2.1 The Silk Roads
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The Silk Roads were the biggest land network between 1200 and 1450, stretching from Constantinople all the way to the very eastern edge of China (Hangzhou). As empires were rapidly expanding (such as Song China), and with a growing empire came a growing desire for goods. But although these economies were expanding as fast as they could, sometimes they couldn’t provide everything. The rich especially wanted goods that the empires often couldn’t afford. This is the main reason why most trade routes at the time (but the Silk Roads in particular), traded mostly luxury goods, such as sugar, gold, porcelain, and silk (duh!)
But how to make all of this happen? Profit-seeking merchants began to build off of old trade technology to make it work for this much bigger trade network. Some key examples are caravanserai, roadside inns along trade routes merchants could rest in, bills of exchange, which were essentially early IOUs similar to paper money (convenient because they were much lighter than the gold used as currency), and banking houses, which would issue bills of exchange. Such a massive trade network led to some massive effects. Trading cities such as Kashgar and Samarkand grew massively as merchants began to exchange their goods from all over the world. Additionally, the economies of the countries trading expanded as demand for their goods increased.
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Textile production dramatically increased across Eurasia as well as steel in China. The Song Dynasty in China, in particular, rapidly expanded as demand for their silk grew, and they began to rely on peasant and artisanal labor to fuel their commercializing economy. Additionally, the ideas of the merchants carrying the goods would travel along the roads. Religions like Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and even traditional Chinese customs spread via the trade routes, along with goods such as Champa rice (a specific kind of rice resistant to drought). With such simple ways to travel now, common people were more free to travel the world and share their observations through writing, such as Marco Polo, who traveled the Silk Roads and wrote about it. Diseases, too, spread along trade routes. You know the Black Plague, which is famous for having killed at least ⅓ of Europe? Yeah. That started in China.
2.2 The Mongols
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The Mongols were originally pastoral people in Central Asia, generally living peacefully… until Genghis Khan came. Born Temujin, Genghis Khan (as he came to be known) consolidated them into a fearsome fighting force that tore apart everything they came across.
As pastoralists, the Mongols were already well acquainted with horses and bows, allowing them to travel quickly and cut a deadly path. Additionally, they also had siege weapons, which could bypass castle walls and cause destruction inside-- and once the Mongols were inside, they showed no mercy. The rumor of this wave of death spread past the armies, so by the time the Mongols arrived at their targets, many cities would simply surrender rather than fight. This led to the largest contiguous land empire in the history of the world, conquering from Eastern Europe to (what would be part of) Russia to the Abbasid Caliphate to the mighty Song Dynasty. Pretty crazy, huh? And all from a little pastoralist people. |
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When Genghis Khan died, the Mongol Empire was split up into four khanates: the Golden Horde, the Great Khanate (or Yuan Dynasty), the Ilkhanate, and the Chagatai khanate.
Chagatai: This was in Central Asia, where the Mongols began. As you can imagine, not much changed here, since it had been populated by the same people for a long time.
Khanate of the Golden Horde: This region would become the beginnings of Russia, but for now, it was ruled by the Mongols. Because it was so far away from everything, the Mongols generally let the people pick their own rulers ,so long as they paid a fixed tribute to the Mongols. The Golden Horde would be the last to throw off Mongol rule (which is one of the reasons why Russia was the last to industrialize hundreds of years later).
Great Khanate/Yuan Dynasty: This was China, previously the Song Dynasty. When the Mongols took over, they also took on many of the governmental procedures and positions China already had in place. Sounds nice, right? Of course, there were a few catches. For one, Mongols were not allowed to intermarry with Chinese, and were clearly at the top of the social ladder. So much for peace.
Ilkhanate: When the Mongols took this area by capturing Baghdad in 1258, they cut off the mighty Abbasid Caliphate and thus the Golden Age of Islam. However, once there, many Mongols converted to Islam, and in the end, Persia remained moderately unchanged.
Chagatai: This was in Central Asia, where the Mongols began. As you can imagine, not much changed here, since it had been populated by the same people for a long time.
Khanate of the Golden Horde: This region would become the beginnings of Russia, but for now, it was ruled by the Mongols. Because it was so far away from everything, the Mongols generally let the people pick their own rulers ,so long as they paid a fixed tribute to the Mongols. The Golden Horde would be the last to throw off Mongol rule (which is one of the reasons why Russia was the last to industrialize hundreds of years later).
Great Khanate/Yuan Dynasty: This was China, previously the Song Dynasty. When the Mongols took over, they also took on many of the governmental procedures and positions China already had in place. Sounds nice, right? Of course, there were a few catches. For one, Mongols were not allowed to intermarry with Chinese, and were clearly at the top of the social ladder. So much for peace.
