Invention Of The Nineteenth Century

One of the most important inventions of the nineteenth century was the invention of the steamship. In “The wind of change: Maritime technology, trade and economic development”, Luigi Pascali describes how invention greatly reduced shipping time between countries, thus stimulating international trade with lower shipping costs. It affected most every country that delt with overseas trading, however it affected the United Kingdom the most as they were the primary trading country at the time. The steamship was one of the major reasons for the globalization of trade. The steamship brought something new to the world that would affect countless lives.
Prior to the steamship the worlds shipping routes was dependent on the wind patterns. Sailboats are much more efficient when they are traveling with the wind, and it is nearly impossible to travel against it. “For instance, because the winds in the Northern Atlantic Ocean follow a clockwise pattern, the duration of a round trip with a clipper ship from Lisbon to Cape Verde would be similar to that of a round trip from Lisbon to Salvador. With the steamship, the former trip would require only half of the time needed for the latter trip.”
Many economists attribute an increase of …show more content…
Depending on the trade route and the wind patterns some routes received a greater advantage than the others. Additionally, there is evidence to support the claim that this increase in globalization had a negative effect on aggregate economic development. Under closer examination, “trade tends to be detrimental in Africa, Central America and Asia, it is actually beneficial in Western Europe and North America. This result appears to suggest that well-functioning institutions are crucial for a country to benefit from trade.” The steamship made international trade more efficient, which had both positive and negative effects in shaping the economic state of the world