Video Transcript: Lesson 14

Unit 09 01 Trade Routes

 

Hello, Welcome today to this next session in the course of world history one on one. This is for the Christian leaders Institute. My name is Rich hamstra. It's my privilege to be your instructor for this course. This course history 101 runs from the beginning of civilization around the world until 1500 ad, and we are at a two thirds of the course has been covered. And we are at the point now the last third will cover the years 1000 ad to 1500 ad, more or less. Up to this point in this course, we've looked at areas, mostly by region. So we've looked at India, China, Mesoamerica, South America, the Peruvian area, in particular, we've looked at the Mediterranean basin that includes Mesopotamia and Egypt, and beginning into Europe. And we've sort of done that, in order looking at each region discreetly. So this last third of the course, we're going to change that plan a little bit. And instead of looking at each area, discreetly, what we're going to do is look more somatically. And these are the five themes that I would like to raise to your attention in this last year of the course. So we'll talk about international trade, the clash of religions, hostile takeovers, by which I mean various conquests and wars. The different kinds of political and social organizations around the world at this time, particularly in those areas, and cultural and social developments will begin today with discussion of international trade. And let me just state that I think this period of time, and really the reason I decided to go somatically is that between 1015 100 ad, we see more than just the beginning, we see a real flowering of international relationships built on trade. Today, sometimes we talk about the world as being a global village, by which we indicate that the world is interconnected India and Africa, North America, Europe, China, Japan all interact constantly, mostly by virtue of trade agreements. This is not a new phenomenon. During this period of time, between 1015 100 We see that sort of international trade, really increasing dramatically, and also leading really to the crisis of the era, which is that that international trade is disrupted by a number of forces. And that leads to around 1500. Europe in particular, sending out explorers, who discover to new continents, South and North America. So that by the end, the 1600s. It truly is society around the globe, in trade with each other. So trade is the way that the world is shrinking, the world is more interconnected than it's ever been. So that's where I will start today. One of the famous lines that's used to discuss this kind of chain is called the Silk Route. Now that was a that was a phrase coined in the 18th century, I believe, by a German person. But what it refers to is the overland routes, the caravan routes, that were used to connect China, to Europe, and all parts in between. It begins in China, and actually one of the emperors of China sent a representative to Rome to the ancient empire of Rome, to try to establish trade. The Emperor has heard that there was some people out there who had a large civilization, so he sent emissaries, and that really was the beginning of it. And that's right. It's actually still before Christ that that happens. But around 200, the silk routes become well used goods flow from China, to Europe, and from Europe to China, and often going through the Eurasian subcontinent here.

 

as their primary means. The routes the silk routes are overland routes will distinguish that from the spice Road, which is a

 

sea route, but the Silk Route and there's really more than one is it primarily overland route, it comes down into, on the east side of India, into the Bay of Bengal as well as it comes down the Indus Valley. These are, these are the major ones, there are also some other ones that go through. So what's traded? Well, the reason it's called Silk is because that is the main commodity that comes from China, and goes to Europe. Here's a reading assignment. And this is one for which if you're looking at this course, for credit, you will be held accountable. The article is called the Silk Road by Joshua mark, and there is the website where you will find it in ancient encyclopedia. So, international trade over the Silk Route, is the overland that connects China, Asia, India, Africa, Europe, and not only our goods exchanged, but also it is the main way in which languages, culture, architecture, different ideas of political arrangements, dress, how people dress, and religion, all and many other things all flow back and forth from China, through the continent of Asia, and to Europe. As I mentioned, it began around the in the second century BC, and continues really until the 16th century AD, when shipping virtually replaces the overland routes. The Silk Roads were the primary means of wealth for Europe, Rome, the Roman Empire, and later for Europe. And when we talk about Rome, remember the Roman Empire as we discussed, in our last section, in the east is really the city of Byzantium, Constantinople, today, Istanbul. That's really the center of the Roman Empire after let's say, 320 ad, after Constantine makes it the center of the empire. And so everything, all this wealth flows to Byzantium, and from the Byzantium, it flows into other parts of Europe. Likewise, what goes to the east goes to mostly Beijing and the other capitals of China. And from there it goes to Japan, Korea, it goes beginning to go down into Southeast Asia to Vietnam, and the like. The main traders, the people who ran the caravans, were actually probably mostly Arabs. And so the Arab world became quite wealthy. Because each time you would take your commodity and sell it to the next person and sell it to the next person, of course, there's a little markup, and you make your money that way. So, the Arab traders and the Arab traders establishes significant cities, in different parts of Eurasia, and also in North Africa, we'll talk about that a little bit more when we get to the spice road. So suddenly, trade becomes the way in which the world is linked together. And it is one of the facts of history, one of the one of the reoccurring themes of history is that you don't go to war with your trading partners. You know, maybe there are some skirmishes, and maybe there's some disagreements, and maybe things break down. And finally you do go to war. But war is rarely caused by between nations, that are deeply entangled in business relationships, in trade relationships. After all, if your country has something that my country really needs, and vice versa, we're gonna find a way to make that go back and forth and make the economies of each nation stronger. It is just a myth to think that nations can somehow or another surround themselves, it cut themselves off from the rest of the world and maintain a strong economy and maintain peace. Peace has created through these international relationships that are almost always primarily business relationships. So international trade is a significant way that nations can live together in peace. As I mentioned, particularly the Arab traders, the Caravan has established major cities

