pieces are very heavy and heavy.It cannot be hoisted onto a boat, let alone mounted on a boat for launch. During the first two decades of the 16th century, metallurgists in Flanders, Germany, and later England developed the technique of casting cannon, which, while easier to maneuver, had equal or greater firepower.These new guns were 5 to 12 feet long and capable of firing boulders weighing 5 to 60 pounds and, later, iron pellets of such weight that they could destroy hulls at ranges of 300 yards.At this time, the navy's tactics had changed from trying to break into enemy ships to broadside salvos; warships were also redesigned, and soon each warship could mount an average of 40 guns. These developments gave Europeans a decisive advantage in capturing and controlling the world's oceans.The rulers of the East also hastened to equip their own ships, but their ships were not designed and built for beam-mounted artillery, and before they could redesign their own ships, the naval equipment of Europe advanced so rapidly that there was a difference between them. The gap is not shrinking, but increasing.Thus the West remained the unchallenged masters of the world's oceans until the Japanese achieved their epoch-making victory over the Russians in the Tsushima Strait in 1905. Advances in shipbuilding, navigation, and naval equipment were of obvious importance to Europe's overseas expansion.In the long run, however, the development of new technologies for dealing with business matters is equally important.In this regard, what is quite eye-catching is the double-entry bookkeeping invented in Italy.Franciscan monk and mathematician Luca Percioli published "Introduction to Mathematics; Geometry and Ratio" in 1494, which is a classic work on double-entry bookkeeping.In this work, which was used as a textbook throughout Europe, Pescioli strongly advocated that merchants should register each account as a debit and a credit.This method of bookkeeping enabled European merchants to ascertain the financial status of their business operations at all times and further motivated them to work harder and be more money conscious. Another major development in commerce was the minting of standard coins that were used everywhere, the increasing use of currency.It was caused: partly by increased commerce, and partly by increased production of mines, which provided more gold and silver for coinage.The city of Florence was the first to mint gold florins in 1252, and other cities and countries soon followed suit.The emergence of money with a standard, reliable value is extremely beneficial to business. At this time, there are also original and important bank and credit notes.While checks, money orders and limited companies as we know them today did not