Trading has evolved over the years, right from the first long-distance trade in 3000 BC between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Although the trade at this time was focused on luxury goods, it has evolved throughout the centuries across geographical locations today. While trading was originally for purchasing items, it soon became a system to pull people together in one place to exchange goods, regardless of their culture or belief.
The Evolution
In ancient times, humans traded with the barter system; with commodities such as livestock, salt, metal, and rare stones; with money in the form of objects such as weapons, metal artifacts, pottery, copper, and plant production. There were also other forms of currencies used for the purchase, including clay pots or tools, seeds, grains, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and cowry shells. The most common form of trading was the Barter system, as it was easier for most people to exchange the goods they already had with something else of a similar value that they need.
It wasn’t until the 1530s that stock exchange became a form of trade and it constantly evolved from Belgium to East India, London, Japanese, and to more countries. The Internet was invented in the 1980s but online trading didn’t gain much traction until the 90s and since then, it has only gotten better, especially with the involvement of top technologies reducing the fees on several online trading platforms.
How it Changed the World?
Trading is easier today than ever, as you can easily walk to the nearest mall to get what you need and pay by cash or with your card. You can also place an order online and have it delivered to your home. All thanks to the technological advancements but how did we get here?
As years passed, people started settling into larger towns and soon realized that they did not necessarily have to produce everything from scratch. Even if they wanted to, the weather conditions sometimes did not permit them to grow certain things. The solution was to travel to other cities to purchase these items, which sometimes required a long-distance journey with the use of camels on the road and sea travels when the roads were bad.
According to LedLightStreet, to make it easier for everyone, “people started thinking of new innovations to pull the world closer together and have access to virtually everything they need without going through the long-dreaded journey. Then came the invention and evolution of technology, the internet, better and faster means of transportation and communication, and more. All these contributed to making the world a better place for everyone and this includes the trading system.”
Today, we trade every day but in a better and more effective way. Regardless of how easy it has become today, we still have to acknowledge the role of ancient trading and how it paved the way for this to happen.
The world is constantly evolving and there’s surely more to expect in the coming years, including the trading system. Many undeveloped countries are yet to fully embrace what some other countries have as regards a better trading system but with time, everyone will be a beneficiary of the trade evolution.