Shipbuilding Industry in India and Southeast Asia

Definition

The shipbuilding industry in India and Southeast Asia refers to the historical development of naval architecture and marine engineering, producing vessels for trade, transportation, and warfare.

Analogy

Think of it like a car factory today. Just as different car factories specialize in making different types of vehicles (SUVs, sedans, trucks), the shipbuilding industry in these regions specialized in creating various types of ships for different purposes.

Related terms

Maritime Trade: This is the exchange of goods over sea routes. In this context, it was facilitated by the ships produced by the shipbuilding industry.

Monsoon Marketplace: This term refers to a network of seaborne trade routes that linked many parts of coastal and interior Asia due to predictable monsoon winds. Ships built by this industry were crucial for navigating these routes.

Dhow Ships: These are traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts used primarily along the coasts of Arabian Peninsula, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and East Africa. They were an example of what was produced by this industry.