European Silkroad Exports??? - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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Rome, Greece, Egypt & other ancient history (c 4000 BCE - 476 CE) and pre-history.
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#15192720
I learned in school and media about the chinese and indian exports during several epochs... but what offered the occident the eastern merchants. Did Europe export anything except gold and silver ?
#15192742
Sandzak wrote:I learned in school and media about the chinese and indian exports during several epochs... but what offered the occident the eastern merchants. Did Europe export anything except gold and silver ?


Depends on what time frame you are talking about but there were generally goods like wine, furs, leather, honey, iron, lead, brozne, glass going to the east out of the usual things. One major export was special kind of colouring ingredients that Romans were really good at in producing. But the major exports for a long time was a sort of a midetiranian sea shell that attached itself to the bottom of boats and was considered sacred in India and China, also apparently it had "medical" properties and extended life. It was considered to be pricier than gold or gemstones. Not only that but Rome controlled supply of specific types of gemstones that India and China didn't have.
#15192749
Rancid wrote:They probably exported disease.

Actually, diseases tended to flow from Asia into Europe rather than vice versa. The human race has lived in Asia longer than it has lived in Europe, so diseases in Asia have had a longer time to adapt to the human immune system (and vice versa, of course).
#15192751
Potemkin wrote:Actually, diseases tended to flow from Asia into Europe rather than vice versa. The human race has lived in Asia longer than it has lived in Europe, so diseases in Asia have had a longer time to adapt to the human immune system (and vice versa, of course).


Thats debatable but India and China are more tightly packed so the chance of disease is higher.
#15192770
AFAIK wrote:British opium was a hard sell but we convinced them in the end. :)

And won that coveted Best Salesman of the Year trophy. We still have it on our mantelpiece to this day. :)
#15192771
JohnRawls wrote: One major export was special kind of colouring ingredients that Romans were really good at in producing. But the major exports for a long time was a sort of a midetiranian sea shell that attached itself to the bottom of boats and was considered sacred in India and China, also apparently it had "medical" properties and extended life.


I can find nothing on this - which sea shell?
#15192775
Fasces wrote:I can find nothing on this - which sea shell?

Judging by his spelling of the word 'Mediterranean', I'm guessing it never existed. He may be thinking of the Murex sea snails, however, which were used to produce the 'royal purple' dye.
#15192778
East India companies developed and imposed colonial rule ... the colonial countries became the exporters of raw materials and imported the finished products from their colonial rulers ... Britain ceased importing finished cotton goods from India and instead imported raw cotton to be spun and woven in the new industrial mills. Cotton cloth was then exported back to India, where indigenous weavers lost their employment.


Britannica


Free trade, baby! Create a market by destroying domestic production. Never goes out of style.

US subsidies on rice exported to Haiti paired with lower tariffs on imported rice — encouraged by economic liberalization programs promoted by the US-dominated International Monetary Fund and World Bank — hollowed out Haiti’s ability to feed itself, essentially making it impossible for Haitian rice farmers to make a living.


Jacobin
#15192794
@Potemkin @Fasces
I don't remember where exactly i read or heard it since it is kinda useless trivia nowadays but I will try to find some info about it for you two since you have genuine interest in the subject. There must be info about it somewhere that is not in a book. I have a few ideas.
#15192796
@Fasces @Potemkin

Okay here is some but not everything. Just some context before I give out the videos, the silk road existed for a very long time but in general there are 2 timeframes that i personally consider noteworthy.
1) During Roman times when both China and Rome were large and strong that was around Ceasar and then later Augustuses time at its peak until first China collapsed and then Rome collapsed. This is perhaps the first time silk road severely peaked.
2) During the late middle ages when the Mongols re-opened the silk road to a large extent by creating a safe empire between Europe and China.

After that we all know how it went. The goods that went East and West were pretty similar along the thousands of years with some exceptions as I mentioned. Although there were some "special" items during times as I said.

So to start, the very short version:



Chinese primary source version with vague language for modern understanding:



Here is the explanation about the dyes that China imported(timecoded, but you can watch the whole video if you are interested):



The sea shell claim needs more research though, although It might have been some coral or whatever that primarily Indians imported. Not super sure right now.
#15192798
Igor Antunov wrote:And now China returns the favor with Fentanyl which is wreaking havoc in yep, you guessed it, Europe's drug addict mecca, the UK.

The freer the market, the freer the people! :excited:
#15192803
Igor Antunov wrote:And now China returns the favor with Fentanyl which is wreaking havoc in yep, you guessed it, Europe's drug addict mecca, the UK.


I am not sure how China is related to the European synthetic drug problems because majority of them are produced locally I think. The drugs that are usually imported are the drugs that needs to be grown first and don't require chemicals aka Cocaine and few others.
#15192827
JohnRawls wrote:I am not sure how China is related to the European synthetic drug problems because majority of them are produced locally I think. The drugs that are usually imported are the drugs that needs to be grown first and don't require chemicals aka Cocaine and few others.


China produces 100% of the precursor industrial chemicals for Fentanyl. And despite the 2019 unregulated production ban, it is still where the bulk of it is synthesized and then shipped abroad.
#15192829
Sandzak wrote:
I learned in school and media about the chinese and indian exports during several epochs... but what offered the occident the eastern merchants. Did Europe export anything except gold and silver ?



The British empire imported opium. It was a cynical move, using one highly addictive substance to pay for another (tea).

As trade increased, so did the balance of payment problem. England didn't want to empty it's coffers buying (what was back then) very expensive tea.

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