Cross Cultural Transmission -- Gold, Spices, and the Plague

Trade, which was influential in the development of civilizations, became easier and more prevalent in 300 B.C.E. with the introduction of the Silk Road. The Silk Road, which two of my classmates have already talked about, was a set of trade routes that connected Eurasia, starting in China and ending as far as Egypt. Through these trade routes, it became easier to send goods back and forth. Some of these included silk, paper, fur, amber, copper, cotton, spices, nuts, gold, glass, and wool among other goods.

The things I have listed above were the most commonly traded goods when the Silk Road was at its height, but aside from those things, the trade routes also transmitted diseases from culture to culture. One such disease was the bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death.
This plague, which occurred between 1346 and 1350, is said to have come from China to Europe via trade routes that passed through the Mongol Empire. During the period, Mongol covered a large mass of land within the area of the trade routes, so many goods went through the area and were subject to the disease.

When the disease came to areas where the people had not built immunities to it, many people became infected and consequently died. In Europe alone, the effects were horrendous. The population decreased by a third due to the plague.

Although the plague is not the only disease that had been transferred through cultures by way of trade routes, the devastating number of victims intrigued me. The still exists today, but it is cured by antibiotics which were not available during the time period I have talked about. There are not nearly as many deaths from it and it is far less talked about than the European outbreak. The topic also interested me because diseases today spread much like the plague did, through trade or transfer of goods. The plague may not take as many lives, but the vehicle used to spread disease and illness has not changed a whole lot.

http://www.insecta-inspecta.com/fleas/bdeath/Black.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Empire#Silk_Road\Strayer, Robert. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History, Vol. I, First Edition (Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2007). P. 224