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The Trade Development in Gotland & Great Zimbabwe
Yanir Seroussi Social Studies 4/11/96
There were many differences and similarities between the ways trade has
developed in Gotland and in Great Zimbabwe. In this essay I would discuss
the most important ones, that can indicate something about trade
development in other places in the world. The time span in which trade has
developed and came to its highest level in both places was about the same.
In Great Zimbabwe it was between the 10th and the 16th centuries. In
Gotland it started in the Vikings age end (9th century) and ended in the
16th century. The trade was reduced radically after these eras have passed.
The main reason for it in Great Zimbabwe was social and environmental
reasons_Great Zimbabwe was abandoned. Another reason is that the Portuguese
began exploring southeast Africa and made colonies there, that weakened the
Shona Kingdom even more. In Gotland the trade amounts were reduced because
it stopped being an independent island_it was vanquished by its enemies.
The conquering of a place could affect the trade and its development for
the worse.
The geographical locations in both places have affected the trade
development. Both places have coasts. In Gotland, which is an island, it
was probably hard to create trade connections when the ships were not so
developed. When the ships were more advanced, Gotland was used as a trade
station_ships from the Baltic area got equipped and traded with the Gutar.
Great Zimbabwe is found in the mainland but it is close to the coast. Great
Zimbabwe's region contains many gold resources and it is a good
agricultural zone. The location of an area and the resources in it could
affect the trade and its development tremendously. The markets that the
merchants in each place traded with were ones that the best way to reach
them was by sailing. The people from Great Zimbabwe used the winds that are
blowing in the Indian ocean and the Arab sea to navigate to the places they
traded with. The places are: southern Arabia, India, China. The Gutar
traded with ships that came to Gotland from the Baltic area. In the golden
age of the trade in Gotland the Gutar have reached to places all over
Europe and even to the Mediterranean sea countries. Both places have traded
with countries of their areas since the ships were not so well developed at
that time_unlike today, they were not good and safe enough for very long
sails. In the past an access to a sea or an ocean could affect the trade
and its development.
The goods that were traded depended on the resources available in each
place. The goods traded by the merchants from Great Zimbabwe were: ivory,
gold, and iron. It was easy to get these materials there_gold and iron were
produced from ores, and the ivory was taken from the elephants that were
common there. The merchandise in Gotland was: sandstone, wax, furs, amber
and picture stones. The people got sandstone from quarries, furs from
animals, and made wax, amber and picture stones from materials that were
prevailing there. The more needed or valuable the goods were, the richer
the traders became. The religion in both places was an important part of
life and trade. In Gotland religion affected the trade in each one of the
eras_Christianity and pagan. In the pagan time picture stones were used,
among other things, for religious ceremonies and they were exported from
Gotland to the countries of the Baltic. When Christianity appeared in the
area, the Gutar have exported wax, which is used for candles in churches,
to all of Europe. Some say that religion was the most important thing in
Great Zimbabwe's society and therefore it must have affected their whole
life_including trade. Christianity has made the trade of Great Zimbabwe
weakened since it came with losing their independence. The people of
Zimbabwe have lost their culture and religion and became less united as one
nation_these are usually the effects that a forced change in a nation's
culture and religion can bring, the Portuguese have done this in other
countries, too. The Portuguese have also taken over the trade_it made the
people of Zimbabwe more demoralized and less wealthy_they were too weak to
keep their culture and religion. Religion can have good effects and bad
effects on trade. To conclude I can say that the way trade develops in
different areas depends on many things and there are similarities in the
general effects on the amount of trade and how good it is. The small
details are not very important_like if the goods traded are ivory or
sandstone_a certain pattern of effects on trade is followed, probably not
only in Gotland and Great Zimbabwe, but in many other places.
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