The Silk Road

The Silk Road was probably the most influential thing that's ever come to Europe. It brought knowledge, ideas, products, crime, and most importantly, disease. The Silk Road brought about good things and bad things, both of which have permanently changed our society. The knowledge that was traded and brought throughout the Silk Road brought us into the information age that we are currently living in. The Black Plague was devastating and killed an immeasurable amount of people, but it also brought about a knowledge of how to prevent and cure diseases.

Things that were unobtainable by normal means were made obtainable with the use of the Silk Road. Valuable things that were sought after by nobility were made buyable because of the Silk Road. Things like silk, ivory, jade, and glass were commonly traded goods - and all of them were needed for the advancements that we have made at this point in time. Also, it developed friendly connections between different countries, and probably created a few solid alliances.

Another extremely important aspect of the Silk Road was the information that was traded, and just brought along with the products. A fun fact here, the indoor toilet idea was brought into Europe on the Silk Road. Many people became free-thinkers and differed from the church's ways due to the ideas that the Silk Road invoked. People changed; society changed, and without that change, we would be nowhere close to where we are today. It's impossible to even imagine a life without computers, or video games, for that matter.

Disease was another factor in the Silk Road. The main one, though I'm sure there were others, was the Black Plague. It killed approximately 30% of Europe because no one knew how to fight it, or how to avoid getting it. Why? The information wasn't there. Without the Silk Road, I believe it wouldn't have stopped.