History of commerce and industry

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Preface

This book is an outgrowth of eleven years' experience in teaching history to commercial classes at the Philadelphia Central High School. In preparing it the aim has been the same as the aim of the teaching : viz., to present the essentials of history from the commercial and industrial point of yiew. The purpose has been to furnish the history of a great movement or tendency rather than the hi^ory of nations. It will be obvious to those who use the book that the Writer's interests have been primarily in commercial history.

The writer accepts as true a recent statement of Canon Henson, that knowledge of the past is a great emancipating power of the present, and that ignorance of the past is one of the present's greatest curses. History treated as a record of social progress may become "one of the great cementing forces of society."

With what aspect of the past shall history deal? It is quite correct to say that history is the outgrowth of the age in which it is written and that the various interpretations which have been given it are but reflections of the varying and dominant interests of society. Not many years ago, Edward A. Freeman's famous dictum, "history is past politics and politics are present history," found general acceptance ; but this sentiment is no longer generally approved. Clearly there is at present a desire to select those interests of the past which most bear on the present. For a considerable time, the tendency has been obvious for both writers and teachers to emphasize economic and social history rather than the history of war or of the evolution of governmental systems.

Another significant illustration of aims in historical study is presented by the World War which began in 1914. The emphasis upon nationality and the treatment of history as a too vi Preface

great exaltation of the political existence of one's own nation to the disregard of other powers and interests, rightly have been held answerable for much misconception in the world at large, and have led seriously to the question whether there has not been "too much history." To this there can be, of course, but one answer, — not too much history, but history of the wrong sort, or directed to wrong ends.

The conception of history suggested above absolutely forces a consideration of the economic and industrial aspects of the subject. Nor is such a study to be condemned as utilitarian or materialistic. The history of commerce and industry shows how men have transformed the conditions under which they have lived, and have wrought out the physical means of human progress. To those who are to do the practical work of the world, a study of the steps by which this progress has been accomplished is of supreme importance. Business men and women are no exception to the rule that mankind is dependent on a study of the past for both knowledge and ideals.

The hst of those to whom the writer is indebted is long. First he acknowledges his obligation to his former teachers. Professors James Harvey Robinson, John Bach McMaster, and Edward Potts Cheyney. Professors Rowland, Lingelbach, and McKinley of the University of Pennsylvania have read parts of the book in manuscript or proof, and have made valuable suggestions. Dr. William Fairley, Principal of the Commercial High School in Brooklyn, and Mr. Charles «L. Reed of the Mechanic Arts High School in Boston read parts of the manuscript and similarly helped with suggestions as to subject matter and form of presentation. Mr. Paterson Du Bois read all of the manuscript and made many suggestions as to form. But the greatest obUgation is to Mr. D. Montfort Melchior and Mr. Morris Wolf, teachers of history in Girard College, who have been most helpful in the preparation of the manuscript and in

seeing the book through tJie press.

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY

Two methods are possible in studying the relations between the past and the present. The history of a movement or institution may be traced from the present backward to its origin, or the roots of the present may be foimd in the past and the process followed by which the past unfolds. In either case, present interest is the guide in the selection of material. Which of these methods is chosen is not so important as the spirit in which the study is pursued.

The earUer practice of presenting history as a study entirely cut off from present interest has largely disappeared. Our general histories have recognized the need of selecting for study those aspects of earher times which have the most direct bearing upon present problems. If this is true of general history, it is true also, more largely, of the history of commerce and industry.

The tendency to give less emphasis to the earlier periods should not mean that they be entirely neglected. Schools owe to students a fair knowledge of the past of the society of which they are a part. The change that is now taking place is one of emphasis and method of presentation. The history of the ancient and medieval periods is being more and more summarized and presented in outline.

A caution should be given against the slavish following of any single method of study. Even the division of history into periods is likely to mislead pupils as to the unity of the subject and the vital relations of the parts. The study of history as a imity and a regard for the parts as interrelated and interdependent should go far toward overcoming that "appetite for disconnected facts" which Robert Louis Stevenson once likened to "the savage's love of stringing beads."

