121–130 of 161 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Americas started rising in the 1600s. That would preclude them as a factor in the Silk Road's decline.
But they were discovered in the late 1400s, resulting in a change of interest. Nations invested in New World colonies with similar goals as their trade with China. It would follow that trade with China decreased as resources were directed elsewhere.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The decline of Venice has less to do with the decline of the Middle East and more to do with the rise of the Ottomans -- whose conquest of Constantinople shuttered a 2-century long dominion of the Bospherous (and the substantial trade thereof) by Venice. Additionally, Mongol incursions at the north end of the Black Sea made the increasingly-expensive trade with the Ottomans very expensive. On top of all that, the agi…
I just finished reading City of Fortune ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400068207/ref=pe_180000_31... ), and this is closer to the truth - the rise of the Ottomans, the fact that Christian Europe couldn't get its act together after the debacle that was the 4th Crusade, etc etc - at one point, Venice was almost single-handedly fighting the Ottomans.
Wow, the presentation of the photos really made an impression on me -- it's just like Harry Potter. It's amazing that even after almost 10 years of YouTube, having video presented to you in a slightly different way can give you a feeling that you're experiencing the future.
Bit off-topic, but related: I recently completed a trip to Budapest; both me and my friend were having cameras, and while she, as usual, made hundreds of photos I decided to try something different - I shoot 2 - 5 second videos instead. It's interesting how it can capture the atmosphere of the place qualitatively better than a plain photo would. One thing you quickly realize is that filming tourist attractions isn't…
You can also stitch multiple shots into a single one: http://blog.htc.com/2013/05/your-sequence-shots-with-htc-zoe...
It seems to me like we're finally witnessing the birth of a 21st century news paper. The New York times has always been well regarded for it's journalism. Now we're starting to see what can be accomplished when a credible journalism outfit is complemented by equally credible digital designers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just finished reading City of Fortune ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400068207/ref=pe_180000_31... ), and this is closer to the truth - the rise of the Ottomans, the fact that Christian Europe couldn't get its act together after the debacle that was the 4th Crusade, etc etc - at one point, Venice was almost single-handedly fighting the Ottomans.
If you enjoyed that I would also highly, highly recommend "Empires of the Sea", also by Crowley. http://www.amazon.com/Empires-Sea-Battle-Lepanto-Contest/dp/...
It seems to me like we're finally witnessing the birth of a 21st century news paper. The New York times has always been well regarded for it's journalism. Now we're starting to see what can be accomplished when a credible journalism outfit is complemented by equally credible digital designers.
The website suggests otherwise. It was difficult to read it on my phone (iPhone 5). I couldn't pinch - I had to scroll and the images, when tapped, would appear to take over the screen. Honestly, I was expecting them to say "Download our app!" to top it off.
Edit: I just had a look on my desktop. Very impressive and the image-focusing thing makes sense now.
Wow, the presentation of the photos really made an impression on me -- it's just like Harry Potter. It's amazing that even after almost 10 years of YouTube, having video presented to you in a slightly different way can give you a feeling that you're experiencing the future.
Bit off-topic, but related: I recently completed a trip to Budapest; both me and my friend were having cameras, and while she, as usual, made hundreds of photos I decided to try something different - I shoot 2 - 5 second videos instead. It's interesting how it can capture the atmosphere of the place qualitatively better than a plain photo would. One thing you quickly realize is that filming tourist attractions isn't…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But they were discovered in the late 1400s, resulting in a change of interest. Nations invested in New World colonies with similar goals as their trade with China. It would follow that trade with China decreased as resources were directed elsewhere.
Actually trade with China increased due to the ease of direct trade.
Silver was the item that the chinese intensively desired for monetary reasons as multiple experiments with paper money failed due to runaway inflation and they lacked precious metals of their own. Almost 40% of the silver mined in the late 16th century ended up in china.
Time to trot out trivia. As the article points out, the Silk Road faded in importance in the 1400s. But it doesn't say why. There were three major reasons why it faded. The first was the final fall of Constantinople in 1453, ending the last remnant of the original Roman Empire. This made trade with Europe harder. The second was the development, initially by the Portuguese but followed by others, of direct sea routes…
The Americas started rising in the 1600s. That would preclude them as a factor in the Silk Road's decline.
That influx of wealth totally changed the balance of power in Eurasia.
People these days don't realise how poor Europe was prior to the 1500s. For example, it's commonly thought that one of the main reasons the Mongols didn't push further into Europe was simply because there was nothing there that was worth raiding.
Even the "rich" cities in Europe (Venice, Vienna, Paris) compared very unfavourably to comparatively minor trading centers in central Asia. For example, Paris was probably the largest European city in 1250 (population probably A truly rich city like Baghdad (prior to the Mongol sack in 1258) was in an entirely different league.