View source for Trade

{{Short description|Exchange of goods and services}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}{{About |the economic mechanism}}
[[File:Kaufmann-1568.png|thumb|upright|Two traders in 16th century Germany]]
[[File:MercadodeSanJuandeDios.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The [[San Juan de Dios Market]] in [[Guadalajara, Jalisco]]]]
[[File: Earle, Liberty to Trade as Buttressed by National Law, 1909 Title.jpg|thumb|''[[s:The Liberty to Trade as Buttressed by National Law|The Liberty to Trade as Buttressed by National Law]]'' (1909) by [[George Howard Earle, Jr.]]]]
{{Business administration}}

'''Trade''' involves the transfer of [[goods and services]] from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for [[money]]. Economists refer to a [[system]] or network that allows trade as a [[market (economics)|market]].

Traders generally negotiate through a medium of credit or exchange, such as money. Though some economists characterize [[barter]] (i.e. trading things without the use of money<ref name="Samuelson1939">{{cite journal |last1=Samuelson |first1=P. |date=1939 |title=The Gains from International Trade |journal=The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=195–205 |doi=10.2307/137133 |jstor=137133}}</ref>) as an early form of trade, [[History of money#Emergence of money|money was invented]] before written history began. Consequently, any story of how money first developed is mostly based on conjecture and logical inference. Letters of [[credit (finance)|credit]], [[paper money]], and [[digital currency|non-physical money]] have greatly simplified and promoted trade as '''buying''' can be separated from '''selling''', or [[Earnings|earning]]. Trade between two traders is called [[bilateral trade]], while trade involving more than two traders is called [[Multilateral treaty|multilateral trade]].  

In one modern view, trade exists due to specialization and the [[division of labor]], a predominant form of [[economic activity]] in which individuals and groups concentrate on a small aspect of production, but use their output in trade for other products and needs.<ref name="DollarKraay2004">{{cite journal |last1=Dollar |first1=D. |last2=Kraay |first2=A. |date=2004 |title=Trade, Growth, and Poverty |url=http://econ.worldbank.org/files/1820_dollar.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=The Economic Journal |volume=114 |issue=493 |pages=F22–F49 |citeseerx=10.1.1.509.1584 |doi=10.1111/j.0013-0133.2004.00186.x |s2cid=62781399 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040307191641/http://econ.worldbank.org/files/1820_dollar.pdf |archive-date=2004-03-07 |access-date=2017-10-26}}</ref> Trade exists between regions because different regions may have a [[comparative advantage]] (perceived or real) in the production of some trade-able goods{{snd}}including the production of scarce or limited natural resources elsewhere. For example, different regions' sizes may encourage [[mass production]]. In such circumstances, trading at [[market price]] between locations can benefit both locations. Different types of traders may specialize in trading different kinds of goods; for example, the [[spice trade]] and [[grain trade]] have both historically been important in the development of a global, international economy.
[[File:A Busy Market in Mile 12, Lagos- Nigeria.jpg|alt=A picture of a busy market in Mile 12. Lagos - Nigeria|thumb|A busy market in Mile 12, Lagos, Nigeria]]
[[Retail]] trade consists of the [[sales|sale]] of goods or [[merchandise]] from a very fixed location<ref>Compare [[peddling]] and other types of retail trade:{{cite book
| editor1-last = Hoffman
| editor1-first = K. Douglas
| title = Marketing principles and best practices
| url = https://www.shantraader.co.in/
| edition = 3
| publisher = Thomson/South-Western
| date = 2005
| page = 407
| isbn = 978-0-324-22519-8
| access-date = 2018-05-03
| quote = Five types of nonstore retailing will be discussed: street peddling, direct selling, mail-order, automatic-merchandising machine operators, and electronic shopping.
| archive-date = 2022-10-22
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221022165517/https://www.shantraader.co.in/
| url-status = live
}}</ref> (such as a [[department store]], [[boutique]], or [[kiosk]]), [[online]] or by [[mail]], in small or individual lots for direct [[consumption (economics)|consumption]] or use by the purchaser.<ref name="fas">{{cite web | date= 2000-02-09 | url= http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/China/distribution.html | title= Distribution Services | publisher= [[Foreign Agricultural Service]] | access-date= 2006-04-04 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060515063319/http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/China/distribution.html | archive-date= 2006-05-15 }}</ref> [[Wholesale]] trade is the traffic in goods that are sold as merchandise to [[retailer]]s, industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional [[business]] users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services.

Historically, openness to [[free trade]] substantially increased in some areas from 1815 until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Trade openness increased again during the 1920s but collapsed (in particular in Europe and North America) during the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s. Trade openness increased substantially again from the 1950s onward (albeit with a slowdown during the [[1973 oil crisis|oil crisis of the 1970s]]). Economists and [[economic historians]] contend that current levels of trade openness are the highest they have ever been.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1= Federico|first1= Giovanni|last2= Tena-Junguito|first2= Antonio|date= 2019|journal= Revista de Historia Economica – Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History|volume= 37|issue= 1|pages= 9–41|doi= 10.1017/S0212610918000216|issn=0212-6109|title= World Trade, 1800-1938: A New Synthesis|doi-access= free|hdl= 10016/36110|hdl-access= free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://voxeu.org/article/world-trade-historical-database|title= The World Trade Historical Database|last1= Federico|first1= Giovanni|last2= Tena-Junguito|first2= Antonio|date= 2018-07-28|website= VoxEU.org|access-date= 2019-10-07|archive-date= 2019-10-07|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191007142603/https://voxeu.org/article/world-trade-historical-database|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1= Bown|first1= C. P.|date= 2016-01-01|url= http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/research-files/repec/cam/pdf/cwpe1624.pdf|volume= 1|pages= 3–108|editor-last= Bagwell|editor-first= Kyle|publisher= North-Holland|access-date= 2019-10-07|last2= Crowley|first2= M. A.|title= The Empirical Landscape of Trade Policy|series= Handbook of Commercial Policy|doi= 10.1016/bs.hescop.2016.04.015|hdl= 10986/24161|isbn= 978-0444632807|s2cid= 204484666|editor2-last= Staiger|editor2-first= Robert W.|archive-date= 2021-02-25|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210225171856/http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/research-files/repec/cam/pdf/cwpe1624.pdf|url-status= live}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
''Trade'' is from [[Middle English language|Middle English]] ''trade'' ("path, course of conduct"), introduced into English by Hanseatic merchants, from [[Middle Low German language|Middle Low German]] ''trade'' ("track, course"), from [[Old Saxon language|Old Saxon]] ''trada'' ("spoor, track"), from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*tradō'' ("track, way"), and cognate with [[Old English]] ''tredan'' ("to tread").

''[[Commerce]]'' is derived from the [[Latin]] ''commercium'', from ''cum'' "together" and ''merx'', "merchandise."<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Commerce|volume=6|page=766}}</ref>
rvkdharwadglish by Hanseatic merchants, from [[Middle Low German language|Middle Low German]] ''trade'' ("track, course"), from [[Old Saxon language|Old Saxon]] ''trada'' ("spoor, track"), from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*tradō'' ("track, way"), and cognate with [[Old English]] ''tredan'' ("to tread").

