Historical Trade Routes: Mediterranean, Indian Ocean & Beyond
Mediterranean Trade
The Nile civilization thrived along the river, which was a source of income (flooding) and communication, stretching from Alexandria to Ethiopia.
Phoenicia consisted of city-states like Tyre, Byblos, and Sidon in present-day Lebanon. They were primarily traders, acting as a liaison between the West and East, and established a network of colonies.
Goods:
- Imports: Iberian Peninsula (silver, lead, iron), Africa (gold), Egypt (wheat, linen, cotton), Malta (coral), India (textiles), Cyprus (copper).
- Exports: Fine glass, fabrics, jewelry.
Tyrian purple (also known as Phoenician purple, royal purple, or imperial dye) was made from Murex Brandaris snails. It was an expensive dye, equal in value to silver, and became associated with royalty.
Ancient Greece developed thalassocracies (Crete, Rhodes, etc.), consisting of city-states involved in the Aegean Sea. The numerous islands provided safety but also increased piracy. They sold manufactured goods and bought grain, wool, and precious metals.
Innovations: Lighthouses (Pharos), ships (Trireme), and factories (division of labor).
Navigation: Cartography, astronomy, etc. Finance: Banking, insurance, joint-stock ventures, and Rhodes Nautical Law. The drachma (65gr silver) was the first regular currency, making trade easier and becoming the first world currency, leading to the development of a financial system.
The Delian League, originally based on the island of Delos, was an association of Hellenic city-states. It started as a defensive alliance against the Persian threat but evolved into a trade association. Its most important port was Piraeus, marking Athens’ peak in the 5th century BC.
Ancient Rome had three periods: Kingdom (742-510 BC), Republic (510-27 BC), and Empire (27 BC-476 AD). It was the most sophisticated society, ruling over most of the known world, and implemented Romanization.
Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) was the Roman name for the Mediterranean. They built infrastructure (cities, ports, lighthouses, roads, garrisons). Goods included: Egypt (glass and papyrus), Iberia (honey and metals), Germania (amber), Gaul (wine and olive oil), India (pearls and silk), Greece (bronze and marble), Arabia (perfumes), and Ethiopia (beasts and slaves).
Pax Romana (1st and 2nd centuries AD) cleaned the sea of pirates, ensuring political stability, security, and increased industrial production and commercial activity. Amphorae were used for salting fish, wine, and olive oil, with specific types for each good, enabling mass production. Law: Lex Flaminia (regulation of provisions to Rome), Lex Mercatoria, and Lex Maritima.
Rome had a population of 1 million, the capital of an empire of 60-100 million. Panem et circenses (grain was a state matter). Supplies were efficient and reliable. Republic: Sardinia and Sicily. Empire: Africa and Egypt. Ostia, at the mouth of the River Tiber, was the port of ancient Rome and a hub of Roman trade. Navis Codicaria transported 4000 boatloads per year. The state controlled farms, warehouses, city supplies, and shippers associated in guilds.
Indian Ocean Trade
The Monsoon (Arabic for “season”) is a predictable wind found around the 1st century AD. April-September (eastwards) and November-February (westwards).
Persia (Sassanian period, 226-622 AD) was a strategic place between East and West, known for its knowledge (Persepolis), fine goods (glass and silverware), and the key port of Hormuz.
The Arab Empire, based on the teachings of Mohammed (a merchant), lasted from mid-632 to the 13th century. Capitals: Damascus and Baghdad. Main port: Jeddah. It created a huge economic unit and was the heir of classical knowledge. They controlled the Mediterranean south shore and acted as a liaison between West and East. They had international banks and the Karimi (first corporation).
Trade routes were by land (camels) and they had a strong currency. The Dinar (gold) and Dirham (silver) were the medieval dollar. New motifs (only letters) and currency stabilization. Al-Andalus goods included saffron, linen, sugar, silk, and dyes.
Oceanic trade named the Indian Ocean “Bilad al Islam” (“Countries of Islam”). Coastal trade to Asia (Ceylon) and Africa (Land of Zanj). They created unified routes and were middlemen between Europe and Asia, trading Chinese luxury goods (silk, porcelain, etc.) for European precious metals. Regular ships traveled from Arabia to China (round trip 1 ½ years) in convoys. Exports included incense, and imports included porcelain.
