Restricción al comercio internacional:una tentativa histórica recurrente

Abstract

This article surveys the history of trade developments, in order to review the most salient restrictions imposed on trade. The text does not pretend to present a narrative or a history, and instead strives only to highlight trade, from a traditional and natural law perspective, as a powerful tool for progress and for social and economic expansion. Historical records show the inventiveness and audacity of some ancient civilizations that stood apart because of their propensities for commer ce, such as India, Egypt, Phoenicia, Carthage, Greece and Rome. The article will examine each of these societies, then turn to trade in the Middle Ages, and continue until it reaches modernity.