How Did The States Promote Trade Dbq

The time period 600 BCE – 1500 CE was bringing many new innovations to trade throughout Eurasia. The extensive Silk Road connected European countries to the far eastern Asian countries (China and India), allowing the rare goods from China to find their way to European markets. New technologies in maritime trade included the production of lateen sails and dhow’s in the Indian region of trade. These technologies allowed trade efficiency to increase allowing states merchants and governments to make more money. Religious people and Statesmen had different viewpoints on this new wealth accumulation. The States believed that wealth was important for control, while the religious people believed that giving away wealth was a way for them to be pure.

Both documents 1, 2 and 7 talk about the relationships between the State and their merchants. In Document 1 a Lu official, Zi Chan, tells about a pact made by ancient rulers and merchants that said “If you do not revolt against me [the ruler], I will not violently interfere with your commerce”. The rulers who wrote the pact were using the peaceful relations with the merchants to keep control over them. Allowing the merchants to handle their own affairs would make them more willing to follow and support their ruler. Document 7 also speaks of peaceful relations with the traders. To promote trade and keep control over its profits, the king of the South Indian Kakatiya state allowed the traders who had been in a ship wreck to keep their goods. This peaceful relationship between ruler and trader caused the trader to accept the rulers’ credibility as a ruler. Document 2 had a different view on control of the merchants. They set the prices on the goods they were to sell, so that the merchants could not make more money than the State deemed acceptable. The States knew that trade brought wealth, and controlling trade meant controlling

They believed that giving away possessions and money was a way to be pure in their religion. Documents 4, 5 and 6 all demonstrate the benefits of giving up wealth in the eyes of religions. Document 4, the biography of a saint written by a Christian monk, says “So the blessed ones fearlessly gave away all their possessions, which were enough for the entire world…They presented their numerous expensive silk clothes at the altars of churches and made many other offerings to God.” The Christian monk is indicating that for other followers/believers in God to become like “blessed Melina” they need to give away all of their possessions. The Quran (document 5) also says that “Whatever you may spend on others, or vow to spend, God knows it; and those who do wrong by withholding charity shall have no one to comfort them.” To receive any attention and reward from God, Muslims must be willing to give to charity. Giving charity to the poor is even one of the five pillars of Islam (the mandatory acts of Islam), so they would not be considered a true Muslim without giving to the poor. Document 6 also depicted traders giving gifts to the Buddha. Though money was important to the traders, they still put pleasing their religious leader and making themselves pure in their religion before keeping it. A roman statesman and philosopher in document 3 talked of the undesired professions of a man, including tax collecting and