History of free trade
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The history of free trade is a history of international trade focussing on the developments of open markets.
The concept of free trade developed over time, and in its modern sense, from the commercial culture of England, and more broadly Europe, in the past five centuries. The earliest free trade theorists were David Ricardo and Adam Smith.
Free trade policies have battled with mercantilist, protectionist, isolationist, communist, and other policies over the centuries. Wars, such as the Opium Wars, have been fought primarily over trade.