International trade is widely considered as a strong determiner of a country’s economic growth and cultural influence, with proof dating back centuries. A combination of factors, such as taxes, tariffs, and costs of production, now influence a country’s decision to trade with others and it seems that international trade was a lot simpler centuries ago. However, this was not the case for ancient civilizations that took part in international trade without the help of modern technology.
Though Greece has several microclimates, its soil could only provide grains, olives, and grapes for its people.[1] With water and raw materials being in short supply, the Greeks relied heavily on trade overseas.[2] The largest Greek island, Crete, experienced significant cultural and economic growth due to international trade. During the Bronze Age, the Minoans, who built a network of palaces on Crete, set the foundation of trade in the Ancient Greek World.
The Minoans: Trading and the Economy
The Minoans had a redistributive economy in which its palaces stored all of Crete’s imports and exports. Since grains, olives, and grapes were in abundance, the palaces collected these as taxes from farmers and held reserves of these goods, distributing them to servants and families in need and exporting the rest.[3] The Minoans were heavily involved in overseas trade, with routes spanning across the Mediterranean (Figure 1).[4] Linear A tablets, which were made of clay, featured text and signs that the Minoans used (Figure 2).[5] The language itself is unknown and untranslated to this day, but historians widely believe that the tablets with Linear A writing held information and records about trading, the economy, and administration.[6]
Trade, along with art and architecture, was what made the Minoans influential in the cultures of their trading partners. Crete had a booming economy, with sailors, artisans, and fishermen being sought out to increase supply and satisfy the demand for Minoan exports.[7]
Unlike today’s economy with currency mostly being traded for goods, the Ancient Greeks used a barter system, trading goods for other goods. Commonly, metals were imported to produce tools and weapons; though tin, arsenic, and copper were originally used for this purpose, the Greeks realized that bronze, lead, silver, and gold were more efficient and could be more easily traded due to their value.[8] With the trading of vessels, textiles, and jewellery, the Minoans were able to spread their culture and artifacts throughout the Mediterranean, as seen in an astounding discovery in the late 1960s on Thera, an island now known as Santorini.[9]
Around 1628 BC, a volcanic eruption destroyed Akrotiri, a city in Thera, leaving artifacts and evidence of Minoan culture and its influence preserved under volcanic ash.[10] Akrotiri is still being excavated and studied by archaeologists and art historians today and many have compared it to Pompeii, though the Italian city was not as well preserved as people removed various artifacts and damaged the site in the process.[11] Today, Santorini is a well known tourist attraction, with its signature white buildings and vibrant cobalt blue roofs to match the waters of the Aegean Sea; guests and tourists can visit the remains of Akrotiri and look at how the Therans integrated Minoan culture with similar art forms and architecture, which they were exposed to due to trade.
North America: Trading and the Economy Today
It is undoubtable that international trade has shaped the cultures of many countries today. With the growth of technology allowing for translations of international languages and communication across social media, globalization has become much easier for organizations. Notably, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was ratified earlier this year (Figure 3).[12] Though former US President Donald Trump argues that it was created to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he opposed, the USMCA introduces new laws and policies that allow for more growth in the American economy under the guise of growing the North American economy.
A main policy the USMCA highlights is the requirement for vehicles produced in North America to have at least 75 percent of their components locally sourced from its member countries, rather than imported from European or Asian countries, to avoid being subjected to tariffs.[13] Automobile industry analysts believe that this policy could actually hinder the growth of the North American economy due to rising production costs from the pressure to match the quality of components that could have been imported from countries with cheaper labour costs. Since the US has well-established automakers and Canada and Mexico do not, there is a clear opportunity for American car brands to influence North American consumers’ purchase decisions and spread American driving ideals or trends across the continent, such as making self-driving cars mainstream or convincing consumers to switch to hybrid or electric cars.
Interestingly, the USMCA opened the Canadian market for American cheese and wine, creating a strong parallel to the Minoans trading their domestic wine and jewellery for foreign wine and jewellery.[14] The Canadian government, which mandates the amounts of dairy products that domestic farmers have to produce, decided to open its market for American dairy products in exchange for the allowance of Canadian dairy products to be sold in the American market. However, a surprisingly specific change is that stores in British Columbia are now required to sell American wine and stock them on the same shelves as their province’s domestic wine.[15]
Conclusion
The USMCA is aiming to help the US spread their influence across North America while the Minoans exported textiles and food products and imported metals, spreading their cultural and economic influence along the way. Evidently, the US is using the USMCA to maximize its access to the Canadian and Mexican markets, grow its economy, and spread its culture and ideals through trade, modernly replicating what the Minoans did throughout the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age.
Notes
1. Sarah B. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture, 4th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 11.
2. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History, 10.
3. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History, 22.
4. Kelly Macquire. Some Active Trade Routes in the Bronze Age Mediterranean. September 16, 2020. https://www.ancient.eu/uploads/images/12695.png?v=1604974537.
5. Zde. Minoan Linear A, Crete, AMH, 145097. September 3, 2014. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minoan_Linear_A,_Crete,_AMH,_145097.jpg.
6. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History, 22.
7. Tiny Epics Channel, “The ancient Minoans of Crete,” YouTube video, 4:33, May 12, 2020, https://youtu.be/v8TuOrsLdt8.
8. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History, 19.
9. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History, 24.
10. History Victorum, “What is in Akrotiri, Santorini?,” YouTube video, 12:18, Jul 4, 2020, https://youtu.be/kv_ZKMHrLFQ.
11. Smarthistory, “Frescoes from Akrotiri, Thera,” YouTube video, 5:34, Mar 21, 2016, https://youtu.be/1gb7g9w6fxo.
12. Gary Locke. USMCA Signing. May 30, 2019. https://content.fortune.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/usmca-signing-e1559252615402.jpg.
13. Ana Swanson and Jim Tankersley, “Trump Just Signed the U.S.M.C.A. Here's What's in the New NAFTA.,” The New York Times, January 29, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/economy/usmca-deal.html.
14. Pomeroy et al., A Brief History, 34.
15. Swanson and Tankersley, “Trump Just Signed.”
Bibliography
History Victorum. “What is in Akrotiri, Santorini?.” YouTube video, 12:18. Jul 4, 2020. https://youtu.be/kv_ZKMHrLFQ.
Locke, Gary. USMCA Signing. May 30, 2019. Fortune. https://content.fortune.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/usmca-signing-e1559252615402.jpg.
Macquire, Kelly. Some Active Trade Routes in the Bronze Age Mediterranean. September 16, 2020. Ancient History Encyclopedia. https://www.ancient.eu/uploads/images/12695.png?v=1604974537.
Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley Mayer Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, David W. Tandy, and Georgia Tsouvala. A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020.
Smarthistory. “Frescoes from Akrotiri, Thera.” YouTube video, 5:34. Mar 21, 2016. https://youtu.be/1gb7g9w6fxo.
Swanson, Ana, and Jim Tankersley. “Trump Just Signed the U.S.M.C.A. Here's What's in the New NAFTA.” The New York Times, January 29, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/economy/usmca-deal.html.
Tiny Epics Channel. “The ancient Minoans of Crete.” YouTube video, 4:33. May 12, 2020. https://youtu.be/v8TuOrsLdt8.
Zde. Minoan Linear A, Crete, AMH, 145097. September 3, 2014. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minoan_Linear_A,_Crete,_AMH,_145097.jpg.
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