Silk Road

{{Silk Road}}The Silk Road (Traditional Chinese: 絲綢之路; Simplified Chinese: 丝绸之路; pinyin: sī chóu zhī lù, Persian راه ابریشم Râh-e Abrisham) was an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia traversed by caravan and ocean vessel, and connecting Chang'an (today's Xi'an), China, with Antioch, Syria, as well as other points. Its influence carried over into Korea and Japan.

The great explorers: Europe reaching for Asia

The disappearance of the Silk Road following the end of the Mongols was one of the main factors that stimulated the Europeans to reach the prosperous Chinese empire through another route, especially by the sea. Tremendous profits were to be obtained for anyone who could achieve a direct trade connection with Asia.

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When he went West in 1492, Christopher Columbus reportedly wished to create yet another Silk Route to China. It was allegedly one of the great disappointments of western nations to have found a continent "in-between" before recognizing the potential of a "New World."

Related Topics:
1492 - Christopher Columbus

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The wish to trade directly with China was also the main drive behind the expansion of the Portuguese beyond Africa after 1480, followed by the powers of the Netherlands and Great Britain from the 17th century. As late as the 18th century, China was usually still considered the most prosperous and sophisticated of any civilization on earth. After Leibniz who, in the 17th century, wrote: "Everything exquisite and admirable comes from the East Indies... Learned people have remarked that in the whole world there is no commerce comparable to that of China" (Leibniz), still, more than a century later, Adam Smith, echoing the prevaling perception in Europe until the Industrial Revolution, declared:

Related Topics:
1480 - Netherlands - Great Britain - 18th century - Leibniz - Adam Smith - Industrial Revolution

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:"China is a much richer country than any part of Europe" (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776).

Related Topics:
Adam Smith - The Wealth of Nations - 1776

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In effect, the spirit of the Silk Road and the will to foster exchange between the East and West, and the lure of the huge profits attached to it, has conditioned most of the history of the world during the last two millennia.

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