IntroductionBetween 1200 AD and today, many changes have taken place in the world economy. The most important change is in the degree of integration of the global economy. When countries have a demand for something, the first question is where that supply will come from. Ultimately, the way all nations and places were able to meet their demands was to go global and make it happen. The entire world found a way by sea and land to obtain the products it needed and in doing so connected the entire world through trade.First QuestionThe earliest types of societies were agricultural and pastoral. Pastoral societies had less productive economies because they were nomadic and required large areas of grazing and supported smaller populations. They generally organized themselves by family and common ancestry (Strayer 334). The main pastoral group was the Mongols as they conquered from the Pacific coast of Asia to Eastern Europe (Strayer 342). Part of their great success was their extensive business network. In the 13th and 14th centuries, a vast interconnected trading system was established. (Mark 33) The Mongols did not so much participate in trade as tax it. They provided merchants with a secure route to undertake the long journey across Central Asia between Europe and China (Strayer 354). This trade route relied primarily on middlemen, as it was a series of circuits all connected. An item can move from Asia to Europe and pass through many hands, with the price increasing each time. This trade gave way to the Indian Ocean trade as well as the Silk Roads in the 15th century. The Silk Roads connected China, Siberia, Central Asia, India, the Middle East and the Mediterranean....... middle of paper ......ations. The French and English created slave sugar plantations in the Caribbean islands (Mark 83). Slaves also became a central part of the economy of colonial America, as they maintained plantation agriculture (Lecture Notes 12/6/10). The Mongols were the first pastoral group to basically become an empire. Then, as China and Europe began to rebuild and travel to the sea, trade became a global idea. China began using silver as currency, which meant it needed most of the world's silver in Asia. The rest of the world benefited from trading their silver in Asia. Money was the first thing that truly connected the entire world and specifically integrated the Americas into their trade network. Then there was the fur and slave trade, which brought the entire global economy even closer together..