Question

How did the Silk Road reflect the effect of globalisation?

Answer 1

Hint: The Silk Route is referred to as one of the most important trade routes to have existed in the history of the world. It connected the South, South east, East and West Asia bby a network of trade routes. It started from the period of the Han dynasty in China and is named so due to the important trade of silk carried out through these routes.

Complete answer: Globalization refers to the exchange of ideas, cultures, ideologies and diaspora over a wide region on an international platform. This phenomenon is not only seen in terms of trade and commerce of goods from one place to another. Trade comes with the specific cultural identities attached to the commodities, people of different ethnicities engaging together and a spread of even the most locally generated ideals.

The Silk Road was a mesh of routes interlinked for trading, passing through many different regions in Asia. This led to a lot of intermingling of ideas, religions and cultural aspects. Not just this, the exchange of art and architectural styles was also on a rise post the globalising effects of the existence of the Silk Road.

The spread of Buddhism all over Asia, the demand of Indian spices, the value of Chinese luxurious goods, the craft of meenakari and other Persian art etc. were all examples of the Silk Road having a globalisation model of the modern world. Therefore, it will not be too far-fetched to say that the Silk Road can be seen as a foundational model of global exchange of identities.

Note: The Silk Road has also been responsible for a spread of what is called the Black Plague. This refers to an increase in thievery, bandits and many such petty criminals who often looted the merchants on these trade routes and started affecting the trade.