4 ms·

I wonder why there are not any trade routes in Portugal which was also under the peninsula caliphate during those dates. Perhaps was it what pushed them into t

• Quarrelsome 8y ago
  it is suggested that the Ottoman capture of Constantinople was instrumental in Christian countries seeking new routes as it made the capital and the Black Sea more of a tricky proposition. So if this is 1100-1200 we're still a couple of hundreds years off that event.
  • beat 8y ago
    It's a question of product, too. Countries only got seriously into the trading game when they had something valuable to offer in return. Portugal's early contribution to the trade was slaves, captured from the west coast of sub-Saharan Africa. They were the first Europeans to really explore south of the Sahara. Pushing ever-farther south for new targets led to rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and opening a new route to India - bypassing the tariffs of the Constantinople and Alexandria routes.
• MartinMansson 8y ago
  I've had trouble finding sources this early when it comes to Portugal concerning trade. Portugal seem to have been more involved starting from when the strait of Gibraltar opened up to christians and ships from the Mediterranean sea could sail up to the north sea. An opportunity in itself that seem to have had a negative impact of the trade fairs of inland france and germany. Although, i'm unsure to what extent this damage had.