develop until the great expansion of northwestern Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries, the Italians began this long process much earlier.As early as the 12th century, they had developed various simple bills of exchange.By 1408, the Guild of St. George of Genoa had assumed the role of bank, bringing bills and notes into circulation.Gradually, first in Italy and later in northern Europe, powerful financial families arose.If one compares the fortunes (in 1958 dollars) of some prominent financial families over the following three centuries, trends in the size and location of fortunes can be clearly seen: 1300 - Peruzzi family (Florence) $1,600,000 1440 - Medici family (Florence) $ 15,000,000 1546 - Fugger family (Augsburg) $80,000,000 The astonishing development of financial activity inevitably led Christianity to abandon the strong condemnation and exclusion of interest that it had in the Middle Ages.Originally, in a society where there are not many trades and activities, and there are correspondingly few opportunities for investment and profit-making, it is understandable and feasible to hold an attitude of aversion to interest.However, in the later Middle Ages, the situation changed, and with it, the teachings changed.In earlier centuries the clergy had lashed out at the interest that led to usury, saying it was "a most hideous and heinous evil in the sight of God."But, by 1546, the French jurist Charles Dumoulin was pleading for the recognition of "moderate and acceptable usury."He said: 最后，欧洲的扩张在最初的伊比利亚阶段之后，因合股公司的激增而大大加强，其速度也大大加快。这些新组织是经济动员和经济渗透的最有效的工具。东方的商人，不管其资本多么雄厚，都是单枪匹马或以私人合作的关系经营商业；而欧洲则组织起在世界各地从事贸易活动的合股公司。东印度诸公司（荷兰的、英国的和法国的）成立后，其他许多公司也相继成立，其中包括地中海东部诸国的各种公司、莫斯科公司和至今仍存在的哈得孙湾公司。 这些合股公司是无与伦比的，因为它们所具有的合股性质限定了投资者的责任，使投资所起的作用与经营管理的职责相分离，同时，也使人们有可能动员大量资本以从事种种商业投机。任何想用少量钱做投机的人，都可以不冒自己整个前途之险而如愿以偿。对他们来说，有风险的仅在于他们用以买进公司股票的那一部分钱，对于公司可能遭受的任何损失，他们不用进一步负责任。而且，各投资者无须相识，无须彼此信赖，也无须关心市场的具体情况和公司的方针政策。具体的经营管理都委托给根据其责任心之强弱和经验之多寡而选拔出来的董事们，而这些董事又可以挑选可靠的人管理公司某一方面的业务。这种安排方式吸引各种分散的人——伦敦的羊毛商、巴黎的零售店店主、哈莱姆的捕鲱鱼人、安特卫普的银行家或约克郡的地主——将他们的储蓄金投入各种商业冒险事业；因此，能轻而易举地动员起欧洲资本，使大笔大笔的巨款投入各种海外事业。东方的商人由于受到自己或合伙人的财力的限制，由于是从家人或熟人中挑选经理，所以，谁也无法期望与强大的、非个人的合股公司竞争。 中世纪后期朝强大的民族君主政体发展的政治趋势，使上面提到的宗教好战精神、思想骚动、经济活力和技术进步这四股力量结合成一体，并指向外部世界，从而大大促进了西欧的扩张。 814 年，查理曼去世后，欧洲进入一个四分五裂、政治混乱的时期。当时，起作用的几种传统和势力彼此不合。Feudal monarchs were constantly in conflict with vassals who often held larger fiefdoms and exercised more power.教俗封建公国提出了棘手的叙任权问题。诸城市国家有时结成教伦巴第联盟和汉萨同盟那样强大的组织。它们都以自己为中心；然而其时，还存在着一股与它们相对抗的势力，即正在为实现一个以罗马教皇或者以查理曼及其前任的继承人“罗马”皇帝为首的统一的天主教世界而不懈奋斗的势力。这些互相冲突的势力错综交织在一起，使政治生活中产生了各种程度的无限多样、不断变化的同盟和联盟。 概括地说，查理曼以后，西欧的政治发展可以分为三个时期。9 至11世纪，教皇和皇帝通常是携手合作。教皇帮助皇帝制服日耳曼的世俗封建主，而皇帝则支持教皇对付公开对抗罗马教皇的权威的拜占庭对手。1073年，随着格列高利七世继位为教皇，开始了教皇权力至高无上的时期。格列高利在教皇与皇帝争夺主教叙任权——任命日耳曼主教的权力——的斗争中，赢得了胜利；从而削弱了皇帝的权力和帝国的行政管理。