There exists a time when major civilizations were once divided in nature and were unaware of each other’s existence. The major civilizations developed at an independent rate, and most of the technologies and ideas were innovated without the influence of other civilizations. The Chinese were famed for their production of silk, a valuable textile coveted for its splendid texture and color. The Roman Empire was known for its wealth and domesticated animals. India was famous for its spices [1]. However, this situation then took a drastic change when the Silk Road was established by the Han Dynasty. The main purpose of this establishment was to maintain political contact with the kingdoms located in Central Asia. This route soon evolved into a trade route that connected China, Central Asia and Constantinople [2]. Sometime between 206 B.C and 220 A.D, Silk Road was known to be the main trade route that linked the west and the east [2]. The Silk Road then became one of the most iconic symbols of trade in the world, as it became the first trade route of its kind that managed to connect the west with the east. Although the Silk Road disappeared after 220 A.D due to the fall of Constantinople, it remained to be one of the most important human systems in history. This is because it gave rise to globalization, expedited the development of great civilizations and inspired the rise of maritime exploration. The establishment of the Silk Road was the first main event that gave rise to globalization. Trade between the west and east was one of the main products of the Silk Road. This international trade allowed goods such as silk, which was one of the most coveted goods among merchant at that time, wools and domestic animals to be traded among di... ... middle of paper ... ...the east trade route by sea. In conclusion, the Silk Road was an important landmark as it connected the west and the east which created an international trade system. Even after its disappearance due to the fall of Constantinople, its success was so huge that its existence in history still inspired and encouraged others to find ways to repeat its achievement. Although Christopher Columbus eventually failed to discover another path that links the east and the west, his endeavors that were inspired by the Silk Road led to the rise of maritime exploration, and even more importantly the discovery of the New World. Therefore, the Silk Road has demonstrated itself to be a significant aspect of the human experience, as from it, we are able to experience globalization, record the rise of some of the greatest civilizations, and also oversee the rise of maritime exploration.
An African rhino horn for some Chinese silk, 6 iron bars for 12 Ferghana horses, or Chinese orange trees for India’s spices. Trade was encouraged by the Silk Road because it was the earliest type of compromise when wars were fought, and supplies were demanded. To begin, around 4000 B.C.E., China’s biggest seller was silk. In fact, that’s mostly why the Silk Road was built. Everyone wants some of China’s beautiful silk.
As told by the roman historian Cassius Dio, Silk was used in Caesar’s celebration. (doc. 1). When Dio talks about the silk he calls it a “device of barbarian luxury.” This proves that a well educated roman was oblivious to the advancements that the Chinese had made, including The Great Wall and Grand Canal. Not to mention that the Chinese have existed thousands of years prior to the Roman civilization. Secondly Sima Qian who wrote The Records Of the Grand Historian clearly hints that Zhang Qian may have started the Silk Road. According to the document, Zhang Qian travels several thousand li (1 Li is equivalent to a bit more than one third of a mile.) Zhang brings back crops such as wheat and rice, and even find out about wine and grapes. Zhang was the first person to bring a clear account of present day Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, claiming it was people settled on the
...g. The tying together each small item to the events of world history symbolizes how the overarching theme of globalization involves many different aspects. Samuel Champlain’s excursion which could’ve been seen as complete accident actually helped establish a very profitable fur trade between North America. Chinese porcelain and its high demand introduced the world to the wonders of China as well as the rest of the world to China. Tobacco became a popular commodity of trade and was exported globally. Along with discoveries of routes, goods, and beliefs, and other things, the movement of people was, and still is, the most vital part of globalization. Without it, history wouldn’t be the same.
