AP World History explores global historical themes and events from ancient times to the present, emphasizing critical thinking and analysis.
From the Silk Road to the Trans-Saharan caravan routes, trade networks connected distant civilizations. These routes allowed goods like silk, spices, and gold to travel thousands of miles, along with ideas, religions, and even diseases.
As societies grew, so did their economic systems. Mercantilism dominated early modern Europe, while capitalism and socialism shaped later eras.
Trade brought wealth and new technologies, but also conflict and inequality. The Columbian Exchange after 1492 reshaped diets, populations, and economies across continents.
Globalization today echoes these past systems, with international trade linking economies and cultures.
The Indian Ocean trade network connected East Africa, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia.
European colonization of the Americas transformed global trade with cash crops and new resources.
Trade networks and economic systems have shaped human societies for millennia.