1. Commerce & Culture 500-1500 Edited by: Mr. Barkhau
Shamelessly stolen from:

2. Why Trade?
Different ecological zones = natural uneven distribution of goods and resources
Early monopolization of certain goods
Silk in China
Spices in Southeast Asia
I want what you have! Do you want what I have? Let’s trade!

3. Trade: 500-1500 Long-distance trade developed
This trade shaped culture and society
Trade = mostly indirect
Chain of separate transactions
Goods traveled father than merchants

4. Significance of Trade: Economic
Altered consumption
Ex: West Africans now able to get salt to flavor and preserve their food
Changed the day-to-day lives of individuals
Ex: trade specialization --> led to less self-sufficiency and more dependency

5. Significance of Trade: Social
Traders became their own social group
Sometimes viewed suspiciously --> why are they making money without making the goods?
Trade became a means of social mobility
Money = land = power and status
Trade used by elite groups to distinguish themselves from commoners
Only they could afford luxury goods from far away like silk or ivory

6. Significance of Trade: Political
Controlling and taxing trade motivated the creation of states and kingdoms
Wealth from trade sustained these states and kingdoms and facilitated their growth

7. What Else Was “Traded”? Religious ideas Technological innovations
Disease-bearing germs
Plants and animals

8. The Silk Roads

9. The Silk Roads: Growth
Eurasia = often divided into inner and outer zones with different ecologies
Outer Eurasia = relatively warm and well-watered
China, India, Middle East, Mediterranean
Inner Eurasia = harsher, drier climate
Eastern Russia, Central Asia

10. Hides, furs, livestock, wool, amber, horses, saddles
The Silk Roads: Growth
Result = steppe products traded for agricultural products and manufactured goods from inner Eurasia
Birth of the Silk Roads trade network
Hides, furs, livestock, wool, amber, horses, saddles

11. The Silk Roads: Growth
Construction of classical civilizations and empires added major players to this trade network
Persian Empire, Greek Empire, Roman Empire, Han dynasty, Gupta Empire
Result = Silk Roads continued to grow

12. The Silk Roads: Goods
Most goods traded = luxury goods rather than staple goods
Destined for an elite and wealthy market
Only goods worth transporting with such high transportation costs

13. The Silk Roads: Goods Silk = major product in high demand
China had a silk monopoly until the 500s --> then others gained knowledge of silk production
Increased the supply of silk along the Silk Roads

14. Silk Makes the World Go ‘Round
Used as currency in Central Asia
Became a symbol of high status in both China and the Byzantine Empire
Used in the expanding religions of Buddhism and Christianity
Ex: worn by Buddhist monks
Ex: silk altar covers in Christian churches

15. The Silk Roads: Goods Volume of trade = small
But social and economic impact of trade = big
Ex: peasant in China produced luxury goods instead of crops
Ex: merchants could make enormous profits

16. The Silk Roads: Cultures
Major result of trade along the Silk Roads = the spread of Buddhism
From India to Central & East Asia
Spread by Indian traders and Buddhist monks

17. The Silk Roads: Buddhism
Spread to oases cities in Central Asia
Voluntarily converted
Buddhism gave these small cities a link to the larger, wealthy, and prestigious civilization of India
Many of these cities became centers of learning and commerce
Buddhist temple in Dunhuang (an oases city)

18. The Silk Roads: Buddhism
Transformation of Buddhism
Original faith = shunned the material world
Now Buddhism = filled with wealthy monks, elaborate and expensive monasteries, and so on
Buddhist monastery in China

19. The Silk Roads: Buddhism
What type of Buddhism spread? MAHAYANA!
Buddha = a deity
Many bodhisattvas
Emphasis on compassion

20. The Silk Roads: Disease
Long-distance trade = resulted in exposure to unfamiliar diseases
Athens ( BCE) = widespread epidemic; killed 25% of the army
Roman & Han Empires = measles and smallpox devastated both populations
Mediterranean World ( CE) = devastated by bubonic plague from India

21. The Black Death
Spread due to the Mongol Empire’s unification of most of Eurasia (13th-14th centuries)
Could have been bubonic plague, anthrax, or collection of epidemic diseases
= killed 1/3 of European population
Similar death toll in China & parts of Islamic world

22. Sea Exchange Begins with Mediterranean Sea trade
Participants = Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans
Italian city of Venice = major center of commerce (during Renaissance)

23. Sea Exchange Begins with Red Sea trade
Participants = Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Africans
Alexandria = major port and city of commerce

