CARAVANS OF TRADE

[Music] across the continent of Asia centuries ago before men knew that the world was round the trade route stretching from the Far East to the Mediterranean Sea was traveled by camel caravans carrying rich spices and perfumes jewels and finely woven silk thousands of miles of desert lay between the cities of the Orient and the market towns of the Near East these camel trains had many weeks to travel before they reach the training centres of Asia Minor from this marketplace the wealth that came from the Orient found its way into medieval Europe and when it went rumours of strange rich places that lay to the east from this market there spreaded curiosity about these countries Persia India and even China called cafe in the work of the artisans and craftsmen who shops surrounded the Market Square there began to appear new figures and designs taken from the Brocade x' and embroidered silks that had come from the distant Orient an unfamiliar world made itself felt in Europe and the Near East where men had thought of themselves as the center of the universe the ancient Assyrians had known middle of the world beyond their own empire for the ancient Egyptians the earth had been just as small their life was built around the Nile and their commerce followed the river to the Mediterranean Sea for them civilization went no further than their ships could sail the shores of Africa and the banks of the Mediterranean the world was discovered slowly by men who sailed from this Inland Sea the Greeks entered West to the Straits of Gibraltar and east into the Black Sea the Romans traveled West to England East to India and China but when Rome fell trade with the East died this was the flat world of a 15th century necklace traveling too far a man would tumble off the edge the Far East was roughly outlined someone had been there long ago and men had forgotten but now the expanding countries of Europe were eager for the trade that came by slow camel caravan from the Orient Spain and Portugal and Venice built merchant fleets faster ships designed for the dangerous adventures of a long sea journey to India or China Europe's great cities had begun to thrive on trade Europe looked toward the riches of the east [Music] most men thought that Christopher Columbus was going in the wrong direction when he crossed the Atlantic hoping to reach the continent of Asia Columbus called these natives Indians because he had never heard of the Pacific Ocean and was sure that he had found indeed these were the men who lived in the new world that Columbus found in 1492 the fertile land that was to be called America they lived simply whatever trade they had was carried in canoes hollowed from the trunks of trees or pieced together out of bark before long this land was to become a great center of trade and commerce but not yet the new continent was discovered but nobody had guessed at the great expanse of land that lay beyond the coasts Europe began to send its ships into other parts of the world that had suddenly become round and very much larger merchants men traveled down the African coast who followed navy boats into the interior searching for gold type [Music] trade with strange men in strange countries open new horizons and sailing men became more daring in 1497 Vasco da Gama rounded the African country and sailed on to India Europe's market towns became centers of world commerce with trade routes stretching further out into the world the network of roads and highways began to spread itself over the car running from town to town linking together seaports and trading centers while the cities of Europe grew the world had been circled and the shape of its continents charted america had grown on the map its land had been settled and by the end of the 18th century its northern colonists had declared themselves an independent nation the 13 United States through which George Washington traveled in 1791 were ready to play a major role in c3a traffic by now so important that a world clearinghouse for shipping information was needed and affirmed such as Lloyd's of London to finance insurance against the hazards of the ocean Lloyd's came news from harbours in every part of the world news of ships lost at sea and news of cargoes brought safely to port now in America the forests of New England were coming down to build the country's clipper ships and scooters trade and transportation were speeding each other's growth [Music] ships that cut the water at 15 miles an hour rounded South America sailing to California for gold to India and China or tea and spice and topic they explored the islands of the Pacific discovering strange new people whose lives were primitive and filled with danger they sailed to Bali Java Borneo New Guinea and traded for native pearls and ocean sponge or cedar evany and sandalwood [Music] they came home again with strange tales to what the curiosity and lavish cargoes for a commerce hungry country as always better transportation stimulated trade and the growth of trade led to better transportation now the desire for Commerce led to something new and revolutionary in eighteen seven Robert Fulton built has shipped without savings powered by steam the Clairemont traveled up the Hudson River from New York to Albany and introduced a new era in transportation the steamboat was perfect for river traveled able to sail upstream or down and not dependent on the width commerce between America's seaports and inland towns moved now along the rivers America built canals to extend her rivers and tie them together as waterways began to carry trade deeper into the country [Music] but America's pioneers couldn't wait from steam to change the country's transportation they needed fertile land that wasn't over settled and they traveled West the West was opened by men who had only the power of their horses to carry them across the treacherous Prairie life [Music] meanwhile in England George Stephenson had put a steam engine on wheels and got a locomotive at the end of 50 years these early trains had made themselves felt around the entire work in 50 years no large country was without its own railroad line to transport passengers and freight [Music] in the same time the American continent was spammed twice by the railroad in Canada and in the United States the world was beginning to travel and do business at locomotives feet in those days the first gasoline buggies were giving speed to everyday transportation automobiles that seemed at first to be a joke again in the early nineteen hundreds to take over the roads and take over the transport load that had been drawn by horse in the year 1910 to the Port of New York came over a million people people who dreamed of building homes and raising families in a country that was still growing up now the stream grew wider that for centuries had brought men and women to America from every part of the world life in a harbor city changed rapidly responding to the energy of the country's new citizens everything speeded up the city's life came from its markets from the streets crowded with push carts and from the great wholesale warehouses markets that depended on shipping men who knew the importance of moving farm products and manufactured goods turn transportation into an immense and vital industry merchant ships with a nation's wealth piled in their holes made stronger the chain of communications between the port cities of the world these ships were modern dat machine propelled but the sea held the same dangers that sailing men had always feared [Music] because the passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific was too slow men had planned for years to breach the Isthmus of Panama with a canal cutting the narrow span that connected North ins the panama canal running 44 miles from Atlantic to Pacific was opened in 1914 just as the canal at Suez saved a trip around Africa these locks took the place of a long and dangerous journey around the tip of South America men had built shortcuts through the width of the world to bring a ship's cargo into port in half the time [Music] craving between America's east and west travels by sea as well as life the cartons and crates and packing cases that carry the nation's foreign and domestic trade pile up on the docks ready to move by truck and rail to the warehouses and market to keep pace with an industrial world a country like America needs 250,000 miles of railroad track 250,000 miles of track to meet the transportation needs of only one country [Music] [Music] railroads running from border to border coast-to-coast connect the farming village with the factory town link ocean ports to inland cities bring together men who buy and men who said no town no village or community is cut off from the country's industry or isolated from its market incentives [Music] for a trip across the continent that may take several days the modern passenger train is made for comfort speed and easy riding in a world that builds on Rapid Transportation [Music] the heart of any railroad system lies in the city the frating Center the terminal point where planning and engineering coordinate the lines bring them together and cross them this is the last stop and the beginning of another run [Music] here in the city days and nights are filled with the sounds of speed electric trains above the streets on elevated tracks roaring through miles of tunnel underground the noise of the city is the noise of motors the sound of wheels the tempo is kept up by automobiles by buses and trucks that come to the city over great express highways everyone travels on wheels everyone pays his fare or tries for a free run [Music] [Applause] a web of highways and bridges spreads out from the city winding over the countryside in a tremendous maze carrying passenger cars and trucks Commerce and free 3,000 miles across the entire continent air travel is the final step in rapid transportation the modern world needs something to move quickly covering great distances with passengers and cargo [Music] along the trade routes of the future the airplane travels flying a swift straight line between the cities of the world bringing close to each other countries and continents crossing the land of the ancient desert Caravan the airplane will carry in its hold the goods of worldwide commerce through trade and exploration men have found a larger world a world whose size was at first astounding and a little frightening today we are making it small again with speed [Music]