Globalization Along the Silk Road

Globalization Along the Silk Road

“The only road signs are the skeletons of the dead. Wherever they lie, there lies the road to India,”

–Faxian

One of the most elaborate trading systems in early civilizations, was conceived around 130 B.C., in the midst of the Hun Dynasty in China.  Around this time, the Hun Dynasty in China, had interest in developing commercial relations. They were particularly interested in relations with urban centers scattered around the now familiar regions of Iran and Russia. The Silk Road was built to connect China, to other kingdoms throughout Asia and into Europe. This led to the trade of exotic products, such as spices, silks, and metals. This also lead to establishing a trading currency for not just the Chinese, but for other empires in distant regions (Chinese Trade).

The Romans in the Roman Empire loved silk, allowing China to develop a strong trade based economy. The trade took the goods away from the Romans, and exported them to those in distant lands. Along with those commodities, China was also trading horses and seeds that were not indigenous to China, along with various cloth products, and military equipment(Goods) (Silk Roads). This gave China a upper hand in terms of commodities, crops, and other imperative goods.

With silk being such a high commodity, and the Romans having no idea how to make it themselves, they had to cut back on the import cost. At the time, only noble citizens could afford such a luxury, but a demand for it begged for a cheaper method of production to be found. With that being said, China had a death grip on whether or not their economy could expand or not. The Chinese were not ready to give up their secrets on trading if they could help it. By having such control on the secret of silk and the power of trade, China kick started one of the first large scale economies, much like what the Indus Valley had experienced.

Eventually, the secrets to the production of silk was revealed, but not before there was a grave impact on the regions being traded with. The Chinese were harboring a deadly secret, that would impact the consumers on the Silk Road.

The first records of the Black Plague appeared in 540 A.D, in the Byzantine Empire, but the real effects of the were not felt until the 13 00’s in Europe. The Plague spiraled out of control, with trade being a factor to blame.  Infected rats were transported to Europe through trade, were bitten by fleas, then in turn, bit humans. The estimated amount of deaths from the Plague completely set back Europe’s population.

While globalization has many positive sides, such as expanding markets and economic affairs, there are also dark sides. This includes the transmission of diseases that caused the world’s first pandemic (Risk.) As the world expanded thanks to globalization, it completely changed life in certain regions, and sometimes lead to grave consequences.