24. Indian Ocean Exchange

25. Indian Ocean Exchange Like the Silk Roads, trade grew because of:
Environmental and cultural diversities in each region
Desire for goods not available at home
Same goods traded from each region as on the Silk Roads
Ex: silk and porcelain from China
Ex: ivory and gold from the African coast
Unlike the Silk Roads: transportation costs much lower
Ships could carry much more at one time than camels
Sea Roads carried more bulk and staple goods  not just luxury items like on the Silk Roads

26. Monsoons Made Indian Ocean exchange possible
Monsoons = alternating wind currents
Blow predictably eastward in summer months
Blow predictably westward in winter months

27. Indian Ocean Exchange Not between countries Not between entire regions
IS between individual merchant towns

28. Growth of Indian Ocean Trade
2 major transformations occurred between 500 and 1500 that led to major growth of the Indian Ocean trade network
Economic and political revival of China
Rise of Islam in the 7th century

29. China’s Comeback 4 centuries after the collapse of the Han dynasty
Reestablished a unified government
Encouraged sea trade
Economic growth = allowed Chinese products to pour into trade networks
Technological innovations = larger ships; magnetic compass

30. Rise of Islam
Islam = friendly to commercial life (unlike Confucianism)
Creation of an Arab Empire
Stretching from Atlantic Ocean to India
Brought together a wide range of economies in a single political system
Powerful and wealthy empire = continued to stimulate Indian Ocean trade

31. Sea Roads = Change
Indian Ocean trade transformed ALL of its participants in one way or another
Major transformations to two regions:
Southeast Asia
East Africa
Both regions experienced:
Political change  rulers used wealth to construct larger states
Cultural change  exposure to new religions

32. Southeast Asia & Srivijaya
Southeast Asia = between India and China
Its geography = allowed it to play an important role in Indian Ocean commerce
350 CE = Malay sailors opened an all-water sea route between India and China through the straits of Malacca
Result = more traders and travelers in the region
Result = ports along Malay Peninsula competed to attract these traders

33. Southeast Asia & Srivijaya
From this competition emerged the Malay kingdom of Srivijaya
Dominated this region of Indian Ocean commerce from 670 to 1025
Its advantages:
Big supply of gold
Access to in-demand spices
Placed taxes on passing ships

34. Srivijaya: Cultural Change
Influenced by Indian traders and adopted Buddhism
Rulers sponsored the creation of images of the Buddha and different bodhisattvas
Srivijaya = became a major center of Buddhist learning and culture

35. Sailendra Kindgom
Another kingdom in Southeast Asia influenced by Indian culture
Built huge Hindu temples and Buddhist monuments
Largest Buddhist monument anywhere in the world is located here = Borobudur

36. East Africa & Swahili
Swahili civilization = set of commercial city-states stretching along the East African coast
Each city-state was politically independent with its own king
Big competition between each city-state
Sharp class distinctions in each city-state  big gap between the merchant elite class and the commoners

37. Swahili: Cultural Change
Arab, Indian, and Persian merchants = always welcome there
Swahili language = blend of African Bantu and Arabic
Swahili civilization = quickly became Islamic
Ibn Battuta = Arab scholar and merchant
Described these East African cities as Muslim societies

38. Coastal Cities = Intermediaries
Got valued goods from the interior of Africa and then sold them to others using the Indian Ocean trade network
This allowed regions in the interior of Africa to become wealthy even though they were not a part of the actual trade network
Example = state of Great Zimbabwe

39. The Sand Roads Trans-Saharan trade route
Linked North Africa and the Mediterranean world with West Africa

40. Trans-Saharan Trade
Like the Silk and Sea Roads  this trade begins as a result of environmental variation
What does each region have to offer?
North African coastal areas = cloth, glassware, weapons, books
Sahara region = copper and salt
Savanna grasslands = grain crops
Sub-Saharan forests = tree crops like yam and kola nuts

41. Trans-Saharan Trade Made possible by the CAMEL!
1st traders = camel-owning people from desert oases
Major traders became = North African Muslim Arabs
What did they come to West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa for?
GOLD!, ivory, kola nuts, slaves
Gave in return: SALT!, horses, cloth, weapons, tools

42. Caravans As many as 5,000 camels Hundreds of people
Travelling at night
Length of journey = about 70 days
15-20 miles walked per day

43. Construction of Empires
New wealth and resources from trans-Saharan trade allowed some regions to construct large empires or city-states
Between 500 and 1600 CE
Major empires = Mali, Ghana, and Songhai

44. West African Empires All monarchies
Drew upon wealth of trans-Saharan trade
Relied on slaves
Females used as = domestic servants and sex slaves
Males used as = state officials, craftsmen, miners, agricultural laborers

45. Cities Within the Kingdoms
Urban and commercial centers
Traders met and exchanged goods there
Centers of manufacturing
Items created: beads, iron tools, cotton textiles, etc.
Largely Islamic
Mosque in Timbuktu (in Mali)