The Silk Road great adventure: past and present

When Nicole Anna got married, she probably thought she would have a family life beside her husband. Maybe things went wrong with the marriage, maybe her husband did not love her enough, or maybe he just loved adventure too much. We do not know. The fact is that, as soon as she got pregnant, Niccolò left her and their unborn child and departed (ran away?) to Constantinople with his brother and business partner Maffeo. When the child was born in 1254, they were already establishing themselves in the new city, where they stayed for three years.

At that time, Venice was an independent republic and an international trade hub, intermediating commercial exchanges between the East and the West. Most (or maybe all) of its population was living from international trade, directly or indirectly. Nicole Anna had married a wealthy merchant from Venice and moved to his palazzo, where she ended up living alone, taking care of their child. If she hoped Niccolò would come home after setting up his trading post in Constantinople, she would be disappointed.

At some point, the situation in Constantinople went badly, but Niccolò and Maffeo did not return to Venice. They closed their business there and moved further and further East, exploring precious routes in the pursuit of many riches and new endeavours. By the time Niccolò finally came home, his wife had died and his son was already a teenager, with a good education that had been provided by his uncle and aunt. For some reason, Niccolò decided to depart again, but this time he took his son Marco with him. During the next twenty years, they travelled extensively all the way to China, India, and Indonesia. Besides setting up trading posts and doing business, they ran away from wars and served as diplomats to kings.

The return to Venice was not pacific. A war was being waged and Marco ended up in prison. There, he met Rustichello to whom he told his adventures in far away and exotic lands. Rustichello decided to write them down and the first and probably most famous book about the Silk Road was published. It was a bestseller at the time and made Marco Polo world and timelessly famous.

The Silk Road was, in reality, a network of different routes by land and by sea (these also known as spice routes) used by travelling merchants. The name was coined only in the 19th century and it referred to the most precious merchandise traded. However, many other goods were exchanged, some coming from the West and others coming from the East. For centuries, these trading paths were privileged ways not only to exchange merchandise, but also to exchange knowledge: linguistic, scientific, cultural, artistic, and even religious. Cities along these roads were full of life… and money. Beautiful and magnificent buildings were constructed, many of them are still standing, marking and remembering a golden period in time.

With so much happening in the East, it is no wonder that the Polo family was fascinated and drawn to this adventurous and diversified world. In comparison, life in Venice was quite monotonous, despite this city being at the time a very much cosmopolitan city. Rustichello’s book, nowadays named as “Marco Polo – The Travels”, reflects the image Europeans had about the East: strange, but seductive, full of exotic animals, of people with bizarre habits and beliefs, of rulers always at war with their neighbours. Yet, it also shows us respect for other cultures.

After 1,500 years, the Silk Routes were closed in 1453 by the Ottoman Empire. Europeans immediately started to look for another way to continue the trade with the East. Hence, the Age of Discovery and the many maritime routes to India, China, and Japan. In the meantime, they also found the Americas and a whole “new” world of opportunities was opened. This led to colonialism and the division of the world between the “developed” countries and the “poor” countries (the now ex-colonies).

Yet, the Silk Road is still a reference, especially due to its multiculturalism. The trade was made between merchants of different countries and different cultures with the only aim of getting the best deal possible. They did not have any political intentions or desire to dominate other folks. They did not have any power either. In fact, the routes were built by the travelling merchants, according to the conditions they would find.

Inspired by this, the government of China decided to revive the old network in a modern way 560 years later. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to reconstruct some of the old routes by land (through Central Asia to Europe) and by sea (towards India and Africa) and build new ones, for example to Chancay, in Peru (America). The investment in infrastructures, namely ports and train lines/stations, in different countries is part of this strategy. Like in the Roman Empire, where all roads would lead to Rome, these connections aim to be linked to one major hub: China.

Contrary to the original Silk Routes, these paths are designed by a single country with national strategic plans in sight. Besides trade, China is looking to gain other advantages. Security is one of them, building military bases alongside the civil infrastructures. For example, the Djibouti port, strategically located at one end of the Suez Canal, serves both goals. Extending diplomatic relations is another objective. As China is willing to pay for the bills, it expects countries to be loyal to them. However, it is not just about infrastructures. China also provides other services, like healthcare. For instance, the Chinese Navy has a hospital ship (called “Silk Road Ark”) that travels through the BRI routes providing healthcare services for free. China gives back as much as it takes, in a win-win mentality.

