B2420thand21st

__ # 24: Growth of Commerce and Trade __ World Trade and commerce between nations grew modestly. In 1913, the value of world trade was roughly 38 billion dollars, about 25 times larger than what it had been in 1800. By 1920, there was a mass production of railroads, which contributed in the growth of commerce and trade by cheapening transportation prices. The growth of trade allowed for the increase in massive foreign investments. Though foreign investments were introduced and started in the nineteenth century, it blew up and massively expanded reaching its peak in the twentieth century. By 1914, Europeans had invested more than 40 billion dollars. McKay, John P. __History of Western society__. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.