International Trade Dbq Analysis

Historian Janet Abu-Lughod would argue that international trade was not eurocentric and Europe was not the start of international trade, and her point is accurate. The Silk Road arose during the period of the Han Dynasty, and it can be defined as an ancient network of trade routes in which was, for centuries, central to the cultural interaction of societies all over the world. This trade network would reach its peak from the 2nd century C.E. to the 13th century, in which it would widen its reach and strengthen its purpose. During these years, the Silk Road would reach from the east Mediterranean to the western parts of Europe, and the spread of trade, ideas, and disease would flood through each trade system. China would produce silk for foreign

Many new monotheistic religions were forming which led to the spread of new knowledge and ideas. For instance, when Mansa Musa walked through the kingdom of Ghana, giving wealth to all his admirers, he spreads the idea of Islam because he is on his hajj to Mecca. This showed people that Islam was a dominant faith and led to good fortune. For the Silk Road, it was very similar; “we traveled southeast, passing by a succession of very many monasteries, with a multitude of monks… When stranger monks arrive at any monastery, the old residents meet and receive them…” (Document 3). This describes just how welcoming new ideas or religions were, and how accepting the traveling merchants were. Again, “To him I presented the letter of our lord the pope, and invited him to adopt the Catholic faith of our lord Jesus Christ…” (Document 5). Even without trade and commerce, ideas were always spreading throughout the Silk Road. This generally relates to development and interaction of cultures because it shows how widely the Silk Road extended and how tightly compacted each of the networks and empires were with each