2 | Networks of Exchange

• Most items carried by Silk Road Merchants were luxury goods including silk and porcelain due to the high transport costs
• The rise of money economies thanks to China's introduction of paper money encouraged trade along the Silk Roads and in the Indian Ocean Basin, and other innovations included the use of credit and rise of banks
• Caravanserai were roadside inns and guest houses where traveling merchants could stay the night. They provided safety from bandits and became centers of cultural exchange
• New trading cities including Kashgar in China and Samarkand in Central Asia arose due to their strategic locations along the Silk Roads. Kashgar was built around a river making the valley suitable for agriculture, and became a thriving center for Islamic scholarship
• Islamic and Buddhist merchants spread their religions as they traveled along the Silk Roads. Mahayana Buddhism became very popular as teachings were available to all and it emphasized compassion
• Led by Chinggis Khan, the Mongols were able to quickly conquer much of Eurasia due to military efficiency and organization, their skills on horseback, and reputation of brutality
• The Mongols had lucky timing in their conquests as the Song Dynasty had lost control of Northern territory and the Abbasid Empire had long been declining in power before it fell to the Mongols in 1258
• The Mongols brought a period of peace and stability known as Pax Mongolica which encouraged trade along the Silk Roads. The Mongol policy to send skilled people to various parts of the empire encouraged the transfer of technology and culture
• Kublai Khan, the grandson of Chinggis Khan, set up the Yuan Dynasty in China and claimed the Mandate of Heaven
• Improved ships like the Chinese junk and Arab dhow led to increased trade in the Indian Ocean Basin, as well as the Arab invention of the lateen sail which could take wind in almost any direction
• The astrolabe allowed sailors to determine latitude and longitude based on the position of the stars
• As the Mongol Empire declined, so did the ease and safety of travel along the Silk Roads, leading to an emphasis on maritime trade in the Indian Ocean
• Sailors in the Indian Ocean used knowledge of predictable monsoon winds which blew in different directions based on the time of year
• The spread of Islam by Muslim merchants could be seen in the Swahili city-states of East Africa which built many mosques. The Swahili city-states traded gold, ivory, and slaves from the African interior
• Malacca in Southeast Asia controlled the Strait of Malacca, a critical chokepoint in Indian Ocean trade, and gained wealth by taxing ships. Chinese diasporic communities could be seen in Malacca
• Gujarat on the Indian coast offered goods including cotton textiles and indigo to merchants in the Indian Ocean Basin
• From the Ming Dynasty, Admiral Zheng He had a massive fleet of ships and went on a maritime expedition to enroll states in the Chinese tribute system
• Innovations in transportation technology for the Sand Roads included the Arabian camel, camel saddle (for riding the camel and carrying bigger loads), and caravanserai which were also used on the Silk Roads
• Goods traded in the Trans-Saharan Trade Network included gold, kola nuts, salt
• The wealth gained by Mali from conversion to Islam and Sand Roads trade could be seen on Mansa Musa's hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca where he spent and gave away giant sums of gold
• Trade routes allowed for interregional travel, with one example being Ibn Battuta, a Muslim scholar from Morocco who wrote notes about his travels in Dar-al-Islam (sailed on merchant ships, rode on camels to cross the Sahara desert)
• Marco Polo traveled from Italy to China and wrote about his experiences on Kublai Khan's court, detailing China's wealth while Margery Kempe was a Christian mystic who traveled to Christianity's holy sites like Jerusalem, Rome, and Spain
• First domesticated in Southeast Asia, the banana was brought to Africa by merchants crossing the Indian Ocean. The lush rainforests of sub-Saharan Africa provided prime conditions for the flourishing of the banana, which expanded diets leading to population growth
• Increased trade along the Silk Road thanks to the Mongols allowed the Bubonic Plague to spread and caused the Black Death which destroyed populations in the Middle East and Europe