The Effect of Trade

"Trade" is the magic word in class. It is probably the biggest thing that has influenced Western Civilization before and after 1500 BC. There are many areas that trade has impact on with Western Civilization. Things like sea lanes, caravans, inventions, and agriculture, are some examples. The area, which will be focused on in this paper, is agriculture and the lifestyle of the people of the time.

A good example of the impact of agriculture is in ancient Egypt. Because of the Nile River, Egypt became one of the great structures of world civilization. Egypt was blessed by the Nile in many different ways. For instance, the Nile provided the people that moved to its valley water to drink, irrigation water, farming opportunities, fish for food, and papyrus reeds, which grew on the banks of the Nile and were used for boats and for houses. These reeds also allowed the ancient Egyptians to make paper on which to write important documents.

Probably the biggest impact of agriculture is that in Egypt always depended upon the pooling of resources and labor so that the mineral rich waters of the Nile could be introduced inland for fertilization of lands. Early farmers dug trenches from the Nile shore to the farmlands, using draw wells and irrigation tools. Therefore, fields irrigated produced abundant annual crops.

Also, from the flooding of the river, the mud turned into clay that allowed the first few settlers of the Nile River built houses of papyrus reeds that were all tied together in columns, with thatched roofs. The walls were made of straw, mud, and clay. Later settlers used the clay to build bricks. With the bricks they built stronger houses. Small villages started to appear along the Nile River. The people of these villages learned to irrigate and divert the water during the flooding season. As time passed the residents of the Nile River became better farmers. Furthermore, the river's mingled waters are poured into the Mediterranean.

The Nile also provided transportation. The river was the fastest way to travel through the land of Egypt, making transportation, communication, and trading with the other cities and countries easier. The development of sailboats made this