The writer would urge the value of the topic and problem methods of study in the history of commerce and industry,

• •

vu viii Suggestions for Study

The book suggests in section headings and various subdivisions many suitable topics, and the books for reference given at the conclusions of the chapters offer additional material for investigation. The preparation and presentation of these topics as student lectures, supplemented with questions and discussion by the class and the teacher, will give good results. The interest will be increased if the pupils are permitted to select their topics and to follow their own interest as far as possible. A continuity of topics may be observed. The topics in the earUer periods may be treated in outline, thus reserving additional time for the more detailed study of the last hundred years.

A study of this book should give some insight into social evolution. In the chapter on * ^ Greek Industry and Commerce, ' ' attention is drawn to the remarkable intellectual development of the Athenians. A recent writer on EvoltUion and Environment accepts the conclusions of Galton and earlier scholars as to the high development of the Athenians compared with that of the citizens of modem countries, but finds that progress has come from social evolution. The earth has become a great neighborhood. Men now feel an interest in and responsibiUty for others, even for those who live on the other side of the world. The methods of study used with this book should intensify this interest, and create a new consciousness of the dependence and interdependence of peoples.

The questions at the close of the chapters are not meant to be either exhaustive or complete. In the main, they are on matters outside of the text and they are designed as "thought provokers," or "discussion breeders,'' rather than as a means of searching the pupil's knowledge of the text. Most teachers will supply questions on the text which will be more satisfactory than stereotyped questions which the book might present. If, however, by citations from other books, and questions in the broader but related field, the student's interest can be stimulated, the questions will serve a highly useful purpose. Pupils will get special profit from the formulation of their own questions on assigned sections of the book.

Attention is drawn to the desirability of making use of maps

Suggestions for Study ix

for representing the studies of the book. Trade routes, commercial centers, distribution of agricultural and other products, centers of manufacture, locations of colonies, indications of spheres of influence, and other data, may be most easily fixed in the mind through the use of outline maps. The series of outline maps of the McKinley Publishing Company (Philadelphia) furnishes an inexpensive and satisfactory supply of materials of this sort.

Tabular arrangements of the sort shown on pages ii and 216 are helpful for furnishing comparisons over considerable periods; lists of products and means of transport may be similarly shown. The index of the book is quite inclusive and can be used to advantage for topical study. Pictures may be collected to give the study more vivid interest. Citations irom contemporary records can be accumulated, and will furnish a contact with the periods studied that can be secured in no other way.

The lists of "Books for Consultation" at the close of the chapters present materials for further study. The lists are not meant to be exhaustive, and they do not include the books which the writer used in the preparation of his manuscript. Many of the works mentioned in these lists have more complete and pretentious bibliographies than have seemed desirable for this book. The books that are considered of special value are marked with double asterisks, those that are recommended but thought to be of less value are marked with single asterisks, and those of more general interest are enumerated without special emphasis.

SMALL REFERENCE COLLECTION

It is highly desirable that every class that undertakes a study of the History of Commerce and Industry should have access to at least the following books :

Ploetz, Epitome of Ancient, Mediceval and Modern History ^ revised to 1914, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company; J914. $3.

X Suggestions for Study

Shepherd, Historical Atlas, New York, Holt and Company: 1911. $2.50.

Cunningham, Western Civilization in Its Economic Aspects, 2 vols., Cambridge University Press, New York, Putnam's: 1902,1910. $1.10 each.

Day, History of Commerce, New York, Longmans, Green and Company : 1914. $2.

Myres, The Dawn of History, New York, Holt and Company, "Home University Library Series": 191 1. $.60.

Robinson, Introduction to the History of Western Europe, Boston, Ginn and Company: 1902. $1.60 (also, Medieval and Modern Times, Boston, Ginn and Company : 1916. $1.60).

Innes, England's Industrial Development, New York, Macmillans: 1912. $1.60.

BoGART, Economic History of the United States, New York, Longmans, Green and .Company : 191 2. $1.75.

Whelpley, Trade of the World, New York, Century Company :

It is presumed that in addition to the above, pupils will have access to the Eleventh Edition of the EncyclopCRdia Britannica.

