The Pacific Ocean trade routes have fascinated many for a long time including economic historians Mark Koyama & Fernando Arteaga. Together with their colleague Desiree Desierto they have written an extensive paper on trade across the Pacific Ocean in the centuries after the arrival of Columbus and Europeans in the Americas.

In this episode of I've Been Thinking Peter asks in particular why so many ships were lost during the crossings, what role greed and personal profit played in decision-making, and how these influenced the downfall of the Spanish Empire.

To read the Desiree, Mark and Fernando's work and to find out more about the 3 authors head here - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3693463

If you have a topic you would like to hear on the podcast then Peter can be reached on Twitter - @peterfrankopan

Produced, edited and mixed by @producerneil