50 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
into fine goods, indigo and other dyestuffs, aromatic woods and gums, narcotics and other drugs, pearls, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, turquoises, and other precious stones, gold and silver, and above all the edible spices, pepper, ginger cinnamon, cloves, and all-spice, could be obtained only in Asia.” [1] Thus the commerce between Asia and Europe formed a regular living system and was fed by various channel.
But this system was early disturbed by the rise of Islam. When we imagine that trade was carried on by land Caravans with all the cumbersomeness we can imagine the hinderances it must have underwent owing to the rapid military movements of the Saracens We will recall that there were four principal trade routes from Asia to Europe and they all lay through the dominions of the Saracens. “During the Crusades, so long as the avenue by the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were controlled by hostile Mohomedan powers, it became necessary to adopt another more expensive and circuitous route, requiring much land-carriage and several transfers of freight. This route led up the Indus, across the mountains on beasts of burden, thence by the Oxus, and so to the Caspian Sea. This, which was ancient route, was now adopted by Venice and Genoa. From the Caspian it took especially the direction of the Volga, to a place called Zarizn, thence through the country to the Don, where, at the river’s mouth, in the town of Tana, now Azor, both Venice and Genoa had commercial privileges, and the former had a consul from the end of the 12th century. Afterwards an important entrepot for Genoa was Theodosia, now Jatta, in the Crimea.” [2] “Islam had hemmed Christendom on every side. On the East as on the South, the Crescentraised a barrier against the advance of the Cross.” [3] But in this mighty struggle of the Cresent and the Cross commerce suffered immensely. “The Ottoman seizure or obstruction of the Indian trade routes brought disaster not alone to the mediterranean republics. The blow fell first on Genoa and Venice, but it sent a shock through the whole system of
1 Edward Slow P.Cheney : Social and Industrial History of England p. 86.
2 J. of Am. O.S.
3 W.M. Cunnigham—“Western Civilization” (Modern Times) p. 130
The original spelling of some words have been retained as they were found in the MS, such as, ‘hinderances’ ‘propogate’, ‘ninety’, ‘truely’, ‘merchantile’, etc. The variations in the spellings of the proper nouns used by Dr. Ambedkar are also left untouched