Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Until the fifteenth century, China dominated trade along the Silk Routes, which connected Asia, Europe, and Africa. When China deliberately withdrew from overseas trade around the mid-fifteenth century, it created a power vacuum in global commerce.

European powers then colonised the Americas, extracting vast wealth — precious metals and resources — and used this to dominate trade networks. This expansion of European overseas territories, combined with China's withdrawal, gradually shifted global economic power towards Europe, making European nations the dominant force in world trade.

Source: Chapter 3, Section 1.1 Silk Routes Link the World; Section 2.3 Late nineteenth-century Colonialism

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The question links two historical events: China's withdrawal from trade and European colonisation. Examiners expect you to connect both causes to the effect (Europe's rise). Key points:

• Silk Routes showed China/India's earlier dominance
• China's withdrawal left a vacuum
• European colonisation of Americas brought wealth and expanded markets
• Together these shifted global power to Europe

Note: The source passages don't fully detail China's deliberate withdrawal, so draw on what is given about Silk Routes (pre-15th century trade) and European colonisation. Don't over-claim beyond what the passages support.