Imam Widodo
Originally secluded far away from each other, civilizations began trading with other civilizations in order to attain resources they did not have in exchange for ones that they did have. However, these traders needed a safe route from one civilization to another and therefore, trade networks that were protected by empires, such as the Silk
Road, enabled traders a way to get from Africa to Europe to China safely to trade goods. Throughout history, trade has intentionally transformed civilizations by spreading religions and cultures, and by introducing new products and ideas; trade has unintentionally transformed civilizations by transmitting diseases to new places and reducing the uniqueness of individual cultures.
The spread of religion was heavily influenced by trade, as supported by documents 2 and 3. Document 2 shows us that as a result of trade, Islam spread from its original location in Arabia to as far as China in the east. In addition, Buddhism and
Christianity were also spread by the silk road. Document 3 displays that traders who came to the Swahili Coast spread their Islamic orientation and Arabic and Indian influences into Africa’s culture, as displayed by the combination of Swahili and other languages. Most people who are Swahili today also trace their roots back to Arab traders, but still enjoy African music and food. This would all never have been possible if it weren’t for the trade networks of the Swahili Coast or the Silk Roads.
Aside from the spread of religion, trade also helped new ideas and products
spread from one civilization to another. As shown by Documents 1,4,5 and 6, many different products and ideas were spread because of trade. In Document 1, the
Mediterranean trade map in the document shows major products like gold and wine being traded between Greek and Phoenician colonies. Document 4 shows that as the supplies of goods increased in Europe, trade also began to increase, and