Africa: The monsoon means “season” in Arabic. They crossed the equator. The area of influence was the Swahili coast. Muhammad Ibn Battuta (1304-1377) from Tangier, wrote “The Travels of Ibn Battuta”. He traveled to Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, China, and Mali.
Abyssinia (Kingdom of Aksum, Tigray Region and Eritrea) was relevant from 100-940 AD. Christians since the 4th century. Known in Europe as “Prester John”. They supplied Byzantium with ivory, emeralds, and tortoise shell, and were the main supplier of slaves to the Arab Empire. They also exported salt from the desert of Danakil.
Land of Zanj (Land of Negroes in Persian) consisted of sea towns (Zanzibar, Malindi, Mombasa). Visited by Arabs and Persians during the winter monsoon. Goods included Kafir slaves (builders, miners, peasants, and soldiers) and gold (required for currency and jewelry).
The Kingdom of Zimbabwe (11th-15th centuries) was a great empire between the Limpopo and Zambezi Rivers. No written evidence. Located on a plateau. They provided ivory to Arabia and were full of Arabic goods.
Malabar (Kerala) consisted of small suzerainty states. The most important port was Calicut (Kozhikode). Sri Lanka (Serendib) was a strategic stop between Hormuz and Guangzhou. Good access to inland India (rivers and roads). Excellent sailors and plenty of goods. Goods included ivory, coral, iron, sugar, cotton, pearls, nacar, and tropical woods.
Sumatra, along with Java and Bali, were “hotspots”. First expansion of Hindus, second expansion of Muslims (12th century). Trade to India (bronze) and Africa (spices). Srivijaya was a thalassocratic power, a city-state in Sumatra that expanded in the Malay Peninsula, taxing merchant ships.
Cathay (China in Mongol) was known as Seres to the Greeks. Merchants were lower than peasants (Confucius). Fine goods producers. The important city of Guangzhou (Canton) traded with Islamic and European merchants. Relevant trade eastwards (Japan and Korea) and westwards (Africa). The Suan & Mongol Dynasty introduced technology (fireworks, rudder, paper, compass, block printmaking, noodles). Goods included silk, cotton, porcelain, and tea.
The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), also known as the Empire of the Great Ming, forbade the city of Beijing. It was the peak of Chinese art, political order, and influence. Zheng He, a Muslim eunuch, led treasure boat expeditions. His journeys included Calicut (1405), Ceylon (1409), Aden (1413), Mogadishu (1417), and the Land of Zanj (1422). Ma Huan, a Muslim of Chinese origin, was an Arabic translator and scribe of the expeditions. He took part in the Indonesian, Indian, and Middle East expeditions. The commander himself only went as far as Hormuz. They established new trade routes, opened markets, but never set garrisons, reflecting Chinese arrogance.
European Commercial Revolution
Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire), with its capital in Constantinople, was the dominant power until the rise of Islam. It controlled the pass to the Black Sea (taxing goods) and was a trade center between East and West. It declined after the 11th century.
Pax Carolingia, under the King of Franks (770-814), is considered the father of the EU. It led to the creation of a strong kingdom, the Carolingian Renaissance, protection of the Papacy, reactivation of trade, local municipalities, and the weakening of the aristocracy. The Crusades (Papal Bull, Urban II, 1095) marked Western Europe’s euphoria after the year 1000, with the circulation of money, supply of goods, reactivation of maritime trade routes, and awareness of exotic goods. The creation of orders and maritime republics became more active in the late Middle Ages (1000-1500).
Maritime Republics were independent city-states. The deterioration of Roman roads fostered sea trade. Poor in crops, they based their wealth on a strong merchant navy. Amalfi gained independence from the Duchy of Naples (839), flourished from the 9th to 11th centuries, and fell to the Normans (1073). They traded with Arabs and Byzantium, introducing Arab goods into Italy. Pisa, the “Crown of Tuscany,” created a small regional empire (Sardinia and Corsica) and traded with neighbors (Al-Andalus, Franks, and Normans). It lost importance due to the Crusades. Genoa, an excellent port and home of sailors, was an important base in Constantinople. They created sea bases in Asia Minor (Chios, Lesbos, Patmos) and had a monopoly on Black Sea trade. It fell due to civil war and Ottoman progress. Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi were notable figures. Venice, a thalassocracy, began with the salt industry and had a strong link with Byzantium. It was the gate to Asian luxury goods. The Flanders-Veneto Axis led to the creation of an empire (Crete, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Cyprus, Corfu). Early capitalism emerged with the Lettera di Cambio, insurance, insurance markets, commenda, compagnia, and fairs. Market spaces were created in cities, attracting foreign merchants. Circuits of 6 weeks were established for premium goods, which required fees.