LARGER REFERENCE LIBRARY

For schools that are able to provide a larger collection of books, the list above mentioned may be supplemented with the following :

Breasted, History of Ancient Times, Boston, Ginn and Company: 1916. $1.60.

Marchant, Pitman^ s Commercial History, New York and London, Pitmans: 1908. $1.

Seignobos, History of Ancient Civilization; History of Medicsval and Modern Civilization, History of Contemporary Civilization, New York, Scribners : 1906, 1907, 1909. $1.25 each.

Adams, Civilization During the Middle Ages, New York, Scribners: 1895. $2.50.

Cheyney, Industrial and Social History of England, New York, MacmiUans: 1901. $1.40.

Suggestions for Study xi

Cross, England and Greater Britain, New York, Macmillan : 1914. $2.50.

GiBBiNS, History of Commerce in Europe, New York, Macmillan: 1897. $.90.

Hamilton, Current Economic Problems, University of Chicago Press: 1915 (valuable selection of readings from wide range of topics in medieval and modern times). $2.75.

Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce, New York, Putnam: 1904, 1910. 2 vols., vol. 2 in 2 parts, ^et, <po*

MacGregor, Tfte Evolution of Industry, New York, Holt and Company, "Home University Library Series": 191 2. $.60.

Hazen, Europe since 181 5, New York, Holt and Company: 1910. $3.

CoMAN, Industrial History of the United States, New York, Macmillan: 1910. $1.60.

CooLiDGE, The United States as a World Power, New York, Macmillan, " Standard Library Edition " : 1912. $.50.

Keller, Colonization, Boston, Ginn and Co. : 1908. $3.60.

GoocH, History of Our Time {1885-1911), New York, Holt and Company, "Home University Library": 1911. $.60.

For those who wish even a larger collection, the volumes of the Cambridge Modern History are recommended, also special volumes of the "Home University Library" and selections from the "Story of the Nations." The Palgrave Dictionary of Political Economy will also be found of large value. The Books for Consultation at the conclusion of the several chapters offer numerous additional suggestions.

Chapter I Paob

Introductory i

I. Definition and Place

History and Its Divisions ; Value of Applied History ; Causes for Commerce ; Man's Progress ; Aids and Hindrances to Trade ; Trade Depends on Communication; Relations of Trade and Production ; Money and Credit ; Colonies in Economic Development ; Divisions of Commercial History.

n. Some Fundamentals of the History of Commerce AND Industry in Ancient and Medieval Times

Nature of Early Trade and Value of Its Study; The Mediterranean Sea; Land about the Mediterranean; Trade Routes; Commodities of Early Commerce ; Caravan Trade.

CHAPTER II Industry and Commerce of the Nile and Tigris-Euphrates

Valleys 21

I. Egypt

The Country; The People of Egypt ; Products of Egypt ; Communication and Trade ; Ethiopian Commerce.

II. Mesopotamia

The Tigris-Euphrates Valley; The Inhabitants; Products of Babylonia; Trade of Babylon; Business Methods of Babylonia; The Far East.

CHAPTER III Commerce of Phcenicia and Adjacent Lands . . . .37

Phoenicia's Position; The Phoenicians; Phoenician Products and Industries ; Phoenician Commerce ; Phoenician Colonization ; Carthage; Decline of Carthage; Palestine; Syria; Arabia; Rise of Persia ; Lydia and the Westward Movement.

xiu xiv Contents

Chapter IV Page

Greek Industry and Commerce .56

Greek Geography; Early Oriental Influence; Greek Colonization ; t^roducts and Industries ; Greek Commerce ; Alexander's Empire; Rhodes.

CHAPTER V Rome's Economic Development 71

Geographical Basis ; Roman People ; Occupations and Products ; Imperial Rome ; Roman Provinces ; Roman Roads ; Roman Navigation ; Roman Trade ; Decline of Roman Power ; Summary.

CHAPTER VI Break-up of the Roman Empire 90

Position and Importance of Constantinople; Founding and Government; Productions and Industries; Commercial Operations; Decline of Constantinople; Barbarian Invasions; The Church as an Institution ; Wealth and Production of the Church ; The Church's Influence on Commerce; Rise of the Empire; Services of the Empire.

