Study On The Maritime Colonization And Trade Of Greece In The Archaic Period

The Greeks colonized as far north as the north coast of the black sea,as far south as the Nile delta,as far east as Syria,and as far west as the coast of Spain.During this period,Greek colonial city-states established numerous "sub-states",most of which were similar to "mother-states",they have relatively completely public functions of a city-state.As the reasons for why the Greeks colonized overseas,the traditional academic view,is the demand for land.Another view is that the development of private ownership,which promotes the increase of the total wealth of the society,thus,it stimulates civil desire to acquire more land.Most of the early colonies were cultivated city-states,they solve the problem of basic food supplies as their priority.Later,the city-states expanded in scale,then developed business and manufacturing industry.Although their scale was not large enough,but they played an important historical role in the development of Greek society and economy.As the city-states grew in size,commerce flourished.This procession started roughly in the sixth century BC,the late Archaic period.With the development of maritime trade,piracy gradually rose,the robbery became to a way of making a living for some residents in the Mediterranean Sea,especially in Greece.Undoubtedly,the rise of pirate and piracy inevitably impeded the trade links across the Mediterranean.However,piracy played a significant role in the development of slavery trade,the trade routes establishment,and the innovation of battleship technology in the ancient world.The maritime trade grew mature at the end of Archaic period,which originated from regional trade.During this period,the economic growth of the Greek was remarkable,mainly reflected in the increase of population,the rich variety of goods,the close links between different regions and the innovation of manufacturing technology.In general,the maritime colonization of Greece(including maritime colonization,maritime trade,piracy,etc.)promoted a bumper harvest of food production,the rise of commerce,and the prosperity of politics.Another remarkable point is,the space extentof Greek maritime colonization,laid the foundation for the later geographical boundaries of the Athenian empire.