Ilkhanate: When the Mongols took this area by capturing Baghdad in 1258, they cut off the mighty Abbasid Caliphate and thus the Golden Age of Islam. However, once there, many Mongols converted to Islam, and in the end, Persia remained moderately unchanged.
What makes the Mongols worth remembering?
Generally speaking, the Mongols were a lot more accepting than other empires at the time. They were very tolerant of other religions and let everyone practice their own religion freely, which was virtually unheard of at the time. Additionally, Mongols treated their women far more fairly than most empires. Keep in mind that this was relative-- women were still considered inferior. But compared to the state you were living in before, if you were a woman in this time period, being conquered by the Mongols was (often) a pretty sweet deal.
As for trade-- well, the Mongols basically revolutionized trade at the time. With such a huge contiguous empire, it was really easy to trade since you didn’t have to cross tricky borders or deal with foreign raiders. In fact, trade across the Mongol Empire (mostly Silk Roads) was so serene that this period of trade across the Mongol Empire was called Pax Mongolica. Additionally, with one huge empire comes standardized weights and measures across much of Eurasia. This made trade in the Mongol Empire much easier.
The technological and cultural transfers were huge across the Mongolian Empire. Greco-Roman and Islamic medical knowledge came west and eventually to Europe, which would help found the Renaissance. Numbers, too, came west to lift Europe out of the Dark Ages. Ever wondered why our number system was called Arabic numerals? It’s because it was first originally developed in the Middle East. Additionally, the Mongols adopted the Uygher script, which still survives in different forms in Turkey today.
Generally speaking, the Mongols were a lot more accepting than other empires at the time. They were very tolerant of other religions and let everyone practice their own religion freely, which was virtually unheard of at the time. Additionally, Mongols treated their women far more fairly than most empires. Keep in mind that this was relative-- women were still considered inferior. But compared to the state you were living in before, if you were a woman in this time period, being conquered by the Mongols was (often) a pretty sweet deal.
As for trade-- well, the Mongols basically revolutionized trade at the time. With such a huge contiguous empire, it was really easy to trade since you didn’t have to cross tricky borders or deal with foreign raiders. In fact, trade across the Mongol Empire (mostly Silk Roads) was so serene that this period of trade across the Mongol Empire was called Pax Mongolica. Additionally, with one huge empire comes standardized weights and measures across much of Eurasia. This made trade in the Mongol Empire much easier.
The technological and cultural transfers were huge across the Mongolian Empire. Greco-Roman and Islamic medical knowledge came west and eventually to Europe, which would help found the Renaissance. Numbers, too, came west to lift Europe out of the Dark Ages. Ever wondered why our number system was called Arabic numerals? It’s because it was first originally developed in the Middle East. Additionally, the Mongols adopted the Uygher script, which still survives in different forms in Turkey today.
2.3 Indian Ocean Trade Routes
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The Indian Ocean became the largest sea-based trade network between 1200 and 1450. The bulk of actual trade happened on the Indian Ocean.
The Indian Ocean traded “regular goods”, in bulk and at a lower cost. Why could bulk goods be carried on water? It’s much easier to carry huge quantities of high-demand goods (such as timber) on water than on a camel’s back on land. A couple of these goods included timber, frankincense, ivory, and sandalwood. |
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Obviously, the biggest difference between this trade and the Silk Road was that it occurred on the sea. This meant they faced all kinds of unexpected obstacles, like unpredictable wind patterns, monsoons, etc. In fact, knowledge of monsoon winds (when they blew at what times) was huge in making Indian Ocean trade happen. Once sailors could utilize where the monsoons were blowing at what times, they could make those winds blow their sails to wherever they wanted to go!
Of course, sailing presents its own unique obstacles. But as always, technology helped people through! Improvements of maritime technologies like lateen sails (the first triangle-shaped sails, allowing ships to be far more maneuverable), dhow ships and the astrolabe (an instrument that vastly increased accurate navigation by measuring the stars), helped sailors navigate safely and consistently throughout the Indian Ocean.
Of course, sailing presents its own unique obstacles. But as always, technology helped people through! Improvements of maritime technologies like lateen sails (the first triangle-shaped sails, allowing ships to be far more maneuverable), dhow ships and the astrolabe (an instrument that vastly increased accurate navigation by measuring the stars), helped sailors navigate safely and consistently throughout the Indian Ocean.
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The two major effects of the Indian Ocean are community and contact.
