Europe Reaches Out

    Throughout the Renaissance period people started going in adventurous journey so as to find new lands and new things. Invention of compass made easy for Europeans to go in navigation to find new places. After the Renaissance period, European people did not confine themselves within the limited territory rather they began to travel different places and made relationship with other countries, as a result different countries exchanged things facilitating the process of business and other entrepreneur activities. In this way Europe began to reach out of its limited place.

    Mongol Empire was the biggest Land Empire in history. Their territories extended from the Yellow sea in eastern Asia to the borders of Eastern Europe. It included china, Korea, Mongolia, Iran. It also occupied parts of Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and Russia. Mongols were nomadic tribes lived in felt tents called yurts and raised ponies, sheep, canals, oxen and goats. They ate mainly meat and milk. Every Mongol man was a soldier and learned to ride and use a bow and arrow skillfully. Genghis Khan, a famous Mongol and other nomadic tribes into a superior fighting force and conquered northern China. His descendant Kublai khan founded the Yuan dynasty reunited the China whose different parts were conquered earlier.

    Marco Polo, an Italian trader and traveler, became famous for his travels in central Asia and China. He wrote a book that gave Europeans some of their earliest information about China. Perhaps he was first European having made relation with the eastern countries. He also made cordial relationship with Kublai khan. Earlier Marco Polo's Father Nicholas had met Kublai Khan in the due course of trade-mobility. Marco and his Father remained at the court of the great khan for at least fifteen years, during which they made a small fortune in trade and had many glorious adventurous journeys. Nicolos' son Marco was very intelligent that is why he was sent to the fact finding mission to the distant lands of Empire. Marco worked and served Kubla Khan for so many years and at the last stage of his life, he was looking forward to spending his time in his native town Venice. As the time passed, Mongol power decreased and the Mings grow in power and became manipulative. Now foreign policy of the Mings became quite rigorous unlike Mongol China science decayed, trade became passive; the maritime discoveries were ignored or forgotten. China sealed itself off for nearly five hundreds years. Soon it became an exploitative rather than an expansive nation. So now the curtain between east and west hanged. Marcopolo and his father's journey to east became only legend. Westerner began to believe that there are no worth- travelling routes to east polos knew the exact routes both by land and sea. Their travel in fast is the ample example or European travelling to east.

Voyages of Discovery

    As European did not give keen interest towards Asia, now they attracted to the Arab. For centuries, husbandmen in northern Europe had been unable to keep more than a few cattle alive during the long, cold winters as a result most of the herds were slaughtered by their owners in every Fall. Without spices, especially pepper, meat would spoil. Arabian world was storehouse of pepper, European exchanged pepper with Gold which later on became very scarce. Through traveler's, European people came to know that Gold was plentiful in the south of Sahara desert. But the question was how to get there? Caravans crossed the desert but Europeans were unwelcome as they met conflict with the Muslims. To avoid conflicts, they were searching Westward route. Christopher Columbus fully realized their dream and set out towards south so as to discover new lands. He was not hankering towards the south on the basis of geo-study but just like that. Actually, he had heard the name about India and its potentialities but when he reached in West Indies (now) then he found red people and named them Red Indians, thus he discovered America. He found the newly found land very wonderful having saturated with natural resources and other source of things. The land was actually full of gold, silver, tobacco, cotton and so many others. These things were brought back to Europe and the world is now completely changed. While going in navigation, he had gone in the ship named Santa Maria and ultimately reached to the land in October 12, 1492. After that business of southern part was monopolized by Portugal and Spain, and northern part was monopolized by English and French. Slowly and gradually, Potential riches of south and North America were realized by whole Europe and new concept of trade was born. Then European people started bushiness not only of luxurious things but also the things of everyday supply. In this way, Europe became successful and rich in business sphere and at last became supreme power in the world. The entire homage and credit goes to Columbus who gave outstanding contribution for the flourishment of Europe.

Trade in Ideas

    After the manipulation of world trade by Europe, the trade in ideas also emerged in the world. Knowledge of ideas, together with religious beliefs flowed both directions from West to East and from East to West. And in the process of interchange, ideas were transformed. Gunpowder, invented in China around 1000 AD, is a good example of the change. The Chinese used gunpowder to make fire works and for other peaceful purposes. Arab mercenaries, obtaining gunpowder from the Chinese, made the first guns. The Europeans perfected them. They studied the art of using guns and canons with a unique intensity. By 1500, European military strategy, both on sea and land was based on the concept of acquiring and maintaining superior fire power. Even today, in the West, the superiority of fire power over manpower and tactics has persisted as the central idea of military thinking. European people with their extrovert nature and their enthusiasm towards the enterprise developed their country in rapped speed that the East Created a myth that West is really "irresistible". Similarly, Westerner due to the distance and exotic nature of East formulated a myth that East is very complex and mysterious. Thus trade in ideas began between and among countries in the world.