History of the Major Trade Routes - Summary on a Map
History of the Major Trade Routes - Summary on a Map
In this video, let’s retrace the evolution of the world’s major trade routes, from the Incense Route until today.
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English translation \u0026 voiceover: Matthew Bates https://www.epicvoiceover.com/
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Original French version: • L’histoire des routes commerciales - …
Russian version: • История торговых путей - на карте
Arabic version: • تاريخ أهم طرق التجارة
Spanish version: • Historia de las rutas comerciales
Portuguese version (Brazil): Coming soon
Japanese version: • 交易路の歴史
German version: • Die großen Handelsrouten - Zusammenfa…
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Music: Groove Tube - Audio Hertz (Youtube Library)
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Software: Adobe After Effects
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Chapters
00:00 The Incense Route
01:03 The Silk Road
02:19 The Roman Empire
03:46 Arabs
05:21 Italian Merchants
06:36 Sea-Route to India
07:51 The Manila Galleons
09:47 Triangular Trade
11:02 The Industrial Revolution
12:18 Canals
13:59 Globalization
16:18 New Silk Road
17:54 Current Situation
#geohistory #history #trade #silkroad
Content
0.72 -> Trade has existed for thousands of years.
Beginning with simple local exchanges,
6.24 -> the distances gradually extend and
the first real trade routes appear.
11.28 -> One of the earliest known routes is called the
Incense Route.
14.869 -> From around 1800 BC, navigators begin to travel along the coasts between the Indian subcontinent,
21.954 -> where spices such as black pepper and cinnamon are found, and the
southern part of the Arabian Peninsula,
28.391 -> where a tree that produces incense grows.
31.144 -> Dromedary caravans then transport these luxury products across the Arabian desert to Petra,
38.316 -> which becomes an important commercial crossroad between Egypt and Mesopotamia.
43.581 -> In 331 BC, Alexander the Great, during his conquests, founds the city of Alexandria.
51.272 -> Soon, merchant ships link the new city to the rest of the Mediterranean basin.
56.646 -> Alexandria then becomes the great warehouse
for trade between India and Europe.
66.56 -> In East Turkestan, jade is found.
69.465 -> This precious stone is much sought after in China, as it is a sign of power and wealth.
75.648 -> Nomads then engage in jade trade with the Chinese, notably exchanging it for tea, a drink much appreciated in arid environments.
85.2 -> But further north, a confederation of nomadic
tribes spreads, and threatens China.
90.884 -> In 139 BC, the Chinese emperor sends Zhang Qian as an ambassador to the unknown lands in the West,
99.12 -> there to propose an alliance to the Yuezhi against
the Xiongnu.
103.531 -> But Zhang Qian is captured by the Xiongnu, and is held prisoner for 13 years.
110.087 -> On his return to China, he reports to the emperor all he has learned regarding the various peoples of Central Asia and their products.
117.087 -> He mentions in particular a majestic race of horses unknown in China.
124.073 -> In order to obtain some of these horses, the emperor agrees for the first time to trade silk,
130.033 -> which had been forbidden to be exported until then.
133.316 -> This is the opening of the Silk Road, which gradually extends to the Middle East.
142.96 -> In the west, after the death of Cleopatra, Egypt
is absorbed by the Roman Republic,
148.794 -> which is in the midst of becoming an empire.
151.438 -> Rome is now able to increase its supply of wheat from Egypt, but it covets, above all, goods from the Arabian Peninsula,
159.894 -> such as pearls, spices, and especially incense, which is used for offerings and medicine.
166.502 -> But there are many intermediaries, and the instability in the region is great.
171.63 -> To bypass the Arabian Peninsula, the Romans go up the Nile, and come into contact with the Kingdom of Aksum,
178.63 -> where merchants live who have mastered techniques of navigation on the high seas.
184.362 -> The romans then open a new route to India, far from the coasts.
188.734 -> They import, notably, saffron, perfumes, and diamonds.
193.222 -> The new trade route develops rapidly, initiating the
decline of the cities of the Arabian Peninsula.
199.562 -> Soon after, the Romans come into contact with
the Parthians, who import silk from China.
205.806 -> The Romans then extend the silk route throughout
their empire.
209.651 -> In 224, the Parthians fall, and are replaced by the Sassanids, but trade continues.
216.751 -> The Roman Empire then moves its capital to Constantinople,
221.059 -> which becomes the new commercial crossroads between East and West.