==History==
{{See also|Economic history of the world| Timeline of international trade}}

===Prehistory===
Trade originated from [[history of communication|human communication]] in [[prehistoric]] times. Prehistoric peoples exchanged goods and services with each other in a [[gift economy]] before the innovation of modern-day currency.  Recent research finds evidence that early humans developed trade networks for obsidian 200,000 years ago as well as ostrich egg shell beads 50,000 years ago.<ref name="Padilla-Iglesias, Cecilia">{{citation |last1=Padilla-Iglesias |first1=Cecilia |title=Did Humanity Really Arise in One Place? |year=2023 |url=https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/human-evolution-east-africa/}}</ref><ref name="Blegen, Nick">{{citation |last1=Blegen |first1=Nick |title=The Earliest Long-Distance Obsidian Transport: Evidence From the ∼200 ka Middle Stone Age Sibilo School Road Site, Baringo, Kenya |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |year=2017 |volume=103 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.11.002 |pmid=28166905 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248416301956/}}</ref><ref name="Miller & Wang (2021)">{{citation |last1=Miller |first1=Jennifer M. |last2=Wang |first2=Yiming V. |title=Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,000-year-old social network in Africa |journal=Nature |year=2021 |volume=601 |issue=7892 |pages=234–239 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04227-2 |pmid=34931044 |pmc=8755535 }}</ref>

In the Mediterranean region, the earliest contact between cultures involved members of the species ''Homo sapiens'', principally using the Danube river, at a time beginning 35,000–30,000 [[Before Present|BP]].<ref name="Abulafia, Rackham, Suano">{{citation |last1=Abulafia |first1=D. |title=The Mediterranean in History |year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Cvrq-Vs-2wC |access-date=2019-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511162132/https://books.google.com/books?id=9Cvrq-Vs-2wC |archive-date=2021-05-11 |url-status=live |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=978-1-60606-057-5 |quote=[...] the Danube played an extremely important role in connecting East and West before the Mediterranean became the main link between these regions. This period runs for about 25,000 years, from 35,000/30,000 to around 10,000/8,000 before the present. |last2=Rackham |first2=O. |last3=Suano |first3=M. |orig-year=2008}}</ref><ref>Compare: {{cite book |last1=Barbier |first1=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlveCgAAQBAJ |title=Nature and Wealth: Overcoming Environmental Scarcity and Inequality |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1137403391 |chapter=The Origins of Economic Wealth |quote=Even before domestication of plants and animals occurred, long-distance trading networks were prominent among some hunter-gathering societies, such as the Natufians and other sedentary populations who inhabited the Eastern Mediterranean around 12,000–10,000 BC. |access-date=7 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205061931/https://books.google.com/books?id=GlveCgAAQBAJ |archive-date=5 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | editor-first=Vilhjalmur | editor-last=Stefansson | editor2-first=Olive Rathbun | editor2-last=Wilcox | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HdJrngEACAAJ&q=%C2%A0ISBN%C2%A01-4179-9090-2 | access-date=2020-01-23 | title=Great Adventures and Explorations: From the Earliest Times to the Present As Told by the Explorers Themselves | publisher=Literary Licensing | year=2013 | isbn=978-1258868482 }}</ref><ref>National Maritime Historical Society. [https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=ancient+mediterranean+obsidian+trading+30%2C000+BC&btnG= ''Sea History'', Issues 13–25]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915115458/https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=ancient+mediterranean+obsidian+trading+30%2C000+BC&btnG=|date=2018-09-15}}, published by National Maritime Historical Society 1979. Retrieved 2012-06-26.</ref>{{qn|date=September 2019}}

[[File:Caduceus.svg|left|thumb|upright=0.45|The [[caduceus]], traditionally associated with [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] (the Roman patron-god of merchants), continues in use as a symbol of commerce.<ref>Hans Biedermann, James Hulbert (trans.), ''Dictionary of Symbolism  Cultural Icons and the Meanings behind Them'', p. 54.</ref>]][[File:Attic red-figure Pottery in the Eremitage Sankt Petersburg.jpg|thumb| [[Etruscan art|Ancient Etruscan]] "[[aryballoi]]" terracota vessels unearthed in the 1860s at Bolshaya Bliznitsa tumulus near [[Phanagoria]], [[Southern Russia|South Russia]] (formerly part of the [[Bosporan Kingdom]] of [[Cimmerian Bosporus]], present-day [[Taman Peninsula]]); on exhibit at the [[Hermitage Museum]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]]]
There is evidence of the exchange of [[obsidian]] and [[flint]] during the [[Stone Age]]. Trade in obsidian is believed to have taken place in [[New Guinea]] from 17,000 BCE.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gary George|last= Lowder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcESAQAAIAAJ |title=Studies in volcanic petrology: I. Talasea, New Guinea. II. Southwest Utah|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205061518/https://books.google.com/books?id=LcESAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=2021-02-05|publisher= University of California|date= 1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Darvill
 | first1 = Timothy
 | author-link1 = Timothy Darvill
 | chapter = obsidian
 | title = Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gzEclkBq0u0C
 | series = Oxford Quick Reference
 | edition = 2
 | location = Oxford
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | date = 2008
 | isbn = 978-0191579042
 | access-date = 7 September 2019
 | quote = [...] obsidian from [[Talasea]] was traded from at least 17 000 BC.
 | archive-date = 5 February 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210205062256/https://books.google.com/books?id=gzEclkBq0u0C
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref><!-- Is the quote below necessary? -->

{{quote |The earliest use of obsidian in the Near East dates to the Lower and Middle paleolithic.<ref>[[Prince Mikasa|HIH Prince Mikasa no Miya Takahito]] –  [https://books.google.com/books?id=EtiKgdv7C3IC&dq=obsidian+trade&pg=PA141 ''Essays on Anatolian Archaeology''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905185831/https://books.google.com/books?id=EtiKgdv7C3IC&pg=PA141&dq=obsidian+trade&hl=en&sa=X&ei=h9vcT6bWCcGH8gOlvKCOCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=obsidian%20trade&f=false |date=2015-09-05 }} Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1993 Retrieved 2012-06-16</ref>|  [[Takahito, Prince Mikasa|HIH Prince Mikasa no Miya Takahito]]  }}
[[Robert Carr Bosanquet]] investigated trade in the Stone Age by excavations in 1901.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LDs6AQAAIAAJ |title=The Athenaeum |publisher=J. Francis |year=1904 |editor=Rendall |editor-first=Vernon Horace |access-date=2016-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111030725/https://books.google.com/books?id=LDs6AQAAIAAJ |archive-date=2020-01-11 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Donald A. Mackenzie. [[iarchive:in.gov.ignca.2457/page/n360|<!-- pg=252 quote=Mr Bosanquet Obsidian. --> Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe]] – [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/moc/moc19.htm published 1917]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411124523/https://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/moc/moc19.htm|date=2021-04-11}} – {{ISBN|1-60506-375-4}}. Retrieved 2012-06-09.</ref> The first clear archaeological evidence of trade in manufactured goods is found in south west Asia.<ref>{{citation |author=Smith |first=R. L. |title=Premodern Trade in World History |date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ewjeoio1U-QC&q=Obsidian+trade&pg=PA20 |access-date=2012-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205191139/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ewjeoio1U-QC&q=Obsidian+trade&pg=PA20 |archive-date=2021-02-05 |url-status=live |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-42476-9}}</ref><ref>P. Singh. [https://books.google.com/books?id=k7RLTPocdhIC&q=obsidian+trade Neolithic cultures of western Asia], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905184028/https://books.google.com/books?id=k7RLTPocdhIC&q=obsidian+trade&dq=obsidian+trade&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gv_pT6D1NYTK0QXtrJSqAQ&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBTgK|date=2015-09-05}}, Seminar Press, 20 August 1974.</ref>

Archaeological evidence of obsidian use provides data on how this material was increasingly the preferred choice rather than [[chert]] from the late Mesolithic to Neolithic, requiring exchange as deposits of obsidian are rare in the Mediterranean region.<ref name="John Robb"/><ref>P. Goldberg, V. T. Holliday, C. Reid Ferring. [https://books.google.com/books?id=eNI0yIPzeV8C&dq=ancient+mediterranean+obsidian+trading+Mesolithic&pg=PA450 Earth Sciences and Archaeology]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205062227/https://books.google.com/books?id=eNI0yIPzeV8C&pg=PA450&dq=ancient+mediterranean+obsidian+trading+Mesolithic&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8VfsT5CpJYXB0gWChqH6DA&ved=0CFIQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=ancient%20mediterranean%20obsidian%20trading%20Mesolithic&f=false|date=2021-02-05}}. Springer, 2001, {{ISBN|0-306-46279-6}}. Retrieved 2012-06-28.</ref><ref>S. L. Dyson, R. J. Rowland. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fw4XuEbKnQwC&dq=obsidian+rare+Sardinia&pg=PA24 Archaeology And History In Sardinia From The Stone Age To The Middle Ages: Shepherds, Sailors, & Conquerors]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905194400/https://books.google.com/books?id=fw4XuEbKnQwC&pg=PA24&dq=obsidian+rare+Sardinia&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BVrsT_G2OKr80QWj2u35DA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=obsidian%20rare%20Sardinia&f=false|date=2015-09-05}}. University of Pennsylvania – Museum of Archaeology, 2007, {{ISBN|1-934536-02-4}}. Retrieved 2012-06-28.</ref>

Obsidian provided the material to make cutting utensils or tools, although since other more easily obtainable materials were available, use was exclusive to the higher status of the tribe using "the rich man's flint".<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Smith
 | first1 = Richard L.
 | title = Premodern Trade in World History
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WBB9AgAAQBAJ
 | series = Themes in World History
 | publisher = Routledge
 | date = 2008
 | page = 19
 | isbn = 978-1134095803
 | access-date = 7 September 2019
 | quote = [...] modern observers have sometimes referred to obsidian as 'rich man's flint.'
 | archive-date = 22 May 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200522142440/https://books.google.com/books?id=WBB9AgAAQBAJ
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> Obsidian has held its value relative to flint.

