Power and Plenty summary
Take-Aways
● Contemporary globalization is the product of a long, chaotic process
of economic development, war, and cultural and social upheaval.
● At the beginning of the second millennium, the Islamic world was the
globe’s leading economic power.
● The Crusades introduced Europeans to sophisticated tools, such as
Arabic numerals.
● For much of the past 1,000 years, goods traveled by two routes: over
land or water.
● Trade routes from China to Europe were complicated by the dangers
of crossing Central Asia. The Pax Mongolica allowed for unfettered
movement of goods.
● Mongol armies harnessed a new technology – horses – to control
much of the world.
● Iberian explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries opened the new
world as a source of gold and cattle hides.
● European colonizers used the brutal strategies of plunder and slavery
to build their empires.
● The Industrial Revolution led to growth in both population and living
standards.
● Uneven patterns of globalization make international trade’s future
difficult to predict.
, Summary
From Modest Beginnings to Soaring Heights
As China and India boom, and as the world economy becomes ever more intertwined,
globalization looks like a recent phenomenon. This is a shortsighted view of world
history. Global trade has existed for centuries, always shaped by political, economic and
social upheavals. Countless wars have raged over trade. Even in the year 1000, global
trade was a reality. At that time, eight regions participated in international trade to
varying degrees:
1. Western Europe – The region’s geographic advantages made it the envy of the
world. It had the highest ratio of coastline to land mass, vast swaths of arable
land and numerous navigable rivers. While geographic boundaries, such as the
Alps, made the region difficult to unite, the Roman Catholic Church pulled it
together culturally. With swords and slaves (until the Slavs converted to
Christianity and were no longer seen as trade goods) as its primary exports, it
evolved into the major force in international trade.
2. Eastern Europe – This area, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Turkey,
had a more extreme climate and topography than Western Europe. The
Byzantine Empire and the Greek Orthodox Church shaped its culture. Its prime
exports were slaves, silver and furs. Its 1,000-year economic development
followed an uneven path.
3. North Africa and Southwest Asia – The dry Middle East includes Egypt, the
Arabian Peninsula, the Iranian plateau and Afghanistan. It forms the heart of
Islam. The Arab world clearly was the hub of trade at the turn of the first
millennium. Its exports included spices, silver, textiles, warhorses and pepper.
When it failed to keep pace with technological advances, other areas surpassed it.
Oil has returned it to prominence.
4. Sub-Saharan Africa – This region exported gold, ivory and rice, but its major
export was slaves. The slave trade predated European exploitation. Slaves from
Sub-Saharan Africa arrived in the Middle East before Islam existed. Stunted by
slavery and colonialism, this remains the world’s least economically developed
area.
5. Central Asia – This 6,000-mile-wide region stretches from Russia in the west
to China in the east, encompassing Mongolia. Long a pivotal axis for east-west
Take-Aways
● Contemporary globalization is the product of a long, chaotic process
of economic development, war, and cultural and social upheaval.
● At the beginning of the second millennium, the Islamic world was the
globe’s leading economic power.
● The Crusades introduced Europeans to sophisticated tools, such as
Arabic numerals.
● For much of the past 1,000 years, goods traveled by two routes: over
land or water.
● Trade routes from China to Europe were complicated by the dangers
of crossing Central Asia. The Pax Mongolica allowed for unfettered
movement of goods.
● Mongol armies harnessed a new technology – horses – to control
much of the world.
● Iberian explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries opened the new
world as a source of gold and cattle hides.
● European colonizers used the brutal strategies of plunder and slavery
to build their empires.
● The Industrial Revolution led to growth in both population and living
standards.
● Uneven patterns of globalization make international trade’s future
difficult to predict.
, Summary
From Modest Beginnings to Soaring Heights
As China and India boom, and as the world economy becomes ever more intertwined,
globalization looks like a recent phenomenon. This is a shortsighted view of world
history. Global trade has existed for centuries, always shaped by political, economic and
social upheavals. Countless wars have raged over trade. Even in the year 1000, global
trade was a reality. At that time, eight regions participated in international trade to
varying degrees:
1. Western Europe – The region’s geographic advantages made it the envy of the
world. It had the highest ratio of coastline to land mass, vast swaths of arable
land and numerous navigable rivers. While geographic boundaries, such as the
Alps, made the region difficult to unite, the Roman Catholic Church pulled it
together culturally. With swords and slaves (until the Slavs converted to
Christianity and were no longer seen as trade goods) as its primary exports, it
evolved into the major force in international trade.
2. Eastern Europe – This area, including Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Turkey,
had a more extreme climate and topography than Western Europe. The
Byzantine Empire and the Greek Orthodox Church shaped its culture. Its prime
exports were slaves, silver and furs. Its 1,000-year economic development
followed an uneven path.
3. North Africa and Southwest Asia – The dry Middle East includes Egypt, the
Arabian Peninsula, the Iranian plateau and Afghanistan. It forms the heart of
Islam. The Arab world clearly was the hub of trade at the turn of the first
millennium. Its exports included spices, silver, textiles, warhorses and pepper.
When it failed to keep pace with technological advances, other areas surpassed it.
Oil has returned it to prominence.
4. Sub-Saharan Africa – This region exported gold, ivory and rice, but its major
export was slaves. The slave trade predated European exploitation. Slaves from
Sub-Saharan Africa arrived in the Middle East before Islam existed. Stunted by
slavery and colonialism, this remains the world’s least economically developed
area.
5. Central Asia – This 6,000-mile-wide region stretches from Russia in the west
to China in the east, encompassing Mongolia. Long a pivotal axis for east-west
