Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan (Chapters 9-13)

Chapter 9: The Road to Hell
Genghis Khan and the Mongols build a great land empire -- history's largest -- in the 13th century. This chapter details reasons for GK's success, effects (both good and bad) of being conquered by the Mongols, rise of the Mamluks in Egypt (vs. Mongols), outcome/effects of the Crusades for Europe.

Some key bits:

• Mongols were great learners/borrowers, "copying designs for catapults and siege engines created for the Crusaders in the Holy Land and using them against targets in East Asia in the late thirteenth century. Control of the Silk Roads gave their masters access to information and ideas that could be replicated and deployed thousands of miles away." (157)
• Fear of the Mongols led to them being called Tartars, "a reference to Tartarus – the abyss of torment in classical mythology" (159)
• Not GK, but his son Ogodei is responsible for the "dramatic attacks on Russia and the Middle East and the invasion that brought Europe to its knees." 
• Threat of Mongols brought Christians together: "Where priests and princes in Europe had failed to reunite popes and patriarchs, the Mongols had succeeded: attacks from the east, and the very real threat that they would be repeated, had brought the church to the point of full reunion."
• Europe was repeatedly spared attacks because "neither Anatolia nor Europe was the focus of their attention simply because there were fatter and better targets elsewhere" like Beijing, Baghdad, and Egypt which had been taken by the Mamluks, fellow steppes-nomads and former slaves, who dealt the Mongols their first big defeat at Ayn Jalut in Palestine, 1260: 
• "Put simply, Europe was not the best prize on offer. All that stood in the way of Mongol control of the Nile, of Egypt’s rich agricultural output and its crucial position as a junction on the trade routes in all directions was an army commanded by men who were drawn from the very same steppes: this was not just a struggle for supremacy, it was the triumph of a political, cultural and social system. The battle for the medieval world was being fought between nomads from Central and eastern Asia."
• After attempts to ally with the Mongols against the Mamluks failed, Europe eventually gave up their crusading focus on the Holy Land. 

Chapter 10: The Road of Death and Destruction

This chapter covers successes of the Mongols, which came about partly as a result of good timing: encouraging trade, religious tolerance, growth of states (like Russia), safety and the rule of law, opening Europe to new horizons, and improving maritime trade links. But the most impactful result was disease/plague.

• As trade with the Levant/Holy Land closed off due to Mamluk control, Italians kept trying to make connections to Asia, looking for other trade opportunities and "resumed large-scale slave trading, buying captives to sell on to Mamluk Egypt, in defiance of attempts by the papacy to ban the trafficking of men, women and children to Muslim buyers." 
• The Black Sea became a major trade zone, largely due to Mongols' keeping taxes low: "Mongols’ success lay not in indiscriminate brutality but in their willingness to compromise and co-operate...."
• Mongols' theme was unity, overriding tribal identities and exercising "remarkable broad-mindedness when it came to the question of faith." In fact, under Mongol protection, Christianity started to regain footing in Asia and spread east. 
• Mongols laid the groundwork for the rise of the Russian state: "the Mongols’ system of government ... laid the ground for Russia’s transformation into a fully fledged autocracy by empowering a small handful of individuals to lord it over the population, as well as over their peers." 
• Europe was transformed as "Asia as a whole entered into Europe’s field of vision" and classical texts were rediscovered. A sense of "new horizons opening up." 
• Causes and deep effects of the Black Plague: "despite the horror it caused, the plague turned out to be the catalyst for social and economic change that was so profound that far from marking the death of Europe, it served as its making. The transformation provided an important pillar in the rise – and the triumph – of the west."
• increased wages in Europe, empowering the peasantry and weakening the landed classes
• demand for luxury goods, and Europe's productivity (to the point that they became exporters of something other than slaves!)
• better diets, health, and life expectancy than before 
• faster economic growth and urbanization in Northern Europe (which had been further behind and where competition wasn't hampered by traditional forces like guilds)
• Are the roots of the modern industrial revolution in the Black Plague? 
• "As modern research is increasingly making clear, the roots of the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century lay in the industrious revolution of the post-plague world: as productivity rose, aspirations were cast upwards and levels of disposable wealth increased along with opportunities to spend it." 
• Rise of the Ottomans, who conquered Constantinople in 1453
• Problems arising in the 14th century: climate change (cooling, volcanic activity) combined with a global financial crisis as "the precious-metal supply that had provided a common currency linking one side of the known world with the other – albeit not always in standard unit, weight or fineness – broke down and failed: there was not enough money to go round." 
• Other things: Guangzhou's importance as a trade center; the accounts of European traveler Francesco Pegolotti; innovations in credit and the use of silver in a monetized economy; Asia's growth and ambition, too (Timur's conquests in Central Asia, Zheng He's voyages); Jews escaped the Reconquista in Spain to be welcomed by the Ottomans in Constantinople.