When Marco Polo returned to Venice after twenty years, he had turned into a man of almost forty years-old. Contrary to his father, he got married and stayed in his hometown, becoming a wealthy merchant and raising three kids. If he lived nowadays, he probably wouldn’t leave his country for so long. There are airplanes and online conference services that make travel and communication much easier. He probably wouldn’t be an individual merchant, would probably have a company and sign contracts with other Chinese companies… and companies from other parts of the world. And he probably wouldn’t live in Venice, but maybe in Rotterdam. The way to do business and connect with other countries would be different, but the respect to multiculturalism would remain the same.

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Mercantilism

The word “mercantilism” comes from “merchant”, a person who buys goods to resell them. Merchants make money with the profit of the sale (the amount of money that is left from the sale after all expenses related to the buying and selling are paid). Since the beginning of time people have bought goods somewhere in order to resell them somewhere else. The Silk Road is a great example of this, these routes were very slow, very expensive, and full of dangers.

The world changed in the 15th century. Until then, in Europe, the economy was based on feudalism, a system where Lords owned vast agricultural lands and received a rent from the farmers who actually worked those lands. The lands were given by the King, in exchange for some service worthy of them (like becoming Knights, going to war, and being successful). Back then, merchants were considered an inferior class. Like the farmers, they existed only to serve the King and the Lords, to provide them with goods from far away.

The Era of Discovery aimed to expand the land of European Kings and, consequently, expand their wealth. The “mother land” would send people to the lands of the “new world” (the settlers) and the idea was for them to serve the King in a similar way as the Lords. However, they failed to foresee the role of merchants. While they became the intermediaries between the settlers and the King and the Lords, trade routes became less long and less expensive, and maybe a little less dangerous.

Long story short, merchants started to make a lot of money. And with wealth, came power. They organized themselves in guilds and companies, like the Dutch West India Company. These guilds and companies were owned by the State, but they acted as they were independent. Wealth increased exponentially, both for the State and the merchants. This led to a shift in the economy and feudalism gave way to mercantilism. In countries where agriculture was not as important, trading became the core business of society. This is what happened in The Netherlands, and which gave rise to the Dutch Golden Age.

Then, in the 18th century, came the Industrial Revolution and the economy shifted again. Trade was still the main focus, but this time the profits were to go to “capitalists”, people who had capital to invest in factories that would produce goods to be sold. The difference is that these capitalists were individuals and they would “compete” with other individuals/capitalists for the customers whereas in mercantilism, trade was made by the State and there was no competition.

Nowadays, capitalism is still the base of the economy.

Nomad

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a nomad is «a member of a people who have no fixed residence but move from place to place usually seasonally and within a well-defined territory». This concept applies, for example, to Bedouins, people that live in the desert, and Mongolians. The main reason why they move from place to place is because they herd animals (especially camels, in the case of Bedouins, and horses, in the case of Mongolians).

Nomads should not be confused with the merchants that used to cross the desert with goods to be sold on the other side. These caravans were very popular in the old days of the silk route and also in the Sahara Desert (think about the typical image of camels in line, full of goods attached to their back). While caravan merchants would go from one city to another, nomads would stay in the same place for a certain period of time, living in tents in the meantime.

Digital nomads modernised this concept. They too move from place to place and stay there for a certain period of time. However, instead of herding animals, they use technology to work remotely. And they do not usually live in tents, but in rented houses, although there are no rules in this respect. In fact, there are those who buy a camper van (brand new or an old one that they rebuild as they please) and literally move their house around.

The concept somehow expanded to also mean someone who roams without a purpose or a destination. However, this is different from a vagabond. A vagabond is someone who has no money, no professional occupation, and no place to live (they usually live on the street). Nomads have money and a profession, thus, they can pay for accommodation and supplies.

Being a nomad is not for everyone… but, then again, being in the same place doing the same things with the same people is not for everyone either. Before technology, people did not have much choice. If you were born into a nomad family, you would become a nomad, and if you were born, let’s say, in a farm, you would become a farmer. Of course, throughout the centuries, there were always rebels, people who did not accept their fate and would find a way to do what they really wanted (artists, mostly). However, nowadays, with new technology and the Internet, it gets easier to choose what you want to become. This does not mean that it is easy or without difficulties, for sure.