-
Long distance sea trade moved across routes linking all of those areas as well as East Asia which was mostly China
-
This was before Europeans actually discovered the Indian Ocean, and there were traders from Arabia, Gujarat, and other coastal areas.
-
Domestication of the camel helped bring coastal trade goods like silk, porcelain, spices, slaves, incense, and ivory.
-
Trade officially begins during this time
-
Major empires that were involved in the Indian Ocean trade included the Mauryan Empire in India, the Han Dynasty in China, Persia, and the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean.
-
Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism was spread from India to Southeast Asia through Indian Ocean trade routes.
-
The Indian Ocean trade routes connected Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa.
-
During the medieval era, trade flourished in the Indian Ocean. The rise of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates on the Arabian Peninsula provided a powerful western pathways for the trade routes. Islam valued merchants, the Prophet Muhammad himself was a trader and caravan leader, and wealthy Muslim cities created an enormous demand for luxury goods.
-
The Tang and Song Dynasties in China also emphasized trade and industry, this caused them to develop strong trade ties along the land based Silk Roads, and encouraging maritime trade. The Song rulers even created a powerful imperial navy to control piracy on the eastern end of the route.
-
Between the Arabs and the Chinese, several major empires blossomed based largely on maritime trade. The Chola Empire in southern India dazzled travelers with its wealth and luxury; Chinese visitors record parades of elephants covered with gold cloth and jewels marching through the city streets.
-
In modern day Indonesia, the Srivijaya Empire boomed based almost entirely on taxing trading vessels that moved through the narrow Malacca Straits. Even Angkor, based far inland in the Khmer heartland of Cambodia, used the Mekong River as a highway that tied it in to the Indian Ocean trade network.
-
China allowed foreign traders to come to them. Since everyone wanted Chinese goods, and foreigners were willing to take the time and trouble of visiting coastal China to procure fine silks, porcelain, and other items, they allowed them. The Yongle Emperor of China's new Ming Dynasty sent out the first of seven expeditions to visit the empire's major trading partners around the Indian Ocean. He traveled all the way to East Africa, bringing back emissaries and trade goods.
-
In 1498, new mariners made their first appearance in the Indian Ocean. Portuguese sailors under Vasco da Gama rounded the southern point of Africa and ventured into new seas. The Portuguese were eager to join in the Indian Ocean trade since European demand for Asian luxury goods was extremely high. But, Europe had nothing to trade. The peoples around the Indian Ocean had no need for wool or fur clothing, iron cooking pots, or the other meager products of Europe.
-
An even more ruthless European power appeared in the Indian Ocean. The power was the Dutch East India Company. Rather than insinuating themselves into the existing trade pattern, as the Portuguese had done, the Dutch took control on lucrative spices like nutmeg and mace.
-
The British joined in with their British East India Company and challenged the Dutch for control of the trade routes. As the European powers established political control over important parts of Asia, turning Indonesia, India, Malaya, and a lot of Southeast Asia into colonies, reciprocal trade dissolved.
-
Goods moved more into Europe, while the former Asian trading empires ended up collapsing. Because of that, he 2000 year old Indian Ocean trade network was crippled, if not completely destroyed