THE ARTERIES OF GLOBAL TRADE

Empires, Banks, Straits & the Geopolitics of Moving the World

By Lorenzo De Donato | 2026 Edition

 

 

History. Geography. Geopolitics. Finance. One interconnected world.

Why can a narrow stretch of water between Malaysia and Indonesia influence factories thousands of kilometres away?

Why does the Strait of Hormuz matter to energy markets? Why can problems in the Suez Canal send ships all the way around Africa? How did the British East India Company and Dutch VOC evolve from trading enterprises into instruments of global power?

And what actually happens between a factory producing a product and that product appearing on the other side of the world?

The Arteries of Global Trade is a visual and accessible guide to the enormous system that keeps the world economy moving.

Written by Lorenzo De Donato, this illustrated 2026 edition takes readers from the spice routes and East India Companies to container ships, global banks, trade finance, economic chokepoints and the geopolitical competition shaping twenty-first-century commerce.

No economics degree required.

Complex subjects are translated into clear language, maps, diagrams, timelines, examples and practical trade scenarios, making the book suitable for students, entrepreneurs, international business professionals and curious readers alike.

 

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🌍 FOLLOW THE ROUTES THAT BUILT THE MODERN WORLD

International trade is often explained using GDP figures, import statistics and complicated economic terminology.

This book starts somewhere different:

the map.

Follow the evolution of global commerce from ancient trading networks through the European maritime expansion and the age of the chartered trading companies.

Discover how the British East India Company, Dutch VOC, French Compagnie des Indes, Danish East India Company, Swedish East India Company, Ostend Company and other European trading ventures competed for access to Asian markets.

Then follow those historic maritime routes into the modern world.

Many of the ships have changed.

Many of the companies have disappeared.

The geography has not.

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⚓ MALACCA, PANAMA, SUEZ, HORMUZ & THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

Some locations on Earth carry economic importance completely disproportionate to their size.

The book explores the world's major maritime trade routes and strategic chokepoints, including:

Strait of Malacca
One of the world's most strategically important shipping corridors, connecting the Indian Ocean with East Asian markets.

Suez Canal & Bab el-Mandeb
A critical Europe-Asia commercial corridor and one of the clearest examples of how geopolitical instability can reshape shipping routes.

Strait of Hormuz
A vital gateway for international oil and LNG flows and one of the most geopolitically sensitive waterways on Earth.

Panama Canal
The extraordinary artificial shortcut connecting Atlantic and Pacific shipping networks.

Cape of Good Hope
The historic route around southern Africa that remains a crucial alternative when the Red Sea and Suez corridor becomes difficult or dangerous.

You'll learn not only where these routes are, but why governments, shipping companies, energy markets and global businesses care about them.

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🏦 THE INVISIBLE FINANCIAL SYSTEM BEHIND EVERY SHIPMENT

Ships move cargo.

But finance makes much of that movement possible.

The book takes readers behind the physical supply chain to explore the financial architecture supporting international commerce.

Understand in straightforward language:

• Letters of Credit

• Trade Finance

• Correspondent Banking

• SWIFT

• Foreign Exchange Risk

• Documentary Payments

• Cargo and Political Risk

• Global Systemically Important Banks

• The international role of the U.S. dollar

• The euro and renminbi in global commerce

Discover why an exporter may refuse to ship before receiving payment, why an importer may refuse to pay before receiving goods, and how banks developed mechanisms to bridge that fundamental trust problem.

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📦 FROM FACTORY TO CUSTOMER

What actually happens after a factory finishes producing your product?

Follow a shipment through the complete international logistics chain:

Factory → Export Warehouse → Customs → Port → Container Ship → Maritime Chokepoint → Destination Port → Import Customs → Warehouse → Distribution → Customer

Along the way, the book explains:

Incoterms®
Who is responsible for transportation, costs and risks?

FOB, CIF, EXW & DDP
What do those mysterious three-letter abbreviations actually mean?

Bill of Lading
Why can a document become almost as important as the physical cargo?

TEU & Containerisation
How did a simple metal box revolutionise world commerce?

Rules of Origin
When components come from five different countries, where was the final product actually "made"?

Landed Cost
Why is the factory price only the beginning of the real cost of importing a product?

Technical terminology is introduced when necessary and immediately translated into normal human language.