CHAPTER VII Commerce of the Italian Republics 102

Italy in Medieval Times; Venice, Position and Trade Outlook; Natural Products and Industries; Trade Policies; and Venetian Sea Trade; Trade of Amalfi ; Pisa; Genoa; Florence; Conclusion.

Chapter VIII

The Saracen Invasion of Europe and the Crusades • • iz7 Saracen and Crusader.

I. The Saracen Invasion

Saracen Culture ; Saracen Communication ; Trade ; Decline of Saracen Power and Results of Saracen Invasion.

Contents xv

n. The Crusades

PAGE

Motivesfor the Crusades; The Crusades m Progress; Effects of the Crusades.

CHAPTER JX

Production in Medieval Times 129

Economic Characteristics of Feudalism; Manorial System; Gilds; Rise of Towns; Decline of the Gilds.

The Position of Holland; Rise in Holland; Rise of Dutch Trade ; Dutch East India Company ; Dutch in the New World ; Trade Rivalry with England ; Conclusion.

Chapter XVIII

The Establishment of Economic Policies; French Exploration" and Settlement ; French Colonial Policy ; Fur Trade ; Economic Changes of the Eighteenth Century ; Modem France.

CHAPTER XrX

Expansion of England (i 603-1 760) 249

The New Period ; Causes for Colonization ; Colonial Foimdations ; East India Company ; Ireland ; Agricultural Productions ; Manufactures; Intemal Communication; Shipping; Cromwell's Commercial Policy; Navigation Acts; Dutch Commercial Relations ; Science of Wealth ; Finances ; Board of Trade and Plantations; The Bank of England; Peace of Utrecht; Speculative Companies; Colonial Rivalry.

Contents xvii

Chapter XX

lAOB

Economic Development of English North Amebica . • .271

The Region; The Hinterland; Population; Labor Supply; Indentured and Redemption Laborers ; Slave Labor; Tropical Colonies; Colonies of Temperate Regions; Colonial Manufactures; Restrictions and Bounties; Intra-Colonial Trade; Shipping and Shipbuilding ; Fisheries; Colonial Currency ; Economic Differences with the Mother-Country.

Chapter XXI

What the Industrial Revolution Was; Agrarian Revolution; Textile Manufactures; Iron and Steel Manufactures; Steam Engine ; River and Canal Commerce ; Steam Navigation ; Locomotive ; The Factory System ; England's Foreign Trade ; Sueqmary of Results.

CHAPTER XXn

The Economic Independence of the United States (i 776-1833) 312

Manufactures and Trade during the Revolution ; The Critical Period ; Trade Difl&culties and the Federal Constitution ; Establishment of a Currency; United States Bank; Agriculture; Manufactures; Growth of Shipping; Struggle for Neutrality; Embargo; War of 181 2; Tariffs, 1789 to 1833; Internal Improvements; Roads; Canals; River and Lake Trade; Westward Expansion; Commercial . Independence of the Western Hemisphere; New Era.

CHAPTER XXra

Modem England ; Agriculture ; Coal Mining ; Iron Manufactures ; Textile Manufactures ; Commercial Relations with America during the Civil War ; The Fisheries ; Shipbuilding and Shipping; River and Canal Navigation; Railroads; Trade-unions; Social Changes; Foreign Policy; Commercial Policy; Home Trade; The English People and Lloyd's; Port Facilities; Imports and Exports ; Conclusion.

xviii Contents

CHAPTER XXIV

PAGE GbEATER BbITAIN ; • . . 352

Introduction; Irdand; The Government of Canada; Internal Development of Canada; Canada's Commercial Policies; British West Indies ; The Suez Canal ; Australia ; Development of Australian Resources; New Zealand; India; Soutfi Africa; The British Empire.

CHAPTER XXV

Geographical Position; Natural Resources; German Agriculture; German Population; Growth toward Union; The Zollverein; Bismarck; National Development; Military System; Education; Social Progress; German Labor; Iron and Steel Manufactures; Home Industries; Manufactures in General.

