Salts, Silks, and Spices

Constantinople was located in modern day Istanbul and is one of the most fascinating cities in the history of the world.

After a decline following the breakup of the Roman Empire, European commerce expanded gradually during the Middle Ages, especially during the 12th and 13th centuries. Long-distance trade became safer once merchants began to form associations for the protection of travelers who journeyed abroad. The main long-distance trade routes were from the Baltic and the eastern Mediterranean to central and northern Europe.

From the forests of the Baltic came raw materials: timber, tar, furs, and skins. From the East came luxury goods: spices, silks and jewelry. In exchange for these goods, western Europe exported raw materials and processed goods. The English sold woolen garments, the Dutch offered salted herring, Spain produced wool, and France exported salt; southern Europe was also rich in wine, fruit, and oil. The Italian and German cities straddling these routes promoted and financed the trade.

Nonetheless, throughout the Middle Ages, commerce between Europe and Asia was limited, because overland transport was expensive and because Europe possessed little of value for export to the East.

Today we can travel around 55 miles in one hour. In the Middle Ages, it would have taken a very fast horse over two days to travel the same distance. A few main roads in Europe had been paved by the Romans and remained paved with cobblestones during the Middle Ages. However, most roads were made of dirt that turned into a river of mud when it rained. The paved roads were full of pot holes where peasants had “borrowed” a stone from the road to patch up their homes.

Since land travel was so dangerous in medieval times, Constantinople used mainly sea trade routes. Constantinople was also in a perfect geographic location to do this.

Constantinople was on the edge of both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It was also the in the middle of the silk road and close to Damascus. This was the absolute perfect trading position because it provided ample opportunity to trade with the far east through the silk road, the northern countries through the Black Sea, and the Western world through the Mediterranean.

Since Costantinople was in this position, Venice was close by and a lot of Venetian ships were the ones bringing commodities and various items to Constantinople. Because of this, Constantinople had to pay taxes to the Venetians because there was always a constant threat of a cold war.

Although in the end things did not work out in the end for Constantinople, they remained a remarkably powerful city for centuries all because of medieval trade.

Medieval trade is a fascinating subject that explains how civilized society itself began. It allowed countries to learn and refine each others creations and discoveries and advance technology farther and farther into the future. For more on the subject, look at any one of the books in the bibliography section or enjoy privately researching the middle ages. In closing, these trade routes were influential to society and provided vital technological breakthroughs to help push society into a new era: the renascence.