China to ban all variants of deadly drug
China announced it will ban all variants of a powerful opioid responsible for many of the deaths in America’s opioid crisis.
Trade
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora enters into force
CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of international trade. It is now one of the largest and oldest conservation and sustainable use agreements in existence.
The Suez Canal official opens, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas
The Suez Canal primarily benefited the sea trading powers of the Mediterranean countries, which now had much faster connections to the Near and Far East.
The Transcaucasus Railway is completed
The Transcaucasus Railway was the first railway in South Caucasus. It was funded by the Russian Empire as a strategic railway connecting the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea.
Macau enters its golden age of trade
Macau’s golden age coincided with the union of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns, between 1580 and 1640. King Philip II of Spain was encouraged to not harm the status quo, to allow trade to continue between Portuguese Macau and Spanish Manila, and to not interfere with Portuguese trade with China.
King Gustav I of Sweden founds Helsinki
Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors, which he intended to be a rival to the Hanseatic city of Reval (today known as Tallinn). It is now the capital and most populous city of Finland.
The Hanseatic League is formed, marking a new period of trade and economic development in Europe
The Hanseatic League was a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northwestern and Central Europe.
The city of Bukhara in modern-day Uzbekistan becomes a major trade and intellectual center of the Muslim world
Bukhoro became one of the leading centers of learning, culture, and art in the Muslim world, its magnificence rivaling contemporaneous cultural centers such as Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordoba.
The Chinese of the Tang Dynasty invent the banknote
Merchants would issue what are today called promissory notes in the form of receipts of deposit to wholesalers to avoid using the heavy bulk of copper coinage in large commercial transactions.
Macau becomes important part of trade route between Ghangzhou and Southeast Asia
Since the 5th century, merchant ships travelling between Southeast Asia and Guangzhou used the region as a port for refuge, fresh water, and food.