Decline of the Silk Road Essay All good things have to come to an end. The Silk Road was a long network of trading routes that spanned from the West and to the East. These trading routes connected Western and Eastern civilizations for almost 1,400 years. The Silk Road carried goods like food and materials, ideas and people rustling in cultural diffusion. The Silk Road sent goods through Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, and Europe. The Silk Road became relevant around 130 B.C.E when the Han dynasty of China opened trade until 1453 C.E when the Ottoman Empire closed off trade with the West. The Silk Road was a network of many trading routes but after the invasion of the Constantinople it was unused because of factors like invasions by the …show more content…
The Mongols took many invasion routes throughout Europe, Asia, and India. (Document 2) Since the Silk Road runs through Asia and Europe, land trade would be more dangerous due to the Mongols invasion routes that go next to or along the Silk Road. Because of these trading routes being so dangerous, new ways to trade would be made. Furthermore, the Mongols invaded and killed many Muslims in Islam. Document 3: This led to Muslims staying away from the Mongols since they imposed danger on them. Therefore, stay away from land trading routes. Also, this painting shows us how the Ottoman Empire invaded Constantinople. Document 7) After the invasion of Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire cut off all trade with the West. This led to no goods getting traded through the Silk Road. This led to people not using the land trading routes and developing new ways to trade. This all occurred because of the invasions by the Mongols and the Ottoman …show more content…
As the Silk Road got more dangerous because of the Mongols and bandits, overseas trade and travel became more popular. Document 5) Because of bandits, and Mongols, land trade was not only more dangerous than sea trade but also less efficient. The result of this was people becoming frightened of the land trade. This led to sea trade and travel becoming more popular, with less and less people using the Silk Road. Trade by sea also became more profitable and less dangerous than the long and arduous land routes. Document 8: This was because it was faster to travel and trade by sea than trade through land routes. A map by Hofstra University was published and it showed the global trade routes in the year 1600. Document 9 This document shows the trade routes that were the most popular by 1600. Almost all of these trade routes were by sea. This helps us understand how sea travel and trade was used. This was because of the efficiency it had, it was much faster to travel by boat or a ship than traveling by foot or on a camel. The Mongol Empire collapsed at the same time as sea travel and trade became more popular. (Document 6) This happened because the Mongol Empire could no longer match the advanced military technologies due to the lack of trade along the Silk Road because of sea trade. This led to the Silk Road to disappear from the historical stage because of sea travel and trade, and other naval