Trade

Trade - Exchanging goods, services and other items of value

The first exchange of goods or services came about long before written history. There is evidence that long-distance commerce existed as far back as 1,50,000 years ago and by the time that humanity emerged from the Neolithic period and began establishing cities and agrarian communities., trading had been firmly established as a vital part of life. The move toward a sedentry, agricultural life style transformed the nature of human society, creating a surplus of food that allowed humans to evolve new occupations such as tool making and weaving. These craftspeople in turn created a surplus of their products, which they were then able to trade back for food. Villages began to specialize in making products that were in demand in other areas and by 3000 BCE ancient Mesopotamians had established trade routes with the urban centers of the Indus valley Civilization, perhaps linking desperate urban areas for the first time.

Trade is an engine that drives economies, facilitates social interactions, spurs political change and leads to the spread of ideas, languages, goods, cultures, religions, wealth, people and diseases. Through trading, humans acquired goods from far off lands, shared news of events and pushed themselves to seek out corners of the world unknown to them in search of new opportunities. Trade has both stabilized relationships between potential enemies and led to conflicts, wars and the subjugation, murder and enslavement of millions. Over the course of history, empires have arisen, fallen and been reborn as basic human desires desires have driven the need for trade.