The Ottoman Turks and the Routes of Oriental Trade / from The English Historical Review, October 1915

The essay examines how the expansion of Ottoman power intersected with changes in East–West commerce during the late medieval to early modern era. It maps northern land and southern sea routes, traces how Mongol stability, regional upheavals, and political control in Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt affected the flow of goods, and outlines competing explanations for the shift of trade around Africa versus continued Levantine passage. The author surveys route-specific disruptions, economic and political incentives for alternative paths, and the historical sequence by which maritime discoveries and Ottoman authority reshaped long-distance trade.