Things like the Dutch spice trade. How did they set up these trading routes half way across the world from each other with no translators?
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The idea that a single merchant traveled these routes from start to finish is a misconception. They were usually chains of traders, moving goods from one city to the next, buying and selling goods between neighboring areas. Trade roads were set up to keep goods moving through more difficult terrain and were developed to allow goods to make it from one end of the route to the other, but the actual movement of goods was done in many shorter steps by many people. It would not be necessary for a Roman to learn Mandarin or for the Chinese to learn Latin.
According to to the Encyclopedia Britannica and in reference to the silk route specifically,
“Few persons traveled the entire route, and goods were handled in a staggered progression by middlemen.”
But also, it was still possible to speak multiple languages or to have translators back then. Having the routes subdivided means those selling and buying goods are mostly trading with the surrounding areas, making the cultural and linguistic barriers easier to overcome, and speaking the language of your geographical neighbor is more common.
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