Cod and The Red Sox

6 Pages 1400 Words

“Cod and The Red Sox -- Massachusetts’s Beloved Losers”

“Cod and The Red Sox -- Massachusetts’s Beloved Losers (Kurlansky, 24)”
In order for any system to function correctly there must be cooperation. As we have learned through the study of world history there are many ways to reach cooperation and one way is equal trade between two states. Cod, by Mark Kurlansky, demonstrates the importance of this very well. Cod became the staple for New England, the most important fish to produce there. Riches were won and lost over this fish. Cod brought the world together but also made it suffer in the end.
Trade not only creates friendly relations but also creates dependancy. If one country relies on another for one good, and vice versa a relationship is established and neither is going to jeopardize that. Friendly trade encourages good relations between countries which in turn can bring prosperity, development, regional power, alliances for defense, and beneficial treaty agreements. The codfish, historically, has done all of these things for the countries lucky enough to fish and trade with cod. The world system is really just many individual states coming together and cooperating through trade to develop an increasingly complex global economy. Many areas grew dependent on this fish for their fortunes; it was all they needed, for awhile, to prosper. Gloucester, Massachusetts is a prime example of this. A settlement made rich by cod fishing became too dependent on it, and when cod fishing was no longer an option, they were lost. Cod fishing can be used as an example of the benefits of trade but the dangers of dependancy.
We began our World History class this semester with a lecture on global connections through trading in the Indian Ocean basin. Throughout the semester many references were made to global trade and the importance and impact of a global community. Cod demonstrates this concept very well. The codfish has had a ve...