Vikings, Scandinavian tribes with superior naval technology, raided Western Europe and established Atlantic Ocean colonies. Famous ships: Drakkar. The Øresund Strait, between present-day Sweden and Denmark, had twin cities Helsingborg and Helsingor. Erik of Pomerania (1429) introduced Sound Due Tolls. The Copenhagen Convention (1854) was significant. The Teutonic Order, founded in Accre (1190), merged with the “Livonian Brothers of the Sword” (1236). Their HQ was Marienburg Castle. They engaged in “Drang nach Osten” (Northern Crusades) and missions to the Baltic Sea and Carpathos. The Hanseatic League, based in Northern Germany and Scandinavia, had its HQ in Lübeck (Schleswig-Holstein). Founded in 1364, its lingua franca was German. It promoted free trade between members and the rise of the trading bourgeoisie. Goods included amber, furs, wheat, wax, herring, woods, and salt.
Conclusions: The commercial revolution in the second half of the Middle Ages led to the urbanization of society, the massive introduction of exotic goods, the creation of financial services, technological innovation, and the connection of Northern and Southern Europe.
The Medieval Spice Trade, particularly silk, originally from China (Seres), was a highly appreciated good. Early Middle Age losses of monopoly. It was used to pay taxes and for religious purposes (India and Europe). Active since the 2nd century BC, it was not a common path but a series of routes, not paved. The main trade land route (East-West) facilitated the exchange of goods, beliefs, knowledge, and technology. Extended use by Romans. Pax Mongolica, beginning with Genghis Khan, made it safe to travel around Mongol domains. The Golden Age of the Silk Road ended with the Black Pest. Production centers included China, India, Iran, and Europe. Spices came from the Spice Islands, including black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Carlo M. Cipolla discussed “The role of spices (and black pepper in particular) in Medieval Economic Development.”
The End: The Black Death, unsafe routes since 1400, the Ottoman menace, the Age of Discoveries, and the modern Silk Road (China’s Economic Plan, The Belt, The Road) with strong investment infrastructures, and India’s position.
Age of Discoveries
The Renaissance marked the first European globalization, the recovery of classical knowledge and art, anthropocentrism, and the creation of the first European states. Technology advancements included the compass, printer, powder, and portulanos. The Ottoman Empire, with the fall of Constantinople, controlled the East Mediterranean, expanded in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, weakened maritime republics, and engaged in Ottoman piracy in the western Mediterranean (Hayreddin Barbarossa).
The Age of Explorations (1450-1550) was led by Portugal and Spain. The first conflict was over Atlantic Ocean islands, and the second was the division of the Indies. The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), a Papal Bull, divided spheres of influence (West to Castile, East to Portugal) with a separation line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde. The Treaty of Zaragoza (1529) addressed the antemeridian.
Portugal, in the 15th century, focused on the Atlantic Ocean. They established Madeira (Malvasia and sugar), Azores (wine and crops), Cape Verde (hub), and West Africa (gold, slaves, and ivory). The Estado da India controlled European spice trade from 1500 to 1650. Its administrative capital was Goa, and its economic capital was Cochin. They established a network of trade plazas (Galle, Malacca, Timor, Solor, Nagasaki). The Carreira da Índia established stops in the Atlantic Islands (Madeira, Cape Verde, Azores), South Africa (Mozambique, Malidi, Cape Town), and trade posts in Cochin and Goa. The Casa da India was the most important trading house in 16th-century Europe, a royal monopoly with offices in London and Antwerp. It centralized all East Indies trade (customs, warehouse, checkpoint, etc.). Goods included spices, silk, and coral. It was responsible for organizing fleets (supplies, security, etc.). The fall of the Iberian Dynastic Union, the 80 Year War, the United Provinces’ interference, and the split of the Iberian Dynastic Union led to the emergence of the Dutch Republic (1640-53), which resulted in the loss of Galle, Malacca, and Cape Town. Brasil, initially given importance by the Habsburgs, became productive after 1650 and became the Crown of the Empire from 1700 onwards. It produced sugar, coffee, cacao, cotton, and gold (Mina Gerais).