Early traders traded Obsidian at distances of 900 kilometres within the Mediterranean region.<ref>{{cite journal | year = 1995 | title =  Obsidian in the Mediterranean and the Near East: A Provenancing Success Story| journal = Archaeometry | volume = 37 | issue = 2| pages = 217–48 | doi = 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1995.tb00740.x | last1 =  Williams-Thorpe| first1 =  O.| bibcode = 1995Archa..37..217W}}</ref>

Trade in the Mediterranean during the Neolithic of Europe was greatest in this material.<ref name="John Robb">{{citation |author=Robb |first=J. |title=The Early Mediterranean Village: Agency, Material Culture, and Social Change in Neolithic Italy |date=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HeNr9h56uEC&q=Obsidian+trade&pg=PA192 |access-date=2012-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205191143/https://books.google.com/books?id=0HeNr9h56uEC&q=Obsidian+trade&pg=PA192 |archive-date=2021-02-05 |url-status=live |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-84241-9}}.</ref><ref>[[Douglas Harper]]. [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=obsidian&searchmode=none etymology online]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702135106/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=obsidian&searchmode=none|date=2017-07-02}}. Retrieved 2012-06-09.</ref> Networks were in existence at around 12,000 BCE<ref name="Andrea">{{citation |author=A. J. Andrea |title=World History Encyclopedia, Volume 2 |date=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LEqaIGsT8SsC&q=Obsidian+trade&pg=PA250 |access-date=2012-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205061932/https://books.google.com/books?id=LEqaIGsT8SsC&q=Obsidian+trade&pg=PA250 |archive-date=2021-02-05 |url-status=live |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-930-6}}.</ref> Anatolia was the source primarily for trade with the Levant, Iran and Egypt according to Zarins study of 1990.<ref>T. A. H. Wilkinson. [https://www.amazon.in/Early-Dynastic-Egypt-Toby-Wilkinson/dp/0415260116 Early Dynastic Egypt: Strategies, Society and Security]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408170918/https://www.amazon.in/Early-Dynastic-Egypt-Toby-Wilkinson/dp/0415260116|date=2022-04-08}}.</ref><ref>(secondary) [https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:acg1cm48mxgJ:members.peak.org/~obsidian/iaos_bulletin_47.pdf+&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShIssrzLSZAQFAOh75-RrGy3wg6wNqo9ntCUsyJRi-i-xrnGfH0qXyI7BX79sPElP2eIG9xqfmYVmWcu7maromIGVzNfV7fQWb-814pF_vNUN58lx8iH7suXw9vORtbdjIVGF4N&sig=AHIEtbTV_EDsivnNauYErE3qYl_ITULeXA&pli=1]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523171225/https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache%3Aacg1cm48mxgJ%3Amembers.peak.org%2F~obsidian%2Fiaos_bulletin_47.pdf+&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShIssrzLSZAQFAOh75-RrGy3wg6wNqo9ntCUsyJRi-i-xrnGfH0qXyI7BX79sPElP2eIG9xqfmYVmWcu7maromIGVzNfV7fQWb-814pF_vNUN58lx8iH7suXw9vORtbdjIVGF4N&sig=AHIEtbTV_EDsivnNauYErE3qYl_ITULeXA&pli=1|date=2022-05-23}} + [[iarchive:emergenceofcivil0000unse/page/441|<!-- quote=obsidian trade. -->]] + [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vzs8bFFnVeoC&dq=earliest+obsidian+trading&pg=PA305]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905215239/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vzs8bFFnVeoC&pg=PA305&dq=earliest+obsidian+trading&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xrLTT5XKLLOY1AWIlLWSBA&ved=0CEsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=earliest%20obsidian%20trading&f=false|date=2015-09-05}} + [https://books.google.com/books?id=TzrNgAsJY1MC&dq=Archaeology+Colin+Renfrew+Obsidian&pg=PA19]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905215724/https://books.google.com/books?id=TzrNgAsJY1MC&pg=PA19&dq=Archaeology+Colin+Renfrew+Obsidian&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fpXTT6-vAcis0QXgwcmNBA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Archaeology%20Colin%20Renfrew%20Obsidian&f=false|date=2015-09-05}} + [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEqJxH6Oo1gC&dq=obsidian+trade&pg=PA168]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905193221/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEqJxH6Oo1gC&pg=PA168&dq=obsidian+trade&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=6obTT9_2Lqml0AWm2ZC7BA&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCDgy#v=onepage&q=obsidian%20trade&f=false|date=2015-09-05}}.</ref><ref name="Pliny the Elder">{{citation |author=(was secondary) [[Pliny the Elder]] (translated by [[John Bostock (physician)|J Bostock]], [[Henry Thomas Riley|H T Riley]]) |title=The natural history of Pliny |volume=6 |year=1857 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEoMAAAAIAAJ&q=Obsius&pg=PA381 |access-date=2012-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205061515/https://books.google.com/books?id=IEoMAAAAIAAJ&q=Obsius&pg=PA381 |archive-date=2021-02-05 |url-status=live |publisher=H. G. Bohn |isbn=978-1-85109-930-6}}</ref> [[Melos]] and [[Lipari]] sources produced among the most widespread trading in the Mediterranean region as known to archaeology.<ref name="E Blake, A B Knapp">{{citation |last1=Blake |first1=Emma |title=The Archaeology Of Mediterranean Prehistory |date=2008-04-15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F15vfrJq8LUC&q=ancient+mediterranean+obsidian+trading&pg=PA35 |access-date=2012-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205061516/https://books.google.com/books?id=F15vfrJq8LUC&q=ancient+mediterranean+obsidian+trading&pg=PA35 |archive-date=2021-02-05 |url-status=live |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, 21 February 2005 |isbn=978-0-631-23268-1 |last2=Knapp |first2=A. Bernard}}.</ref>

The [[Sar-i Sang|Sari-i-Sang]] mine in the mountains of Afghanistan was the largest source for trade of [[lapis lazuli]].<ref>Toby A. H. Wilkinson. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AR1ZZO6niVIC&dq=anatolian+obsidian&pg=PA164 Early Dynastic Egypt: Strategies, Society and Security]. Routledge, 8 August 2001. Retrieved 2012-07-03.{{Dead link|date=December 2016}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Dominique | last=Collon | author-link=Dominique Collon | title=Near Eastern Seals | publisher=University of California Press | year=1990 | page=33 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xt8fydZIT4IC&pg=PA33 | isbn=0-520-07308-8 | access-date=2012-07-03 | archive-date=2022-08-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807160419/https://books.google.com/books?id=xt8fydZIT4IC&pg=PA33 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The material was most largely traded during the [[Kassites|Kassite period]] of Babylonia beginning 1595 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vermaak |first=P. S. |title=The Babylonian world |date=2009 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134261284 |editor-last=Leick |editor-first=Gwendolyn |editor-link=Gwendolyn Leick |page=520 |chapter=Relations between Babylonia and the Levant during the Kassite period |access-date=2015-06-27 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=akYorRIWPBEC&pg=PA520 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905184557/https://books.google.com/books?id=akYorRIWPBEC&pg=PA520&dq=lapis+lazuli+trade&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HD3zT66gG8eP8gOYuZi_CQ&redir_esc=y |archive-date=2015-09-05 |url-status=dead}} Routledge 2007. Retrieved 2012-07-03. {{ISBN|1-134-26128-4}}.</ref><ref>S. Bertman. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PT104 Handbook To Life In Ancient Mesopotamia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905185754/https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PT104|date=2015-09-05}} Oxford University Press, 2005. Retrieved 2012-07-03. {{ISBN|0-19-518364-9}}.</ref>

Adam Smith traces the origins of commerce to the very start of [[Financial transaction|transactions]] in [[prehistoric]] times. Apart from traditional [[self-sufficiency]], trading became a principal [[cognitive skill|faculty]] for prehistoric people, who [[barter]]ed what they had for goods and services from each other. Anthropologists have found no evidence of barter systems that did not exist alongside systems of credit.

