Trade

c. 1200-1450

Kangnido Map of Integrated Lands and Regions of Historical Countries and Capitals, Korean, 1402

Trade, c. 1200-1450

Objectives

return to top of page

Explain the causes and effects of growth of networks of exchange after 1200.
Explain how the expansion of empires influenced trade and communication over time.
Explain the intellectual and cultural effects of the various networks of exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
Explain the environmental effects of the various networks of exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to c. 1450.

Commercial Innovations

return to top of page

Catalan Atlas, a world map made in 1375 CE

French astrolabe, 1400 CE

Chinese geomantic compass c. 1760

The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies, including the caravanserai, forms of credit, and the development of money economies.
Demand for luxury goods increased in Afro-Eurasia. Chinese, Persian, and Indian artisans and merchants expanded their production of textiles and porcelains for export; manufacture of iron and steel expanded in China.
The growth of interregional trade was encouraged by innovations in existing transportation technologies.

The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by significant innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies, including the use of the compass, the astrolabe, and larger ship designs.

audio pronunciation guide:

Trade Routes

return to top of page

A close up of the Catalan Atlas depicting Marco Polo travelling to the East during the Pax Mongolica.

Article: New research changes our understanding of who built ancient Silk Roads

Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an increased volume of trade and expanded the geographical range of existing trade routes--including the Silk Roads, the Indian Ocean trade network, and trans-Saharan trade network--promoting the growth of powerful new trading cities.

The expansion and intensification of long-distance trade routes often depended on environmental knowledge, including advanced knowledge of the monsoon winds.
The Indian Ocean trading network fostered the growth of states.

The expansion of empires—including Mali in West Africa–facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and communication as new people were drawn into the economies and trade networks.

audio pronunciation guide:

Mercantile City-States

return to top of page

Eastern Mediterranean detail, Catalan Atlas, 1375 CE

The fate of cities varied greatly, with periods of significant decline and periods of increased urbanization, buoyed by rising productivity and expanding trade networks.

audio pronunciation guide:

Main trade routes of the Hanseatic League

Travelers

return to top of page

Ibn Battuta (1304-1369) was a Moroccan traveller, geographer, botanist and judge who traveled over 73,000 miles during his life! From his North African home he visited Arabia, India, Southeast Asia, China, Russia, and southern Africa. He was probably the most far-ranging human before modern times.

Zheng He led seven Chinese voyages to South Asia and East Africa.

Article: Zheng He’s Last Voyage: How Ming China Closed Themselves to the World

As exchange networks intensified, an increasing number of travelers within Afro-Eurasia wrote about their travels.
In key places along important trade routes, merchants set up diasporic communities where they introduced their own cultural traditions into the indigenous cultures and, in turn, indigenous cultures influenced merchant cultures.

Interregional contacts and conflicts between states and empires encouraged significant technological and cultural transfers, including during Chinese maritime activity led by Ming Admiral Zheng He.
Increased cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of literary, artistic, and cultural traditions, as well as scientific and technological innovations.

audio pronunciation guide: