2.1 The Silk Road 1200-1450
Improved commercial practices led to an increased volume of trade and expanded the geographical range of existing trade routes, like the Silk Roads. This will give rise to new powerful trading cities which became known for their luxury goods, with Indian textiles and Chinese porcelains. In addition, new commercial technologies, like the caravanserai, forms of credit, and the development of money economies encouraged more overland trade.

2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World
As various empires collapsed around the 1200's were replaced by imperial states, like the Mongol khanates. The Mongol expansion, however brutal it was, also facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and communication, commonly referred as the 'Pax Mongolia'. In addition, Interregional trade and conflicts between states and empires, including the Mongols, encouraged technological and cultural transfers--such as paper money, gun powder, Buddhism, and even Islam.

2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean greatly increased the volume of trade throughout Afro-Eurasia. This was, in part, because of improved transportation technologies; such as the lateen sail, the Chinese Junk ships, and the compass, astrolabe, and knowledge of monsoons. The increased commerce also gave rise to powerful new 'port' cities, like Hormuz and Melaka which also saw merchants set up diasporic communities. The Indian Ocean saw trading network fostered by the growth of new states; such as the Swahili city-state, Khmer empire and the Srivijaya empire. Often, states sponsored travelers, like Ming Admiral Zheng He.

2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
The growth of interregional trade was encouraged by innovations in existing transportation technologies. Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an increased volume of trade and expanded the geographical range of existing trade routes, including the trans-Saharan trade network.The expansion of empires—including Mali in West Africa–facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and communication as new people were drawn into the economies and trade networks.

2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity
Increased cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of artistic and cultural such as literary works by travelers' Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta. The fate of powerful cities varied greatly, with periods of significant decline and periods of increased urbanization, buoyed by rising productivity and expanding trade networks. Finally, gunpowder, from China ,that moved west is but one technological innovation which will prove consequential beyond 1450.

2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
Networks of exchanges continued diffusion of crops; such as Bananas in Africa, Champa rice in China, and the spread of citrus in the Mediterranean and into Europe. These widening networks also led to the spread of deadly pathogens, with epidemic diseases, including the bubonic, or Black Plague.