Castile was made possible by sailing skills, war experience, negotiation, strong administration, and imperial structure. The Casa de Contratacion (1503) and Consejo de Indias (1524) were established. Virreinatos: New Spain (1535) and Peru (1543). Contributions included culture, economy, animals, agriculture, infrastructure, universities, and technology. American minery, especially silver, was significant. Virreinato del Perú (Cerro Chico, Potosí) and Virreinato de Nueva España (Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Pachuca). The Real de a Ocho (Spanish Dollar) was the first world currency by the late 18th century, used in America, Asia, and Europe. It was the source of inspiration for the USD and was US legal tender until 1857. Products included natural dyes (indigo and cochineal), food (potato, tomato, maize), tobacco, and the naturalization of sugar, coffee, and cotton.
Fleets and Galleons, established by Philip II, avoided piracy attacks. Convoys left twice a year, together until Puerto Rico, then split. They met in La Habana for the return to Seville. The Elcano Voyage was the first around the world, passing through the Strait of Magellan, crossing the Pacific Ocean, and reaching the Philippines. It challenged the Tordesillas Treaty. Antonio Pigafetta was a key figure in the first voyage around the world. The Manila Galleon (Acapulco – Manila, 1565 – 1821) had 2 ships per year, trading Chinese and Southeast Asian goods. The last trip was in 1898 via the Suez Canal.
Conclusions: Trade shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. The model of state monopoly was established. The Portuguese replaced Arabs in Indian Ocean trade. America was no longer isolated. The connection of all continents by sea led to 400 years of European predominance.
Early Economic Thought: Bullionism, an extended economic theory in the 16th century, believed that wealth was based on the amount of precious metals owned and that gold and silver were trade creators. The Price Revolution, also known as the Spanish Price Revolution, was caused by the massive flow of American gold and silver. Pre-modern society was not used to inflation. Prices tripled or quadrupled during the 16th century, rising more than wages. Arbitristas, the second scholastic (16th century), made intellectual efforts to tackle economic problems, writing an “Arbitrio” or “Memorial”. Famous figures included Martin Gonzalez de Cellorigo, Sancho de Moncada, and Juan de Mariana. Main problems included taxes, inflation, the fall of production, and silver and gold drainage. The Age of Don Quixote, an essay by Pierre Vilar (1956), best reflected 17th-century Spain, with a sense of decadence, the bankruptcy of the aristocracy, and the expulsion of Moriscos.
Mercantilism/Political Economy
Protestantism, a revolt against the Papacy, split European Christendom, leading to a period of instability and war. The creation of national churches favored the implementation of capitalism. The Scientific Revolution, in math, physics, and astronomy, led to inventions like the microscope and telescope. Figures included Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus, Rene Descartes, and Isaac Newton. The Thirty Years’ War, starting with the Defenestration of Prague (1618), was considered the last religious war in Europe. It included the German Civil War (1618-25), Scandinavian Intervention (1625-35), and Bourbon versus Habsburg (1635-48). It was the first European civil war, changing the balance of European power. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) was a series of treaties that led to the secularization of politics, the creation of international law, and the concept of the nation-state. European borders remained (+/-) until Napoleon.
