Week Four - Chapters 8, 9, & 10

The establishment of trade routes in the region surrounding the Indian Ocean allowed not only goods to be exchanged but also ideas.   The Silk Road, the Sea Roads, Sand Road were the three main avenues of trade 2000 years ago.

The Silk Road connected the eastern edge of China all the way to the westernmost edge of Arabia.  While obviously silk was traded along the route, the Silk Road allowed Buddhism and Christianity were also able to utilize the trade route to continue to express their ideas.

Silk became synonymous with wealth and power in central Asia silk and was used as currency.  The technology used to produce silk was initially only found in China however Persians, Indians, and others subsequently gained their own silk manufacturing methods.  Other items that were traded along the Silk Road include spices, previous stones, and gun powder.

The Sea Road paralleled the Silk Road and allowed the use of boats to transports large quantities of items.  One of the major unintended consequences of the good that were brought by ship included the bubonic plague.  With boats going from port to port, the Black Death as the plague came to be known, wiped out one third of the population of Europe in just four years.

The Sand Roads traveled predominately in the northwester portion of the Sahara.  Gold was the main commodity that was transported via camel and exchanged.  Slavery also begin to emerge at this time and those who weren't put to work in Africa were sold in Europe.