History of Trade

The history of international trade chronicles notable events that have

affected the trade between various countries.
In the era before the rise of the nation state, the term 'international'
trade cannot be literally applied, but simply means trade over long
distances; the sort of movement in goods which would represent
international trade in the modern world.
In the 21st century, the European Union, United States and China are
the three largest trading markets in the world
 ANCIENT

Indus–Mesopotamia relations are thought

to have developed during the second half
of 3rd millennium BCE, until they came to a
halt with the extinction of the Indus valley
civilization after around 1900 BCE.
Mesopotamia had already been an
intermediary in the trade of lapis lazuli
between South Asia and Egypt since at
least about 3200 BCE, in the context of
Egypt-Mesopotamia relations.
Assyrian merchant colony at Kanesh in Cappadocia.

Between 2000BC and 1750BC Assyrian merchants from northern Mesopotamia

formed the first commercial organisations by establishing trade colonies in
Anatolia. The centre of these colonies was at Kanesh Kharum near Kültepe in
Kayseri province (Kharum: A commercial market place). Assyrian merchants
also introduced cylinder seals, metallurgy, their religious beliefs, Assyrian Trade
Colonies PeriodsGods and temples to Anatolia.
Kanesh, was a powerful and cosmopolitan city located in northern Cappadocia
in central Anatolia. During the early second millennium B.C., it became part of
the network of trading settlements established across the region by merchants
The Egyptians trade in the Red sea, importing spices from the
"Land of Punt" and from Arabia
The Incense trade route or the Incense Road of
Antiquity (see also the spice trade) comprised a
network of major ancient land and sea trading
routes linking the Mediterranean world with
Eastern and Southern sources of incense,
spices and other luxury goods, stretching from
Mediterranean ports across the Levant and
Egypt through Northeastern Africa and Arabia
to India and beyond. The incense land trade
from South Arabia to the Mediterranean
flourished between roughly the 7th century BC
to the 2nd century AD.
Inciense was considered as one of the first fragrant materials to have
been used by humans. It was found especially in the ingredients of
balms that were used for the mummification of Egyptians. It was also
burned in the temples to communicate with the deities.
 MIDDLE AGES

The Abbasids use Alexandria, Damietta, Aden and Siraf as entry ports to
India and China

Damietta is very famous for its

furniture industry. In addition to
the Egyptian market, its furniture
is sold in Arab countries, Africa,
Europe, US, and almost all over
the world. Today, there is a canal
connecting it to the Nile, which
has made it an important port
once again. Containers are
transported through the new
Damietta Port.
The Hanseatic League secures trading privileges and market rights in
England for goods from the League's trading cities in 1157

The League was created to protect the

guilds' economic interests and diplomatic
privileges in their affiliated cities and
countries, as well as along the trade routes
the merchants visited. The Hanseatic cities
had their own legal system and furnished
their own armies for mutual protection and
aid.
 EARLY MODERN
In 1492 a Spanish expedition commanded by Christopher Columbus arrive
in America
Ottoman Empire and the Spice Routes in the 16th Century

The middle decades of the 16th century

saw the revival of the spice trade routes
through the Red Sea and the Gulf. It was
also a time that Portugal built up its eastern
empire with considerable speed, using
their naval power to occupy strategic points
and gain control of the Indian Ocean.
Portugal was able to monopolized the
stream of merchandise from Asia by
blockading the entrance to the Red Sea
and the Gulf and diverting supplies via the
Cape of Good instead of via the
Mediterranean.
 LATER MODERN
Japan is served by the Portuguese from Macao and later by the Dutch
in the history of Japan extends from the
arrival of the first Europeans – Portuguese
explorers, missionaries and merchants – to
Japan in 1543, to their near-total exclusion
from the archipelago in 1614, under the
promulgation of the "Sakoku" Seclusion
Edicts.
Soon after the first contacts
in 1543, Portuguese ships
started to arrive in Japan. At
that time, there were already
trade exchanges between
Portugal and Goa (since
around 1515), consisting of 3
to 4 carracks leaving Lisbon
with silver to purchase cotton
and spices in India
• Portuguese diplomat Pero da Covilha (1460 – after 1526) undertakes a
mission to explore the trade routes of the Near East and the adjoining
regions of Asia and Africa. The exploration commenced from Santarém
(1487) to Barcelona, Naples, Alexandria, Cairo and ultimately to India.
• Portuguese explorer and adventurer Vasco da Gama is credited with
establishing another sea route from Europe to India.
• In the 1530s, the Portuguese ship spices to Hormuz.
• Japan introduced a system of foreign trade licenses to prevent smuggling
and piracy in 1592.
• The first Dutch expedition left from Amsterdam (April 1595) for South East
Asia.
• A Dutch convoy sailed in 1598 and returned one year later with 600,000
pounds of spices and other East Indian products.
• The Dutch East India Company is formed in 1602.
• The first English outpost in the East Indies is established in Sumatra in
1685.
 Opium War (1840) - Britain invades China to overturn the Chinese ban on
opium imports.

The Opium Wars were two wars in the

mid-19th century involving Anglo-
Chinese disputes over British trade in
China and China's sovereignty. The
disputes included the First Opium War
(1839–1842) and the Second Opium
War (1856–1860). The wars and
events between them weakened the
Qing dynasty and reduced China's
separation from the rest of the world
• Grenada becomes involved in Spice Trade.
• Despite the late entry of the United States into the spice trade,
merchants from Salem, Massachusetts trade profitably with
Sumatra during the early half of the 19th century. The
Siamese-American Treaty of 1833 calls for free trade, except
for export of rice and import of munitions of war.
• Britain unilaterally adopts a policy of free trade and abolishes
the Corn Laws in 1846.
• The first international free trade agreement, the Cobden-
Chevalier Treaty, is finalised in 1860 between the United
Kingdom and France, prepared by Richard Cobden and Michel
Chevalier; it sparks off successive agreements between other
countries in Europe
POST WAR
• In 1946. the Bretton Woods system goes into effect; it had been planned since
1944 as an international economic structure to prevent further depressions and
wars. It included institutions and rules intended to prevent national trade barriers
being erected, as the lack of free trade was considered by many to have been a
principal cause of war.
• In 1947, 23 countries agree to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to
rationalize trade among the nations.
• In Europe, six countries form the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
in 1951, the first international organization to be based on the principles of
supranationalism.
• The European Economic Community (EEC) is established by the Inner Six
European countries with a common commercial policy in 1958.