2.1 - The Silk Roads

• Silk Roads


  A vast network of roads and trails that facilitated trade and the spread of culture and ideas across Eurasia in and before the period 1200 to 1450
• Silk Roads


  • Mainly facilitated the exchange of luxury items, most notably Chinese silk
  • Expensive to haul goods from one end to the other, so selling luxury goods was the only way to earn large profits
• Innovations in commercial practices that led to the expansion of the Silk Roads


  1. Development of money economies with the introduction of paper money by China

  2. Increasing use of credit with the introduction of 'flying money'

  3. Emergence of banks to facilitate trade
• Innovations in transportation technologies that led to the expansion of the Silk Roads


  1. Rise of Caravanserais - Inns and guest houses that provided safety and cultural exchange

  2. Introduction of saddles to make riding easier over long distances
• Effects of the expansion of the Silk Roads


  • Rise of powerful trading cities along the routes, such as Kashgar and Samarkand
  • Increased demand for luxury goods like Chinese silk and porcelain, leading to proto-industrialization in China
  • Cultural diffusion, including the spread of religions and innovations like saddles
• The Bubonic plague spread along the Silk Roads