The Path to Industrialization

Abstract

The growth of a system of commerce and trade was the driving force behind the emergence of modern capitalism. This does not mean that it did not exist in many guises for many centuries before this transitional period. Certainly, trade and commerce must have taken place as early as the dawn of civilization and the first cities. Townsfolk need to trade with people outside of their walls for much of their food and most of their luxuries. We know that small-scale businesses were operating even before the Golden Age of Greece and the flowering of the Roman Empire. For the Romans, the Mediterranean was one large, watery trading highway. Early on, their commerce reached fairly substantial proportions and included trade with such then-distant lands as North Africa, Asia, and the British Isles. Such products as olive oil, wine, grain, slaves, and metals were regularly traded by the Romans for amber, jewels, gold, timber, wool, silk, and a host of other goods.