Nib asked
Why did the Ottoman Empire close the Silk Road?
The Ottomans never closed the Silk Road. They taxed trade that kept flowing, and Europe's sea routes were about skipping every middleman.
6 steps, drawn by Nib. Read it here, or watch him draw it. Updated .
1the story
The popular story says the Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453 closed the Silk Road and pushed Europe toward the ocean, until Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498. That story is mostly a myth.
a common mix-upThe Ottomans closed the Silk Road in 1453 and forced Europe to sail.
2taxed, not closed
In fact the Ottomans were businessmen. A sultan wants caravans arriving, because every load pays customs. They taxed the trade, they did not close it.
Taxed, not closed
3proof
Within a year, in 1454, Sultan Mehmed the Second signed a treaty letting Venice trade freely. And most spices reached Europe through Egypt and Syria anyway.
4the toll chain
So how did spice really travel? From Asia across the Red Sea to Mamluk Egypt, then Venice, then Europe. Every hop added a tax and a markup.
5the bypass
Then in 1498 Vasco da Gama reached India by sea. Portugal could skip every middleman, Venice, Egypt and the Ottomans too. In 1517 the Ottomans took Egypt, and spice kept flowing.
6the real why
So why did overland trade fade? The Mongol peace broke up after 1368, ships carried more per coin, and Europe wanted to skip middlemen. The Ottomans were tollkeepers, not gatekeepers.
The Silk Road never slammed shut in 1453; it slowly lost out to ships, and the Ottomans mostly collected the tolls.