Some

Historical
Notes
By: Asley Jaey Bernadas

Ricknel Bitoon
130BCE – 1453BCE
– Silk Road, the oldest known
international trading route from
China to the Middle East to
Europe.
 1571
– Establishment of the Galleon Trade
which connected Manila to Mexico;
made the connection between the
Americas and the trading routes
possible.
 1861
– A more open trade system was
established when nations like the
United Kingdom,the United States,and
other European countries adopted the
Gold Standard
 WORLD WAR I (1914-1918)

– To support the war efforts,the countries

depleted their gold reserves,forced them
to abandon the gold standards.European
countries adopted floating currencies.
 1920’s-1930’s

– The great depression happened—

the worst and longest recession
ever experienced by the Western
World.
 Early 20 Century
th

– The world economy operates based on fiat

currencies—currencies that are not backed by
precious metals and whose value is determined by
their cost-relative to other currencies.This system
allows government to freely and actively manage
their economies by increasing or decreasing the
amount of money in circulation as they see fit.
1944
– Bretton Woods Conference gave birth
to International Banks for
reconstruction and development
(IBDR), World Bank, and International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
1957

–Establishment of the
European Economic
Community(EEC)
1964

– The United Nation Conference on

Trade and Development(UNCTAD)
was established with the joint effort
of the developing world.
1986-1994

–Multi-lateral trade
negotiation were carried out
under the Uruguay Round
1995

–The Uruguay Round gave birth

to a “real” international trade
institution,the World Trade
Organization(WTO)