AP World 2.3 - Exchange in the Indian
Ocean
Expansion and
Intensification of
Communication and
Exchange Networks
Although Afro-Eurasia and the Americas remained separate from one another, this
era witnessed a deepening and widening of old and new networks of human
interaction within and across regions. The results were unprecedented
concentrations of wealth and the intensification of cross-cultural exchanges.
Innovations in transportation, state policies, and mercantile practices contributed to
the expansion and development of commercial networks, which in turn served as
conduits for cultural, technological, and biological diffusion within and between
various societies. Pastoral or nomadic groups played a key role in creating and
sustaining these networks. Expanding networks fostered greater interregional
borrowing, while at the same time sustaining regional diversity. The prophet
Muhammad promoted Islam, a new major monotheistic religion at the start of this
period. It spread quickly through practices of trade, warfare, and diffusion
characteristic of this period.
Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an increased
volume of trade, and expanded the geographical range of existing and newly active
trade networks.
A. Existing trade routes flourished and promoted the growth of powerful new
trading cities. (Examples of new trading cities: Novgorod, Timbuktu, Swahili
city-states, Hangzhou, Calicut, Baghdad, Melaka, Venice, Tenochtitlan, Cahokia)
, Examples of existing trade routes:
● The Silk Roads
● The Mediterranean Sea
● The Trans-Saharan
● The Indian Ocean basins
The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods (Ex: silk and cotton textiles,
porcelain, spices, slaves, precious metals/gems) was encouraged by significant
innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies,
including more sophisticated caravan organization (Ex: caravanserai, camel
saddles); use of the compass, astrolabe, and larger ship designs in sea travel; and
new forms of credit and monetization (Ex: bills of exchange, credit, checks, banking
houses).
Historical Developments
● Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an
increased volume of trade and expanded the geographical range of existing
trade routes, including the Indian Ocean, promoting the growth of powerful
new trading cities.
● The Indian Ocean trading network fostered the growth of states.
● The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by
significant innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial
technologies, including the use of the compass, the astrolabe, and larger ship
designs.
In key places along important trade routes, merchants set up diasporic communities
where they introduced their own cultural traditions into the indigenous cultures and,
in turn, indigenous cultures influenced merchant cultures.
Diasporic communities:
● Arab and Persian communities in East Africa
● Chinese merchant communities in Southeast Asia
● Malay communities in the Indian Ocean basin
Ocean
Expansion and
Intensification of
Communication and
Exchange Networks
Although Afro-Eurasia and the Americas remained separate from one another, this
era witnessed a deepening and widening of old and new networks of human
interaction within and across regions. The results were unprecedented
concentrations of wealth and the intensification of cross-cultural exchanges.
Innovations in transportation, state policies, and mercantile practices contributed to
the expansion and development of commercial networks, which in turn served as
conduits for cultural, technological, and biological diffusion within and between
various societies. Pastoral or nomadic groups played a key role in creating and
sustaining these networks. Expanding networks fostered greater interregional
borrowing, while at the same time sustaining regional diversity. The prophet
Muhammad promoted Islam, a new major monotheistic religion at the start of this
period. It spread quickly through practices of trade, warfare, and diffusion
characteristic of this period.
Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an increased
volume of trade, and expanded the geographical range of existing and newly active
trade networks.
A. Existing trade routes flourished and promoted the growth of powerful new
trading cities. (Examples of new trading cities: Novgorod, Timbuktu, Swahili
city-states, Hangzhou, Calicut, Baghdad, Melaka, Venice, Tenochtitlan, Cahokia)
, Examples of existing trade routes:
● The Silk Roads
● The Mediterranean Sea
● The Trans-Saharan
● The Indian Ocean basins
The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods (Ex: silk and cotton textiles,
porcelain, spices, slaves, precious metals/gems) was encouraged by significant
innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies,
including more sophisticated caravan organization (Ex: caravanserai, camel
saddles); use of the compass, astrolabe, and larger ship designs in sea travel; and
new forms of credit and monetization (Ex: bills of exchange, credit, checks, banking
houses).
Historical Developments
● Improved transportation technologies and commercial practices led to an
increased volume of trade and expanded the geographical range of existing
trade routes, including the Indian Ocean, promoting the growth of powerful
new trading cities.
● The Indian Ocean trading network fostered the growth of states.
● The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by
significant innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial
technologies, including the use of the compass, the astrolabe, and larger ship
designs.
In key places along important trade routes, merchants set up diasporic communities
where they introduced their own cultural traditions into the indigenous cultures and,
in turn, indigenous cultures influenced merchant cultures.
Diasporic communities:
● Arab and Persian communities in East Africa
● Chinese merchant communities in Southeast Asia
● Malay communities in the Indian Ocean basin