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🌐 WHEN TRADE BECOMES GEOPOLITICS

Global trade does not operate outside politics.

Governments determine tariffs.

Governments negotiate trade agreements.

Governments impose sanctions.

Governments regulate technology.

Governments control borders.

And geography determines many of the choices available to them.

Explore major concepts including:

• World Trade Organization (WTO)

• Free Trade Agreements

• Customs Unions

• Most-Favoured-Nation treatment

• National Treatment

• Tariffs and Quotas

• Anti-Dumping Measures

• Sanctions

• Export Controls

• Trade Wars

• Industrial Policy

• Friend-shoring

• Near-shoring

• Reshoring

• De-risking

• Strategic Autonomy

The book also examines the growing geopolitical importance of energy, semiconductors, critical minerals and resilient supply chains.

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🗺️ A VISUAL GLOBAL TRADE HANDBOOK

This is not designed as a wall of academic text.

The Arteries of Global Trade combines written explanation with an atlas-inspired visual approach.

Inside you'll find:

✓ Global trade maps
✓ Maritime route diagrams
✓ Strategic chokepoint maps
✓ East India Company timelines
✓ Trade-finance flowcharts
✓ Shipping diagrams
✓ Banking-system explanations
✓ International trade tables
✓ Real-world scenarios
✓ Historical comparisons
✓ Supply-chain maps
✓ Practical definitions
✓ Global trade glossary
✓ The original 7G Trade Framework

The result sits somewhere between a business book, geopolitical atlas, economic history guide and international trade handbook.

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🧭 THE 7G TRADE FRAMEWORK

The book introduces Lorenzo De Donato's simple framework for analysing international trade through seven questions:

GOODS — What is moving?

GEOGRAPHY — Where does the journey begin and end?

GOVERNMENT — Which laws, tariffs and restrictions apply?

GATEWAYS — Which ports, canals and chokepoints matter?

GREENBACKS — How is the transaction financed and in which currency?

GUARANTEES — Who carries the commercial and financial risk?

GEOPOLITICS — What political event could change the entire transaction?

Seven questions.

One global system.

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📚 WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

The Arteries of Global Trade is written for readers interested in:

International Business
Understand what happens behind imports, exports and global supply chains.

Geopolitics
See how geography, resources, shipping routes and economic power interact.

Entrepreneurship & E-Commerce
Understand the infrastructure behind sourcing and importing products internationally.

Economics & Finance
Explore the connection between trade, currencies, banks and international institutions.

History
Follow the evolution from ancient trading networks and East India Companies to modern globalisation.

Students
Learn difficult concepts through approachable explanations rather than unnecessarily complicated academic language.

Curious Readers
Understand why events thousands of kilometres away can affect prices, businesses and products at home.

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🚢 ONE PRODUCT. AN ENTIRE WORLD BEHIND IT.

A smartphone may contain technology designed in the United States.

Semiconductors fabricated in Taiwan.

Materials sourced from several continents.

Components manufactured across Asia.

A vessel may then carry it through Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, toward Suez, through the Mediterranean and finally into a European port such as Rotterdam or Antwerp.

Banks finance the transaction.

Insurance companies protect the cargo.

Governments regulate the borders.

Currencies settle the payment.

Trade agreements influence the tariff.

And geopolitical events can change the route overnight.

That is global trade.

This book shows you how the pieces connect.

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📘 BOOK DETAILS

Title: The Arteries of Global Trade
Subtitle: Empires, Banks, Straits & the Geopolitics of Moving the World
Author: Lorenzo De Donato
Edition: 2026
Language: English
Category: International Trade / Geopolitics / Economics / Business / Economic History
Format: Illustrated E-Book
Length: 100 pages
Includes: Maps, diagrams, timelines, tables, case studies, frameworks and glossary

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THE WORLD IS CONNECTED BY WATER.

POWER MOVES THROUGH TRADE.

AND BEHIND EVERY ROUTE IS A STORY.

From the East India Companies to container megaships.

From Malacca to Panama.

From the Cape of Good Hope to Suez.

From letters of credit to the world's largest banks.

From spices and sailing ships to semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

Five centuries of global trade explained through one interconnected story.

Discover the routes. Understand the system. Read the world differently.

The Arteries of Global Trade

 

Lorenzo De Donato

© 2026 Lorenzo De Donato. All Rights Reserved.