Merchant Capitalism was the most relevant economic policy in the 17th century, involving government regulation, the introduction of monopolies, private profit-driven companies, and a positive balance of trade. The Dutch Republic, the Burgundian Netherlands, was governed by the House of Burgundy. It was an industrial center and a middleman between the Baltic and Mediterranean. The Toison d’Or and Benelux were significant. By marriage, it ended in Habsburg hands. Industries included cloths, ceramics, breweries, distilleries, soap, and the dairy sector. The main agricultural export was Holstein (milk, cheese, butter). The fishing industry had technological advances in ships and nets. The integral process included the fishing navy and the canning industry. Catches included cod, herring, and whale. Economic reforms included no duties on exports, no duties on imports of raw materials, free trade of precious metals, and state financing via purchase tax. The United Provinces, the spoilt son of Charles I Habsburg, was succeeded by his son Philip II. William of Orange initiated a revolt in 1568. The proclamation of the United Provinces was in 1581, with effective independence since 1585. Open war with the Habsburgs lasted until 1648. Hugo Grotius, a Dutch lawyer (1583-1645), wrote “De Indis” (1605) and “Mare Liberum” (1609), becoming the intellectual father of the freedom of the seas, versus the Iberian monopoly (Inter caetera, Alexander VI, 1493). The Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (V.O.C.), founded in 1602 by Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, was supported by the General States. It centralized long-distance trade with Asia, was granted a monopoly, and was often considered a state within the state. It had 30,000 sailors. Batavia, in the Roman Netherlands (present-day Jakarta), was an important trade hub with large Chinese migration. It created bases (Cape Town, Mauritius, Galle). It was governed by the VOC until 1800. Asiatic trade began as a center to supply the metropoli but became Asia’s economic center. Japan (silver), China (silk, tea, and porcelain), India (cloth, pepper, and indigo), and the Spice Islands (nutmeg, cloves, and pepper) were key areas. They ended up working the land. The Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie (GWIC), founded in 1621, engaged in piracy operations versus the Spanish fleet. After Westphalia, they created colonies (New Amsterdam, New Holland, Netherlands Antilles, Suriname). Sugar production and the Asiento (monopoly of slave trade) were significant.
The Periwig Period, the first half of the 18th century, was a peaceful period with the consolidation of big nations. It saw slow economic decadence (fall of production, population, etc.) and the introduction of mercantilism. Financial investors fled. France, under the Borbonic dynasty, was the most powerful European state, a symbol of centralization and absolutism, and culturally hegemonic. The first French colonial empire was established. Jean Baptiste Colbert, minister under Mazarin and French Premier (1661-83), introduced French mercantilism, with strong investment, protectionism measures, and the founding of the French East India Company (1664). Colbertism included high tariffs, low domestic taxes, a uniform law code, encouragement of industrial production, a French merchant navy, and improvement of infrastructure. Implementation included increasing productive land, introducing new products, and new techniques. Industry focused on the creation of luxury factories, versus Venetian glass and Flemish cloths, and the import of qualified workers. Trade included products like coffee, cotton, dyewoods, fur, pepper, and sugar, originating from Senegal, the Levant, and Guinea, with plantations in the Americas. Mercantilism believed that wealth was based on industrial production, high tariffs on foreign trade, incentives to domestic production, the import of raw materials, the export of finished goods, and the restriction of trade in colonies, boosting production in the metropolis.
Conclusions: Other nations implemented mercantilism. Paris substituted Amsterdam as the financial capital. The end of trade republics occurred, and France became a cultural influencer. The Tulip Mania in Baroque Amsterdam was its most prosperous moment (1600-1665), with an increase in population, the embellishment of the city, a large middle class, an economic center, plenty of luxury goods, a financial market, cheap loans, a stock market, a future market, and a tulip market. Introduced in 1600, tulips were a status symbol, with rare species being most demanded. It was a durable good and a blind good. Until 1634, it was run by professionals. Tulip speculation involved professional and non-professional investors. Massive investment led to the realization of irrational prices and massive disinvestment. Consequences included the overvaluation of assets, the first known speculative bubble, a quick rise and fall, and a loss of trust. It was not catastrophic on the real economy. Other bubbles include the dot-com, housing, and cryptocurrency bubbles.
Industrial Revolution
In reality: Cape Town – Livingston and Cairo Aswan, tourism, first steps of industry, travel packages, Carlson Wagon Lits, Thomas Cook. Making Cotton Global: Cotton production was not extensively used in Europe until the Renaissance. In the 16th-18th centuries, it was prominent in Mughal India. In the 18th century, it was in Brazil, the Caribbean, and Egypt. In the 19th century, it was in the United States. The Cotton Gin, until the 18th century, India had the best weavers. In the 18th century, Britain introduced several innovations to the mechanical cotton gin. In 1793, Eli Whitman patented the gin, making a tedious task much easier. This led to the first globalized item. Victorian Liverpool became the trade capital with the West Indies in the 1700s. Rapid growth was due to trade. It gained city status, with strong Irish migration. The main attraction was the port. The Cotton Exchange Market was a space to trade cotton, deciding the world price of cotton. It had an elastic price. The Agricultural Journal introduced middle men. Brokers bought cotton for manufacturers, converted into buying brokers, and finally went to plantations to choose merchandise. “Bills of lading” were used. Consequences included an interconnected economy, capital requirements leading to contemporary banks, the development of big ports, and big fortunes (Barings, Brown, etc.). It was the main export of Imperial Britain.
