Victor Melder Lecture: Sri Lanka & the Silk Road of the Sea
Foreign trade has been a prominent feature of Sri Lanka’s economy from ancient times. Situated virtually at the mid-point of the maritime trade routes between West Europe and East Asia, it was ideally located to become an important link in this trade network of the Indian Ocean and a major meeting place for sailors and traders from all over the known world.
The caravan routes that stretched between China and Europe allowed not only the transmission of commercial goods like silk, spices and gold but also a flow of ideas, technology, religion, art and culture. The maritime trade routes – described as the Silk Route of the Sea or the Spice Routes – helped transport these intangible riches across the far-flung societies they traversed.
The Victor Melder Lecture 2024 focuses on the important role that Sri Lanka played as a link between the East and the West on the Maritime Silk Road.
Presented by Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha
The caravan routes that stretched between China and Europe allowed not only the transmission of commercial goods like silk, spices and gold but also a flow of ideas, technology, religion, art and culture. The maritime trade routes – described as the Silk Route of the Sea or the Spice Routes – helped transport these intangible riches across the far-flung societies they traversed.
The Victor Melder Lecture 2024 focuses on the important role that Sri Lanka played as a link between the East and the West on the Maritime Silk Road.
Presented by Dr Sanjiva Wijesinha
Location
Clayton Library - Monash Public Library Service
9 - 15 Cooke Street, Clayton Victoria 3168
Contact Details
Jason
askmonlib@monash.vic.gov.au
9541 3120