The Silk Road was a flourishing trade route connecting China and Europe. It began in Ancient China, named after a fiber that became a luxury item. The Silk Road promoted globalization, the flow of goods, services, capital, people, and ideas across international boundaries. Marco Polo traveled from Europe to China along its route, experiencing the wonders of Mongol China. The Ottoman Empire closed the route in 1453, leading Western Europe to find new ways to experience the wonders of the East.
Origins
Chinese mythology tells how an emperor’s wife invented silk, a fine fabric crafted from the secretions of silkworms. Silk became a luxury good and a profitable trade item.
A trade route developed connecting Europe and China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 BCE). The Silk Road spanned over four thousand miles, traveling over mountains, deserts, and waterways. The “road” became a complex network of trade routes, which lasted until 1453.
Silk Road In Action
China exported silk, teas, salt, sugar, porcelain, and spices. They imported cotton, ivory, wool, gold, and silver. Merchants traveled in large caravans for protection.
Large flourishing trade cities arose along the route. The cities were multicultural combinations of different languages, religions, and ways of life.
Inns (caravanserai) sprang up to supply the needs of weary travelers. The inns arose about one hundred miles apart, the distance camels could travel before they needed water.
China developed new financial systems to manage the flourishing trade. They developed “flying cash,” a type of convenient paper money that became a medium of exchange. Travelers could deposit the money in one location and withdraw it in another. A banking system was developed.
The Silk Road also inspired Europe to develop financial institutions and trade alliances to better organize their side of things. The Hanseatic League helped to fight off pirates and protect trade with Arab caravans. Venice became a thriving financial and cultural center.
Early Globalization
Globalization is the flow of goods, services, capital, people, and ideas across international boundaries. The Silk Road provided a prime opportunity for trade and cultural exchange.
The average person until recent times had limited vision. They stayed within a short distance from their home. There were no computers or televisions to obtain news from the outside world.
Nonetheless, trade routes provided a chance for the interchange of ideas. The Silk Road did not only supply the opportunity for new trade goods. People traded ideas.
Information, technology, and beliefs traveled throughout Asia and Europe. Chinese banking inspired European financial institutions. Europeans also learned about gunpowder.
Religions traveled along the Silk Road. People learned about Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam. Art and other cultural exchanges also moved along the route.
“Silk Road” became a metaphor for the exchange of goods and ideas between diverse cultures.
Mongols and Marco Polo
The Mongols were a Central Asian society that created a grand empire in the 13th Century.
They were masters of the horse, including using them in quick and deadly attacks. The Silk Road helped horses travel east, where they thrived on the short grasses of the region.
The Mongols provided the security and organization that reinvigorated the Silk Road. They also treated merchants with more respect than traditional Chinese society.
Marco Polo, a Venetian trader, traveled to China at the height of the Mongol Empire. He followed the Silk Road. He brought back with him such things as paper, paper currency, porcelain, spices, and noodles. That’s right, Italian pasta originated in China!
Unfortunately, the thriving Silk Road also helped spread the deadly bubonic plague (Black Death), which caused the death of a third of the population of Europe.
Decline of the Silk Road
The end of the Mongol Empire began the decline of the Silk Road.
The territory once connected by Mongol control now broke apart. The route became more difficult and unsafe to travel.
The Ottoman Empire defeated the remainder of the old Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) in 1453. They then closed off the Silk Road from the West.
Western Europe needed to find another route to the East. The attempts to find one helped to inspire the Age of Exploration. The trade and cultural exchange continued in new ways.
Modern Day Silk Road
The Silk Road continues to be a metaphor for worldwide trade.
The modern day Silk Road was a digital black market platform popular for hosting money laundering activities and illegal drug transactions using Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a 21st-century version of the paper money of China. We continue to see the positives and negatives of globalization.