In Asia, the political instability that stemmed from consistent warfare and the lack of a centralized chain of command threatened merchants and discouraged them from traveling across the continent in the name of trade. A perfect example is evident in the case of the Mongolian and Ottoman campaigns that paralyzed trade routes running from central Asia to the Byzantium Empire. Jackson Spielvogel sheds light on the given point by explaining that Mongol conquests during the Thirteenth Century “reopened the doors” of trade, which Islamic rulers had previously closed, to European merchants seeking markets in the East (460). However, after the Ottoman Turks took over in the Fourteenth Century, the West faced another problem. Apparently, the switch of powers encouraged disparities in the region and went on to discourage traders from venturing across the regions. In answer, some people in Europe began to focus on the ways through which they could access the “spices and other precious items” without using the over-land routes, the sea became the next best method (Spielvogel 461).
Similarly, in Europe, the Fourteenth Century introduced new problems to the land trade routes. Foremost, there were unfavorable weather conditions that destroyed the economy by reducing harvests. Between 1315 and 1317, countries in northern Europe experienced torrential rains that destroyed crops and proceeded to cause widespread hunger because of food shortages (Spielvogel 340). Second, the Hundred Years’ War of between 1337 and 1453 in which divisions along political lines caused enmity between not only the English and the French but also their allies disrupted the once peaceful trade relations in Europe (Spielvogel 361). In other words, the overland trade via France was no longer an option.
Hence, in both Asia and Europe, politics remained closely connected to the economy as any disruptions in one led to problems to the other. In that sense, despite the political instabilities that defined Europe and Asia between the Fourteenth and the Fifteenth Century, the people had to find another way to protect the economy: hence the rise in maritime trade.
Works Cited
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Cengage Learning, 2011.