Communities: Diasporic communities were set up by merchants to introduce their own cultural traditions into other cultures. A couple key examples are Arab and Persians in Eastern Asia, Chinese merchants in Southeast Asia, and Malay communities in the Indian Ocean basin. On a more consolidated note, states formed from the Indian Ocean trade on the edge of the water. Along the Swahili coast, city-states not far departed from the Greek ones of yore formed and grew rich from trade, along with the state of Gujarat in India and the sultanate of Malacca. The last one is particularly key-- Malacca, being an island forming a very thin strait in between itself and East Asia, controlled this strait and became incredibly wealthy, since Chinese merchants often had to travel through it to get to the riches of the Indian Ocean Basin. |
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Contact: As all trade networks did, the Indian Ocean trade fostered the exchange of ideas, such as Buddhism to Southeast Asia, and Islam across Eurasia. Additionally, many famous travelers such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and eventually Ming Admiral Zheng He utilized these key routes, and their records would soon spread to much of the world.
2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade
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The trans-Saharan trade route transformed West Africa by connecting it to the larger parts of the world. This trade route in particular was intriguing as it required the need for human adaptation and innovation over this vast desert area.
This trade route is often overlooked but it has all the components of a good trade network: the formation of diasporic communities, new technology, the spread of religion (Islamic traditions) and even a super rich king by the name of Mansa Musa. |
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As always, technology helped spur this trade networks. The two big ones here are camel saddles and caravans. Camel saddles helped traders (mostly Berber nomads) ride the camels (the only pack animals equipped to survive in the desert without water for long periods of time) without injury, so it was easy to carry goods faster. Caravans were groups of traders traveling together, which often protected them from desert raiders. These technologies made this route far safer and easier to travel, and thus trans-Saharan trade flourished, carrying salt, gold, slaves, and cowrie shells, the last of which were used as currency.
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The biggest religion that spread across this trade route was Islam. Over time, if African states weren’t already taken over by the Islamic caliphate, they may have converted voluntarily, with much help from the Arab Berber traders, many of whom were already converted to Islam.
Additionally, empires with valued goods expanded rapidly during this flourishing of the trade route, such as the Mali, Ghana, and Songhai empires. Mali in West Africa in particular became one of the richest empires in the region due to its large supply in gold-- so rich, in fact, that when their king Mansa Musa made his pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca every place he stopped along the way became so flooded with gold that their economies inflated drastically. |
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2.5 Cultural Effects of Trade
Large trade networks, like the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, and trans-Sahara, grew quickly, but they didn't diffuse just goods. Something much bigger-- ideas-- traveled across these routes as well.
As merchants traveled across the world, they carried their traditions with them. The most obvious of these is religion. There were three major religions that spread in this period. Buddhism spread into East and Southeast Asia, Hinduism spread into Southeast Asia, and Islam spread into sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
Due to trade with China and India, Japan adopted a version of Buddhism (called Zen Buddhism) that blended their traditional Shinto traditions with Buddhist ones.
Buddhism was often spread by travelers, especially Xuanzang, a Buddhist Chinese monk that was living proof of Buddhism’s spread into East Asia. Along with being a storied traveler who wrote down his observations, Xuanzang helped spread Buddhism wherever he went (sort of similar to Paul who spread Christianity throughout Europe).
Due to trade with China and India, Japan adopted a version of Buddhism (called Zen Buddhism) that blended their traditional Shinto traditions with Buddhist ones.
Buddhism was often spread by travelers, especially Xuanzang, a Buddhist Chinese monk that was living proof of Buddhism’s spread into East Asia. Along with being a storied traveler who wrote down his observations, Xuanzang helped spread Buddhism wherever he went (sort of similar to Paul who spread Christianity throughout Europe).
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Additionally, in China during this period, Neo-Confucianism began to rise in response to Buddhism. Buddhism had gotten pretty powerful in China (specifically in the Tang Dynasty), and Confucianists wanted to put Confucianism back into power. So they adapted Confucianism to take on a few Buddhist characteristics. Neo-Confucianism became all the rage in China. This just goes to show how a religion not native to China could spread and take such a powerful hold.
Hinduism, too, continued to travel throughout Southeastern Asia. A perfect example of this is Angkor Wat in what is now Cambodia. Angkor Wat is a famous beautiful Hindu temple! But Hinduism certainly didn’t begin in Cambodia-- it started in India. How did it get there? Look at Cambodia on a map. It’s well within the Indian Ocean trade network. |
Angkor Wat
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Islam also continued to spread in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Muhammad himself was a trader, so unlike many other empires at the time, trade in the Islamic caliphate was widely encouraged. As a result, Islam began to spread very rapidly. In Africa, beautiful mosques made of adobe, such as the Great Mosque of Djenne appeared, and Islam became quite powerful in many states.
