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Products such as pepper, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices now were introduced to Europe at much greater rates. Prices for products dropped as fewer authorities competed for taxes collected along the Silk Road. Additionally, with increased trade activity once again becoming common, and new knowledge spread to Europe, as well as developed within, there was a greater impetus to now circumvent the revitalized Silk Road in the 15th century. Traders saw the potential to benefit more if parts of the trade network were avoided and if distance and travel time could be cut to the major product regions of India and China could be reached.
Improved navigation and ship building now meant ships were better able to traverse more distance and along open oceans. In effect, the motive for later sea explorers, including Christopher Columbus, was to reach the riches of the east, including India, as diminished prices and potential profits along Silk Road destinations proved to be very tempting. The discovery of the New World was, in some ways, then influenced by the Mongol conquests since it reengaged Europe in trade with the East and led to explorers wanting to find new routes to circumvent middlemen along the way to the major destinations and eventual markets.<ref>For more on the products and long-term impact on Europe based on increased interactions with the Silk Road, see: Arnold, D. (2002). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415279968/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415279968&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=e5e4e6e021af4923a450a96d4ba3dc70 The Age of Discovery, 1400-1600 ] </i> (2nd ed). London ; New York: Routledge, pg. 6.</ref>
====How Invasions Affected Long-Term Demographics and Global Power====
In general, Central Asia and the Middle East became more depopulated. As they also lost their ability to control trade routes after navigation improved to circumvent the Silk Road routes, this created new opportunities for populations from the eastern parts of Central Asia to increasingly move into other regions of Central Asia and the Middle East. Eventually, this led to more influence and rise of Turkic based dynasties, which had begun already before the Mongols, and, eventually, the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. <ref>For more on demographic and political changes due to the Mongols, see: Harris, P. M. G. (2001). <i>The History of Human Populations.</i> Westport, Conn: Praeger.</ref>
In China, the impacts did also lead to new political developments. The Yuan dynasty became a successor Chinese state from a Mongol khanate. However, in China, the invasion may have not been as destructive to the population, as they seemed to recover by the 14th and 15th centuries. Nevertheless, the experience of China with the Mongol invasions may have contributed to its isolationist policies that started in the late 15th century. The outside began to look like an uncivilized place, where the Mongol destruction was still relatively fresh on the mind of Chinese rulers, leading to a greater focus away from the rest of the world. This had long-term consequences for China, as it led to its economic and eventually political decline in the later half of the 2nd millennium and leading up to the early 20th century. In effect, one of the great global powers began to become insular.<ref>For more on the impact of the Mongols on China, see: Langlois, J. D. (Ed.). (1981). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691101108/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0691101108&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8934fcf4610d9efa9b62653d7cf5b7eb China under Under Mongol ruleRule].</i> Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.</ref>
===Conclusion===
