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As early as 3000 B.C. travelers in small canoes and rafts moved between towns along the Arabian coastline to the Indian subcontinent (Dagget, 2020)
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Grains including millet and sorghum, a part of Harappan cuisine, were traded imported from the East Africa Coast. (Craig, 2012)
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Indian Ocean Trade Routes connected Southeast Asia, India, China, Arabia, and Africa.
Exported goods included silk, ivory, gold, porcelain, spices, and slaves.(Craig, 2012) -
Achaemenid Empire in Persia participated in trade. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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Mauryan Empire in India participated in trade route (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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The Chola Empire from southern India takes part in trading luxury items. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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Han Dynasty in China participated in trade route. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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Roman Empire participated in trade route. (Szczepanski, n.d.) Three main ports include Arsinoe, Berenice and Myos Hormos.
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During Medieval Era trade flourished in Indian Ocean. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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The Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties of China encouraged maritime trade via Indian Ocean Trade Route. The Song Dynasty created imperial navy to control piracy at eastern end of route. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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Umayyad (661-750) and Abbasid (750-1258) Caliphates from Arabian provided powerful western trade. Wealthy Muslim cities created demand for luxury goods. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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Arab traders take control of the Indian Ocean from Tamil merchants (Craig, 2012)
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Angkor civilization of Cambodia used Mekong River to connect to Indian Ocean Trade network. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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In 1405 Yongle Emperor of Ming Dynasty China sets out on the first of seven expeditions to visit all of the empire's major trading partners throughout the Indian Ocean. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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Portuguese sailors enter the trade route looking to obtain luxury goods from Asia, however found themselves with nothing to trade because of lack of necessity and want for European goods.
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In 1602 Dutch East India Company arrives in Indian Ocean Trade, however they set out to create a monopoly on spices. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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In 1680 The British East India Company challenges The Dutch East India Company for control of trade routes. (Szczepanski, n.d.)
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Due to the goods being moved increasingly to Europe, Asian empires grew poorer and collapsed excluding themselves from further trade in the route. The two-thousand year trade network collapses. (Szczepanski, n.d.)