 

throughout places that there were virtually no cities before. And those include Tashkent toscan to this map, I think this maybe is a British map or maybe German I'm not sure. But Tashkent, here is Pakistan today's is Pakistan is a major trading area. Good slow down the Silk Roads, to to Tashkent and other places. And they're, they're exchanged. And the like 111 of the routes went north and bypassed, came to Byzantium, but tried to bypass it to go to Europe that did not work as well as this red route. These are the routes that most of the caravan people took. You see that it goes to places like San Lucia, and Powell Myra Elmira here and I think probably current David, Syria, Lebanon I'm not sure Elmira and Antioch become major cities that you see this trading going on? This is the Antioch by the way that the apostle Paul is from he's from a cosmopolitan place. And by his time, certainly they would have known about silk from China, for instance. Other places Kaboul. Mercat, summer con, truly significant cities, which some of which, aren't there any more today after this silk route? dried up. So what did they trade? Well, luxury goods. If you have a caravan of camels, and you're going to pack them, you don't pack things that you can get at home. You pack things it's there are exotic, that are luxury goods, and that the wealthier people, wealthier families, particularly the the aristocrats in whatever countries will be interested in. Also, there's a flow of technology that goes on so that from the east, for instance, gunpowder makes its way from the east, to the west paper, first used in China makes its way to the west. silk, silk is the key. And that's why it's called the Silk Road. Silk is the main product and silk was thought of as some diaphanous some almost divine sort of product. It was mysterious, the people in the West had no idea how it was produced. They had all different sorts of theories, spun from clouds, and things like that. No notion at all. It was made from silkworms. And their byproducts. That is, and so and the Chinese Garden this carefully, particularly the Imperial house, this was the key to their wealth, the silk. And so it was only later after a few 100 years that the Silk Road is going that one of the Emperor says I believe in China, somehow or another communicated to Arabs and Western people. That no actually it's made from these silk worms. And here is some that you can produce. And pretty soon silk begins to be produced in I believe Asia, and later on Damascus, and the light. And so no secret lasts forever. Of course, no industrial secret, and neither did silk production. But that didn't stop the importance of the Silk Road. It still became a was the primary way in which overland routes linked east and west. Now there was of course, lots of mythologies, and lots of things that were not understood about other cultures are clear on the world. It's all word of mouth for the most part. We don't have very many written records, these caravanners and their chips back and forth. One of the few written records that we have comes very late in the period in 14th century AD from a person by the name of Marco Polo,

 

