Part 2/8:
The Impact of Commerce and Conflict
The relationship of warfare and trade along the Silk Road was notably evident during events like the Battle of Cressy in 1346, where English forces achieved a pivotal victory over the French, in part due to the influence of gunpowder, an invention that had traveled from China to Europe. In a parallel development, an outbreak of disease precipitated by the siege of Caffa by the Mongols unleashed the Black Death upon Europe. The fallout saw a staggering loss of life, with 25 million Europeans—approximately one-third of the population—perishing from the plague between 1347 and 1356.