在两个多世纪里，教皇一直被普遍地公认为天主教世界的首脑；对此，13世纪中叶相继即位的法、英国主们起了尤为重要印作用，他们是非常虔诚的。教皇权力至高无上的时期结束于1296年即法国腓力四世在向教土征税的问题上战胜教皇卜尼法斯八世之时。那一年，教皇发布敕令，申明俗人对教士没有任何权力，并威胁要把任何试图向教士征税者逐出教会。腓力四世拒绝了教皇的要求，并完全成功地实施了自己的政策。他甚至还强迫教廷从罗马迁到阿维尼翁，迫使教廷与法国君主公开合作。 法国和英国的君主们所拥有的新力量，多半来源于他们与新兴的商人阶级所结成的非正式联盟。君主保护市民们不受频繁的战争和封建主任意征收的苛捐杂税的侵害，而市民们则向君主提供财政支援作为报答。随着民族君主的力量日渐增强、国家机构逐渐完备，君主们在动员人力物力以从事海外冒险事业方面，作出了极其重要的贡献。他们废除了五花八门的地方自治政权，因为这些政权都各有自己的关税、法律、衡量制和货币。他们设立了许多征税站；迟至14 世纪末，在易北河旁有35个，在莱茵河两岸有60多个，在塞纳河沿河一带也有许多，如果船载谷物活塞纳河行驶B00哩，花费的钱将达所载谷物售价的一半。君主们还保持了一些比较完善的法庭，以支持手工业者，有时，还支持整个整个的手工行业，象法国的戈布兰挂毯业和塞尔夫瓷器业就曾得到过法庭的支持。此外，君主们还发特许证给合股公司，如果必要的话，还用皇家海军作它们的后盾。 最先的伊比利亚人的海外冒险事业就是王室鼓励和资助的直接结果。正是西班牙和葡萄牙朝廷，为哥伦布和达·伽马取得较大成就提供了必需的支持。英国和法国的朝廷也采取了同样的做法，只是时间上稍晚些；不过，它们的关注和支持与前者相同。实际上，在西北欧，商人与君主之间的关系比在伊比利亚半岛更密切。尤其在西班牙，反对穆斯林的长期斗争使君主和封建主联合起来，而少数大城市则往往反对他们，要求完全的自治权。相形之下，在西北欧，商人阶级逐渐赢得在欧亚其他地区无可比拟的社会声望和国家支持。 例如，在中国和印度，商人被看作是不受欢迎的下等人，没人瞧得起；在西北欧，商人却很有地位，而且随着时间的推移，他们的财富不断增加，政治权力逐渐增强。在中国，各时代的商人在衣服穿着、武器佩戴、车马乘坐和土地占有等方面受到种种限制。他们运送商品住返各地的作用被看作是非生产性和寄生性的，他们被置于社会等级的底层。印度的情况也一样；由于印度教强调抛弃财产，商人不可能有任何声誉。在印度，理想的人不是整天忙碌于发财致富、营造宅第的商人，而是端坐在蒲席上、吃大蕉叶做的食物、保持对物质财富无动于衷的神秘主义者。因此，东方任何帝国的商人都绝无上升为当权者的机会。在中国，学者进行统治；在日本，武士进行统治；在马来亚诸国和印度拉杰普特人的一些土邦里，地方贵族进行统治，但是，没有一个地方是由商人统治的。 所谓没有一个地方，是指除西北欧以外；在西北欧，商人不仅经济力量而且政治力量都在稳步增长。在那里，商人正在成为伦敦的市长、德意志帝国诸自由城市的参议员和荷兰高贵的养老金领取者。这样的社会地位和政治关系意味着：在西北欧，对商人利益和海外冒险事业有较多的关心，而且，国家予以较始终如一的支持。 西欧这一由各种势力、制度和传统交织在一起而形成的独特复合体的意义，通过中国明朝派出的著名的远航探险队的惊人历史，可得到有力的说明。1405至1433年间的七次远航冒险都是在一个名叫郑和的内宫监太监的指挥下进行的。这些探险队的规模和成就之大令人吃惊。第一支探险队由62般服船组成，共载28000人。当时有名的穆斯林旅行家伊本·拔图塔曾对这一时期的中国舰船作了如下描述： 一般的船宽15O 呎，长37O呎，但是最大的船宽180呎，长444呎。它们与哥伦布的小旗舰——宽25呎、长120呎的“圣马利亚号”相比，是名符其买的浮动宫殿，而“圣马利亚号”比哥伦布的另外两艘船“平塔号”和“尼娜号”要大一倍。中国探险队不仅在规模上，而且在所取得的成就方面也给人以深刻印象。它们绕东南亚航行到印度；有些船继续西航达亚丁和波斯湾口；而个别船则驶入非洲东岸的一些港口。我们应该记得，在这期间，葡萄牙人只是刚刚开始沿非洲海岸探寻航路，直到1445年才抵达佛得角。 然而，中国这些非凡的远航探险到1433 年由于皇帝的命令而突然停止。为什么要使它们停止正如为什么会使它们首先开始那样，至今仍是个谜。但是，这里值得注意的一点是：倘若在欧洲，这种停止是完全无法想象的。中国的皇帝能够并的确发布过一道道对其整个国家有约束力的命令；欧洲绝无这样的皇帝，只有一些相对抗的民族君主国，它们在海外冒险事业方面互相竞争着，而且，没有任何帝国当权者阻止它们这样做。西北欧的商人也与中国的商人完全不同，他们有政治权力和社会声望；这种权力和声望保证了要实施任何禁止海外冒险事业的法令是不可能的。此外，欧洲有与外界进行贸易的传统，欧洲对外国产品有真实的需要和强烈的需求，而中国完全不是如此。 总之，欧洲有一个强大的推动力——一个牟利的欲望和机会、一个使牟利得以实现的社会和体制结构。如果当时欧洲有什么感到完全不能理解的，那就是：明朝的这些远航，为何是为某些未知的但肯定是非商业方面的原因而进行的；为何是由宫廷太监而不是由合股公司组织和领导；为何返航时带回的是供帝国朝廷观赏的斑马、鸵鸟和长颈鹿，而不是投入国内市场、可产生利润的货物；为何接到中国皇帝的命令便会完全地、无可挽回地停止。那时的西欧是无可匹敌的，它拥有向外猛冲的推动力——宗教动力、思想骚动、经济活力、技术进步和有效地动员人力物力的民族君主国。 中世纪后期，这些被孤立和局限在西欧人中间的发展已给合在一起，从而，进一步促进了西欧人天生的、面向海外的倾向。那时，十字军在地中海东部请国的据点已丧失；蒙古帝国已崩溃；奥斯曼土耳其人已占有巴尔干半岛，并扩张到中欧，逼抵维也纳城下，欧洲商人因为原先由蒙古人强加秩序的地方又骚乱迭起而不再能穿越中亚。黑海也因为土耳其人将它政变成穆斯林独占的区域而向信基督教的商人关闭。另一方面，十分重要的香料贸易并没有受到什么影响。意大利商人继续在地中海东部诸国的各个港口与阿拉伯商人相会，收取欧洲公众所需要的种种商品。这种情况对牟获中间人厚利的意大利人和阿拉伯人来说，颇称心如意；但是，其他欧洲人则大为不满，他们热切地寻找能直接抵达东方的途径，以分享这笔厚利。这就解释了为什么在中世纪后期劳出现许许多多为突破或绕过将欧洲人限制在地中海地区的穆斯林屏障而制订的计划。那时的欧洲正如一位作家所描绘的那样，象一个靠他人“通过墙上的裂缝喂养的巨人”。但是，这位巨人的力量和知识正在增长，牢狱的围墙已不能长久地禁锢住他。