who actually was integrated into the coupla times Empire for a while a representative of Europe, I think, for Venice. And the tea is probably remembered today, mostly because he kept a written account of what he did, and that account has survived the travels of Marco Polo, but that's really very late. The Silk Road is almost going to almost closing down. By the time Marco Polo traveled on Earth. As I mentioned, one of the key things that moved back and forth was religion, particularly is long. Some Christianity, some Judaism, and Buddhism, those are the religions primarily that spread tremendously during this period of time. The tribes in the middle of Asia, and the people who live there were of all different sorts of face. China was all different sorts of a mostly Confucian. Prior to this. This is the time when Buddhism is introduced to China. It's a different sort of Buddhism than what one sees in India. And we'll discuss that when we get to the clash of religions. But you should know that the Silk Route is the primary way in which the different religions and their different theologies and philosophies move back and forth. It's word of mouth. And some missionary efforts, particularly Christian, and Buddhist, are very active in sending missionaries on a silk route into other parts of the world. Christianity comes to China, this early as a matter of fact, and Buddhism comes to Europe. By the same means. The interchange of languages becomes very important and written languages. The Chinese had already invented, in a sense, movable type. And they knew how to, they didn't have the printing press yet of Gutenberg, but they did have movable type. And that becomes a very important sharing of resources that they have. Not all these changes are beneficial, and many diseases went both directions. But the most significant historically comes from the east, from China, where there seems to be a significant natural resistance to bubonic plague. But in Europe, there is no resistance. And in the Asian country, other Asian countries, in the Arab world, there was no resistance, and black, the black plague, Black Death, bubonic plague, comes from China, into Europe, and becomes one of the most significant factors in the history of the development of Europe, it contributes mightily to why there were crusades, it contributes mightily to why there was a reformation, that contributes wide, to why there was a time called the Dark Ages, and contributes very much, I think, is our way to the age of exploration, Columbus, and the like. So there's a theory today being proposed, and it has some merit, that you can tell really the history of the modern world beginning around 1000. Or even before you can tell the history of the world just by talking about the Silk Road. That's how significant that is, in the development of our interrelated global world. land routes are not always the best way to go. Sometimes, it's much easier and better to go sea routes. But at this time, the sailing ships while were able to cross open water, they weren't able to do that very efficiently or very safely. And for the most part, they sailed had to sail along the coast. Almost all the sailors well in the, from China into the Spice Islands that are no Indonesia today. Those were primarily Chinese and Southeast Asian and Indonesian sailors. And in the bay here, this is primarily Indian sailors. But once you get to the east coast of India, which at this time, between 1015 100 Actually, prior to that is controlled by Muslims.

 

It is primarily Arabs, who are the sailors and they establish sailing routes that come up the Red Sea. They establish many cities as significant cities trading posts in the on the east coast of Africa. And they are able to even do quite a bit of trade themselves into the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. And so the Arab traders and Arab sailors by using these routes again, were significant in shaping the world The land route is known as Silk Road. The ocean route is often called the spice route. This is a quote from UNESCO, United Nations website that I thought is good for us to hear. So let me read this quote. The history of these maritime routes can be traced back 1000s of years to links between the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley Civilization, the early Middle Ages, which is a period we're talking about Sonic expansion of this network as sailors from the Arabian Peninsula forge new trading routes across the Arabian Sea and into the Indian Ocean. Indeed, maritime treaty links were established between Arabia and China from as early as the eighth century AD. So in the 700, that's 300 years or so, before our time that we're talking about today, technological advances in the science of navigation and astronomy and also in the technique of shipbuilding combined to make long distance sea travel increasingly practical. That's a technological change that shapes the world. For the next 400 500 years. Columbus had ships that were able to cross the ocean that really was a relatively new innovation, around 1500. And from that, it just kept expanding and expanding and expanding until you get the age of imperialism. When France and Britain and other Spain Portugal have these great merchant ships and control the world by their navies, lively coastal cities grew up around the most frequently visited ports along these routes, such as Zanzibar in Africa, Alexandria, Muscat, Goa, and these cities became wealthy centers for the exchange of goods, ideas, languages and beliefs, with large markets, and continually changing populations of merchants and sailors. So the sea routes are the sea routes here in blue, are tremendously important ways in which the world has now been linked together from China, all the way to Western Europe. And that includes all of Eurasia, and East Africa. But they're not the only ones. Last time, we talked a bit about the Vikings in the last section, the Norseman. And how particularly their invasion of Europe. So between 811 100 They end up controlling large areas of France, Britain, and even around in North Africa, Spain. And for a considerable amount of time, the island of Sicily was one of their main areas of conquest. But they also had trading routes that were overland and that's what I want you to be aware of that. Some of course went by sea and went around Spain to the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, but others went down the river system. The Volga is very important than the Near the Danube are all important. They traded primarily with arrows. So you have the Northwind from Scandinavia, with Denmark is really the center of that trading action. The Scandinavians are trading with the folks from Baghdad and called IRA to light and trading goods back and forth. One of the important trading items were of course, furs that came from Scandinavia and came down into the Arab countries, but also slaves.

