The collapse of the Silk road trade route and the independence of Spain was a tragedy for Islam or the Arabics, not Europe. This was the age of discovery when routes to India were being found by deGama and others. They had learned to sail around the Cape, so they did not need the overland route. Most of the gold came from Europe, and Europe began to prosper in the Middle ages. So they did not run out of gold. What happened was they started to trade more, and required less money for it. The crusades had ended. Prices were falling. Gold stayed high as it was money.
What drove the price of gold down was plenty, not hard times. As galleons laden with it arrived in Spain they had realized enormous profit with little effort. America was rich, already developed, the Indians of the Inca, or the Islands could be put directly to work. Prices of the stuff was bound to fall. All that stopped it was the war with England, which the non gold mining country finally won, more by default of the richer nation and effectiveness of terrorism than by pure military skill. (England could not conquer Spain, they had a lousy land army. Wellington beat Napoleon by almost pure luck.)
EC<:-} |
