A splendid exchange: how trade shaped the world

Adam Smith asserted that humans possess an inherent "propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one item for another." How did trade develop to the extent that we effortlessly consume an apple sourced from the opposite side of the globe? The author narrates the remarkable history of global commerce from its prehistoric beginnings to the numerous controversies it faces now. He guides readers through the journey of ancient sailing vessels that facilitated the silk trade between China and Rome in the second century, to the ascendance and decline of the Portuguese spice monopoly in the sixteenth century; from the sugar rush that attracted the British to Jamaica in 1655 to the American trade conflicts of the early twentieth century; from pivotal innovations like steam, steel, and refrigeration to the contemporary age of televisions from Taiwan, lettuce from Mexico, and T-shirts from China.
Bernstein analyzes how our longstanding reliance on commerce has enhanced agricultural productivity, fostered intellectual advancement, and rendered us both affluent and susceptible. Despite the tendency for xenophobia and conflict to overshadow the desire for commerce, Bernstein asserts that trade is fundamentally beneficial for nations, contending that civilizations achieve greater success and stability when they engage in robust trade with neighboring countries. Vibrant, authoritative, and expansive in scope, this book is a compelling narrative that examines trade and globalization not through a political lens, but as an evolutionary process as ancient as war and religion—a historical constant—that will persist in nurturing intellectual capital, diminishing global distances, and advancing the trajectory of humanity.