Trade Networks and Cultural Exchanges from 500 to 1500

Sahara

The Sahara held rich deposits of which highly valued commodity?

Silk Roads

The trade conducted along the Silk Roads was largely a relay trade because goods were passed down the line rather than carried by one merchant along the entire route.

Diseases along the Silk Roads

A consequence of the exchange of diseases along the Silk Roads was that the population in the Americas was virtually wiped out.

Sea Roads of the Indian Ocean

In contrast to the Silk Roads, the Sea Roads of the Indian Ocean carried more products for a mass market.

Eurasian exchange system

Silk came to symbolize the Eurasian exchange system.

Buddhism along the Silk Roads

Buddhism changed as it spread along the Silk Roads by incorporating the gods of many peoples along the Silk Roads as bodhisattvas.

Facilitation of Silk Road trade

Trade along the Silk Roads was facilitated by large and powerful states that provided security for merchants and travelers.

Swahili civilization influences

Swahili civilization was influenced by Chinese, Indian, Bantu, and European cultures.

Long-distance trade in the Americas

The absence of wheeled vehicles made long-distance trade in the Americas difficult.

Third-wave civilization trade control

In the Inca civilization, the state largely controlled trade, preventing a professional merchant class from emerging.

Mesoamerica and Andes trade

Between 500 and 1500, the civilizations of Mesoamerica and the Andes ran similar regional economies controlled by the state.

Elite Chinese women and fabrics

Elite Chinese women demanded luxurious fabrics as a mark of high status.

Spread of Islam and Indian Ocean commerce

The spread of Islam affected Indian Ocean commerce as Muslim merchants and sailors established communities of traders from East Africa to the south China coast.

Economic exchange control

The Inca Empire had the greatest control over economic exchange within its borders.

Indian cultural influence in Southeast Asia

Indian cultural influence in Southeast Asia spread through the voluntary adoption and adaptation of Indian ideas.

Enhanced ancient patterns of exchange

During the last five centuries B.C.E., the building of second-wave civilizations enhanced ancient patterns of exchange.

Silk Road trade effects on peasants

The Silk Road trade affected peasants in China by causing them to focus more on producing luxury goods.

Black Death spread

The spread of the Black Death from China to Europe in the fourteenth century occurred during an era of increased contact facilitated by Mongol rule.

Technological innovations in Indian Ocean commerce

Junks were a technological innovation that facilitated Indian Ocean commerce.

Development of trade in the Indian Ocean basin

The encouragement of maritime trade by an effective and unified Chinese state increased and expanded trade in the Indian Ocean basin.

Indianization of Southeast Asia

The architectural expression of Hinduism at Angkor Wat is an example of the Indianization of Southeast Asia.

Political structure of Swahili civilization

The political structure of Swahili civilization was similar to the competitive and independent city-states of ancient Greece.

Swahili civilization and interior peoples

Swahili cities operated as intermediaries for people from the interior to sell their goods to Arab merchants.

Long trek across the Sahara

The long trek across the Sahara was made possible by camels.

Malay kingdom of Srivijaya

Trade in spices helped the Malay kingdom of Srivijaya fund an embryonic bureaucracy.

Networks of exchange from 500 to 1500

Trade operated as a means of establishing diplomatic relations between states.

Intensified interaction in Eurasia

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Eurasia experienced a period of intensified interaction under the rule of the Mongols.

International trade in silk

The association of silk with the sacred in Buddhism and Christianity highlights an effect of the international trade in silk.

Sand Roads

The Sand Roads linked North Africa and the Mediterranean world to the land and peoples of Interior West Africa.