The Origins of Globalization
by Karl Moore
and David Charles Lewis
Paperback
Routledge
International Studies in
Business History
Kindle edition
Hardcover
Posted on 07/27/2009 9:47:42 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Phoenicians were not the first ancient people to sponsor long-distance seaborne trade, but they and their Carthaginian children were the first to perfect it. They are the real pioneers of what we will call maritime capitalism.
How did they do it? By taking advantage of a unique window of opportunity. During the Middle Bronze Age (traditionally dated to the first half of the second millennium BCE), first Babylon and then Egypt dominated the Middle East. As their power faded, no single power dominated.
In this climate of peace and stability, trade took the place of war. Babylonia tried to revive old trade ties in the Persian Gulf. Crown-sponsored commercial establishments were planted on the rich metal-producing island of Bahrain (ancient Dilmun) to the south.
Another trading center, at Dur-Kurigalzu near today's Baghdad, controlled the mountain passes to the horse-breeding regions of Iran in the east. The aggressive Babylonian Empire of Hammurabi was long gone -- and would not return until Nebuchadnezzar revived it 600-700 years later.
Other kingdoms enjoyed the chance to "make money, not war," including those such as Egypt, Tiberani and the Mycenean Greeks as well. We cannot, of course, exclude the Assyrians with their long history of commercial success: Assyrian merchant princes, called tamkaru, were everywhere, and every kingdom in the region hired the equivalent.
(Excerpt) Read more at theglobalist.com ...
The Origins of Globalization
by Karl Moore
and David Charles Lewis
Paperback
Routledge
International Studies in
Business History
Kindle edition
Hardcover
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To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
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4.196ML/NJAnother story is told by the Carthaginians. There is a place in Libya, they say, where men live beyond the Pillars of Heracles; they come here and unload their cargo; then, having laid it in order along the beach, they go aboard their ships and light a smoking fire. The people of the country see the smoke, and, coming to the sea, they lay down gold to pay for the cargo, and withdraw from the wares. [2] Then the Carthaginians disembark and examine the gold; if it seems to them a fair price for their cargo, they take it and go away; but if not, they go back aboard and wait, and the people come back and add more gold until the sailors are satisfied. [3] In this transaction, it is said, neither party defrauds the other: the Carthaginians do not touch the gold until it equals the value of their cargo, nor do the people touch the cargo until the sailors have taken the gold.
Off hand looks like a neat book.
$31.45...
Good thing for the Phoenicians there weren’t left and right wing nuts around to claim trade is “unfair” and ought to be squelched.
Somehow I doubt it was all that peaceful or stable. The so-called marine merchants probably also plied their trade as pirates and privateers both (depending on your point of view). While the big wars may have been reduced in number the general lawlessness should've increased as thugs and strongman politics prevailed.
There’s a minimal leftwing spin in the two-part article.
I’m sure there were. :’) Nicely put, btw!
In classical times, typically, piracy was carried on by freelancers with the complicity of this or that town which let them use it as their home port. Places which made a living by fishing (for example) had times of the year when they knew commercial trade was in season, so they’d gear up for a little piracy on the side.
The monsoon winds made round trip trade in the Indian Ocean (”Erythrean Sea”) a yearlong thing (the winds blow east for months, then stop, then blow west for months, then stop...), and business in Roman times was enormous, as were the Roman merchant ships of the time; they berthed in ports along the Red Sea. Hellenistic traders operated from there also, as well as out of the Persian Gulf. Piracy must have existed, but probably wasn’t as much of a problem then, or business wouldn’t have been as good as it was.
In recent years, traces of a transplanted Tamil population brought by some Roman entrepreneur from India to a town on the Red Sea may speak of an effort to produce “imported” goods such as pottery or textiles, things with lower markup, closer to home, in an effort to cut costs.
Herodotus’ account of the pharaoh’s hiring of the Phoenicians to circumnavigate Africa has an obviously correct detail, which is that the Sun was on the right (to the north) when they were in the southern reaches; it’s a detail that Herodotus doesn’t believe (and gives a reason), but reproduces in entire because he was a good historian. :’)
Sailor to recreate Phoenicians’ epic African voyage
Stone Pages | Sunday, March 23, 2008 | The Independent
Posted on 03/24/2008 1:41:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990860/posts
The Voyage of Hanno
http://www.metrum.org/mapping/hanno.htm
ML/NJ
The History of Herodotus By Herodotus
Book I, Clio
Translated by George Rawlinson
http://classics.mit.edu//Herodotus/history.html
The Caspian is a sea by itself, having no connection with any other. The sea frequented by the Greeks, that beyond the Pillars of Hercules, which is called the Atlantic, and also the Erythraean, are all one and the same sea. But the Caspian is a distinct sea, lying by itself, in length fifteen days’ voyage with a row-boat, in breadth, at the broadest part, eight days’ voyage. Along its western shore runs the chain of the Caucasus, the most extensive and loftiest of all mountain-ranges. Many and various are the tribes by which it is inhabited, most of whom live entirely on the wild fruits of the forest. In these forests certain trees are said to grow, from the leaves of which, pounded and mixed with water, the inhabitants make a dye, wherewith they paint upon their clothes the figures of animals; and the figures so impressed never wash out, but last as though they had been inwoven in the cloth from the first, and wear as long as the garment.
On the west then, as I have said, the Caspian Sea is bounded by the range of Caucasus. On the cast it is followed by a vast plain, stretching out interminably before the eye, the greater portion of which is possessed by those Massagetae, against whom Cyrus was now so anxious to make an expedition.
Good idea! Of course, give or take the political and bureaucratic BS, they’d succeed, because they know there’s a continent on the other side of the strait. By comparison, Heyerdahl’s two major voyages (Kon-Tiki and Ra/Ra II) taught him that long voyages can result from accidents (on Ra, the steering oar broke while trying to turn the reed boat back to the east).
I wish the Kindle had existed twenty years ago, I’d have less clutter. ;’)
oh yeah.. and the most recent B&N email (from joining the readers choice club) offers a free ebook reader; it’s a d/l-able gizmo that runs on a variety of existing platforms (iPod, Blackberry, etc) but appears to offer really old backlist titles (first seven are free just for signing up and d/l-ing the program).
No kidding. My wife is always trying to free me from all my clutter, er, I mean books. My office is filled with them. I spend a lot of time in airports, planes and hotels. The Kindle is the best thing I’ve purchased in a long time. I’m finally reading again and I love the fact that I can increase the font size when I get tired....which happens a lot.
I haven’t taken the time to join but that’s one sweet deal. I hope, and it may just be hope, that this device helps increase book sales so the publishers consider offering some reprints. There are more than a few books I’ve been trying to find for some time now that are out of print. We’ll see....
Good point about the font size, one of my main complaints about everyday life is that the print is getting smaller (and it’s not entirely just an expression). Seems like the Kindle would be an excellent foundation for our educational system.
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