Long-distance exchange already linked settlements with concentrated markets and scarce resources. The example of carrying minerals to a region that produced silk shows why traders connected distant economies once settlements could support demand. Roman watermills also show that a pre-steam society could produce grain and flour at an early industrial scale. Industrialisation accelerated these older networks and made maritime trade more important to national economies. Cruisers therefore acquired a growing role in commerce protection and attack.
Notable Point · 2:07-4:21
Global trade predates the industrial cruiser
Historic trade networks and Roman water-powered milling predate steam, while industrialisation makes maritime commerce an economic lifeline for naval planners to protect or attack.