CHAPTER XXVI

Water Transportation; German Railways; Domestic Commerce; Foreign Relations ; Colonial Interests ; Merchant Marine ; German Finance ; Commercial Policy ; Commercial Cities ; Foreign Trade ; Conclusion.

CHAPTER XXVII

Geographical Features ; Natural Resources ; Agriculture ; Fisheries; Russian People; Russian Government; Russian Education; National Foundations; Peter the Great; Later National Development; Tariffs; Manufactures; Transportation; The Trans-Siberian Railway; Internal Trade; Foreign Relations; Commercial Outlook; Merchant Marine; The Foreign Commerce; Conclusion.

CHAPTER XXVni

The Far East; Geographical Position; Natural Riches; The Chinese People; Education and Government; China's Prod-

Contents xix

PAGE

ucts ; Inland Commerce ; Foreign Influences ; Opium Trade ; Foreign Commerce; Conclusion.

CHAPTER XXDC

An Island Kingdom ; Natural Resources ; Agriculture ; Fisheries; Population; Government; Education; Industries; Foreign Relations; Conmiunication ; Shipping; Conunerce; Formosa; Korea.

CHAPTER XXX

CoMMERaAL Latin America 457

Introduction; Geography; Natural Resources; Population; Independence; International Relations; The Pan-American Union; Agriculture; Industries; Communication; Financial Condition ; The Panama Canal ; Trade Relations.

CHAPTER XXXI

Internal Development of the United States (i 833-1 880) . 478

Financial Conditions; Panic of 1837 ; The Independent Treasury System; American Inventions; Tariffs; Agricultural Production ; Mineral Resources ; Manufactures ; Organized Labor.

CHAPTER XXXn

Internal Development of the United States (i 833-1 880)

{jOofUinued) 492

Slave Labor ; The Civil War ; Blockades and Ravaged Commerce ; Ships and Shipping ; Railway Development ; Acquisition of Territory; Centennial Exhibition; Population and Immigration ; Domestic Commerce ; Foreign Conunerce.

CHAPTER XXXIII

New Period ; Population and Immigration ; Agriculture ; Irrigation and Reclamation; Conservation; Mining; Manufactures;

XX Contents

PA6B

• Domestic Commerce; Railways; Electric Transportation; Express Service and Parcel Post ; Interstate Commerce Commission ; Currency; Banking Changes; Government Regulation of Business ; Government Changes.

CHAPTER XXXIV

AicEsicA Looking Outward 533

The Spanish- American War; Outlying' Territory; Merchant Marine; Foreign Policy; Tariffs and Reciprocity; Foreign Trade; Conclusion.