229.36 -> From 630 onwards, Muslim conquests threaten
the Byzantine and Sassanian empires.
236.177 -> By seizing Alexandria, the Arabs cut the road between India and Constantinople.
241.826 -> By expanding eastward, they now fight over the territories of Central Asia with China,
247.369 -> which wants to make it its protectorate.
250.008 -> In 751, the two powers clash in Talas.
254.15 -> The battle turns to the advantage of the Arabs, who take Chinese prisoners,
259.248 -> who confess to them the secrets of paper and silk manufacturing.
263.141 -> After its defeat, China turns away from land routes to concentrate on sea routes, which are safer, and have fewer intermediaries.
271.588 -> The country then opens its ports to foreign traders.
275.25 -> The Arabs quickly seize this opportunity, and establish themselves at the center of a vast commercial network.
282.907 -> The Arabs produce, among other things, carpets, they mine cobalt blue, and they breed horses.
289.649 -> In China, they also supply themselves with porcelain.
293.252 -> In Southeast Asia and India, in addition to spices, they buy precious stones.
299.042 -> In Africa, the trade of gold, slaves, and ivory is growing.
304.124 -> Finally, in the north, the Khazars and the Byzantine Empire supply them with European products,
310.487 -> such as furs, honey, wood, and slaves.
314.219 -> At the heart of this immense network, Arab
cities, in full expansion, develop rapidly.
324.72 -> In Central Asia, nomadic Turkic tribes threaten
the Arab caliphates.
329.678 -> Among them, the Seljuk Turks seize Jerusalem in 1076. Christians who go on pilgrimage to the city are quickly persecuted.
338.88 -> In reaction, Pope Urban II launches a crusade
to Jerusalem.
343.861 -> The Italian republics that have mastered navigation see a commercial opportunity.
349.329 -> They offer to supply the Christians in the Near East, where they obtain commercial privileges in each of the conquered cities.
356.329 -> In 1204, the Republic of Venice diverts the 4th crusade towards Constantinople,
363.08 -> which is besieged, and then pillaged.
365.945 -> The Byzantine Empire is dismantled, which allows the Italian republics to take over the trade between East and West,
373.71 -> all around the Mediterranean basin.
376.093 -> In the north of Europe, several trading cities join together to develop a trade route between the Baltic and the North Sea.
383.88 -> Novgorod exports furs, Riga produces grain, while Scandinavia exports herring.
390.449 -> In the North Sea, textile producers
spring up in Flanders and England.
399.36 -> In 1453, the Turks seize Constantinople,
destabilizing the trade routes between Asia and Europe.
407.332 -> Portugal takes advantage of the creation
of the caravel,
410.952 -> a light ship capable of tackling the oceans, to begin explorations in an attempt to open new maritime trade routes.
418.79 -> Along the African coasts, the Portuguese establish trading posts, and take over the slave and gold trades.
426.24 -> The objective is now to bypass Africa to reach
the Indies.
430.283 -> The Spanish monarchy also aims at the Indies, but tries its luck with westward exploration, thus discovering America.
439.025 -> Portugal finally reaches the port of Calicut, and discovers a large commercial network.
444.689 -> A Mamluk fleet is then charged with chasing away the new competitors.
449.572 -> But the Portuguese prevail, and quickly take control of key crossing points, gaining a monopoly on trade in the Indian Ocean.
456.572 -> By bringing Asian goods directly to Europe via Africa, and without intermediaries,
463.823 -> Portugal becomes rich very quickly, at the expense of the powers that controlled the passage via the Middle East.
474.8 -> To avoid competition around the
newly discovered territories,
478.48 -> Spain and Portugal agree, in 1494, to draw
the Tordesillas meridian.
484.016 -> The territories to the east can be claimed by Portugal, those to the west by Spain.
489.675 -> In America, the Spanish conquistadors discover products unknown in the ancient world,
495.412 -> such as tomatoes, tobacco, and potatoes.
498.538 -> But in Europe, at first, it’s mainly the discovery of chocolate that interests them.
503.932 -> The cocoa trade develops, as well as imports of precious metals and pearls, which are the result of the conquests.
511.383 -> But Spain still aims to reach the Indies from the west.
514.908 -> Finally, Ferdinand Magellan succeeds in bypassing
America, and after his death, his crew reaches the Moluccas,
522.707 -> where nutmeg and cloves grow.