===Ancient history===

====Mediterranean and Near East====
The [[History of writing | earliest evidence of writing]] is deeply bound up with trade, as [[History of ancient numeral systems#Clay tokens|a system of clay tokens]] used for accounting – found in the Upper Euphrates valley in Syria dated to the 10th millennium BCE – is one of the earliest surviving versions of writing. 

[[Ebla]] was a prominent trading-center during the third millennium BCE, with a network reaching into Anatolia and north Mesopotamia.<ref name="E Blake, A B Knapp" /><ref name="Laura S. Etheredge">{{citation |title= Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan |date= 2011 |page= 44 |editor-last= Etheredge |editor-first= Laura S. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rLZQrmRQafcC&pg=PA44 |access-date= 2012-06-15 |publisher= The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn= 978-1-61530-329-8}}.</ref><ref name="Dumper & Stanley">{{citation |last1= Dumper |first1= M. |title= Cities of The Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia |year= 2007 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=Ebla+trade&pg=PA141 |access-date= 2012-06-28 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210205065648/https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=Ebla+trade&pg=PA141 |archive-date= 2021-02-05 |url-status= live |publisher= ABC-CLIO |isbn= 978-1-57607-919-5 |last2= Stanley |first2= B. E.}}.</ref><ref>[[Bamber Gascoigne]] et al. HistoryWorld.net.</ref>

[[File:Silk route copy.jpg|thumb|A map of the [[Silk Road]] trade route between Europe and Asia]]

Materials used for making [[jewelry]] were traded with Egypt from 3000 BCE.{{cn|date=July 2025}} Long-range [[trade route]]s first appeared in the 3rd millennium BCE, when [[Sumer]]ians in [[Mesopotamia]] traded with the [[Harappan civilization]] of the [[Indus River|Indus Valley]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= McIntosh |first= Jane R. |title=  ancient Indus valley: new perspectives |date= 2008 |publisher= ABC-CLIO |isbn= 978-1-57607-907-2 |series= ABC-CLIO's understanding ancient civilizations |location= Santa Barbara, California |pages= 190–191}}</ref> The [[Phoenicians]] were noted maritime traders, traveling across the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and as far north as [[Prehistoric Britain|Britain]] for sources of [[tin]] to manufacture [[bronze]]. For this purpose they established trading [[colony | colonies]] {{--}} which the Greeks called [[Emporia (ancient Greece)|emporia]].<ref name="archa">{{cite journal |author =Dikov |first =Ivan |date =July 12, 2015 |title =Bulgarian Archaeologists To Start Excavations of Ancient Greek Emporium in Thracians' the Odrysian Kingdom |url =http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2015/07/12/bulgarian-archaeologists-to-start-excavations-of-ancient-greek-emporium-in-thracians-odrysian-kingdom/ |url-status =dead |journal =Archaeology in Bulgaria |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150712235249/http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/2015/07/12/bulgarian-archaeologists-to-start-excavations-of-ancient-greek-emporium-in-thracians-odrysian-kingdom/ |archive-date =12 July 2015 |access-date =28 October 2010 |quote =An emporium (in Latin; 'emporion' in Greek) was a settlement reserved as a trading post, usually for the Ancient Greeks, on the territory of another ancient nation, in this case, the Ancient Thracian Odrysian Kingdom (5th century BC – 1st century AD), the most powerful Thracian state.}}</ref> Along the coasts of the Mediterranean, researchers have found a positive relationship between how well-connected a coastal location was and the local prevalence of archaeological sites from the Iron Age. This suggests that a location's trade potential was an important determinant of human settlements.<ref>Jan David Bakker, Stephan Maurer, Jörn-Steffen Pischke and Ferdinand Rauch. 2021. "[[doi:10.1162/rest a 00902|Of Mice and Merchants: Connectedness and the Location of Economic Activity in the Iron Age.]]" ''Review of Economics and Statistics,'' 103 (4): 652–665.</ref>

The [[complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir]], dated 1750 BCE, documents the tribulations of a copper merchant at the time.

From the beginning of Greek [[civilization]] until the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] in the 5th century CE, a financially lucrative trade brought valuable [[spice]] to Europe from the far east, including India and China. [[Roman commerce]] allowed its empire to flourish and endure, notable by importing grain to Italy from Sicily<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Prag
 |first1               = Jonathan
 |editor-last1         = Hoyos
 |editor-first1        = Dexter
 |date                 = 9 November 2012
 |chapter              = Sicily and Sardinia-Corsica: The First Provinces
 |title                = A Companion to Roman Imperialism
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=UTsyAQAAQBAJ
 |series               = History of Warfare, volume 81
 |publication-place    = Leiden
 |publisher            = Brill
 |page                 = 54
 |isbn                 = 9789004236462
 |access-date          = 9 July 2025
 |quote                = Livy and others claim that the Romans sought out grain from Sicily from the very beginnings of the Republic. While the details may be questioned, there is little reason to doubt that the Romans were aware of Sicily as a potential source of grain (and other things) from well before 264.
}}
</ref>
and from Egypt.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Atkin
 |first1               = Michael
 |date                 = 31 May 1995
 |orig-date            = 1992
 |chapter              = A brief history of the grain trade
 |title                = The International Grain Trade
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=Mh_YuHaONo4C
 |series               = International Trade Series
 |edition              = 2
 |publication-place    = Abingdon, Cambridge
 |publisher            = Woodhead Publishing
 |pages                = 15–16
 |isbn                 = 9781855732025
 |access-date          = 9 July 2025
 |quote                = Egypt was Rome's principal supplier, accounting for about one third of the city's total needs. The balance of the grain came from other regions within the Mediterranean basin. [...] The ships used on the main route, from Alexandria to Rome, were 1,200 - 1,300 toms and posted an average speed of about three knots. [...] the sophistication of the grain trading system used to provision Rome was not equalled until the nineteenth century.
}}
</ref>
The latter Roman Republic and the [[Pax Romana]] of the Roman empire produced a stable and secure transportation-network that enabled the shipment of trade goods without fear of significant [[piracy]], as Rome had become the sole effective sea-power in the [[Mediterranean]] with the conquest of Egypt and the near east.<!--{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}--><ref>[[Pax Romana]] let average villagers throughout the Empire conduct day-to-day affairs without fear of armed attack.</ref>

