Overview
This lecture introduces the Silk Roads, focusing on their role as major trade and cultural exchange routes across Eurasia from 1200 to 1450, and explores their causes, impacts, and key innovations.
Definition of the Silk Roads
- The Silk Roads were a vast network of trade routes connecting Eurasia, active from before 1200 to 1450.
- Primary goods traded were luxury items like Chinese silk, due to high transportation costs.
- The Silk Roads facilitated not only trade but also cultural diffusion—the exchange of ideas and beliefs.
Causes for Expansion of the Silk Roads
- The use of paper money, pioneered by China, made trade easier and safer across regions.
- The introduction of credit systems, including "flying money," allowed merchants to transfer money efficiently.
- Banking houses developed in Europe, inspired by Chinese models, making financial transactions more secure.
- Innovations in transportation, such as Caravanserai (roadside inns) and the camel saddle, improved travel safety and capacity.
Effects of Silk Road Expansion
- Rise of powerful trading cities like Kashgar and Samarkand due to their strategic locations for trade and resupply.
- Increased demand for luxury goods led to higher production by Chinese, Indian, and Persian artisans.
- Chinese peasants shifted from food production to silk textile production, contributing to proto-industrialization—manufacturing beyond local consumption.
- Profits from trade were reinvested in industries like iron and steel in China.
Cultural Diffusion and Additional Impacts
- The Silk Roads enabled the spread of religions (Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism) as merchants interacted.
- Caravanserai acted as centers where diverse cultural practices, technologies, and goods were exchanged.
- The movement along the Silk Roads also facilitated the accidental spread of diseases, notably the Bubonic plague.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Silk Roads — Network of trade routes linking Eurasia for goods and cultural exchange.
- Cultural diffusion — The spread of cultural traits, ideas, and beliefs between societies.
- Paper money — Currency in the form of paper notes, first used in China to facilitate trade.
- Flying money — Chinese credit system using promissory notes to transfer funds.
- Caravanserai — Roadside inns for merchants to rest and trade along major routes.
- Proto-industrialization — Early shift to large-scale production of goods for trade, beyond local needs.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review other Unit 2 topics, especially the role of disease spread via the Silk Roads.
- Study key trading cities like Kashgar and Samarkand for exam preparation.
- Prepare definitions and examples of economic and transportation innovations for quizzes.