Let talk about the Roads in Chapter 7. We had the popular Silk, Sea and Sand. In may past history classes I had heard about the Silk Road but never had I read of the Sea or Sand roads. The Silk Road was named after the most famous product, silk. As the Silk Road evolves merchants and travelers used yokes, saddles and stirrups to get the most out of there travels. Products that came from China were the following: silk, bamboo, mirrors, gunpowder, paper and ginger. From Siberia and Asia came furs, walrus tucks, amber, and slaves. They brought cotton textiles, herbal medicine, spices and precious stones from India. Dates, nuts, almonds and swords were brought from the Middle East. Finally from the Mediterranean basin came gold coins, glassware, jewelry, artwork and perfume. It amazed me how far people had to travel back then just to some almonds. It is crazy how this have evolved.
The Sea Roads was a sea-based trade connected people between China and East Africa. The cost of the Sea Roads were less than the Silk Road because ship carried more things to a mass market. Some of the items brought from other countries were similar as the Silk Road but the quantity was a lot larger and heavier items could be travelled.
The Sand Roads were the roads that went through the Sahara. These roads connected the interior of West Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean. Camels were the animal of choice to make the journey across the Sahara. The items travelled though were ivory, kola nuts and slaves.
All these road brought people together from different cultures, religions and places. This also brought a lot of diseases because people were not immune to them.
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