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→Deep Impact of Gold
Gold has had a large impact beyond its immediate decorative qualities. For economies, in the ancient and modern worlds, gold was used to standardize trade across large distances spanning, initially, much of the Old World and later the New World. Given gold's position in international trade, empires also expanded in part to control gold trade. This was the case in the Roman and Byzantine Empires, where expansion included control of gold resources from Africa and parts of Asia. Already in the Bronze Age, Egypt played an important, if not dominant, role in economic and diplomatic exchange because it controlled vast gold resources. In the Amarna Age, in the 14h century BCE, Egypt became the center of diplomatic exchanges across the Mediterranean and Near East because of its control of gold resources. It also used gold to leverage its trade position. Similarly, Britain used its control of gold resources in dictating international trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, where it played a dominant role in international exchanges. This gave Britain a dominant diplomatic role, as it was able to influence economies in the Old and New Worlds.
In effect, gold has been used to control not just trade and prices, but the key role of gold has been its ability to influence international politics. Countries that controlled its supply were able to most influence international trade, political agreements, and forge political alliances. One key outcome was the discovery of the New World. The Spanish in the early 16th century, who explored much of the New World in Central and South America, were able to find large quantities of gold that gave them greater international clout. In effect, gold was one of the key reasons why European colonists and explorers not only displaced native populations but brought European customs and other influences into the New World. Gold may have been a motivator for economic power, but it led to political and cultural changes that also helped to bring the New and Old Worlds together, for better and worse.
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