In ancient Greece [[Hermes]] was the god of trade<ref>P. D. Curtin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=R4IiYFhliv4C&q=history+of+trade Cross-Cultural Trade in World History]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905215329/https://books.google.com/books?id=R4IiYFhliv4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=history+of+trade&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kNLoT47ZI9OwhAfUxoz0DA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20trade&f=false|date=2015-09-05}}. Cambridge University Press, 1984. {{ISBN|0-521-26931-8}}. Retrieved 2012-06-25.</ref><ref>N. O. Brown. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BzNfeQSXKfcC&dq=Hermes+god+of+trade&pg=PA36 Hermes the Thief: The Evolution of a Myth]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905184625/https://books.google.com/books?id=BzNfeQSXKfcC&pg=PA36&dq=Hermes+god+of+trade&hl=en&sa=X&ei=k9PoT4rqM4yA8gPotPClCg&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Hermes%20god%20of%20trade&f=false|date=2015-09-05}}. SteinerBooks, 1990. {{ISBN|0-940262-26-6}}. Retrieved 2012-06-25.</ref> (commerce) and weights and measures.<ref>D. Sacks, O. Murray. [https://books.google.com/books?id=KeEjUjSaDA0C&dq=god+Hermes&pg=PA110 A Dictionary of the Ancient Greek World]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905193758/https://books.google.com/books?id=KeEjUjSaDA0C&pg=PA110&dq=god+Hermes&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6_rpT-PSN6HU0QXZnJGqAQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=god%20Hermes&f=false|date=2015-09-05}}. Oxford University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-19-511206-7}}. Retrieved 2012-06-26.</ref> In ancient Rome, ''[[Mercury (mythology)|Mercurius]]'' was the god of merchants, whose festival was celebrated by traders on the 25th day of the fifth month.<ref>[[Alexander S. Murray]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfpYS1fV2R8C&dq=Hermes+god+of+trade&pg=PA127 Manual of Mythology]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905194008/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfpYS1fV2R8C&pg=PA127&dq=Hermes+god+of+trade&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ntToT7WRKITG8gOA0YTUCg&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAjgU#v=onepage&q=Hermes%20god%20of%20trade&f=false|date=2015-09-05}}. Wildside Press LLC, 2008. {{ISBN|1-4344-7028-8}}. Retrieved 2012-06-25.</ref><ref>John R. Rice. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6hl1wry0QrAC&dq=Hermes+god+of+trade&pg=PA323 Filled With the Spirit]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905192632/https://books.google.com/books?id=6hl1wry0QrAC&pg=PA323&dq=Hermes+god+of+trade&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yNXoT5v4HcfS8gOM7OzVCg&ved=0CD0Q6AEwATgy#v=onepage&q=Hermes%20god%20of%20trade&f=false|date=2015-09-05}}. Sword of the Lord Publishers, 2000. {{ISBN|0-87398-255-X}}. Retrieved 2012-06-25.</ref> The concept of free trade was an antithesis to the will and economic direction of the sovereigns of the ancient Greek states. Free trade between states was stifled by the need for strict internal controls (via taxation) to maintain security within the treasury of the sovereign, which nevertheless enabled the maintenance of a ''[[Wikt:modicum |modicum]]'' of civility within the structures of functional community life.<ref>[[Johannes Hasebroek]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=743zWquWmesC&dq=ancient+treasury&pg=PA151 Trade and Politics in Ancient Greece]. {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905191144/https://books.google.com/books?id=743zWquWmesC&pg=PA151&dq=ancient+treasury&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hxX0T9H5MIXb8AOG8PG_Bw&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=ancient%20treasury&f=false |date=2015-09-05}}. Biblo & Tannen Publishers, 1933. Retrieved 2012-07-04. {{ISBN|0-8196-0150-0}}.</ref><ref>Cambridge dictionaries online.{{full citation needed|date=October 2023}}</ref>

The fall of the Roman empire and the succeeding [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]] brought instability to [[Western Europe]] and a near-collapse of the trade network in the western world. Trade, however, continued to flourish among the kingdoms of Africa, the Middle East, India, China, and Southeast Asia. Some trade did occur in the west. For instance, [[Radhanite]]s were a medieval guild or group (the precise meaning of the word is lost to history) of [[Jew]]ish merchants who traded between the [[Christians]] in Europe and the [[Muslim]]s of the Near East.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gil |first1=Moshe |author-link=Moshe Gil |title=The Rādhānite Merchants and the Land of Rādhān |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=17 |issue=3 |page=299}}</ref>

====Indo-Pacific====
{{Main|Maritime Jade Road|Maritime Silk Road}}
[[File:Austronesian maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean.png|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] [[Spice trade|proto-historic]] and [[Maritime Silk Road|historic]] maritime trade network in the [[Indian Ocean]]<ref name="Manguin2016">{{cite book|first1 =Pierre-Yves|last1 =Manguin|editor1-first =Gwyn|editor1-last =Campbell|title =Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World|chapter =Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats to Trading Ships|publisher =Palgrave Macmillan|year =2016|pages =51–76|isbn =9783319338224|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA50|access-date =2020-10-29|archive-date =2020-07-26|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20200726132202/https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvDDQAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA50|url-status =live}}</ref>]]

The first true maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean was by the [[Austronesian peoples]] of [[Island Southeast Asia]].<ref name="Manguin2016"/> Initiated by the indigenous peoples of [[Taiwan]] and the [[Philippines]], the [[Maritime Jade Road]] was an extensive trading network connecting multiple areas in Southeast and East Asia. Its primary products were made of jade mined from Taiwan by [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples]] and processed mostly in the Philippines by indigenous Filipinos, especially in [[Batanes]], [[Luzon]], and [[Palawan]]. Some were also processed in [[Vietnam]], while the peoples of [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], [[Singapore]], [[Thailand]], [[Indonesia]], and [[Cambodia]] also participated in the massive trading network. The maritime road is one of the most extensive sea-based trade networks of a single geological material in the prehistoric world. It was in existence for at least 3,000 years, where its peak production was from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, older than the [[Silk Road]] in mainland Eurasia and the later [[Maritime Silk Road]]. The Maritime Jade Road began to wane during its final centuries from 500 CE until 1000 CE. The entire period of the network was a golden age for the diverse societies of the region.<ref>Tsang, Cheng-hwa (2000), "Recent advances in the Iron Age archaeology of Taiwan", Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, 20: 153–158, {{doi|10.7152/bippa.v20i0.11751}}.</ref><ref>Turton, M. (2021). Notes from central Taiwan: Our brother to the south. Taiwan's relations with the Philippines date back millennia, so it's a mystery that it's not the jewel in the crown of the New Southbound Policy. Taiwan Times.</ref><ref>Everington, K. (2017). Birthplace of Austronesians is Taiwan, capital was Taitung: Scholar. Taiwan News.</ref><ref>Bellwood, P., H. Hung, H., Lizuka, Y. (2011). "Taiwan Jade in the Philippines: 3,000 Years of Trade and Long-distance Interaction". Semantic Scholar.</ref>

Sea-faring Southeast Asians also established trade routes with [[Southern India]] and [[Sri Lanka]] as early as 1500 BC, ushering an exchange of material culture (like [[catamaran]]s, [[outrigger boat]]s, sewn-plank boats, and paan) and [[cultigen]]s (like [[coconut]]s, [[sandalwood]], [[banana]]s, and [[sugarcane]]); as well as connecting the material cultures of India and China. [[Ethnic groups in Indonesia|Indonesians]], in particular were trading in spices (mainly [[cinnamon]] and [[Cassia bark|cassia]]) with [[East Africa]] using [[catamaran]] and [[outrigger boat]]s and sailing with the help of the [[Westerlies]] in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded to reach as far as Africa and the [[Arabian Peninsula]], resulting in the Austronesian colonization of [[Madagascar]] by the first half of the first millennium AD. It continued up to historic times, later becoming the Maritime Silk Road.<ref name="Manguin2016"/><ref name="Doran1974">{{cite journal |last1=Doran | first1=Edwin Jr. |title=Outrigger Ages |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |date=1974 |volume=83 |issue=2 |pages=130–140 |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_83_1974/Volume_83%2C_No._2/Outrigger_ages%2C_by_Edwin_Doran_Jnr.%2C_p_130-140/p1 |access-date=2019-07-14 |archive-date=2019-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608182436/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_83_1974/Volume_83,_No._2/Outrigger_ages,_by_Edwin_Doran_Jnr.,_p_130-140/p1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mahdi1999">{{cite book|author=Mahdi, Waruno|editor =Blench, Roger |editor2=Spriggs, Matthew|title =Archaeology and Language III: Artefacts languages, and texts|chapter =The Dispersal of Austronesian boat forms in the Indian Ocean|volume = 34|publisher =Routledge|series =One World Archaeology |year =1999|pages=144–179|isbn =0415100542}}</ref><ref name="Doran1981">{{cite book |last1=Doran |first1=Edwin B. |title=Wangka: Austronesian Canoe Origins |date=1981 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-0890961070}}</ref><ref name="BlenchFruits">{{cite journal |last1=Blench |first1=Roger |title=Fruits and arboriculture in the Indo-Pacific region |journal=Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association |date=2004 |volume=24 |issue=The Taipei Papers (Volume 2) |pages=31–50 |url=https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/11869/10496 |access-date=2019-07-14 |archive-date=2021-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308161216/https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/11869/10496 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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====The Orient====
Archaeological evidence (Greenberg 1951) of the first use of trade-marks are from China dated about 2700 BCE.<ref>AS Greenberg – J. Pat. Off. Soc'y, 1951 – HeinOnline</ref>-->

