Notes 

2.3: Exchanges in the Indian Ocean Basin

 

 

The Indian Ocean Basin was a region of cultural syncretism, technological innovation and growing commerce. Let’s begin to analyze the causes behind this phenomenon. 

 

Religion: 

• The spread of Islam or Dar al-Islam (House of Islam) would connect communities from South Asia to North Africa. Faith served to be grounds of connection. It also defined the legal and cultural framework that would guide commerce. Islamic expansion had connected more cities than ever before, especially throughout the Indian Ocean Basin. 

• Muslim merchants played a big role in spreading the faith, by travelling to non-Muslim regions in the hopes of trading goods. 

• Cities like Calicut in India would rapidly transform into bustling hubs of trade where merchants from different parts of the world would meet and exchange goods. 

 

This increased sense of interconnection led to a greater global demand for regional luxury goods. These goods consisted of:

• India’s cotton, carpet, and pepper.

• Southeast Asia’s (the Spice Islands’s) cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. 

• East African (Swahili Coast) ivory and gold. Enslaved peoples were also often traded here. 

• China’s porcelain and silk.

• Southwest Asia’s dates, horses and figs.

 

With this rise in trading networks, states began to grow and began to focus on profiting of traders. Some examples of this would be:

 

• Malacca: An Islamic city-state that gained great wealth by taxing ships that would pass by the Strait of Malacca. 

• Gujarat: A western Indian state that would economically benefit from being the “middleman” in East-West trade.

• Swahili city-states: Commercial centers such as Kilwa and Mombasa that grew wealthy by trading local goods, such as gold and ivory, for Indian cotton and Chinese porcelain.

 

Over time, this led to the development of diasporic communities (ethnic communities away from homelands). Merchants would stay in port cities for extended periods of time, leading to cultural diffusion (cross marriage, etc.)

 

As we talk about social implications, labor systems were different at these port cities than they were on land. Laborers would primarily work as household servants and in urban environments. 

 

With the increase in commerce, technologies had to be introduced and modified so that transportation was possible. The monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean Basin asserted themselves as repeated struggles, and it was crucial for merchants to be able to navigate these winds to achieve commercial success. So, specific maritime technologies came into the picture:

 

• Lateen Sails: Triangular sails that were able to catch wind from a multitude of directions. 

• Dhows and Junks: Dhows were small Arab/Indian ships, while junks were larger Chinese ships, both dominating maritime trade. 

• Stern Rudder: The stern rudder was invented by Chinese sailors and would offer ships more durability. 

• Astrolabe: An innovation that would be improved by Muslim explorers to be able to determine latitude.