Pax Americana/Globalization
The United States of America had trade based on Navigation Acts. The independence of New England led to a rural society with liberal thought (WASP). Territorial expansion included the acquisitions of Louisiana, Florida, and Alaska, the annexation of Texas, the conquest of New Mexico and California, the Far West, and the cession of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Agriculture included cotton, sugar, tobacco, grain (crops, corn), leathers, and furs. Industry included textiles, shoes, weapons, canning, and the whale industry, centered in Massachusetts, peaking in the mid-19th century. Hundreds of ships per year were used for whale oil, sperm wax, and whalebone. Moby Dick by Herman Melville was a notable work. The economic take-off included infrastructure, manufactures, migration, a financial system, and natural resources (coal, oil, steel, iron). The Second Industrial Revolution, from the last quarter of the 19th century until the break of WWI, introduced electric light, the telephone, the radio, the sewing machine, and transport (steamboats, trains, cars, airplanes). Consequences of the Great War included the Suffragette Movement, a technology revolution, the reshaping of Europe’s political map, a change in relations between metropoli and colonies, and the US becoming a new economic, military, and political power. Wilson’s 14 Points and the Bank for International Settlements, based in Basel, agreed in the Young Plan (1929) and founded in 1930, eased reparation payments by Central Powers and promoted collaboration between central banks. The Happy Twenties were followed by the Hungry Thirties, the Wall St Crash of 1929, protectionist measures, a worldwide slump, and the rise of totalitarian regimes. The Second World War led to the Atlantic Charter, signed by Churchill and Roosevelt in August 1941, which included freedom of the seas, the right to self-determination, no land increase for winners, the reduction of tariffs to trade, and global cooperation for better economic and social conditions. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Outline) and the Bretton Woods System were the first examples of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent states (US, Western Europe, Japan, and Australia). The creation of transnational finance organizations included the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a European head, in charge of monetary policy, fixing exchange rates, and using gold as a fiat currency. It led the conversion of plan economies into market economies. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), with a US head, offered cheap or free loans to European reconstruction and now helps fight poverty in developing countries. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed by 23 nations in Geneva in 1947, aimed to increase international trade through the reduction of tariffs, quotas, and preferences. It was a slow but continuous process, giving priority to agricultural goods, establishing multilateral “rounds,” and ensuring no discrimination and compulsory implementation. The European Coal and Steel Community, under the Treaty of Paris (1951), led by Robert Schuman, created a common market of coal and steel to neutralize competition over natural resources (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg). It led to the creation of a common assembly and was the blueprint of European institutions. The Economic Boom led to the internationalization of US corporations. Pax Americana led to the rise of consumerism. The US in the 50s saw an increase in GDP (37%) and purchasing power (30%). The End of the Bretton Woods System in 1971 saw the US unilaterally terminate the convertibility of USD to gold due to an overvalued dollar and not enough gold to cover dollars in circulation. This led to the introduction of floating currencies. Consequences included the dollar becoming a fiat currency, the US entering an inflationary period, the US increasing interest rates, and the US having a huge negative trade balance. The World Trade Organization, under the Marrakech Agreements of 1994, signed by 123 countries, is based in Geneva and arbitrates trade agreements between nations. It aims for the complete elimination of tariffs, the defense of intellectual property (vs falsifications), and the introduction of dumping as unfair. The Shipping Container revolutionized loading and unloading, which was previously labor-intensive, risky, with long working hours, and required caution. The labor force was characterized by shape-ups, high rotation, endogamy, and precariousness. Labor management involved strong unions, resistance to mechanical innovation, theft, forced hiring of more employees than required, and frequent strikes. Malcolm McLean, an entrepreneur and founder of Maclean Trucks & SeaLand, obsessed with reducing costs, is considered the father of containerization. He used financial engineering to sort regulations. The shipping container led to standardization, avoided thefts, saved time and space, and cut costs. The Intermodal Container Today has 45 million all around, 15 million in use, 60% of sea trade, and 95% of non-bulk sea trade. 10,000 are lost per year. Global Peace Containers, globalization, legal frameworks, international agreements, technological convergence, corporations strategy, economies of scale, and tastes harmonization are all significant factors.