==== Mesoamerica ====
[[File:Dinero azada de Mexico (siglos XIV-XV).jpg|thumb|''Tajadero'' or [[axe-monies|axe money]] used as currency in [[Mesoamerica]]. It had a fixed worth of 8,000 [[Theobroma cacao|cacao]] seeds, which were also used as currency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aztec Hoe Money |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_835166 |website=National Museum of American History |access-date=6 October 2018 |archive-date=6 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006235607/http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_835166 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

The emergence of exchange networks in the Pre-Columbian societies of and near to Mexico are known to have occurred within recent years before and after 1500 BCE.<ref>K. G. Hirth. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/279629 American Antiquity Vol. 43, No. 1 (Jan., 1978), pp. 35–45]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005113314/http://www.jstor.org/stable/279629|date=2016-10-05}}. Retrieved 2012-06-28.</ref>

Trade networks reached north to [[Oasisamerica]]. There is evidence of established maritime trade with the cultures of northwestern South America and the Caribbean.

=== Middle Ages ===
During the [[Middle Ages]], commerce developed in Europe by trading [[luxury goods]] at trade fairs. Wealth became converted into movable wealth or [[Capital (economics)|capital]]. Banking systems developed where money on account was transferred across national boundaries. Hand-to-hand markets became a feature of town life and were regulated by town authorities.

Western Europe established a complex and expansive trade network with cargo ships being the main carrier of goods; [[Cog (ship)| cogs]] and [[Hulk (medieval ship type)| hulks]] are two examples of such cargo ships.<ref>{{Cite book |last =McGrail |first =Sean |title =Boats of the World : From the Stone Age to Medieval Times |publisher =Oxford University Press |year =2001 |location =Oxford, England}}</ref> Many ports would develop their own extensive trade networks. The English port city of [[Bristol]] traded with peoples from Iceland, all along the western coast of France, and south to present-day Spain.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Medieval England |last=Poole |first=Austin Lane |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1958 |location=Oxford}}</ref>[[File:Late Medieval Trade Routes.jpg|thumb|upright=2.05|A map showing the main [[trade route]]s for goods within [[Late Middle Ages|late-medieval Europe]]]]

During the Middle Ages, Central Asia was the economic center of the world.<ref name="Beckwith2011_xxiv">[[#Beckwith2011|Beckwith (2011)]], p.&nbsp;xxiv.</ref> The [[Sogdiana|Sogdians]] dominated the east–west trade-route known as the [[Silk Road]] from after the 4th century CE until the 8th century CE, with [[Suyab]] and [[Taraz|Talas]] ranking among their main centers in the north. Sogdians functioned as the main [[caravan (travelers)|caravan]] merchants of Central Asia.

From the Middle Ages, the [[maritime republics]], in particular [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], [[Republic of Pisa|Pisa]] and [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], played a key role in trade in the Mediterranean. From the 11th to the late-15th centuries, the [[Venetian Republic]] and the [[Republic of Genoa]] were major trade-centers. They dominated trade in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, maintaining a trading monopoly between Europe and the Near East for centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italian Trade Cities {{!}} Western Civilization |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-herkimer-westerncivilization/chapter/italian-trade-cities/#:~:text=The%20main%20trade%20routes%20from,and%20then%20resold%20throughout%20Europe. |access-date=2021-11-02 |website=courses.lumenlearning.com|archive-date=2021-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102035722/https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-herkimer-westerncivilization/chapter/italian-trade-cities/#:~:text=The%20main%20trade%20routes%20from,and%20then%20resold%20throughout%20Europe. |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Genoa, Rival to Venice |url=https://www.odysseytraveller.com/articles/history-of-genoa-rival-to-venice/ |access-date=2021-11-02 |website=Odyssey Traveller |language=en|archive-date=2021-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102035723/https://www.odysseytraveller.com/articles/history-of-genoa-rival-to-venice/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

From the 8th to the 11th centuries, the [[Viking]]s and [[Varangians]] traded as they sailed from and to Scandinavia. Vikings sailed to Western Europe, while [[Route from the Varangians to the Greeks | Varangians travelled]] to [[Kievan Rus'|Kyivan Rus']] and to the Black and Caspian Seas. The [[Hanseatic League]], an alliance of trading cities, maintained a trade [[monopoly]] over most of [[Northern Europe]] and the [[Baltic region|Baltic]] between the 13th and 17th centuries.

===The Age of Sail and the Industrial Revolution===
Portuguese explorer [[Vasco da Gama]] pioneered the European [[spice trade]] in 1498 when he reached [[History of Kozhikode|Calicut]] after sailing around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] at the southern tip of the African continent. Prior to this, the flow of spice into Europe from India was controlled by Islamic powers, especially Egypt. The spice trade was of major economic importance and helped spur the [[Age of Discovery]] in Europe. Spices brought to Europe from the Eastern world were some of the most valuable commodities for their weight, sometimes rivaling [[gold]].

From 1070 onward, kingdoms in West [[Africa]] became [[Economic history of Africa|significant members of global trade]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |author=Green |first=Toby |title=A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution |date=2019 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226644578 |location=Chicago, Illinois |oclc=1051687994}}</ref> This came initially through the movement of gold and other resources sent out by [[Muslims|Muslim]] traders on the [[Trans-Saharan trade|Trans-Saharan trading]] network.<ref name=":0" /> Beginning in the 16th century, European merchants would purchase gold, spices, cloth, timber and [[Atlantic slave trade|slaves]] from West African states as part of the [[triangular trade]].<ref name=":0" /> This was often in exchange for [[cloth]], [[iron]], or [[cowrie shells]] which were used locally as currency.<ref name=":0" />

Founded in 1352, the [[Bengal Sultanate]] was a major [[trading nation]] in the world and often referred to by Europeans as the wealthiest country with which to trade.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nanda |first1=J. N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HsV3cYAvGEEC&pg=PA10 |title=Bengal: the unique state |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=2005 |isbn=978-81-8069-149-2 |page=10 |quote=Bengal [...] was rich in the production and export of grain, salt, fruit, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments besides the output of its handlooms in silk and cotton. Europe referred to Bengal as the richest country to trade with.}}</ref>

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese gained an economic advantage in the [[Kingdom of Kongo]] due to different philosophies of trade.<ref name=":0" /> Whereas Portuguese traders concentrated on the accumulation of capital, in Kongo spiritual meaning was attached to many objects of trade. According to economic historian [[Toby Green]], in Kongo "giving more than receiving was a symbol of spiritual and political power and privilege."<ref name=":0" />

In the 16th century, the [[Seventeen Provinces]] were the center of free trade, imposing no [[exchange control]]s, and advocating the free movement of goods. Trade in the [[East Indies]] was dominated by Portugal in the 16th century, the [[Dutch Republic]] in the 17th century, and the [[United Kingdom|British]] in the 18th century. The [[Spanish Empire]] developed regular trade links across both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

[[File:Wojciech Gerson - Gdańsk in the XVII century.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Danzig]] in the 17th century, a port of the [[Hanseatic League]]]]

In 1776, [[Adam Smith]] published the paper ''[[An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations]]''. It criticized [[Mercantilism]], and argued that [[economic]] specialization could benefit nations just as much as firms. Since the [[division of labour]] was restricted by the size of the market, he said that countries having access to larger markets would be able to divide labour more efficiently and thereby become more [[productive]]. Smith said that he considered all rationalizations of [[International trade|import]] and [[export]] controls "dupery", which hurt the trading nation as a whole for the benefit of specific industries.

