Desiree D. answered • 02/01/23
Geography Subject Tutor w/ 6+ Yrs Teaching Experience
To answer this question, let's get down to basics first! What effect does a desert have on people...period?
If you said that it makes them thirsty, hot, tired, and perhaps avoidant of deserts, that's a great answer. So, applying that basic knowledge to the question, let's think about it:
What effect is a vast, shifting-sand desert that stretches across enormous expanses of the Eurasian continent going to have on trade between China and the West?
I'm making an assumption here that you're asking this question for a World History class in regards to the era of trade route expansion c. 1000-1800 CE, so we can also bring in the further assumption that there are no FedEx planes to fly over this desert and no trains to barrel through it.
You're probably getting my drift by now; however, keep in mind that Eurasian trade routes did in fact expand enormously. It's an interesting question, no matter what.
Hope this helps.
