AP World Exam Brandon Ellestad Period 3 The Silk road was a ancient network of trading, that provided routes for trade and cultural exchanges to people in differents areas. During the time period of 200 CE and 1500 CE, the silk road underwent some transformations while still staying true to its original purpose. During that time period, the Silk road would have an influence on the change of major religions. With these changes, the need for luxury goods by the upper class stayed consistent within the society along the Silk road. The major religions of Christianity and Buddhism were dramatically changed with the development of the Silk Road during the time period of 200 CE and 1500 CE.
The first and most extensive trade networks were actually waterways like the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates in present-day Iraq and the Yellow River in China. Cities grew up in the fertile basins on the borders of those rivers and then expanded by using their watery highways to import and export goods (Whipps, B. (2008, February 17). How Ancient Trade Changed the World. Retrieved Novermber 31, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/4823-ancient-trade-changed-world.html ).
The contribution of printing from China was also used to print maps which increased navigation and imperialism. The introduction of gunpowder in Europe was used to blow up medieval castles and buildings. Gunpowder also gave Europe military power. This shifted Europe out of a dark age and Europe was able to catch up to the rest of the world. The compass was a very beneficial invention to Europe that ultimately caused to the Rise of the West.
The Silk Road was part of a 13,500 mile highway network. The Silk Road was the longest one in the network. There were two branches of the road: the treacherous and deadly southern branch and the longer and safer northern branch. The Silk Road started in the capital, Chang’an, and extended westward above and beyond Kashmir. Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty.
During the late 13th century, Italian explorer Marco Polo went on a 25-year overland journey through Mongolia and Japan in search of a route to the Far East for trading textiles and spices. By the mid-14th century, the Ottoman Empire had conquered most of the area between Europe and the Far East, and Arab traders were charging expensive fees for their spices. In order to counter those obstacles, Europeans decided to establish their own trade routes over water.
Technology helped imperialism by a landslide if it wasn’t for the new technology advantages the drive of Imperialism wouldn't have made it as far in Africa. One of the first and most imported technologies invented was the steam engine. First used in boats, 1787, and then used in locomotives, 1804. The steam engine was “A more constant and forceful source of power than sails on ships or horse-drawn carriages. A faster form of transportation” The treatment of malaria was found a little over 16 years later, This gave the Europeans a huge advantage over the africans for better chances of survival.
First they had crossroads of profitable trade. They would trade perfumes, precious metals, incense, and silk filed through their town, headed North to coastal town. When they would trade overseas to the Arabian Peninsula, they traded spices, textiles, and spices from Asia. Mecca was rich due to travel connects to Europe, Asia and Africa. Trade became such a big thing in Islam, it was known as... Another
The Swahili Corridor was the largest trade route of the tenth century, with a power that can only be compared to the power of an empire. The use of trade routes can be seen throughout all of human history. Trading effects the political, economical, and the cultural viewpoints of everyone involved, whether direct or not. Today’s world would not exist if not for the development of trade in the tenth century. During the tenth century, the Swahili Corridor was at full power, creating trade routes that connected East Africa to China and the Mediterranean world.
Most of these boats were probably small, flat-bottom craft, perhaps driven by sail. There is secondary evidence of seagoing craft. The Indus valley artifacts, the trade networks, economically, integrated a huge area, including portion of Afghanistan, the coastal regions of Persia, northern and western India, and Mesopotamia. There is some evidence that trade contacts to Crete and possibly to Egypt. Such long distance sea trade became feasible with the innovative development of plank-built watercraft, equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or
Spices at that time was expensive and was difficult and dangerous to get. The traders had to travel from Europe to Asia through the dangerous silk road to get spices. At the time the silk road closed because of wars, Portugal was the first country in Europe to send explorers to find cheaper and safer sea routes. however, sailors were afraid of sea monsters which slowed down the process,