In 1799, the [[Dutch East India Company]], formerly the world's largest company, became [[bankrupt]], partly due to the rise of competitive free trade.
[[File:Berber Trade with Timbuktu 1300s.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Berber people|Berber]] trade with [[Timbuktu]], 1853]]

=== 19th century ===
In 1817, [[David Ricardo]], [[James Mill]] and [[Robert Torrens (economist)|Robert Torrens]] showed that free trade would benefit the industrially weak as well as the strong, in the famous theory of [[comparative advantage]]. In [[Principles of Political Economy and Taxation]] Ricardo advanced the doctrine still considered the most counterintuitive in [[economics]]:
: ''When an inefficient producer sends the merchandise it produces best to a country able to produce it more efficiently, both countries benefit.''

The ascendancy of free trade was primarily based on national advantage in the mid 19th century. That is, the calculation made was whether it was in any particular country's self-interest to open its borders to imports.

[[John Stuart Mill]] proved that a country with monopoly [[pricing power]] on the international market could manipulate the [[terms of trade]] through maintaining [[tariff]]s, and that the response to this might be [[Reciprocity (international relations)|reciprocity]] in trade policy. Ricardo and others had suggested this earlier. This was taken as evidence against the universal doctrine of free trade, as it was believed that more of the [[economic surplus]] of trade would accrue to a country following ''reciprocal'', rather than completely free, trade policies. This was followed within a few years by the [[infant industry]] scenario developed by Mill promoting the theory that the government had the duty to [[protectionism|protect]] young industries, although only for a time necessary for them to develop full capacity. This became the policy in many countries attempting to [[industrialize]] and out-compete English exporters. [[Milton Friedman]] later continued this vein of thought, showing that in a few circumstances tariffs might be beneficial to the host country; but never for the world at large.<ref>{{cite book|publisher =Transaction Publishers|date= 1970|title=Price Theory |first= Milton |last=Friedman|isbn = 9780202309699}}</ref>

===20th century===
The [[Great Depression]] was a major economic recession that ran from 1929 to the late 1930s. During this period, there was a great drop in trade and other economic indicators.

The lack of free trade was considered by many as a principal cause of the depression causing stagnation and inflation.<ref>(secondary) [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] – [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/ history]. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/].</ref> Only during [[World War II]] did the recession end in the United States. Also during the war, in 1944, 44 countries signed the [[Bretton Woods Agreement]], intended to prevent national trade barriers, to avoid depressions. It set up rules and institutions to regulate the [[international political economy]]: the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (later divided into the World Bank $ Bank for International Settlements). These organizations became operational in 1946 after enough countries ratified the agreement. In 1947, 23 countries agreed to the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] to promote free trade.<ref>(secondary) M. Smith. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Lf2VQgAACAAJ&q=China+Hidden+Cloak+and+Dagger+History+of+MI5 V. Gollancz, 1996]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905185525/https://books.google.com/books?id=Lf2VQgAACAAJ&dq=China+Hidden+Cloak+and+Dagger+History+of+MI5&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Z6DsT-yYE8LO8QOSkqXCBQ&redir_esc=y|date=2015-09-05}}. {{ISBN|0-575-06150-2}}.</ref>

The [[European Union]] became the world's largest exporter of manufactured goods and services, the biggest export market for around 80 countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=EU position in world trade|url=http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/eu-position-in-world-trade/|publisher=European Commission|access-date=7 March 2016|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305234014/http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/eu-position-in-world-trade/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===21st century===
{{See also|Globalization}}

Today, trade is merely a subset within a complex system of [[Corporation|companies]] which try to maximize their profits by offering [[Product (business)|products]] and [[Service (economics)|services]] to the [[Market (economics)|market]] (which consists both of individuals and other companies) at the lowest [[production cost]]. A system of [[international trade]] has helped to develop the world economy but, in combination with bilateral or multilateral agreements to lower [[tariff]]s or to achieve [[free trade]], has sometimes harmed [[Third World|third-world markets]] for local products.

===Free trade===
{{main|Free trade}}

Free trade is a policy by which a government does not discriminate against imports or exports by applying tariffs or subsidies. This policy is also known as laissez-faire policy. This kind of policy does not necessarily imply a country will then abandon all control and taxation of imports and exports.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/free-trade-zone | title=Free-trade zone &#124; international trade &#124; Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | access-date=2022-12-01 | archive-date=2023-02-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216152423/https://www.britannica.com/topic/free-trade-zone | url-status=live }}</ref>

Free trade advanced further in the late 20th century and early 2000s:
* 1992 [[European Union]] lifted barriers to internal trade in [[good (economics)|goods]] and [[labour (economics)|labour]].
* January 1, 1994 the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) took effect.
* 1994 The GATT [[Marrakech Agreement]] specified formation of the WTO.
* January 1, 1995 [[World Trade Organization]] was created to facilitate [[free trade]], by mandating mutual [[most favored nation]] trading status between all signatories.
* EC was transformed into the European Union, which accomplished the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 2002, through introducing the Euro, and creating this way a real single market between 13 member states as of January 1, 2007.
* [[File:Accarias de Sérionne - Intérêts des nations de l'Europe, dévélopés relativement au commerce, 1766 - 5790093.tif|thumb|''Intérêts des nations de l'Europe, dévélopés relativement au commerce'' (1766)]]2005, the [[Central American Free Trade Agreement]] was signed; It includes the United States and the Dominican Republic.

== Perspectives ==

===Protectionism===
{{main|Protectionism}}
Protectionism is the policy of restraining and discouraging trade between states and contrasts with the policy of free trade. This policy often takes the form of [[tariff]]s and restrictive [[Import quota|quotas]]. Protectionist policies were particularly prevalent in the 1930s, between the [[Great Depression]] and the onset of World War II.

===Religion===
Islamic teachings encourage trading (and condemn [[usury]] or [[interest]]).<ref>[[#Nomani1994|Nomani & Rahnema (1994)]], p.&nbsp;?. "I want nine out of ten people from my Ummah (nation) as traders" and "Trader, who did trading in truth, and sold the right quantity and quality of goods, he will stand along with Prophets and Martyrs, on Judgment day".</ref><ref>{{qref|4|29|b=y}}: "O believers! Do not devour one another’s wealth illegally, but rather trade by mutual consent."<br> {{qref|2|275|b=y}}: "But Allah has permitted trading and forbidden interest."</ref>

[[Judeao-Christian]] teachings do not prohibit trade. They do prohibit fraud and dishonest measures. Historically they forbade charging interest on loans.<ref>
{{bibleref|Leviticus|19:13}}.</ref><ref>{{bibleref|Leviticus|19:35}}.</ref>

===Development of money===
{{Main|History of money}}
[[File:Maximinus denarius - transparent background.PNG|thumb|A [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[denarius]]]]

The first instances of money were objects with intrinsic value. This is called [[commodity money]] and includes any commonly available commodity that has intrinsic value; historical examples include pigs, rare seashells, whale's teeth, and (often) cattle. In medieval Iraq, bread was used as an early form of money. In the [[Aztec Empire]], under the rule of [[Moctezuma II|Montezuma]] cocoa beans became legitimate currency.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.foodrevolution.org/slavery_chocolate.htm |title=Is There Slavery In Your Chocolate? |access-date=November 24, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051128090830/http://www.foodrevolution.org/slavery_chocolate.htm |archive-date=November 28, 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Currency]] was introduced as standardised money to facilitate a wider exchange of goods and services. This first stage of currency, where metals were used to represent stored value, and symbols to represent commodities, formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years.

