Excerpt from Writings of Christopher Columbus: Descriptive of the Discovery and Occupation of the New World Europe and Asia. During the semi-barbaric and feudal times which succeeded the Roman empire this was Of especial value to the former, for the peace and knowl edge needed for arts and manufactures were slow to come, and it turned to the Older civilization for them, sending in exchange such few things as it possessed that Asia wanted, and eking out its balances with gold and silver. SO steadily had these been drained away from Europe during these stormy centuries that Asia was termed it the Golden East. The trade with this and Of jewels, precious metals, wondrous fabrics, and spices, was the most profitable Of the time, and enriched the centres Of distribution to a marvelous de gree. First Constantinople, then Amalfi, and finally Venice and Genoa, became rich and great by it. The routes through the Black Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea, though involving caravans and transshipment, were sufficient; and from the Mediterranean the products were distributed over Europe with ease. Europe stood with its back to the west. All the interest and thought it could spare from its own concerns were centered in the east, and but for an accident would have so continued for an indefinite time. Yet so curiously are causes and effects blended that it was this very concen tration and intensity of interest that eventually led to the exploration of the great west. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.