Western Civilization I / Unit 13 WC1 1205 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Wool In, Luxury Out: Italy as the Silk Road's Terminus
Captions available
The idea
Italy worked English and Spanish wool into cloth and made the best luxury goods and weapons, trading with Byzantium's remnant and the Ottomans for spices, silks and porcelain against bullion and crafts. Conspicuous consumption turned banking wealth into patronage.
In practice
The Silk Road's European terminus.
Where people slip
The anchor lists coffee among the imports. It arrived after fifteen hundred.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it