The supply chain
- producers (agriculture and mining)
- manufacturers
- wholesalers
- retailers
Types of profits
- labor wages
- stock profits
- rental profit
Types of currency
- gold and silver ( internationally)
- fiat money (domestically)
Political economy
- Free Trade increases volume of goods available for consumption
- As more territories join the free trade network overall price of goods will decrease due to competitive advantages and economies of scale.
- Colonies where country do not assume tight control tends to economically fair better - British West Indies (modern day US)
- Revenue generated by far flung colonies will often not be enough to cover for expenses incurred for their military protection
- Slaves are more productive when well taken care of - French West Indies versus British West Indies
- Wars are costly and force countries to take on debt they will unlikely repay
- Capital circulation is faster when trading with near by neighbors versus far flung colonies
- Rapidly growing far flung colonies consume more capital than they make available
Types of colonization
- Tightly controlled
central government assumes tight control to extract resources for parent country - French East Indies
- Loosely coupled
citizens outgrew their space in their mother country and are surrounded by hostile neighbors. New colony assumes an independent administration and foreign policies - Greek colonies
Types of monopolies
- Of produce by colonies
the common form utilized by companies
- easier to enforce
- bad for colonies
- Of trade routes
utilized by the Portuguese for traveling sailing along the East Indies after successfully navigating the cape of good hope
- not feasible to enforce except on countries that don’t have a navigation industry
- organization aimed at restricting supply
trade guilds
- universities
- trading companies
Types
Government exclusive companies
- Joint stock companies
- Example
British East India company
- Dutch East India company
Types of military
- Standing Army
professional and kept even in times of peace
- Official types - Rome
- By environment - the Mongolian nomads whose hardy lifestyles were beneficial
- Militia
drafted in times of necessity
- as war fare became more complex and long drawn campaigns instead of skirmish, militia eventually harden to achieve skill levels of standing army
- The Greek army transited from a militia to become a standing army during the Peloponnesian War