 

The north, the Vikings and horsemen use slave labor extensively. They had hustles slaves as well as slaves working in their minds and their foundries and their factories. And many of those slaves, slaves were actually Arab people sold into slavery by other Arabs sold to the Vikings and brought up into Scandinavia, and often along the way were sold in various places. And so slave trade, trading became a major way that the right he actually became very wealthy. They, the Vikings established a bullion economy at this time. And so particularly silver, but also gold. And so they would, they would trade slaves, they would trade people sell them. But you know, they wouldn't get commodities for that what they would get would be weights, silver unstruck coins, generally, weights of silver weights of gold. And today, one of the things that's happening particularly in Denmark, but also in other places in Sweden, I know are some really incredible finds Viking hoards of silver, and gold from the slave trading times. This is a indication of some of the trading routes that the Vikings use. So here is Denmark. And Hedeby is the main area is the main city where a lot of Viking trade happened. Routes at can OOPSLA here in Sweden, you see that they came down through the Russian area. And here on the W that's a Danube and here is Dennis here river. And of course they would came down here to the Byzantium and Constantinople, where they would do their trading. They also traded here in this route directly with the opposite caliphate, and Arabs. And so there is an extensive spread north Norse culture through this area, but also great influences that goes back up to Scandinavia. You know, people want to talk about their national heritage, they may want to talk about, you know, that they're this kind of stock, yes, I'm German, or yes, I'm Indian, or yes, I'm from South Africa, you know, whatever your culture is. But the truth is, cultures for 1000s and 1000s of years, have been mixing together in all sorts of ways and slave labor. And refugees are often two of the most significant ways that people are moved forcibly from one place to another. But when they are moved, they bring their culture where they are moved, they bring their religion where they are moved, they bring their food, they bring their way of life. And that changes the culture to which they come. So the North culture is certainly influenced by this influx of Arab slaves brought north in this period of time. With the land trade routes, in particular are disrupted by conquest that go on by some other factors. One of the key elemental factors is really environment change. There is at this period of time, and we're getting, you know, eight 9000 years now removed from the the last ice age, and the ice age has changed everything, of course, in terms of Environment and Climate. And now, the areas of the great steps that run really from Poland all the way to China, this step area of Russia, that was that had trees and that could sustain a significant population had rain is beginning to dry up significantly. The Gobi desert in the middle of China, for instance, is beginning now to expand significantly in size because of climate change. And it becomes much more difficult, of course in for people to go from China to Europe, because they're crossing what before they can, you know, feed their candles along the way or either donkeys along their way. Now that food and such is drying up, cities are beginning to become abandoned at this time, because often developmental change.

 

We talked about the Vikings, and one of the reasons they declined significantly in insolence is because the rise of the kingdom of Kiev that is properly known as Russian later that will develop very much into the Tsar empire. We'll have to talk about that at a later time. But right around 1100 The slave the Viking trade cuts off quite dramatically, and that changes and really limits the power of the body Aikens in very significant ways. Probably one of the most significant factors in the shutting down of the Silk Route is the Turkish Crusader. And I put those together because you cannot separate them. They're together. The Turkish Crusader invasions and conquests that change who is in charge and the peace of places like Byzantium, in the Egypt, East Africa. And that really goes on significantly between about 1050 ad and 1500. So right during this period of time, the Turkish and Crusader wars, and the Turkish invasion changed very significantly. And they did not want to cut off the cell trade, but they the presence of fighting, of course, deters business. And another thing that I mentioned very significantly, and this is very important, again, is the Mongolian invasion between 12 114 100 change the whole nature of China, as well as the whole interrelationship of Eurasia. The Mongol Empire would be the largest empire our world has ever known, stretching from Japan, Korea, all the way into Central Europe, and down into India, that virtually almost all the world is changed by the Mongolian invasion. We'll get to those. When we talk about the different kinds of conquests in this course. We're going to change now, over to South America, to the Incas. But we see the same sort of thing happening we see that peace is established often when international trade goes on. And while the Incas do come in, as conquerors, and they do that, by virtue of war, it is not too long before they establish a relatively peaceful empire that links much of the coast of Western South America. Here's your reading assignments about the Inca roads, which are a significant part of that trade by Mr. Cartwright. Thank you road system. And you'll find that on this website link. So there are two main routes in South America and the Western side of the Andes. That length one that runs through the highlands, and in some places even higher, one pass I think goes up to 16,000 feet that they have to cross that's called the Royal Road. And that is a route that's traveled extensively. The other route is called the coastal road. And it both of these roads run north and south. Much of them were previously constructed by other inhabitants, other groups that lived in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, nations. But the Incas go through a major improvement of those roads, and larger than building bridges, building wooden bridges, sometimes sometimes row bridges, sometimes they would bring people over in baskets. But they linked their empire from Quito, Ecuador, all the way down to Chile. They linked their empire by virtue of these two roads. The roads are used primarily by the military to move troops back and forth. And as a part of that they would have I think about every 20 kilometers or so they would have large storage areas where they would store food for the for the troops.

