Indian Ocean Trade

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Indian Ocean Trade

• Height 800 1400 C.E.

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KEY VOCABULARY

• Zanj ? Arab name for the people of East Africa
• Monsoons ? the seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean
  and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in
  summer and from the northeast in winter
• Entrepots ? cosmopolitan cities (often ports)
• Trade diasporas (see definition later)
• Geniza Hebrew for depository of old papers.
  Jewish law requires that religious papers not be
  destroyed- secular and sacred manuscripts- gold
  mine for historians.
• Ibn Battuta ? Muslim explorer
• Zheng He ? Chinese explorer

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KEY VOCABULARY (contd)

• Cowry shells (cowries) ? used as money along
  trade routes
• Astrolabe ? an astronomical instrument for taking
  the altitude of the sun or stars and for the
  solution of other problems in astronomy and
  navigation, helps calculate latitude
• Dhows ? sailing vessels used by Arabs on the east
  African, Arabian, and Indian coasts, generally
  lateen-rigged on two or three masts
• Junks ? a seagoing ship with a traditional
  Chinese design and used primarily in Chinese
  waters, having square sails spread by battens, a
  high stern, and usually a flat bottom
• Emporia/Emporium ? a place, town, or city of
  important commerce, esp. a principal center of
  trade

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The General Idea

• Importance of Asia and Africa in the world
  economic system
• Usually trade between outer ends was handled by
  Arab intermediaries but occasionally people
  traveled the distance
• Zheng He and Ibn Battuta

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Examples of the Impact Indian Ocean Trade Had on
the World

• India becomes emporium Indian ports very
  cosmopolitan
• Siraf also becomes an emporium (located in the
  Persian Gulf)
• Trade increased with establishment of Umayyad and
  Abassid dynasties in west and Tang and Song in
  the east- prosperity increased trade
• Swahili city states
• culture that merged Arab and East African peoples
• Arabic world sahil means coastcoastal trade
  culture with strong Bantu base Kilwa (Swahili
  coasts main emporium)
• Chinese role- naval expeditions 1405- 1433
• Europeans arrive in Indian Ocean in 1497 and
  while Portuguese dominated access to Europe for
  Asia they did NOT wrest control from the Arabs
  for control of Indian Ocean trade.

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Items Traded

• mostly luxury goods for elites- similar to trade
  on Silk Routes
• Ivory better quality in Africa easier to carve
• Slaves- Islamic law prohibits enslaving fellow
  Muslims but they did capture and enslave
  non-Muslims and trade them to India, China,
  Persian Gulf (small trade compared to ivory and
  gold)

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Challenges

• Distances of voyages
• Dhows and other technologies (expensive and
  difficult to develop)
• Pirates
• Monsoons
• Being away from family

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Technology As a Result of Indian Ocean Trade

• lateen (triangular sails)
• compass
• astrolabe
• dhows
• junks

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Results

• CULTURAL DIFFUSION!!!!!!
• Exchange of ideas including religion, people,
  goods, agricultural crops, currency including
  cowries and gemstones
• Specialized goods in certain places cotton
  textiles in India as well as carpet weaving,
  stone carving, leather tanning, steel for knives
  and swords, and sugar refining.
• silk, porcelain and laquerware in China
• SE Asia- spices
• SW Asia horses, incense and dates
• east Africa slaves, ivory and gold
• Trade diasporas - trade communities of merchants
  cross cultural brokers- helping and encouraging
  trade between host society and people of their
  own origin who moved along trade routes (since
  3500 BCE) ex. of Zanzibar today

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Trade Diaspora Definition

• an interrelated net of commercial communities
  forming a trade network

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Advantages of trade diasporas

• helped to deal with familiar people who knew
  local laws, people, officials, bribes
• others who could carry home news, letters, gifts
  for family
• increased honest dealings social prestige at
  home
• local rulers saw advantage of foreigners having
  wealth instead of local elites

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Examples of Trade Diasporas (Islam)

• rise of Islam Muslims, Arabs and Persians began
  to dominate this network 750 1500cultural
  change via traders not conquerors. Muslim trading
  diasporas throughout Indian Ocean world- trade,
  travel and communication encouraged within Islam,
  prosperity from commerce
• success of Muslim merchants along Indian coasts
  encouraged converts
• expansion into SE Asia with decline of Mongols
  (increased instability on land routes)
• Chinese Ming rulers had anti-barbarian
  sentiments so restricted their trade mostly to
  SE Asia where Muslim traders picked goods up and
  took them west

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Case Studies Kilwa (Other city states also on
east Africa coast- Mombassa, Sofala, Malindi)

• initially fishing village with limited trade 800
  1000
• imported pottery from within Africa- increased
  agriculture due to increased population
• trade brought wealth
• location is everythingKilwa was the most
  southerly point where ships could land and still
  return the same season taking the reverse
  monsoonfurther south to Sofala meant waiting an
  extra year! So gold from Zimbabwe sent to Sofala
  was taken north to Kilwa which became the main
  trading port
• powerful city state ruled by king who supervised
  trade and public life in region
• by 12th c. coral building construction

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Case Studies Kilwa (Other city states also on
east Africa coast- Mombassa, Sofala, Malindi)
Contd

• ruling elites dressed in Chinese silk and ate off
  porcelain
• mosques
• by 13th c. multi-story buildings with sewage/
  toilets
• 1300 1505 height-- 12,000 pop.
• trade with India, China, SE Asia
• Decline in 14th century due to Black Death
• sacked by de Gama

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Case Study Great Zimbabwe (interior kingdom-
traded with Sofala which then interacted with
Indian Ocean system)

• Zimbabwe means dwelling of the chief
• stone complexes
• 13th c. height
• 18,000 people cattle was main symbol of wealth
  but gold, ivory, slaves were traded to the ports
  and porcelain, Indonesian beads etc. has been
  found at the site.
• controversy over its discovery

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Case Study Java

• 11th 15th c. international spice market-
  monopoly of fine spices (cloves, nutmeg, and
  mace)
• Malay sailors brought goods to harbors of east
  Java
• geographic advantage.
• Winds usually ensured that traders didnt meet
  suppliers
• myth arose that spices were locally grown

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