o Overview
-> Shared drivers of expansion
-> Transport and geographic differences
-> Goods and commercial institutions
o Shared drivers of expansion
-> c. 1200-1450: all three networks grew on older routes.
-> Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, and Sahara linked regions.
-> Demand for foreign goods drew merchants into all three.
-> Mongol protection eased Silk Road travel across Eurasia.
-> Mali secured Saharan routes; gold trade funded rulers.
-> Port rulers fostered ocean trade to collect customs.
o Transport and geographic differences
-> Silk Roads crossed Eurasia using overland caravans.
-> Saharan caravans linked West Africa to North Africa.
-> Camels enabled both land networks to cross dry regions.
-> Ocean sailors timed voyages to seasonal monsoon winds.
-> Compasses and improved ships made sea travel easier.
-> Ships carried larger loads at lower cost than caravans.
o Goods and commercial institutions
-> Land costs favored valuable goods: silk, gold, spices.
-> Ocean ships also carried bulk goods, including timber.
-> Saharan trade paired West African gold with desert salt.
-> Caravanserai sheltered traders; ports supplied ships.
-> Credit and merchant ties reduced long-distance risks.
o Overview
-> Cultural and technological diffusion
-> Environmental consequences
-> Uneven integration and continuity
o Cultural and technological diffusion
-> c. 1200-1450: all networks moved ideas as well as goods.
-> Muslim merchants spread Islam across all three networks.
-> Sufis aided conversion in Central and Southeast Asia.
-> Mali's rulers adopted Islam but local beliefs persisted.
-> Ocean diasporas fostered Swahili Islamic coastal culture.
-> Silk Roads carried Chinese gunpowder knowledge westward.
o Environmental consequences
-> Eurasian routes helped spread plague in the 1300s.
-> Overland and sea links carried infection toward Europe.
-> Black Death deaths disrupted labor and raised some wages.
-> Saharan exchange did not share Europe's plague impact.
-> Ocean exchange spread crops such as bananas to Africa.
-> New crops supported population growth where soils suited.
o Uneven integration and continuity
-> All networks enriched trading cities and merchant elites.
-> Samarkand, Kilwa, and Timbuktu grew as exchange centers.
-> Ocean trade linked many states, not one unifying empire.
-> Mongol fragmentation weakened Silk Road protections.
-> Despite growth, local trade and older beliefs persisted.