International Trade

The flow of money and commodities across political borders has defined the modern world. States have tried to use trade policy to support allies, pressure foes, and gain an edge over rivals. Questions about who is enriched and who is impoverished by international trade have prompted new economic theories and popular resistance. This exhibit gathers histories of commerce between nations, from the slave-based economies of maritime empires to the globalization that has brought 21st-century nations into close and constant contact.

American Geological Society map of overseas shipping routes, 1943.