For the most part, merchants had to use guile rather than force. That meant seeking out new information. They had to find new commodities and markets, and they had to trade efficiently and cut costs. Above all, they had to innovate if they wanted to outsmart their rivals. They had to find new ways of mobilizing and controlling flows of energy and resources. This helps explain why the increasingly capitalistic societies of Europe became both wealthier and more innovative in the centuries after Columbus first crossed the Atlantic.
