Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which interactions between societies and cultures affected the institutions of land-based empires in this period.

In America, where the Spanish conquered almost the entire continent, a broad European influence was evident in all fields, in culture and in religion.

The European presence in the rest of the planet was initially limited to small factories or trading posts, which facilitated commercial exchanges. The penetration of the Christian culture or religion was also very limited and it only managed to consolidate in some regions. In Japan, for example, numerous missionaries were executed. In this context, the main product used for transactions between different civilizations was silver. Hence, the Spanish Empire played an essential role in shaping an incipient globalization. The silver extracted from the American mines was used, both by the Spanish and by other nations, as an exchange currency to obtain oriental merchandise.

Explanation:

Most Europeans who ventured outside the continent were not interested in conquest, but in the profitable spices, silks, and porcelains of the Near East and Asia. This European penetration of Asian trade may have been relevant to the changes taking place in Europe, but it was not something that significantly changed the evolution of Asia, a continent in which both China and India were larger and richer than all of Europe as a whole. Furthermore, perhaps with the exception of the American continent, European military technology was not superior to that of other societies; under the right circumstances, Asian or African military tactics were often more effective than European tactics. ”