Ap World Trade Dbq Essay

For any country that wants to survive in the toughest of times, they need to have good trading capabilities. Very few countries are able to sustain themselves without indulging in intensive trade with other countries. Trading has been considered a good thing in the past, but with the changing world, there are doubts about the benefits of trading. There are some factors that lead to the development of trade networks between countries. When people started to settle in larger towns, the idea that you had to produce absolutely everything for survival, began to fade. People started to trade with countries far away for different types of products. Then, countries started to work the same way. They realized that they could acquire goods they didn't

The map in Document #1 shows the Phoenician's trade route across the Mediterranean Sea. They appeared on the scene with an established maritime tradition, and the technology to build ships with a keeled hull. This allowed them to sail the open seas, and as a result, the Phoenicians developed a flourishing sea trade. In the picture, you can see that the Phoenicians had many different types of products that were available to them through trade. Some of those products include; gold, copper, silver, and grain (Document #1). The Phoenicians not only imported what they needed and exported what they themselves cultivated and manufactured, but they could also transport goods such as papyrus, textiles, metals, and spices between the many civilizations with whom they had contact with. They could thus make enormous gains by selling a product with a low value for another such as tin or silver which was not itself valued by its own producers, but could fetch enormous prices

For example, the religious beliefs of the people of the Silk Road changed drastically from what they had been, and it was largely due to the effects of travel and trade on the Silk Road. Religious beliefs were very important for the people and deeply held aspects of personal identity, therefore, people are reluctant to go anywhere in which they cannot practice their faith. Traders who used the Silk Road, built shrines and temples of their own faiths wherever they went, in order to maintain their own beliefs and practices of worship while they were far from their country. As a result, religions and culture consciously expanded throughout the Silk Road. In the text it says, "Religious practices like Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity spread from the Silk Roads. In the city markets, traders from the East and West helped spread traditions, art, and culture. Inventions such as gunpowder, paper, and the magnetic compass also gained popularity along the Silk Roads." (Document #2, The Silk Road) This quote shows specifically how religion and ideas spread due to the trading that took place in the Silk Road. Trading was a huge influence on the people and their way of living because people from different countries and customs traveled to other places, bringing their culture with them to maintain