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A caravan was a group of travelers that banded together to ensure safety as they crossed the desert. Caravans traveled in groups of various sizes; if they wanted to avoid detection, they traveled in a small, discrete group, while others were very large-- up to 20,000 camels-- which gave travelers safety in numbers.
Camels were the animal of choice for most caravans. Because of this, they were sometimes known as the ship of the desert. Since they are herbivores, camels have the capacity to store fat and water in their bodies, which allows them to go without food or drink for extended periods of time. Camels can also carry loads of up to 500 pounds, sometimes even more when traveling shorter distances, which was perfect for caravan travel, and allowed them to carry both the travelers and their cargo for the entire trip. The cargo these caravans transported varied and depended on where the caravan was going. Tea, wool, cotton fabrics, medicine and jade are some examples of items transported by caravan at one time or another. Camels in a caravan also carried fodder for themselves, and food and water for their travelers. Usually, the travelers in a caravan’s diet consisted of whatever staples were available in the local area. With very little variety of food, scurvy-- a disease prevalent among malnourished travelers-- was not uncommon in those that made their living by caravan. Caravans moved extremely slowly by modern day standards, traveling at an average of just 3 miles per hour! Depending on the needs of the caravan, the time spent traveling could vary daily, and travelers could spend anywhere from 8 to 14 hours a day on the move. Caravans were such a common part of life in the ancient desert world that stations were established along many common caravan routes. For a fee, travelers could rest at these stations for a while, and feed and water their animals. In the Middle East, these stations were called caravansaries, and they also provided protection from bandits. How the caravan moved depended on the strategy chosen by the master of the caravan. A common strategy was to arrange four rows of camels. Each row consisted of up to eight camels roped together, with a puller being responsible for each row. Other rows would follow these four, and this pattern was repeated until the caravan was in order. The United States saw its own caravans during the great westward expansion. These wagon trains, made up of large numbers of covered wagons, were the main mode of transportation in pre-industrial America. Like a caravan, the groups were of varying sizes, and the wagons traveled together for safety and for convenience. While there are some caravans that exist even to this very day, caravans have become an outdated and impractical way to transport goods. More modern modes of transportation, such as merchant sailing ships, railroad networks, and air travel, have made caravans obsolete in the developed world. Still, next time you’re “caravaning” with the soccer team to your next away game, give a thought to these first caravans-- and be thankful the speed limit on our roads isn’t 3! |
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GLOSSARY
Caravan a group of people traveling together across a desert.
Caravansaries ancient inns with a central courtyard for travelers in desert regions.
Cargo goods carried while traveling, especially commercial goods.
Herbivores an animal that eats plants.
Scurvy a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, characterized by swollen bleeding gums and the opening of previously healed wounds, which particularly affected poorly nourished travelers until the end of the 18th century.
Westward Expansion a 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West that began with the Louisiana Purchase.
Caravansaries ancient inns with a central courtyard for travelers in desert regions.
Cargo goods carried while traveling, especially commercial goods.
Herbivores an animal that eats plants.
Scurvy a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, characterized by swollen bleeding gums and the opening of previously healed wounds, which particularly affected poorly nourished travelers until the end of the 18th century.
Westward Expansion a 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West that began with the Louisiana Purchase.