Chapter 11: The Road of Gold. This chapter talks about the discovery of the New World, which led to literally a "Golden Age" of gold/silver flowing from the New to the Old World. Also, motivations behind the voyages of discovery, effects on Europe, Native Americans, Africans, etc. There wasn't a lot I didn't know about already, but as elsewhere in the book, some of the framing/context statements were really great. Some highlights: 

• The rise of the west was built on "the capacity to inflict violence on a major scale. The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason, the progression towards democracy, civil liberty and human rights, were not the result of an unseen chain linking back to Athens in antiquity or a natural state of affairs in Europe; they were the fruits of political, military and economic success in faraway continents." 
• Exploration from the Iberian peninsula was "driven in part by attempts to access the gold markets of West Africa." (Provides background information on Wangara traders, Timbuktu, Mansa Musa)
• The first "discoveries" were islands off the Atlantic coast: "Of crucial importance were the island groups in the eastern Atlantic, which facilitated exploration, providing harbours and havens that could serve as bases for taking on provisions and fresh water and enabling ships to sail further from home with greater security." 
• "The real breakthrough came when entrepreneurial ships’ captains realised that in addition to trading oil and skins and looking for opportunities to buy gold, there were easier and better opportunities on offer. As had proved the case many times before in the history of Europe, the best money was to be had in the trafficking of people. The African slave trade exploded in the fifteenth century: it proved highly lucrative from the outset."
• Columbus' voyages were disappointments, until his fortunes first changed with the "pearl bonanza" -- "In 1498, while exploring the Paria peninsula in what is now northern Venezuela, Columbus came across locals wearing strings of pearls around their necks and shortly afterwards discovered a set of islands with astonishingly rich oyster beds."
• Columbus et. al. liked to show off their weapons: "their instruments of death, which had evolved from centuries of near-incessant fighting against both Muslims and neighbouring Christian kingdoms in Europe."
• c.f. Silk Roads: "The sea lanes to Europe now became thick with heavily laden ships from the Americas. This was a new network to rival those across Asia, in both distance and scale, and soon surpassed them in value: scarcely imaginable quantities of silver, gold, precious stones and treasures were carried across the Atlantic."
• Economic exploitation: "It was as if a highly tuned engine had been switched on, pumping the riches from Central and South America directly to Europe." 
• Cultural effects on Europe: "A New World had been discovered overseas, but a new world was also being created at home, one where vibrant new ideas were encouraged, where new tastes were indulged, where intellectuals and scientists jostled and competed for patrons and funding. The rise in disposable incomes for those directly involved in the exploration of the continents and the wealth they brought back funded a cultural transfusion that transformed Europe."
• Effects on religion: "Europe’s new wealth gave it swagger and confidence, and also reinforced faith in a way that the recapture of Jerusalem had been expected to do. To many, it was entirely obvious that the seemingly limitless fortune yielded from the Americas was an affirmation of God’s blessings and had been ‘ordained by the Lord on high, who both gives and takes away kingdoms from whomever and in whatever way he wishes’. The dawn of a new era, a veritable Golden Age, caused the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, which had prompted wailing, breast-beating and tears in the streets of Rome, to be forgotten."
• Reinventing the past: "The task now was to reinvent the past. The demise of the old imperial capital presented an unmistakable opportunity for the legacy of ancient Greece and Rome to be claimed by new adoptive heirs – something that was done with gusto. In truth, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal and England had nothing to do with Athens and the world of the ancient Greeks, and were largely peripheral in the history of Rome from its earliest days to its demise. This was glossed over as artists, writers and architects went to work, borrowing themes, ideas and texts from antiquity to provide a narrative that chose selectively from the past to create a story which over time became not only increasingly plausible but standard. So although scholars have long called this period the Renaissance, this was no rebirth. Rather, it was a Naissance – a birth. For the first time in history, Europe lay at the heart of the world."

Chapter 12: The Road of Silver.  This chapter is about the effects of the New World's riches on Eurasia: revival of monarchy with greater centralization and tax revenues, increased trade, etc. 