525.345 -> But the Portuguese are already present in the region, and after conflicts, the two countries establish a new division line.
533.138 -> But Spain colonizes the Philippines anyway. In order to develop trade there,
538.524 -> the Spaniards have to avoid the Portuguese territories, and they head back to the Pacific.
543.831 -> But the sea currents push them back.
546.11 -> In 1565, the return route is finally found further north, and makes it possible to link Manila with Acapulco.
554.775 -> In America, the Spaniards discover silver mines, which are then intensively exploited using natives as labor.
562.23 -> The precious metal is loaded into galleons in Callao, which leave for Acapulco and Manila.
568.636 -> In the Philippines, Chinese merchants exchange the silver for spices, tea, silk, and porcelain,
575.746 -> which are then brought back to Acapulco.
578.346 -> The silver and Chinese products are then transported to Veracruz, from where convoys regularly leave for Seville.
590.333 -> While the Iberian Peninsula is rapidly becoming richer,
594.352 -> the Dutch, the English, and the French attempt, in turn, to seize trade routes.
599.449 -> They found trading posts along the African coast and in the Indian Ocean.
604.377 -> They then conquer territories, notably the Caribbean islands, where they develop huge sugar cane plantations,
611.889 -> which require a large workforce.
614.789 -> In Western Europe, slave traders leave with crockery, weapons, and tools that they exchange in the Gulf of Guinea for slaves.
622.743 -> The slaves are then transported under extremely poor conditions to the Americas,
628.01 -> and sold to sugar cane and coffee plantations, as
well as to mines, such as diamond mines in Brazil.
635.559 -> The ships then return to Europe, loaded with sugar, tobacco, rum and precious stones.
642.111 -> This trade becomes very profitable, attracting new
investors.
646.618 -> Over a 200-year period, between 7 and 20 million Africans, depending on estimates, are transported to America.
655.353 -> During the 19th century, the abolition of slavery gradually puts an end to this triangular trade.
665.92 -> In Great Britain, an industrial revolution
begins,
669.562 -> thanks largely to the development of the coal-fired steam engine.
673.755 -> With the mechanization of the weaving loom, craftsmen become workers, and the textile industry booms.
680.476 -> As a result, the demand for cotton jumps.
683.73 -> Until then, it came mainly from India.
686.436 -> Now, huge plantations are developed in the Caribbean, and in the southern United States.
692.382 -> The United Kingdom produces a great deal of textiles at a reasonable price, and is looking for new markets to sell its goods.
700.586 -> At the same time, iron and steel techniques are perfected, and the country becomes the largest exporter of iron in the world.
709.385 -> Iron and the steam engine revolutionize transportation:
713.767 -> the first railroad line links the textile factories of Manchester to the port of Liverpool,
719.801 -> where shipments of American and Indian raw cotton arrive.
724.187 -> On the seas, steamships gradually begin replacing sailing ships.
728.588 -> The United Kingdom strengthens its maritime domination, seizes many territories, and develops a powerful colonial and commercial network.
742.24 -> In 1854, France obtains permission from Egypt to
build a canal linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
750.413 -> Such a canal had already been built in
ancient times by the Pharaohs,
754.744 -> but had disappeared by the 8th century.
757.671 -> In 1869, the Suez Canal is inaugurated, and makes it possible to travel the route to India in 60 days on a steamship,
766.402 -> compared to six months with a sailing ship via Africa.
770.396 -> However, the European powers do not turn away from the African continent.
775.193 -> After expeditions inland, European countries meet in Berlin to divvy up Africa and regulate colonization.
783.165 -> The peoples of Africa are subjugated, and their resources plundered.
787.883 -> In the south, large reserves of gold and diamonds are discovered.
792.217 -> In Central Africa, ivory is exploited. In addition, huge plantations are developed,
798.638 -> notably for rubber, necessary for the manufacture of boots and tires for the developing automobile industry.
805.626 -> Plantations also appear for coffee, cocoa, tobacco, and other products that are intended for European and American markets.
814.057 -> In America, the United States extends its
influence.
818.059 -> In 1904, they buy, from the French, the abandoned construction site for an inter-oceanic canal.
825.361 -> The canal would considerably shorten the maritime route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
831.629 -> Ten years later, the Panama Canal is inaugurated, with this new,
key passageway controlled by the United States.
843.76 -> During World War I, new oil-powered
weapons appear on land, at sea, and in the air.
