Han+vs.+Rome+Comparitive+Essay+Outline

Classical Rome and Han China were both agricultural based economies, however their differences in trading styles would ultimately affect their cultures and later generations.
 * __Thesis__**

Rome and Han China both kept a prosperous economy due to their large surplus of their agricultural goods. Han China and Rome would trade for different reasons. Their trading style and agricultural based economy would affect their social structures.
 * __Main Idea__**
 * Both Empires produced more produce than was actually needed for the population.
 * China: Rice, Tea, Wheats
 * These would be used for drinks (tea) and rice as food.
 * Rome: Olives and Grapes
 * Olives would provide cooking oil and the grapes would provide wine.
 * __Main Idea__**
 * Culturally, Han China was more introverted than Rome was.
 * The geographical location of Rome would promote trade more than the geographic location of Han China. - Matthew Weldai
 * China
 * Confucianism
 * Technologically advanced such as paper and silk.
 * Really had no incentive to trade. Only trading was the **Silk Road**
 * Rome
 * Ruled vastly different peoples so more suseptible to liberal ideas.
 * Technologically deprived as no major advancements were made.
 * Needed to trade to get everything that was needed and wanted. (Africa would provide the cereal crops)
 * Traded with the Mediterannean.
 * __Main Idea__**
 * Due to the size of the Roman Empire and the conquests, they would really on the labor from slavery to produce for them more than the Chinese.
 * Slaves would be the lowest class in Rome with merchants being rich.
 * Farmers would be the lowest class with merchants rely close to them in Han China.