📍Topic 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean

📖 AMSCO p.95 - p.102

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Siya Vashi

Things to Know

Causes of Expanded Exchange in the Indian Ocean

• The trade in the Indian Ocean Basin greatly benefited South Asia
• West Indian kingdoms, specifically Calicut, flourished because of their trading posts and trade with Africa.
• Increased demand for specialized products:
  • India: cotton, steel, spices
  • Malaysia: Spice Island (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom) 🧂
  • Swahili Coast: enslaved people, ivory, gold
  • China: silk, porcelain
  • Southwest Asia: horses, figs, dates 🐴
• The Indian Ocean slave trade was going on before the slave trade to the Americas in the 1500s, and it resulted in the spread of African cultures to South Asia and the Middle East.
• Due to the monsoon winds affecting sailing and trading, towns were created between Africa, Arabia, and India for voyagers to wait them out. 💨
• Advances in Maritime Technology:
  • Ocean travel became more efficient, safe, and popular:
  • Stern rudder: invented by Chinese sailors, helped boats make sharp turns.
  • Lateen sail: possibly invented by Arab sailors, sailors could catch the changing winds better.
  • Astrolabe: invented by Islamic empires, allowed sailors to calculate their latitude. Made sailors travel further than they used to.
  • Dhow: small wooden ships used by Indian and Arab sailors during the Postclassical Era.
• Growth of States:
  • Malacca, a Muslim city-state, became wealthy by charging taxes on ships driving through the Strait of Malacca. 🤑
  • The Portuguese invaded Malacca in 1511 to take control of the trade in the Indian Ocean, but they weren’t as successful and caused sailors to take other routes.

Effects of Expanded Exchange in the Indian Ocean

• Diasporic Communities:
  • Due to the monsoon winds, Arab merchants permanently stayed in port cities in Western India and East Africa and ended up spreading Islam through intermarriage. This was a common cause of diasporas during the Indian Ocean trade.
  • Muslim merchants: settled in China, Indian Ocean Basin, and Europe; they spread silk, paper, and furs. 🗒️
  • Chinese merchants: settled in Southeast Asia and Africa; they spread cotton, tea, silk, and opium. 🫖
• Response to Increase Demand:
  • States needed to become more efficient, which meant more money was needed, so these states’ roles in the economy increased as they raised money through taxes.
  • The western Indian kingdom of Gujarat was the go-between of trade between the East and West and made money through customs (taxes) that rivaled some European states’ worths.
• Swahili City-States:
  • The Indian Ocean trade created city-states along the east coast of Africa (Kilwa, Mombasa, etc.) and they sold ivory, gold, and enslaved people to their Arab trading partners.
  • Theses city-states, known as “Zanj” cities in Arabic, received an abundant amount of Chinese porcelain, Indian cotton, and manufactured ironwork.
  • At the peak of Indian Ocean trade, mosques in Swahili city-states were made out of expensive stone and coral rather than mud and clay.
• Significant Cultural Transfers:
  • Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim admiral, was sent on seven voyages across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia, Ceylon, the east coast of Africa, etc. to display the power of the Ming Dynasty. 🚢
  • The expedition brought new goods, like the first giraffe, back to China along with a better understanding of the outside world. 🦒
  • Some people worried that bringing new cultures into Confucianist China would affect the social order.
  • Emperor Yongle’s son, Zhu Gaozhi, put an end to Zheng He’s voyages and discouraged sailing away from China.
  • Zheng He’s voyages put an end to pirate activities, but they resumed after Emperor Zhu Gaozhi took over and ended them. 🏴‍☠️

Terms to Remember