AP World History: 2.3 - Exchange in the Indian Ocean

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to exchange networks, trade, technology, and cultural transfers in the Indian Ocean during the Postclassical Era, based on lecture notes.

Dar al-Islam

Literally the House of Islam, or Muslim world; a global empire connecting societies from North Africa to South Asia, often considered the world's first global empire.

Postclassical Era

The historical period during which Muslim merchants' connections, sailing technology, and environmental knowledge transformed the Indian Ocean into an economic hot spot.

Calicut

A thriving port city on the west coast of India, known especially for spices, where foreign merchants from Arabia and China met to exchange goods.

Cambay

A thriving center of trade on the west coast of India, due to interactions with merchants from East Africa and Southwest Asia.

Spice Islands

Modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia, known for exporting fragrant nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.

Swahili coastal cities

East African cities like Mombasa, Mogadishu, and Sofala, which supplied slaves, ivory, and gold to Indian Ocean traders.

Indian Ocean slave trade

A long-running trade where slaves from eastern Africa were sold to buyers in northern Africa, the Middle East, and India, often for forced labor in seaports, as household servants, sailors, or soldiers.

Monsoon winds

Essential seasonal winds for trading in the Indian Ocean, blowing from the northeast in winter and southwest in spring/summer, requiring merchants to time their voyages carefully.

Lateen sails

Triangular sails used by Arab sailors, popular because their shape could easily catch winds coming from many different directions.

Stern rudder

An innovation invented by Chinese sailors during the classical period, giving ships more stability and making them easier to maneuver.

Dhows

Small wooden ships used by Arab and Indian sailors that dominated the seas during the Postclassical Era.

Astrolabe

An instrument improved by Muslim navigators in the 12th century, allowing sailors to determine how far north or south they were from the equator.

Malacca (Melaka)

A Muslim city-state that became wealthy by building a navy and imposing fees on ships passing through the Strait of Malacca, whose prosperity was based on trade.

Strait of Malacca

A narrow inlet crucial for ship captains traveling between ports in India and ports in China, controlled by the Sultan of Malacca and later the Portuguese.

Diasporic Communities

Settlements of people away from their homeland, formed when merchants settled permanently in distant port cities, often introducing their own cultural traditions and influencing indigenous cultures.

Gujarat

A western Indian Rajput kingdom that became a crucial go-between for trade between the East and West, generating significant customs revenue.

Swahili city-states

Thriving commercial centers along the east coast of Africa, such as Kilwa, Mombasa, and Zanzibar, known for trading ivory, gold, and slaves for Chinese porcelain and Indian cotton.

Zheng He

A Muslim admiral (1371-1433) sent by the Ming emperor Yongle on seven great voyages to display Ming might, receive tribute, and open new markets, traveling across the Indian Ocean to Arabia and East Africa.

Ming Dynasty

The Chinese dynasty (1368-1644) that commissioned Zheng He's voyages, later ending them due to Confucian concerns about foreign interaction and cost.

Confucianism

A philosophy that promoted a stable, agrarian lifestyle in China, leading scholars to worry that increased interaction and trade with foreign cultures threatened China's social order.