9781422281239

by disease and warring tribes. A different route was needed to bring the treasures of the East into European hands. In the late 1400s, Columbus promised King Ferdinand that new route. When he sailed into the islands of the Caribbean Sea, he thought that was what he had found. But the world was significantly larger than Columbus believed. He had not found Asia; instead, he had landed in what came to be known as the “New World.” But his trip was not in vain because this world was also rich in valuable goods: spices, fruits, vegetables, and gold. An appetite for foreign goods soon developed across Europe. As that appetite increased, European explorers traveled through- out the New World and Asia. It was not enough to trade for exotic goods in these faraway lands. The lands and their people had to be conquered so that the Europeans could control their valuable resources. For the next several hundred years, those lands and peoples became the property of European rulers. Access to foreign goods

Words to Understand in This Chapter

commodity— a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold. exchange rate— the value of one currency for the purpose of conversion to another. gold standard— the system by which the value of a currency is defined in terms of gold for which the currency could be exchanged. infrastructure— the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (such as buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. tariff— a tax to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports.

8

Global Trade Organizations