Long Distance Trade Case Study

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Pages: 2

What motivated and sustained the long-distance commerce of the Silk Roads, Sea Roads, and Sand Roads?
The upper class of that time wanted luxury goods. something that could be found along these routes. Newer inventions, such as the compass, were introduced on these routes. Merchants who travelled along these routes earned healthy livings. In addition, the spread of different religions along these routes brought people and societies together. All these factors resulted in further sustaining the use and value of the Silk, Sea, and Sand Roads.
Why did the peoples Eastern Hemisphere develop long-distance trade more extensively than did the societies of the Western Hemisphere?
A number of factors disallowed the people of the Eastern Hemisphere to trade as successfully as the people of the Western Hemisphere. Unlike the Eastern Hemisphere, in which people travelled either east or west, people had to travel north or south in the Western Hemisphere in order to trade. As expected, this was difficult to to do so, as the climate and intensity of agricultural practices differed greatly as one travelled up or down. Lack of domesticated of animals and large ships increased difficulty of travelling. Geography was also an interference. The bottleneck of Panama is what connected the Americas, and was problematic to travel through, as it was
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Commercial exchange introduced a number of things between people, good and bad. Deadly diseases, such as the black death, was a result of trade.Technologies, such as the compass, were spread to different parts of the world. Ideas and religions, such as Islam and Buddhism, were shared between merchants, who in turn shared it with others, increasing their popularity/numbers, eventually unifying some societies. The introduction and trade of different domesticated animals also affected the culture of a