Question

What are the negative effects of silk trade?

Answer 1

Hint: The Silk Road was a vast land-and-sea trade network that connected Eurasia and North Africa. As a result of technological advances and improved political stability, trade has increased. Travelers were able to share a range of goods, including animals, spices, ideas, and diseases, as trade routes expanded.

Complete answer:
The Silk Road was named after Chinese silk, a highly valued commodity that merchants transported through these trade networks.

The negative effects of silk trade are -
i) The Silk Roads had a reputation for spreading disease through Asia and even into Europe. When a merchant contracted a disease or illness, they normally passed it on to other merchants while engaging during trade, making disease spread very quickly. The Silk Roads played a significant role in the spread of the Black Plague.
ii) Bandits and thievery were also a major problem. Bandits would raid merchant caravans and outposts, killing the merchants in the process, making solo travel on the Silk Roads extremely dangerous. There was also no law enforcement to protect the roads to ensure safety; but, with the Mongolian invasion of Asia, this would change.
iii) Another is wealth disparity, which occurs when wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few merchants and leaders. Those who controlled trade along the Silk Roads reaped huge rewards and amassed vast fortunes. This resulted in large wealth disparities in many empires, including China, and produced tensions between the lower and upper classes over the distribution of wealth.
iv) Therefore, the negative consequences of silk trade are Disease, bandits, wealth inequality.

Note: Silk is a fabric made from the filaments of the silk worm's cocoon, which was first created in Neolithic China. It became a reliable source of income for small farmers, and as weaving techniques developed, Chinese silk's popularity grew, and it became highly sought after across the ancient world's empires.