[[Numismatist]]s have examples of coins from the earliest large-scale societies, although these were initially unmarked lumps of [[precious metal]].<ref name="originsofmoney">Gold was an especially common form of early money, as described in [[#Davies2002|Davies (2002)]].</ref>

==Trends==

===Doha rounds===
{{Main|Doha round}}

The Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations aimed to lower [[trade barrier|barriers to trade]] around the world, with a focus on making [[fair trade|trade more fair]] for [[developing countries]]. Talks have been hung over a divide between the rich [[developed countries]], represented by the [[G20]], and the major developing countries. [[Agricultural subsidies]] are the most significant issue upon which agreement has been the hardest to negotiate. By contrast, there was much agreement on [[trade facilitation]] and capacity building. The Doha round began in [[Doha]], Qatar.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO {{!}} The Doha Round |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=www.wto.org}}</ref>

===China===
{{Main|China shock|Chinese economic reform|China and the World Trade Organization}}

Beginning around 1978, the government of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) began an experiment in [[economic reforms in China|economic reform]]. In contrast to the previous [[USSR|Soviet]]-style [[centrally planned economy]], the new measures progressively relaxed restrictions on farming, agricultural distribution and, several years later, urban enterprises and labor. The more market-oriented approach reduced inefficiencies and stimulated private investment, particularly by farmers, which led to increased productivity and output. One feature was the establishment of four (later five) [[Special Economic Zone]]s located along the South-east coast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Documents & Reports – The World Bank |url=http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/home |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526022036/http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/home |archive-date=2020-05-26 |access-date=2020-05-26 |website=documents.worldbank.org}}</ref>

The reforms proved spectacularly successful in terms of increased output, variety, quality, [[price]] and [[demand]]. In real terms, the economy doubled in size between 1978 and 1986, doubled again by 1994, and again by 2003. On a real per capita basis, doubling from the 1978 base took place in 1987, 1996 and 2006. By 2008, the economy was 16.7 times the size it was in 1978, and 12.1 times its previous per capita levels. International trade progressed even more rapidly, doubling on average every 4.5 years. Total two-way trade in January 1998 exceeded that for all of 1978; in the first quarter of 2009, trade exceeded the full-year 1998 level. In 2008, China's two-way trade totaled US$2.56 trillion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html|title=Foreign Trade: Data|last=Division|first=US Census Bureau Foreign Trade|website=Census.gov|access-date=2017-05-07|archive-date=2019-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011510/https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1991 China joined the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] group, a trade-promotion forum.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.apec.org/About-Us/About-APEC/Member-Economies|title=Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation|access-date=2018-01-22|archive-date=2018-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928160451/http://apec.org/About-Us/About-APEC/Member-Economies|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, it also joined the World Trade Organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/china_e.htm|title=China and the WTO|access-date=2018-01-22|archive-date=2017-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224134433/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/china_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==International trade==
{{Main|International trade|Balance of trade}}
{{Trade bloc}}

[[International trade]] is the exchange of goods and services across national borders. In most countries, it represents a significant part of [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]]. While international trade has been present throughout much of history (see Silk Road, [[Amber Road]]), its economic, social, and political importance have increased in recent centuries, mainly because of [[Industrialization]], advanced [[transportation]], [[globalization]], [[multinational corporation]]s, and [[outsourcing]].{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Empirical evidence for the success of trade can be seen in the contrast between countries such as [[South Korea]], which adopted a policy of [[export-oriented industrialization]], and India, which historically had a more closed policy. South Korea has done much better by economic criteria than India over the past fifty years, though its success also has to do with effective state institutions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Storper |first=Michael |date=2000 |title=Globalization, localization and trade. |journal=The Oxford Handbook of Economic Geography |pages=146–165}}</ref>

===Trade sanctions===
[[Trade sanctions]] against a specific country are sometimes imposed, in order to punish that country for some action. An [[embargo]], a severe form of externally imposed isolation, is a blockade of all trade by one country on another. For example, the United States has had an [[United States embargo against Cuba|embargo]] against [[Cuba]] for over 60 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cfr.org/cuba/us-cuba-relations/p11113|title=U.S.–Cuba Relations|work=Council on Foreign Relations|access-date=2017-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511123927/http://www.cfr.org/cuba/us-cuba-relations/p11113|archive-date=2015-05-11|url-status=dead}}</ref> Embargoes are usually on a temporary basis. For example, [[Armenia]] put a temporary embargo on Turkish products and bans any imports from Turkey on December 31, 2020. The situation is prompted by food security concerns given Turkey's hostile attitude towards Armenia.<ref>{{Cite web|last=LLC|first=Helix Consulting|title=On temporary ban on imports of goods having Turkish origin|url=https://www.gov.am/en/news/item/9840/|access-date=2021-05-01|website=www.gov.am|language=en|archive-date=2021-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501225325/https://www.gov.am/en/news/item/9840/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Fair trade===
The "[[fair trade]]" movement, also known as the "trade justice" movement, promotes the use of [[Manual labour|labour]], [[environmental movement|environmental]] and [[Social issues|social]] standards for the production of goods, particularly those exported from the [[Third World|Third]] and [[Second World]]s to the [[First World]]. Such ideas have also sparked a debate on whether trade itself should be codified as a [[human right]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Should trade be considered a human right? |date=9 December 2008 |publisher=COPLA |url=http://www.cop-la.net/en/node/523 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429004458/http://www.cop-la.net/en/node/523 |archive-date=29 April 2011 }}</ref>

Importing firms voluntarily adhere to fair trade standards or governments may enforce them through a combination of [[employment law|employment]] and [[commercial law]]. Proposed and practiced fair trade policies vary widely, ranging from the common prohibition of [[good (economics)|goods]] made using [[slave labour]] to minimum [[price support]] schemes such as those for coffee in the 1980s. [[Non-governmental organization]]s also play a role in promoting fair trade standards by serving as independent monitors of compliance with labeling requirements.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAIRTRADE Certification Mark. Guidelines Issue 1 – Autumn 2011 |url=https://fairtrade.es/mm/file/FCM-Guidelines-Final_2011-11_low.pdf |publisher=Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International e.V. |access-date=23 March 2020 |date=2011 |archive-date=23 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323102658/https://fairtrade.es/mm/file/FCM-Guidelines-Final_2011-11_low.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davenport |first1=Eileen |last2=Low |first2=Will |title=The labour behind the (Fair Trade) label |journal=Critical Perspectives on International Business |date=1 January 2012 |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=329–348 |doi=10.1108/17422041211274200 |issn=1742-2043}}</ref> As such, it is a form of Protectionism.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Economics}}
* [[Commerce]]
* [[Business]]
* [[Economics]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Beckwith |first=Christopher I |author-link=Christopher I. Beckwith
    |year=2011 |orig-year=2009 |title=Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present
    |location=Princeton |publisher=University Press
    |isbn=978-0-691-15034-5 |ref=Beckwith2011 }}
* {{cite book |last=Bernstein |first=William J. |author-link=William J. Bernstein |year=2008 |title=A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World |location=New York |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=978-0-8021-4416-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Davies |first=Glyn |year=2002 |orig-year=1995 |title=Ideas: A History of Money from Ancient Times to the Present Day |location=Cardiff, Wales |publisher=[[University of Wales Press]] |isbn=978-0-7083-1773-0 |url=http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/origins.html |ref=Davies2002 |access-date=2005-07-06 |archive-date=2007-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223074703/http://www.ex.ac.uk/%7ERDavies/arian/origins.html |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last1=Nomani |first1=Farhad |last2=Rahnema |first2=Ali
    |year=1994 |title=Islamic Economic Systems
    |location=New Jersey |publisher=Zed Books
    |isbn=978-1-85649-058-0 |ref=Nomani1994 }}
* {{cite book |last=Paine |first=Lincoln
    |year=2013 |title=The Sea and Civilisation: a Maritime History of the World
    |publisher=Atlantic}} (Covers sea-trading over the whole world from ancient times), 
* Rössner, Philipp, [http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/backgrounds/economy-trade/philipp-roessner-economy-trade?set_language=en&-C= ''Economy / Trade''], [http://www.ieg-ego.eu/ EGO – European History Online], Mainz, Germany: [http://www.ieg-mainz.de/likecms/index.php Institute of European History], 2017, retrieved: March 8, 2021 ([https://d-nb.info/1149296941/34 pdf]).
* {{cite book |last=Watson |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Watson (intellectual historian)
    |year=2005 |title=Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention from Fire to Freud
    |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers
    |isbn=978-0-06-621064-3 |ref=Watson2005}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wiktionary}}
* {{Commonscatinline|Trading}}
* [http://agritrade.cta.int/ Agritrade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304203344/http://agritrade.cta.int/ |date=4 March 2017 }} Resource material on trade by ACP countries
* [http://wits.worldbank.org/ World Bank's] [[World Integrated Trade Solution]] provides summary trade statistics and custom query features
* [https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0041745 World Bank's] Preferential Trade Agreement Database

{{Trade route 2}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Trade| ]]
[[Category:Society]]

[[az:Kommersiya]]