Improved commercial practices, such as the caravanserai, forms of credit, and the development of money economies, led to an increased volume of trade, especially of luxury goods [Chinese textiles and porcelains; manufacture iron, gold from Africa, etc.], and expanded the geographical range of trading networks promoting the growth of powerful new trading cities.
caravanserai
forms of credit
interregional trade
luxury goods
Kashgar (city)
Samarkand (city)
1.B: Explain a historical concept, development, or process.
*AP Exam Skill: SAQ
FOCUS:
- Rubric
- Contextualization Point
The Silk Roads were one of the major global trade networks. By 1200, merchants had been traveling along the Silk Roads for 1300 years. The name of the trade routes refers to the trade of Chinese silk; however, silk was only one of many products that moved within the Silk Road network.
How the Silk Road Worked
The Silk Roads arose from various causes, including a growing number of elites within growing civilizations & empires with excess labor to produce goods & extra wealth elites used to buy foreign goods. New commercial practices & technologies promoted this new trade.
The Silk Roads spread ideas, belief systems, technologies, foods, animals, and diseases between civilizations. This exchange led to the rise of powerful civilizations and empires and the end of others.