850.903 -> At the end of the war, the
demand for oil skyrockets,
854.844 -> while the automobile and aviation industries develop.
858.523 -> At that time, oil comes mainly from the United States, Mexico, and the Caspian Sea.
864.704 -> But soon, and especially after World War II, huge deposits are discovered in the Middle East and America.
872.245 -> This strategic resource becomes abundant and cheap, and all trade intensifies.
878.299 -> The aviation boom makes it possible to trade across the world via the air.
883.502 -> This is the beginning of globalization, i.e.,
the acceleration of trade on a worldwide scale.
890.582 -> But the situation in the Middle East and Africa is increasingly unstable.
895.369 -> In 1967, the Six-Day War takes place.
899.55 -> Israel occupies the Sinai up to the banks of the Suez Canal, which is then closed for 8 years, forcing ships
to bypass Africa.
909.014 -> In addition, in the 1970s, two oil shocks cause the price of oil to increase dramatically.
916.471 -> Countries that depend on this so-called black gold, without producing it, turn to other types of energy, including nuclear power.
925.013 -> Uranium becomes a very popular resource.
928.533 -> Mainly extracted from mines in Canada and the Congo, new deposits are quickly exploited all over the world.
936.228 -> In the 1970s and 1980s, the United States sees a boom in a relatively new and very promising sector:
943.673 -> electronics and computer technologies.
946.521 -> Apple launches their first personal computer, and it’s an immediate success.
951.54 -> Japan quickly follows the USA, beginning a period of dazzling technological development
957.889 -> in its automobile and electronics industries.
961.001 -> Several countries in the Far East are inspired by Japan, and specialize in the export of electronic components.
968.312 -> Rare earths - metals needed in the manufacture of electronics - become a strategic raw material,
975.277 -> while the vast majority of the deposits are discovered in China.
983.44 -> In 2001, China becomes a member of the World
Trade Organization.
988.377 -> The country attracts foreign companies thanks to its cheap labor force.
992.923 -> At the same time, advantages are granted to foreign investors, and export quotas are abolished.
999.54 -> Soon, textiles 'made in China' flood American and European markets.
1004.966 -> Many companies relocate their factories to China.
1008.541 -> The country gradually becomes the world's factory, with its economy experiencing explosive growth, allowing for rapid development.
1017.753 -> To secure its economy, in 2013 the country begins
the creation of the new silk roads.
1024.466 -> The objective is to ensure its supply of raw materials, and also to increase its exports of manufactured products, steel, and aluminum.
1034.062 -> Throughout the world, roads, railroads, and seaports are massively financed by China,
1039.888 -> with the aim of connecting the country to all continents.
1043.608 -> New initiatives are being discussed, such as the construction of a railroad line
1048.598 -> that would link China to the United States through a tunnel under the Bering Strait,
1053.494 -> or the construction of an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua.
1058.103 -> While some countries are opposed to this project, China has already convinced about 140 countries to host these new Silk Roads,
1066.764 -> which should be finalized by 2049, when the People's Republic
of China will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
1078.72 -> According to some estimates, the world's largest
trade is in arms, followed by the drug trade,
1085.001 -> with an estimated annual turnover of nearly 500 billion dollars.
1089.89 -> This clandestine trade is controlled by criminal networks.
1093.79 -> Opium poppies are produced in Asia, in the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent.
1099.409 -> Cannabis resin is mainly produced in Morocco, and cocaine comes mainly from Colombia.
1105.824 -> The drugs are transported by different routes to Europe and the United States,
1110.482 -> which are the biggest consumers.
1112.705 -> Today, the main maritime trade route circles the globe, passing through strategic straits and channels.
1119.543 -> It passes through North America, the Panama Canal, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Indian Ocean, and Asia.
1128.256 -> Moreover, the search for new trade routes never stops.
1132.066 -> At the North Pole, the melting of the ice caused by climate change makes it possible to envisage the opening of new maritime routes
1140.684 -> that are shorter, and therefore less costly in terms of fuel,
1144.412 -> while also avoiding taxes levied when having to pass through the Suez or Panama canals.
1150.333 -> These new routes could benefit Russia and Canada in particular.
1155.381 -> The major powers well-understand the stakes at play in these potential future routes.
1161.165 -> The United States and the European Union are demanding free navigation,
1165.886 -> while China intends to develop a Polar Silk Road.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7xp1-VvtZ0