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
During the classical era, there were shifts worldwide with regards to economic imports and exports. As many societies transformed from hunting-gathering societies into specialization societies, global trade networks expanded. This led to the founding and growth of many complex trade networks, both on land and by sea. Two notable trade networks were the Mediterranean Sea network and the Silk Road. The Mediterranean Sea is in Europe, and the trade network lined the shores of Turkey and North Africa. The Silk Road was trans-Asian. It reached from China to the Eastern Mediterranean. While these networks had multiple similarities in their expansion and spread of religion and ideas, there were many differences. These included the type of materials
The Mongols conquered and then united China. This created peace among the country and led to other great things. One of these great things is the Silk Road. The Silk Road is a long trading route that was created when China was united as they had started
The Mongols influenced the world in many great ways, one of them was their vast trade system. They relied quite heavily on trade, not only to gain resources, but also to get their inventions and objects to the Europeans and then hopefully spread from there. The Mongols enhanced the trading system by composing the “Silk Road”. The Silk Road was a path/road that the Mongols had control of and it was a trade route that many travelers and traders took. Along the Silk Road, the main resource that was traded was silk, hence the name “Silk Road.” The
At the time of the Han Dynasty, general trade began over the Silk Road, which was a network of trails that stretched 4,000 miles from China extending to the Roman Empire. At the time the Chinese were unique in their knowledge of how to raise silkworms and weave silk. Chinese silk was extremely expensive. In fact it was worth its weight as gold in Rome! Europeans also preferred other Asian luxury goods including but not limited to exotic sp...
Many changes were witnessed in the economic structures of different regions as trade flourished within the Eurasian trade routes. Trade routes allowed for sedentary civilizations to connect with more nomadic groups, and this allowed for many to exchange goods with drastically different groups outside of their own regions. Different goods appeared out of regions such as
During this time in China the Han dynasty was responsible for the greatest expansion of China, to what is now southern China, northern Vietnam, and parts of Korea and had trade with Central Asia, India, Persia. Because of the expansion of the territory they were able to trade with more countries. This was furthered by the discovery of the Silk Road in 2nd century BC. The Silk Road, discovered by a Chinese ambassador Zhang Qian, was a series of trade routes from China to the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road got its name from the amount of silk used for trade during the Han dynasty. This route was used to travel from West to East on land they traveled to India, Persia, Arabia, and Europe, while traveling by sea they traveled through Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These paths were used by merchants, pilgrim, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers.
It is not possible to think clearly about the Silk Road without taking into consideration the whole of Eurasia as its geographical context. Trade along the Silk Road flourished or diminished according to the conditions in China, Byzantium, Persia, and other countries along the way. There was also competition for alternative routes, by land and sea, to absorb long-distance
Nowadays, Globalization is a main trend for the world economic. The world’s economy has become fully integrated. There are no barriers and borders to trade around the world.
For this essay, I will identify two trade routes or trade organizations and why they were established. I chose the silk road and the Trans-Saharan Trade route. I will first talk about the silk road dating from the second century BC to the end of the fourteenth century AD. It was established in the Han Dynasty and it was called the Silk Road because silk was so popular and in demand at the time.
The Chinese were the first to produce silk from the silkworm. This was something that was very much desired by the West. The Romans even referred to it as the ‘land where silk comes from. ’ The Romans set out to find where this wonderful material was coming from. According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia it is thought that the first contact between China and the west was around 200 BCE . Many types of merchandise were traded along this road. China had things like silk, bamboo work, and Chinese lacquers. The West had many new fruits, vegetables, spices, gold, and medicinal materials that China wanted. So this was a mutually beneficial trade route. As mentioned before much more than just material things were traded among this road like ideals, beliefs, and technology.
As the invention of better ships came about, many people realized that the boats were much more stronger and reliable than by land. Even though the ships had to face bad weather and pirates, it was better to take your chance at sea. Traders by land were often ambushed and robbed while on the road from nomadic tribes and it became difficult to travel the road. While China and Russia maintained a trading relationship with silk and fur, trade and travel had declined so much that no other activity occurred. Internal problems in China also led to the demise of the Silk road. Many of the later Chinese dynasties like the Tang, Ming, and Qing faced corruption, rebellion, and illegitimate rulership. The Ming dynasty, for example, did not help advance the Silk road with its foreign policy. During that time, they did not trust the westerners or any foreign influences which hindered the trade between the east and west. This attitude of Chinese nationalism lasted from the all the way to the Qing dynasty and got better during the Sung dynasty (Wu,