 

gray areas along the way. But they're also used famously by messengers who are runners. Remember, neither in North America, North South America are their horses. At this time, there are no horses. You know that to pull the bulls, the various things, no oxen to pull carts or to drag equipment or the like. And there's no wheel. They haven't invented the wheel. And so all of this construction is done by humans. carrying baskets on their back, or by llamas. The messages I got distracted. They're the messengers are officials from the Inca Empire and Inca really refers to the aristocracy. And the aristocracy is ruled by an emperor. And virtually everything in the Inca world and the Inca Empire is really considered a personal possession of the Emperor, all the grain, all the roads, all the people, all the plants, everything is the private personal possession of the Emperor and he allows others to use it. But the Empire is linked by a series of messengers who can get important documents and important information from one place to another through a series of relay runners up and down these two roads. There's also official traders who have to be licensed by the emperor or allowed by the Emperor to be traders. And for the most part, they used either llamas or alpacas caravan style, to carry their goods. And of course, again, just like the Silk Route, they would only carry the more valuable things. Now, like in all roads, you don't have to travel the whole length of the road to use the road. Sometimes it's only a short distance, that you would use the road. Nevertheless, these roads link the Inca Empire and create it really as a coherent government and our coherent administration and organization. It is thought and Mark Cartwright mentioned this in his article I thought that this is the Inca roads were not only utilitarian, that is they have a purpose to use. But they were also meant to symbolize Inca dominance. They had the power to build these roads, they can command the workforce to build these roads. There are some parts of these roads, particularly the royal road that extends over the Andes or into the Andes and even into Argentina. And so they cross and there is some recent evidence. I think that you'll find this in archaeology Today magazine. Within the last year or so, I don't remember exactly when I read it. But I'm pretty sure that's where I read it, that there's some evidence that the ink is traded. In Ecuador, they got into the Amazon basin, and traded with some of the people who lived in the Amazon basin. So you can begin to see how extensive the Incas trade system was. It linked them that made them coherent, and made them extremely powerful empire. This is a map that shows the two the two routes. So the black line is basically the coastal route. It's very deserty in a lot of these places, and they had to veer off in order to literally find places where they can have water. And after the route, the green route is the Royal Road. And you see that it. As I said, it goes all the way here from Santiago to Quito, which is the extent of the Inca Empire with Cujo, the capital of the Incan Empire right here in the center. And that's where the aristocrats lived. So they traveled to through Bolivia, here to Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, where they would follow the Royal Road. And finally, we'll just notice, in Mesoamerica, that the Aztec Empire has replaced the Olmecs in particular, in central Mexico

 

during this period of time, and again, the difficulty of doing somatic is that now we have to go back and we'll talk about the conquest of the Incas. We'll talk about the conquest times as the Aztecs and the like. So these five themes, you need to work hard to recognize that they're going to be woven together. And I have to say some things that maybe don't make too much sense at the moment. But we'll fill in blanks later on. During this period of time from 1000 to 1500. The Aztecs are basically the group that's ruling rulings central Mexico, from Mexico City, their capital. And they have the Mayans, who were more than In the Yucatan Peninsula, but did have influence here and they go down into Central America, the Mayans and they're still at this period of time. Most Significant they're the Mayans were often a seafaring people or water people, they use the waterways. The Aztecs by contrast, built roads. Through their areas, they don't have as many rivers to negotiate. It's not as tropical as this area, or low line, often very mountainous. And so they built a series of roads that connected them. And they're made major cities. trade among these routes are very significantly the Aztecs were known as traders, as people who would bring one thing to another. And actually, there is some evidence that as tech traders went as up into northern Mexico, and into what is now the southern southwest of the United States, and we're known there as being very crafty, very

 

wrong, Romans would say buyer beware, because they would make a good deal. The traders, the asset traders were known for being people you had to watch out for maybe even tricksters there's some suspicion that that the person is the Trickster that one sees Kokopelli symbolized often in southwestern and the United States in Mexico, a Kokopelli, maybe makes reference to Aztec traitors that's unproven, at this point, but it is intriguing, and does suggest that the Aztec civilization trades far and wide and established themselves in that way. And that is, again, a very significant part of their wealth. Thank you. I think we'll end there for today and next time, we will pick up the next one of our themes. I look forward to seeing you then until then God bless and keep reading that history.