ILLUSTRATIONS

FAOB

Nile Boat with Sail 26

Irrigation on the Euphrates 28

A Cylinder Seal 30

Phoenicians Trading with Early Britons 40

Phoenician Galley 42

Plowing in Palestine 48

Damascus Sword-maker 50

Arab Weaver and Primitive Loom 51

Greek Merchant Ships 62

Roman Merchant Ship 80

Roman Ship 81

Front and Back of Roman Silver Coin Known as a Denarius . . 83

Roman Bronze Coin Termed an As 85

The Bucentaur 106

Venetian Shipping in the Fifteenth Century 108

Genoese Merchant Ship (Carrack) iii

Lorenzo de Medici 113

English Ship, Time of Crusades 124

Weaver at Close of Middle Ages 134

Goldsmith's Shop at Close of Middle Ages 136

Spinning and Weaving 137

Goldsmith at Close of Middle Ages 143

The Hansard Steelyard in London 154

Viking ship, 900 to 1000 a.d 156

Hanseatic Ship, Fourteenth Century 157

Hull of Ship (1500 A.D.) 175

The Invention of Printing 176

Ships of Late Fifteenth Century 177

Prince Henry the Navigator 178

Peruvian Silver Mine (Cerro de Pasco) 198

Syndics of the Cloth Hall 223

Half-moon of Henry Hudson 227

xxi xxii Illustrations

PAGE

Colbert •. . . 235

Montreal, 1760 238

Sir Josiah Child 253

Title-page of Yarranton*s Book 262

Bank of England 265

Conestoga Wagon 284

Eighteenth Century Ship 286

Colonial Paper Currency 288

Arkwright*s First Machine for Spinning * . 297

The Clermont 301

First Cunard Steamship (Britannia) at Halifax 303

Locomotives and Cars as Represented in 1823 304

Early American Train 305

Early American Locomotive (Old Ironsides) . . : . , 305

A Continental Paper Bill 313

Medal for Improving Breed of Sheep 317

Fishing Schooner Leaving Boston 321

Governor Clinton Pouring the Waters of Lake Erie into the Atlantic 327

Belfast Linen Weaving 353

Threshing in Western Canada 3S6

The Suez Canal 361

Shearing Sheep by Electricity in Australia 363

Joseph Chamberlain 369

Cultivating Sugar Beets in Germany 375

Dressing German Dolls 386

Peter the Great 409

Fair at Nijni-Novgorod 416

Chinese Caravan from the Interior 429

A Chinese Bank 430

Unloading Tea at Hang Kow 436

Japanese Cloisonn6 Manufacture 446

Japanese Galley (1768) • 4Si

Colonel (General) George W. Goethals 471

Docks at Buenos Aires 474

Samuel F. B. Morse and His Invention 480

Howe's Sewing Machine 480

Alexander Graham Bell 481

Cyrus H. McCormick 483

McCormick*s First Reaper 484

American Locomotive 497

Illustrations xxiii

PAOB

Wlialeback Freighter for Great Lakes Soi

American Clipper Ship 502

Modem Self-binder 508

Farm Tractor Plowing and Harrowing SOQ

Coal Resources of the United States 513

Andrew Carnegie 514

Great Lakes Freighter 516

Unloading Ore from Lake Steamers 517

Triplex-compound Locomotive 518

Electric Locomotives . . , 520

Electric Motor in Coal Mine 521

Philippine Cart Loaded with Hemp 536

Three-masted Schooner 538

Wharves, New Orleans . 544

Building New York Chamber of Commerce 545

MAPS

PAOB

Openings from the Mediterranean 14

Ancient Egypt and Ethiopia 21

Arabia 33

Phoenician Trade Routes 41

Phoenician and Greek Colonies 57

Athens and Peirseus 66

Colonies and Roads of Italy . . ^ 78

Ancient World 400 a.d 86

Venetian Trade Routes 107

Routes of Third Crusade 123

The Hanseatic World 152

European Nations in New World 268

National Road 326

Trade Routes through Panama Canal 470

Canal 2^ne 472

Area of Cotton Production 485

Territorial Accessions to United States 499

Irrigation Projects 510

Parcel Post 2^nes from St. Louis 523

Federal Reserve Bank Districts and Cities 526

Cross Roads of the Pacific 534

Federal Land Bank Districts and Cities 528

XXV

HISTORY OF COMMERCE AND

INDUSTRY

Chapter I Introductory

I. Definition and Place

I. History and Its Divisions. — History is a formal record of man's life upon the earth, and it is concerned primarily with the formation and development of groups of men called nations. The whole of history may be considered as a cable or rope made up of strands or threads. The divisions of history are many, but at least five are generally recognized, viz. : political and constitutional history ; military history ; church history ; and economic history. The latter shows how man has provided for his physical and material needs. Industrial history is that division of economic history which shows how men have produced the goods necessary for their own lives or to be used in exchange. The history of commerce is that branch of economic history which records how men have exchanged or traded the things they had and could spare for those which they desired but had not. Thus the history of industry and commerce shows how human need has been satisfied.^

Commerce is a word of recent origin, having come into use since the beginning of the sixteenth century. Its earlier equivalent was trade or merchandise. Both commerce and merchandise are from the Latin merx, meaning goods or wares,

* These divisions of history may be studied to advantage separately, but each part must also be regarded in its relation to the whole. Robinson, The New Hisiory, 66, 67.

