3 ms·

I mean, why do you think he was looking for a new route to India? Constantinople was in unfriendly hands.

by Kamq 3y ago

ffgjgf1 3y ago
Constantinople was a just a small city state at this point since the empire had lost most of its territory centuries earlier. Most trade with the east was done through the Levant and Egypt.
- Kamq 3y ago
  A small city state that controlled the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles). If you're trying to transport things by water, say, along the Black Sea, things will end up in Constantinople. That isn't to say the Ottomans completely shut down trade, but they did charge significantly more.
  - ffgjgf1 3y ago
    I agree, just saying that it wasn’t the cornerstone of Mediterranean trade networks at the point anymore? Also weren’t the main ‘goods’ exported from the area north to the black sea mainly slaves and grain? IIRC The demand for slaves in the Ottoman empire only increased in the 1500s.
- namaria 3y ago
  The city was a sort of clearing house center. Venetians controlled the Mediterranean trade and depended heavily on their privileged presence in Constantinople to do so. Losing that led to its inability to make the market, making everything much more expensive to Christian traders shut out of the financial system that underlined this trade. Which in turn led to the incentives for Lisbon based traders to go around Africa.
  - ffgjgf1 3y ago
    Yes but the Portuguese had no real part in that trade and the return of investment for their initial expeditions was massive. They would have still been extremely profitable even if the prices of spices in Europe was a bit lower.
    - namaria 3y ago
      This is incorrect. Portuguese and Lisbon based traders more generally linked Mediterranean and North Sea ports. The transit between Ghent/Antwerp, Lisbon and Barcelona, Pisa, Genoa and Venice was a mainstay of late middle ages European trade. The run around Africa was massively more risky than this status quo and average profits did not increase significantly. The main change thereafter was the market capture.

I mean, why do you think he was looking for a new route to India? Constantinople was in unfriendly hands.

by Kamq 3y ago

I mean, why do you think he was looking for a new route to India? Constantinople was in unfriendly hands.

Constantinople was a just a small city state at this point since the empire had lost most of its territory centuries earlier. Most trade with the east was done through the Levant and Egypt.

Kamq 3y ago
A small city state that controlled the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles). If you're trying to transport things by water, say, along the Black Sea, things will end up in Constantinople. That isn't to say the Ottomans completely shut down trade, but they did charge significantly more.
- ffgjgf1 3y ago
  I agree, just saying that it wasn’t the cornerstone of Mediterranean trade networks at the point anymore? Also weren’t the main ‘goods’ exported from the area north to the black sea mainly slaves and grain? IIRC The demand for slaves in the Ottoman empire only increased in the 1500s.
namaria 3y ago
The city was a sort of clearing house center. Venetians controlled the Mediterranean trade and depended heavily on their privileged presence in Constantinople to do so. Losing that led to its inability to make the market, making everything much more expensive to Christian traders shut out of the financial system that underlined this trade. Which in turn led to the incentives for Lisbon based traders to go around Africa.
- ffgjgf1 3y ago
  Yes but the Portuguese had no real part in that trade and the return of investment for their initial expeditions was massive. They would have still been extremely profitable even if the prices of spices in Europe was a bit lower.
  - namaria 3y ago
    This is incorrect. Portuguese and Lisbon based traders more generally linked Mediterranean and North Sea ports. The transit between Ghent/Antwerp, Lisbon and Barcelona, Pisa, Genoa and Venice was a mainstay of late middle ages European trade. The run around Africa was massively more risky than this status quo and average profits did not increase significantly. The main change thereafter was the market capture.