A Splendid Exchange Essay - 1491 Words

Dennis Berk A.P. World Dr. Andrews Summer Assignment The accelerating pace of international trade is one of the most dominating, and important features, of contemporary life. Globalization is creating widespread changes for societies, economics, and governments. Since the invention of the steam engine, transportation and communication limits have faded away and, with the development of the Internet, practically disappeared. A case can be made for the proposition that trade, throughout history, has been the main engine for the development of the world as we know it today. In his book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, William J. Bernstein makes this case. The main thesis of A Splendid†¦show more content†¦It has shown me how important trade was and how difficult it used to be compared to now. Today, many people have cell phones and even more people have access to a television, radio, or the Internet, so, for example, if an event occurs in South Korea in less t han an hour news stations all over the world are reporting about it and have analysts debate about it for hours. However, back in the 1000’s and 1100’s, if you were living in France, and an event occurs in China, there is a good chance that the person living in France would never know about it. Also, in the 1000’s or 1100’s if you were born in a village in England, unless you were a merchant, chances are that you would not go further than 50 miles in any direction from where you were born. Transportation in the 1000’s and 1100’s was limited to walking and sea travel. Sea travel was very dangerous, due to pirates and poorly made ships, so many Europeans didn’t risk it. Today, with the invention of the steam engine, automobile, and airplane to go from New York to California by plane takes only six hours, although you are traveling around 3000 feet. In today’s world it’s no big deal if you travel 3000 feet in one day, but in the 1000’s and 1100’s this was such a radical thought that no one had ever even wasted their time trying to think about it. William J. Bernstein asks many questions in his novel. One of them is how goods got from China to Rome. Bernstein answers thisShow MoreRelatedA Splendid Exchange Essay703 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿MGT 5312: International Management Book Review # 1 A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. Bernstein, William J. New York: Grove Press, 2008. 467 pp. A Splendid Exchange is an inside look at how trade has had an impact on human development. The book answers the questions of how trade developed, how it expanded, and how trade is an essential economic force. The author, William J. 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