Chapter 8 Commerce and Culture Notes

-Modern highways built across Africa and Asia
-roots of economic globalization
-exchange of goods
-long distance trade became more important 500 CE

Silk Roads
-the growth of silk roads
- Eurasia often divided into inner and outer zones
creation of classical civilization and imperial states
-trading networks did bes twhen large states provided security

Goods in Transit
-vast array of goods traveled along the Silk roads by camel
-silk symobolized eurasian exhange system
-volume of trade was small but of economi and social importance

cultures in transit
-cultural transmission was more important than exchange of goods

disease in transit
-the major population centers of the african and eurasian world
long distance trade meant exposure to unfamiliar diseases
Black Death spread because of Mongol empire

Sea Roads
 Mediterranean sea was an avenue for commerce
-the indian ocean network was the world's most important until 1500
-sea roads as a catalyst for change
-ocean commerce transformed SE Asian and E Africa

Sand Roads
-commercial begginings in W Africa
-tranafrican trade was also based on environmental variation
-earliest trade in the region was among agricultural people in the Sudan
-Gold Salt and Slaves (trade and empire in west africa)
-introduction of the camel
-regular trans saharan commerce by 300 CE
-merchants especially wanted gold
-sahara became wanted gold from west africa
-trade encouraged new and larger political structures
-slavery was present in West Africa