Unit 2.1 The Silk Roads 1200-1450

Causes for Growth

-Roman & Han’s fall = less trade; Abbasid merchants & Tang elite = Silk Roads & Indian Ocean trade revival

• Innovations: Han’s magnetic compass & naval in South China Sea; Tang’s paper, gunpowder, luxury trade (cotton, jewels, pomegranates, dates, grapes, horses)

  • Junks: Large Han boats w/ oblique sails & divided hulls for rough voyages

• Caravans: Trade groups = safer

• Camel Saddles: More bulk

Effects of Growth: Trading Cities

-Thriving trade centers = more $ & production (protoindustrialization)

• Kashgar: Kashgar River b/w arid Taklamakan desert & Tian Shan Mts. = oasis facilitated Central Asian, South Asian, & Middle Eastern trade (north & south routes intersected)

  • Economic: Fertile soil = wheat, rice, fruit, cotton; Artisans = textiles, rugs, leather, pottery

  • Culture: Primarily Buddhist → Islamic scholarship center

• Samarkand: Uzbekistan in Zeravshan River Valley b/w China & Mediterranean

  • Culture: Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, & Islamic learning, artisans

• Caravanserai: Resting inns ~100 miles apart (distance before camels need water) traded for fresh animals

Effects of Growth: Commercial innovations

-Commercial Innovations = more $ & production (protoindustrialization)

• Money Economy: China used $ over bartering, but copper coins = unwieldy

  • Flying Money: deposit & withdraw $ at different Banking Houses

    • Bill of Exchange: Doc. states holder was legally promises payment at set # & date

• Hanseatic League: Crusades = Demand for Asian goods = North Germany-Scandinavia controlled North & Baltic sea to trade w/ Mediterranean & Arab caravans

  • Traded: timber, grain, leather, salted fish; drove out pirates

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