The changes in transportation in the past thirteen hundred years have caused many changes in our world. Many changes in the modes of transportation, such as the advancement from foot power, to horse power, to engine power, from around 700 C.E. to the present have contributed a enormous impact on people, societies, and cultures, including the osmosis of people, building of different societies, and the sharing of different religions and ideas with people from all around the world. .
In the early 700's of the Tang Dynasty in China, people moved around mainly on feet and horses. Tang rulers maintained a terrific network of roads. They built inns and postal stations along the roads, as well as stables, which provided a place for the people to rest. The well-maintained roads and resting spots made transportation more convenient and safer for people to travel. People could easily disperse from a larger population density to more open areas. .
As the twelfth century approached, European sailors learned to assemble ships that were strong enough to explore the hazardous ocean waters. They increased their maneuverability with the use of a rudder, and different types of sails, including the square sails used to catch a wind blowing from behind them, while lateen sails were used to catch winds coming from the sides. The magnetic compass was invented during the Tang dynasty that guided sailors" directions on the ocean waters. Astrolabes were used to determine their location out at sea. As Europeans were able to sail to Asia to trade, they not only shared their manufactured goods, silk, spices and food, but also their ideas on inventions, such as the introduction of the Chinese magnetic compass to Europeans, and religion. Many Europeans have traveled abroad to Asia to covert societies to Christianity and share God's gift with the rest of the world. .
In the nineteenth century, George Stephenson introduced the first stream-powered locomotive.