Indian Ocean Trade (Lecture)

Emporia

Port-cities

Spaces for the Indian Ocean Trade

Trade dependent on Emporias

E.g., Suez, Egypt; Nagasaki, Japan, etc

Important relationships formed in these areas

Monsoons

A seasonal change in the direction of the strongest winds in a region

Southeast and south Asia. Blew from the southwest between May and September. (wet season

Or from the northeast between october and April. (dry season)

Diaspora

People who have dispersed from their homeland, keeping their culture throughout.

Produces a wider group of people

Can be voluntary or involuntary

Religious diasporas

Zheng Zhilong

Chinese born pirate leader of a large organization

Terrorized the South and East China seas in the 1620s

Conquered and claimed Taiwan

Controlled up to 90% of all Chinese shipping in maritime East Asia.

Was not loyal to China solely. Consisted of Indian, Dutch, Japanese, etc aspects

Consignment

Ownership of the goods remained with the supplier but sold by another intermediary.

Merchants often exist in long-distance relationships with others

Lots of trust required.

Bartholomew Dias

Sailed around Cape of Good Hope 1487-1488

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer

Had an Indian navigator to assist him.

1498- Sailed to Calicut without sticking close to land borders. First to do so.

Goal dominate commercial networks (port cities)

Visited many ports in East Africa

Angered at the amount of Muslims (he was Catholic in Portugal and saw Muslims as enemies)

Aggressive and violence against Muslims when sailing

Cartaz System

A naval trade license to travel along a Portuguese owned trade route.

Pre-1492: only Afro-Aurasia existed (No Americas or Australia)

  1. Lots of long-distance trade

  2. Social and cultural space

  3. Included rivers, seas, and interiors for trade

  4. Hooked up with land-based silk road network

    Religion played a major part in being spread and spreading

    Monsoon knowledge crucial to sailing along the trade routes

    Groups of trusted networks required for long distance trading

    Affiliations to a certain ethnicity are not common (various groups seen in crews involved and industrial parts of the ship)

    Common push and pull between politicians and merchants

    Europeans lacked networks and knowledge.

    Through the Portuguese first, Europeans took control of and created a lot of Emporias

    18th century, European ports got closer to the interior land and Europeans started colonizing land.

    Had to give up claims to total sovereignty in order to gain knowledge and networks. Taking on crews or guides not entirely European