Indeed 1000-1500 CE was a decisive breaking point as it is at this period that intensified hemispheric interactions were witnessed. Just as many researchers have noted, this period was a definitive breaking point due to many factors that led to changes during this period. There are various reasons why this period was a definitive breaking point in the world economy, describing the major global trends. The first reason is that the various regions of Africa and Eurasia were more firmly interconnected than the previous times in history. The period witnessed an interlocking network of the Indian Ocean Trading World. There were ships sailing through the wide Eastern Hemisphere basins and carrying a great variety and volume of goods that had not been witnessed before. Also, there were an increased number of caravans that crossed the Sahara desert and the inner Asian steppes.
The century witnessed increased trade and travel, influencing cultural encounters and exchange. This presented local societies with new ideas and opportunities as well as dangers. An example of cultural interaction is the decline of Buddhism in India, and in return, Islam grew. The increased interaction of different cultures with different beliefs drove the changes. There was religious unity in Muslim Territory, which enabled merchants to travel freely, leading to the Islamic religion’s spread. An example of a person who freely traveled through the territories and spread the religion’s popularity was Ibn Battuta. He was born in Morocco and traveled through Egypt and the Middle East during his young adulthood. He then visited East Asia through India and China (Yadav et al., 2020). Through his writings of his experience visiting these countries, he gives a great visual of how the interaction between different cultures ensured a definitive breaking point in 1000-1500CE. These occurrences prove that this period was a definitive breaking point, as presented by many researchers.
Trade has been a defining factor in changing world civilizations in the Medieval era. Trade has always been a part of humans and existed since ancient times and occurred whenever one wanted something they did not have but others had. The ancient ways involved bartering goods and later developed to exchange using commonly accepted commodities such as copper, bronze, or cowry shells (Savage, 2017). These were, however, for large trade deals; hence smaller transactions required another method, such as coinage. Coins were initially introduced to pay soldiers, but the idea later spread to civilians to facilitate small transactions.
In the 1000-1500 CE era, the world witnessed increased contact between cultures due to increased trade between countries. The increased international trade led to the development of trade emporiums that later on developed into colonies. Competition for limited resources and access to the various beneficial and lucrative trade routes by various colonies intensified and led to conflicts and wars between the colonies. These activities largely influenced how the various cultures interacted and the countries that gained more power than others.
Trade has also changed the world by increasing globalization and increased interaction between various cultures. Trade directly impacted the spreading of Islam in the Middle East through India and China, which witnessed much popularity of the religion in this region. Indian sub-continent saw an increased spread of Islam in the 7th century CE when Muslims moved to the region in large masses to conduct trade. For the next ten centuries, Islam spread to many parts of the region through trading centers and cities in the Silk Routs.
Trade also directly impacted the development of coastal cities in Africa. The Indian Ocean had long become a main maritime commercial artery. The African coast in the East was an essential element in this trade, with ships sailing from India, Arabia, Egypt, and as far as China to the Swahili cities of the Africans. The main cities involved in the trade included Mombasa, Malindi, Kilwa, Tanga, Mogadishu, Zanzibar, and Sofala. In addition to the economic development of these cities, the trade also led to the development of the Swahili language as a commercial language that facilitated the trade between the two sides (Yadav et al., 2020). The trade ensured that local products found their way to Middle East countries, and the countries, in exchange, provided a basis for the development of these cities. Trade has increased the interaction of different cultures and made the world a community that influences the interaction of various cultures from various parts of the world.
Ancient long-distance trade significantly impacted the world and greatly influenced the current shape. Currently, when one needs something, they simply go to the closest mall and purchase whatever they want using a few bucks. This differed from the case many years ago, where people practiced batter trade. The first way trade influenced change is by enhancing interactions between different cultures. To get what one did not produce meant exchanging what one had for what one wanted. An example is the trade between the East African cities and the Middle East countries, where the African cities offered labor and farm produce in exchange for machinery and other products.
Another way trade changed the world is in various ways people adopted to enhance trade and make the exchange more efficient. To improve trade, people had to develop ways to make the process easier and more accessible. People had to find appropriate ways to access what they wanted quickly. This led to the development of a market where farmers could trade their commodities for what they wanted (Yadav et al., 2020). For example, they could trade milk for a pot, or grain for meat, at their local market. This led to the development of cities where traders could bring goods from other cities far away and trade them with the residents. The long-distance trade was initially limited to luxury goods such as precious metals, textiles, and spices, but as time passed, other types of goods were included. Hence trade changed the world by influencing the development of cities, towns, and trading roots that the ancient traders used.
The areas most influenced by trade were the Middle East and the East of Africa. The 1000-1500 CE witnessed increased trades between these two regions, through the sea and the Sahara Desert. The Indian Maritime route had been developed early, which provided an ideal path for traders to use when carrying out trade between the two regions (Savage, 2017). Egypt, one of the countries greatly influenced by trade, had ports. The ports include Port of Mussel Harbor and Berenice, bays opening from the Erythraean Sea, and Ptolemais of the Hunts, which was only accessible through small boats. The ports received goods from inner regions, including rice, grain, ghee, cotton cloth, sesame oil, cane sugar, and girdles.
The African cities exported various products, including tortoise shells, ivory, rhinoceros horn nautilus shell, and some farm products. In return, the areas received imports from the Middle East, including spears, small awls, knives, axes, and numerous glass stones. The African region provided a less inhabited region for traders to exploit. This led to more settlers in the area so that they could try to meet the demands of the Middle East countries. The area was easily impacted by trade due to the simplicity of accessing it through the sea and caravans through the Sahara desert. It also acted as a doorway for accessing the rich Africa interior regions.
China and Europe also were greatly impacted by trade emergence during this period. The era witnessed great growth in the two regions of the Eastern Hemisphere. The trade increased China’s urbanization, development, commercialization, and technological innovation. China exported porcelains and silk to other regions and imported species from southern Asia and India. This trade greatly impacted changes in the Eastern Hemisphere. On the other hemisphere, Europe gained much popularity and control of their hemisphere’s culture and commercial economy interchange. The area experienced expanded population, agriculture, production, military might, and commerce.
Indeed the historian that stated trade was the defining factor in changing world civilizations in the medieval era was correct. Much study has been done on the factors that led to world changes in the medieval era, and trade emerged as the most significant factor. The need for trade led to different cultures interacting as people sought to gain what they did not produce in exchange for what they produced. The interaction of the cultures was what later led to the spread of different faiths across the world. Cities and markets were developed to enhance trade and efficiently acquire what one did not have (Savage, 2017). People gained a network of urban settlements as they sought to enhance trade and ensure people could easily access what they wanted. Even in the modern world, trade is a great driver in developing towns and cities and interacting with different cultures worldwide. Indeed trade was the main defining factor in changing world civilizations in the medieval era, and it still influences human activities.
References
Savage, S. (2017). PBS – From Jesus To Christ. The First Christians – 4 of 4. In youtube. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=jxpbfojfr7q
Yadav, S., Abdulla, A., Bertz, N., & Mawyer, A. (2020). King tuna: Indian Ocean trade, offshore fishing, and coral reef resilience in the Maldives archipelago. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 77(1), 398–407.
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