• Portugal's aggression in Asia: Vasco da Gama = Alexander the Great, "opening up a new and unfamiliar world in the east" for Portugal that rivaled or exceeded Spain's discoveries in the western hemisphere. "Columbus spoke of potential; da Gama had delivered results." Da Gama story about sinking a ship of Muslims returning from the hajj to India shows Portugal's aggressive and antagonistic behavior. Erasmus quote on Muslims vs. Christians. 
• But this was no clash of civilizations! Venice fearing for its future, losing its strangle-hold on trade to the east; turned to Muslim Egypt and the Ottomans for help! 
• The initial burst of Portuguese exploration had been accompanied with swaggering violence and brutal intolerance. It did not take long, however, for things to settle down and for the initial swashbuckling rhetoric about the triumph of Christianity and the demise of Islam to give way to a more sanguine and realistic approach. With commercial opportunities aplenty, attitudes to Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism quickly softened – just as they had done in the Crusader states, as bluster was replaced by acknowledgement that a heavily outnumbered minority needed to establish a working relationship to ensure its survival....[U]nlike in the Americas, the discovery of the route to the east generally became a story of co-operation rather than conquest. The result was a huge increase in trade from east to west."
• Old trade routes continued and even "thrived thanks to rising demand in Europe," and also were less risky than the new sea routes.
• The rise of the Ottomans as challengers to the Portuguese in Asia. Sefer Reis was an Ottoman pirate, for example.
• Rise of Mughal India: "Gold and silver taken from the Americas found its way to Asia; it was this redistribution of wealth that enabled the Taj Mahal to be built. Not without irony, one of the glories of India was the result of the suffering of ‘Indians’ on the other side of the world."
• Horse trade and the renewal of trade across Central Asia.
• Silver mines at Potosi --> tons of silver being sent to Asia (esp. China!) in return for exports, spices, horses, etc. 
• Manila as "the world's first global city"
• Adam Smith: "the discovery of America and that of a passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, are the greatest and most important events recorded in the history of mankind"

Chapter 13: "The Road to Northern Europe" This chapter details the shift in power from southern to northern Europe, from Italy/Spain/Portugal to the Dutch and English. Some especially interesting or surprising parts: 

• England-Ottoman alliance: "At a time when most of Europe looked on with horror as Turkish forces were all but knocking on the gates of Vienna, the English backed a different horse." Allying with anyone against Spain and Portugal, Elizabeth I stood apart in being willing to work with the Ottomans. "Positive views of the Ottomans and of the Muslim world spread into mainstream culture in England." Nonetheless, England achieved little success: "By the start of the seventeenth century, there was little to show for the attempts to emulate the success of the Spanish and the Portuguese."
• Spain as profligate lottery winner: Meanwhile, despite all the wealth from the Americas, Spain fell into debt: "It was like a lottery winner that had gone from rags to riches – only to squander the prize money on luxuries that were unaffordable."
• Meanwhile, the Dutch launched a plan: "Suddenly free from military pressure and with a window of opportunity presenting itself, the Dutch threw themselves into international trade, seeking to build connections with the Americas, Africa and Asia."
• Violence underpinned the rise of the west: "Discussions about Europe in this period emphasise that the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason saw a coming of age where ideas of absolutism were replaced by notions of freedom, rights and liberty. But it was Europe’s entrenched relationship with violence and militarism that allowed it to place itself at the centre of the world after the great expeditions of the 1490s."
• The Age of Religious Wars (religion as justification): "Fighting, violence and bloodshed were glorified, as long as they could be considered just. This was one reason, perhaps, why religion became so important: there could be no better justification of war than its being in defence of the Almighty."
• Europe's forts: "One reason why the domination of Africa, Asia and the Americas was possible was the centuries of European practice in building fortifications that were all but impregnable. Castle-building had been the staple of European society since the Middle Ages...."
• European instability: "The great irony, then, was that although Europe experienced a glorious Golden Age, producing flourishing art and literature and leaps of scientific endeavour, it was forged by violence. Not only that, but the discovery of new worlds served to make European society more unstable. With more to fight over and ever greater resources available, stakes were raised, sharpening tensions as the battle for supremacy intensified. The centuries that followed the emergence of Europe as a global power were accompanied by relentless consolidation and covetousness. In 1500, there were around 500 political units in Europe; in 1900, there were twenty-five. The strong devoured the weak."
• The Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment are labels glossing over the larger forces of militarization: "Similarly, although the names of scientists like Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton and Leonhard Euler have become famous to generations of schoolchildren, it can be all too easy to forget that some of their most important work was on the trajectory of projectiles and understanding the causes of deviation to enable artillery to be more accurate.69 These distinguished scientists helped make weapons more powerful and ever more reliable; military and technological advances went hand in hand with the Age of Enlightenment."
• Exceptionalism of warfare in Europe: "It was not that aggression did not exist in other societies. As numerous examples across other continents would show, any conquest could bring death and suffering on a large scale. But periods of explosive expansion across Asia and North Africa, such as in the extraordinary first decades of the spread of Islam or during the time of the Mongol conquests, were followed by long periods of stability, peace and prosperity. The frequency and rhythm of warfare was different in Europe to other parts of the world: no sooner would one conflict be resolved than another would flare up. Competition was brutal and relentless. In that sense, seminal works like Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan were quintessential texts that explained the rise of the west. Only a European author could have concluded that the natural state of man was to be in a constant state of violence; and only a European author would have been right."