B I

2 Definition and Place

and this root should help to fix the idea for which these words stand.

a. Value of Applied History. — The first benefit from a study of the history of commerce and industry may be termed vocational, A view of the whole of history is necessary to understand its several parts, but there is also profit in following the thread of one's special interest and seeing the relation of this to the whole. The selection of material in the study of military history, church history, or the history of education, medicine, or law, usually is an evidence of regard for the future occupation of the student. Business is no exception to the rule that the history of an art, a science, or a profession should form part of the education of those who devote themselves to it.

But economic history is deserving of study quite apart from the fact that it dignifies the business calling and gives those in commercial life a proper regard for their occupation. The basal and universal needs of men at all times and in all places have been for food, clothing, and shelter. The history that shows how these were provided is of great value. Because of this there is an increasing regard for economic history both as an independent subject of study and as an element in general history. It was once the fashion to put strong emphasis on military history, but this records how men were destroyed; economic history, on the other hand, shows how men were kept alive and how they have improved the conditions of their existence.^

The desire for improvement in the condition of life has been the chief motive of human progress. Men have broken down the barriers of isolation ; the world has become a great neighborhood ; time and distance have almost ceased to be, all in order that existence may become more endurable and enjoyable. Trade has been a civilizing force; "the winds of commerce have wafted the seeds of science."

Economic history may well be termed a record of the efforts

'i "We may state the thesis succinctly as follows : The existence of man depends upon his ability to sustain himself ; the economic life is therefore the fundamental condition of all life." Seligman, The Economic Interpretation of History, 3.

Causes for Commerce 3

of men to find an answer to the world-old question, haw to live. The service of commerce can be best conceived by calling to mind the experience of a native South Sea Islander who, a few years ago, was brought to London. What most filled him with wonder was the number of people, and he questioned how they could live, for he saw " neither cattle nor crops." Economic history answers this question.^

3. Causes for Commerce. — Commerce results from two basic differences: first, in men and their tastes and aptitudes ; and second, in the regions where men live, i,e,, in their physical environment. From early records there is evidence tiiatmen followed different occupations. Cain tilled the soil, while Abel tended flocks (Genesis iv. 2). The differences in men and regions lead to the two forms of commerce, viz., domestic and foreign. The former might be termed local and the latter regional or territorial,

Man's increased skill and higher productive power have resulted from a narrowing of his effort, which is known as division of labor, A " jack of all trades " is wanting in high efl&ciency in any one trade. It is obvious that this specialized production has made commerce necessary, and at the same time it has furnished the goods by which it could be carried on.

The different regions of the world are found to be markedly dissimilar in their supply of raw materials, and men have followed different occupations in the different localities to such an extent as to create what is known as territorial division of labor. They have exchanged goods because of differences in

* "The mercantile side of history has often been treated with the contempt, more often with the indifference, of ignorance. Yet nothing has been more efficient in aiding human progress than trade-activity. No form of man's energy has done more to link together distant and diverse races, to bring about the discovery of the earth, to promote truly useful knowledge, to 'clear the mind of cant,' to break down obstacles, both mental and physical, which once henmied in mankind and separated its lands and peoples from one another." Beazley, Prince Henry of Portugal, ** American Historical Review," Janiiary, 1912.

"Contained within the history of trading, lie all the romance and adventure of the sea and the frontier, the horrors of war, the privations and sufferings of exploration, the rise or fall of nations ; in brief, the story of civilization and of barbarism." WhelplQr, The Trade of ike World, 12.

4 Definition and Place

the productive areas of the world, and as a result they have enjoyed more fully the bounty of the whole earth. The wide diversity of man's consumption under modern conditions results from the production of different commodities in different regions and the exchange of the results of such production.

4. Man's Progress. — Civilization measures the extent to which man has made nature serve his needs. His progress in the mastery of nature is marked generally by at least three recognized steps — the hunting y the pastoral (nomadic), and the agricultural (industrial). In the first of these man is called savage, in the second, barbarous, or semi-civilized, and in the third, civilized. Man in the savage stage was hunter and fisher and destroyed the very products of nature on which he depended. But even the savages traded, the hunter with the fisher, and those who went on the chase with those who stayed at home.