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323 BCE
Europe and Asia Civilizations
Long-distance trade played a major role in the cultural, religious, and artistic exchanges that took place between the major centers of civilization in Europe and Asia during the Hellenistic Age (323-31 BC) the civilizations utilized specific trade routes to go to and from civilizations for trading. This was one of the first forms of international business/trade. -
Ottawa River Trade Route
During the 17th Century, there were many disturbances around the Ottawa river trade route. As a result, the French built military forts at strategic locations along the main trade routes in Canada. These forts checked the British advances and served as trading posts which included the Native Americans in fur trade. But they were not only made for trading; the posts were used for communicating with other countries as well. -
Dutch East India Company Falls
In 1799, The Dutch East India company, formerly the world's largest company, goes bankrupt. This was because of the rise of competitive free trade. Free trade is a policy followed by some international markets in which countries' governments do not restrict imports from, or exports to, other international companies. -
Opium Wars
The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving Anglo-Chinese disputes over British trade in China. They were fought because of conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations and trade between China and the British. The British wanted Colonization, they wanted control of China’s Markets (and trade.) -
Paper Booms
In the 1840s, the industrial manufacturing of paper lowered its costs greatly. This enabled the mass production of book and documents. This all led to the mass exchange of information internationally and books that may have been made in the US (for example) making there way across the sea to European Countries. -
Corn Laws
Between 1815 to 1846, Great Britain enforced The Corn Laws. The Corn Laws were tariffs and restrictions on imported food and grain coming into the country. In 1846, Britain adopted a policy of free trade. The new free trade abolished The Corn Laws, making imported food more affordable and less of a hassle to obtain. -
Cobden-Chevalier Treaty
In 1860, the first international free trade agreement, named the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty, was finalized. The treaty was established between the United Kingdom and France. It was prepared by Richard Cobden and Michel Chevalier. Both the UK and France had agreed to work together in trade between each other. The Treaty also sparked series of agreements like their's between other countries within Europe. -
BBC
In 1920, the BBC broadcasting network was created. This was Britain's first live public broadcasting network. Now, they could broadcast stories around the world t further the globe's understanding of whats happening in Britain and the surrounding areas. The first live public broadcast took place in the Marconi Factory in June of 1929. -
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
In 1947, 23 countries agreed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (aka GATT) to rationalize trade among the nations. The purpose of the agreement was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. By doing this, it made trade internationally much more affordable and easy to do business even from an ocean's length away. There is now over 128 countries in GATT. -
Email is Invented
Email was invented in 1972 by Ray Tomlinson. Thus, email became a quick and easy way for people to exchange words without having to call them over the phone (where there was always the possibility of the other person not being able to pick up the phone.) This invention also changed business trade/transactions forever. now businesses could email each other (even internationally), reaching out way faster then sending a letter. -
Trade Limitations
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting (aka OPEC) Countries is an intergovernmental organization that contains 14 separate nations. In October of 1973, the OPEC rose the Saudi Arabia light crude export price and mandated an export cut the very next day. Additionally, they completely prohibited commerce and trade within Israel and all the nations allied with them. -
Nuclear Suppliers Group
The Nuclear Suppliers Group (aka the NSG) was created in 1974, and is still relevant today. The purpose of the group is to moderate international trade in nuclear goods. This would make business and trade of nuclear related goods more carefully transported to and from countries with a lower risk of explosion or contamination along the way. -
World Trade Organization
On January 1st, 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed. The organization deals with rules of trade between nations internationally. The organization also promotes free trade between various nations. They want to improve the quality of the international trade by allowing trades to flow smoothly. Currently, WTO harbors 161 member countries. -
Great Recession
Between December 2007 to June 2009, the US experienced the most severe recession in the post war period. The recession was from the declines in the output of goods and services in the US to other countries. (the value of the economy's total output of goods and services is called the GDP.) The losses resulted in cutbacks in consumer spending, which meant less people were buying things not only nationally (like new homes), but internationally too, thus hurting the international business trade. -
Made In China
Ever Since the Apple iPhone was made in 2007, there has been a strong demand for it in the US. China manufactures them, and it was estimated that Apple shipped 30M phones to North America just in the fourth quarter of 2014. That’s a lot of freight. This must mean that the US and China have strong international connection. Not only do our devices come from China, but other things such as toys and appliances are shipped here from there too.
