Minoans Trade

Minoans Trade (Cretans)

The Minoans, or more specifically the Cretans, the Minoans that stayed behind instead of moving to the other islands or coasts, resorted to trade as a source of income; a way to support the growing population. They became the central exporter of wine, oil, jewelry, and highly crafted works. They seem to have traded these things for raw materials and food, crucial to sustaining a growing population. Throughout all of this, they ended up building the first major navy in the world, but its primary function was not war, but for merchant purpose.

Economy

With trade comes economy, and the trade was mainly controlled by people directly beneath the king, like the large group of scribes and bureaucrats who carefully documented all that was traded and created, both within Crete and on all of the other islands and coastal towns. They were also a "thalossocracy", or a sea power, which concentrated largely on trade and mercantilism. When you trade, you must trade for a profit, and with the surplus they gained from trading so much, they accumulated a large wealth pool. This pool went into building projects, art, and technological advances.

Sources

Lab Manual pages 74-75, written by Rosie Beniretto and Clay Elliot.

--Jmclemoremoon 17:45, 14 February 2012 (CST)