TRADE AND COMMERCE IN DIFFERENT CULTURES.
Trade is the exchange of goods with other goods or using the currency. People in diverse cultures participated in trading activities to get the items they did not have. Trade-in Africa began as early as the 12th century, where African kings controlled the commercial activities. The start of transatlantic trade in Africa has its roots in the 15th century. Gøbel (2016). Portuguese were the first to ship slaves to eastern Atlantic to provide labour in the sugar plantations. Transportation of slaves from the interior of West African countries mainly used trade routes in the sandy Sahara desert to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Then slaves would board the slave ships and sail across the Atlantic Ocean to America. The Atlantic passage was well known for its brutality, the number of the slaves in the vessel was very high, and they were chained together, poor sanitary conditions and received little or no food.
Consequently, about 25% of the African slaves died during the voyage. Transatlantic trade was profitable as the African chiefs were paid by the slave masters from Europe and America. Additionally, slaves provided cheap labour in the plantation, which brought enormous profits to landowners.
Commercial activities in the Ming Dynasty have their origin in the 13th century under the leadership of Chengzu. To deal with the trade outside the country, the government established a tribute system. According to Zhou et al. (2016), the tribute system gave duties to a tribute state, such as handling diplomatic relations. As a result, it led to an asymmetric relationship between the tribute states and china, thus increasing trading activities. During the Ming Dynasty, a series of maritime expeditions took place. The primary reason for this expeditions was to expand good relations with foreign countries. Chinese exported various items like Chinese silk, copper coins and porcelain to other areas such as Asia. In return, exotic objects and animals were brought to China. These voyages captured the attention of many people from diverse lands to participate in this trade.
Islamic empire got its wealth from numerous trading activities. Importantly, the Silk Road was essential for the empire as commercial activities were taking place on this road. Scholars such as Ulrich (2019) state that Muslim powers had total control over the Silk Roads, so people could move freely, thus increasing trading activities. Muslim rulers received payments from the other traders to allow them to pass through, which made them wealthy. Moreover, the Islamic empire had control over a vast area of the Indian Ocean. Voyages across the Ocean were a faster method of trade as they were able to travel in different regions in a short time. From Africa, the traders got ivory, gold, and glass while the Islamic traders took various goods to Africa, such as frankincense, species, and oranges.
Trading activities among Christians have their roots in the 11th century. Christians, like Thomas Aquinas, advocated for fairness when carrying out trade. In the 15th century, Christians were against the slave trade and slavery scouring the bible to abolish this trade. They stated that the trade was evil and went on contrary to the teachings of the bible. Consequently, the slave trade was abolished in most of the countries in Europe. Therefore, Christians played a crucial role in the ending of the slave trade. Goddard (2016).
Trade had a considerable impact; for instance, most of the Empires participating in the trading activities benefited from the profits, thus making them wealthier. As a result, they were able to conquer their neighbour at ease. Commerce and trade led to the diffusion of ideas from one continent to another. For example, people in different areas learnt the art of porcelain production from the Chinese. Slave trade led to the death of many slaves as they were transported across the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, the slave trade led to the separation of family members, thus causing misery to the children who were left behind.
REFERENCES.
Gøbel, E. (2016). Transatlantic slave trade shipping. The Danish Slave Trade and Its Abolition, 24-50. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004330566_004
Ulrich, B. (2019). Conclusion. Arabs in the Early Islamic Empire, 215-218. https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9781474436793.003.0007
Zhou, J., Hao, Y., Jin, F., & Zhou, J. (2016). Shanxi merchants’ multi-level financial system in Ming and Qing Dynasty-China. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496x.2016.1185709
Goddard, R. (2016). Merchants and trade. Credit and Trade in Later Medieval England, 1353-1532, 49-95. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48987-6_2