Religion and tradition wasn’t the only thing that was unintentionally traded, though-- technology spread, too. The two biggest were from China: paper-making and gunpowder. Both of these were obviously huge, but in very different ways. Paper-making, of course, was incredibly convenient since paper was much lighter and easy to make-- and most importantly, cheaper. Paper money, especially, helped encourage increased trade along the various routes. Gunpowder also had huge effects, but much more detrimental. It was originally made by a pacifist Daoist attempting to make fireworks, and from there, it became very popular. People very quickly realized that this could be used to reinvent weaponry, and it all went down from there. Before long, Chinese were developing guns and using them to wage war, followed very quickly by Europe.
Not just traders traveled these routes-- travelers did, too! As trade routes got bigger, it became safer and easier for the average person to see the world and report back. There are three you’re going to need to know: Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, and Margery Kempe.
Ibn Battuta was a Muslim Berber from Morocco, and during his years of travel, he traveled seventy-five thousand miles. He went far, from Spain as far east as the very eastern corners of China. Since he was Muslim, a lot of his writings compared the different versions of Islam that popped up around the world. Most of his works are published in The Travels of Ibn Battuta.
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Marco Polo was a Venetian who traveled Europe, went to China (when the Mongols were in power), came back, wrote about it in The Travels of Marco Polo. He mainly used the Silk Roads to travel, different from Battuta, who used primarily the Indian Ocean.
Margery Kempe was born in England during the Dark Ages. She was a religious mystic and traveled all of Europe, completing pilgrimages to holy places such as Jerusalem and Rome. Her book (which she dictated, since she was illiterate) is called The Book of Margery Kempe and is considered the first-ever English-language autobiography in history!
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2.6 Environmental Effects of Trade
Along with goods and beliefs, diseases and crops spread along these routes too-- some of which would alter the way the world worked forever.
The Bubonic Plague was one of the most feared diseases of the 14th century. This gruesome disease spread through infected rats that came off ships when they docked. The name Black Death, came from the swollen glands in a person’s neck, armpits and thighs that turned black.
The Plague started in China around the 1300's, then swept into Europe, via trade routes, causing the decimation of up to half their population. None of that would have been possible without trade routes. It’s also important to note that the Mongols used biological warfare as a means to spread the plague to Europe-- to conquer neighboring territories, Mongols would often load infected people into catapults and launch them over walls. The resulting spread of disease would kill the people inside, weakening the city and allowing the Mongols to take over far more efficiently. Brutal? Absolutely. But it was effective.
The Plague started in China around the 1300's, then swept into Europe, via trade routes, causing the decimation of up to half their population. None of that would have been possible without trade routes. It’s also important to note that the Mongols used biological warfare as a means to spread the plague to Europe-- to conquer neighboring territories, Mongols would often load infected people into catapults and launch them over walls. The resulting spread of disease would kill the people inside, weakening the city and allowing the Mongols to take over far more efficiently. Brutal? Absolutely. But it was effective.
Many crops diffused throughout these roads as well, but the College Board only requires you to know three: bananas, new rice varieties (champa rice), and citrus.
Bananas originated in Pacific region and Southeast Asia, and from there, Arab traders utilized the Indian Ocean trade network to bring them everywhere, especially in Africa, where cultivating them became lucrative.
New rice varieties, specifically champa rice, spread first from Southeast Asia to China, since Vietnam was under Chinese control through the tribute system. Vietnam gave China champa rice, which was drought-resistant and early-ripening. It was the perfect rice to grow, since it produced more of the crop, in a much faster amount of time. China quickly adopted it, and champa rice became a staple of the Chinese diet.
Citrus originated in Southeast Asia, similar to bananas, and through the Indian Ocean and Silk Road trade networks to the Mediterranean.
Bananas originated in Pacific region and Southeast Asia, and from there, Arab traders utilized the Indian Ocean trade network to bring them everywhere, especially in Africa, where cultivating them became lucrative.
New rice varieties, specifically champa rice, spread first from Southeast Asia to China, since Vietnam was under Chinese control through the tribute system. Vietnam gave China champa rice, which was drought-resistant and early-ripening. It was the perfect rice to grow, since it produced more of the crop, in a much faster amount of time. China quickly adopted it, and champa rice became a staple of the Chinese diet.
Citrus originated in Southeast Asia, similar to bananas, and through the Indian Ocean and Silk Road trade networks to the Mediterranean.
