Material Detail

 This page introduces the history of trade and commerce as a lens for understanding how civilisations developed, empires rose, and the global economy took shape. It covers early barter systems, ancient river-valley trade, major trade routes including the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean network, and trans-Saharan routes, the rise of trading companies such as the Hanseatic League and the East India Companies, the triangular Atlantic trade, industrialisation and global markets, and 21st-century globalisation including digital commerce and free trade agreements. The page also examines how trade intersected with diplomacy, warfare, culture, and political economy. Pre-university and early university students will benefit from the structured explanations, IDEF0 overview diagram, historical case studies, and "Why Study" sections that show how trade and commerce history connects to careers in economics, international relations, and global policy.

This will delete the comment from the database. This operation is not reversible. Are you sure you want to do it?

Thank you for reporting a broken "Go to Material" link in MERLOT to help us maintain a collection of valuable learning materials.

If you feel this material is inappropriate for the MERLOT Collection, please click SEND REPORT, and the MERLOT Team will investigate. Thank you!

You are being taken to the material on another site. This will open a new window.

Do not show me this again