The reader who has followed thus far this category of eastern products must be struck by the preponderance in it of costly luxuries over articles of general consumption. The expenses of transportation over great distances and through dangerous districts were, in fact, so great that most of the Eastern wares had necessarily to comprise great value in a small bulk, and sought their market only among the upper classes of Europe, who could afford to pay well to gratify their desires.
92. Dyestuffs; alum.—Among the raw material brought from the East there was only one important class of wares which served manufacturing industries, the dyestuffs. Indigo (Greek, Indikon, Indian) came from the East as its name implies, the chief staple for it being Bagdad. It gives a fast and deep blue and had been imported in Europe even in ancient times; with the revival of commerce after the Crusades it became again an article of commerce, and was used constantly thereafter as a dyestuff, in spite of the attempt to substitute for it the native woad, an herb of the mustard family. Some of the red dyes were produced in Europe, notably madder, mentioned in one of Charlemagne’s laws, and the scarlet or carmine obtained from the kermes insect in Southern France and Spain. Both of these dyes were imported to some extent, however, and another red dye which was an important import was Brazil-wood. The name suggests an American origin, but was given it in fact because its redness made it seem like glowing coals (cf. English brazier), and the South American country received its name later from the tree found growing in it. Brazil-wood was brought to Europe in blocks and was then ground up for use in dyeing and painting. A common yellow dye of the Middle Ages, saffron, was also imported when the best quality was desired, and yellow arsenic (orpiment) was used as a pigment. Lac (shellac) was used for a dye as well as for varnish. More important than any of the separate dyes was alum, which came to be regarded as indispensable for fixing the color when wool or silk had been dyed in the piece. This was procured mainly in Asia Minor, and was one of the most highly prized products of the eastern trade.
93. Other raw materials of industry.—In comparison with the dyes most other raw materials of industry were unimportant as objects of trade. Cotton (Arabic kotn) was imported both in its finished form and as a raw material. The cotton manufacture in Europe had, of course, nothing like its present importance, but it was already well established in Germany, where a staple cloth was made out of a mixture of cotton and flax, and it required more of the raw cotton than the plantations of southern Europe could supply. Small amounts of flax were imported from Egypt, because of the superior quality of the product.
Silk was, however, the only textile material which was a very important ware in its raw form. The culture of the silkworm, which had been carried on for centuries in China, but so far as possible had been kept a secret from other peoples, spread gradually to the West and was introduced into Europe by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. The Arabians introduced mulberry plantations and the raising of silkworms into Sicily and Spain, and the culture thrived so far as to leave a surplus for export after supplying the home manufactures. Christian peoples, however, did not succeed so well in the culture; France could as yet furnish no appreciable quantity of raw silk, and the output in Italy was unsatisfactory both in respect to quality and quantity. The growing silk manufacture in Europe had therefore to meet its deficiency by trade with the East, getting part of its supply of raw material from China and Persia, but the bulk from the countries about the Caspian Sea.
94. Textile imports; exports from Europe.—Among manufactures imported from the East textiles held the most important place. Europe was strong enough in the manufacture of linen and woolen goods to export them in considerable quantities to Asia, but it lacked in the manufacture of cotton and silk not only raw material but the technical skill to compete with the artisans of the East; and imported large quantities of finished cloth. Dignitaries of the church and the merchant princes of the late Middle Ages demanded for clothing and for furniture fabrics of finer quality and of greater quantity than the looms established by the Mohammedans in Spain and Sicily could supply, and sought them chiefly in the countries bordering the eastern end of the Mediterranean. From this district came a great variety of silks, woven often as brocades with gold or silver threads, and the early types of velvet and satin. Silk goods formed the chief but not the sole constituent of the textile imports; with them came fine cottons from India, cloth made from the hair of camels and other animals, and linen from Egypt and Syria, which surpassed all of western make. Europe depended also on the East for fine china and glass.
Before the end of the Middle Ages the Italian silk manufacture had grown strong enough to turn the tide, and to export to the East. Through the greater part of this period, however, the only European textiles exported to Asia were the woolens and common linens which were produced in England, Flanders, and other of the more advanced countries. Besides these manufactures the main exports consisted of raw materials: wool, hides, metals (gold, silver, and tin), and food stuffs.
95. Revival of Oriental trade about 1000, under the leadership of Italians.—As commerce with the East had lasted throughout the period of Roman rule, and had cultivated tastes among rich Romans and provincials which could only be satisfied by its continuance, we find evidence even in the Dark Ages that it was still carried on. A document dated 716 shows that the rich monastery of Corby in northern France received pepper, cloves, and other spices from southern France; and Marseilles maintained its commercial relations with the East. The trade in this period, however, was carried on almost entirely by Syrians and Jews; the peoples of western Europe had not yet learned to profit by active participation in it, and it had sunk to comparative insignificance. The revival came about the year 1000 with the general awakening of economic life in Europe which had for its most striking feature the growth of towns. As the possibilities for trade became greater, and the demand for luxuries kept pace with them, the eastern trade felt a powerful stimulus, and grew rapidly in importance. It was now carried on mainly by the people who were destined to control it until the great discoveries left them outside the path of progress,—the Italians. A group of towns in the far south of the Italian peninsula, Bari, Trani, Brindisi, and Taranto, took advantage of their nearness to the Levant (the eastern end of the Mediterranean) to establish commercial relations which returned large profits and developed into a considerable trade. Another group of towns near the Bay of Naples, of which Amalfi was the chief, shared in the profits of this trade, and still another town, standing alone near the head of the Adriatic Sea, Venice, began already to assume the commanding position in the Oriental trade which she was destined to make good against all rivals.
96. Routes between Asia and Europe.—The main routes serving as the paths of trade between Asia and Europe during the Middle Ages were three in number. The central route, the oldest and for much of this period the most important, began at the head of the Persian Gulf; after the foundation of Bagdad near the site of ancient Babylon (about 750 A.D.) it found there its first important stopping-place. Thence a caravan route led around and through the desert to Damascus, where it branched off to the coast of ancient Phœnicia in one direction, to Egypt in the other. Aside from partial interruptions this route was used steadily until near the close of the Middle Ages, when it was partially blocked and commerce was forced to the south.
TRADE ROUTES BETWEEN ASIA AND EUROPE