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3. Connections and Interactions

Indian Ocean: Sea Roads

until genuinely global oceanic trade system after 1500, was world’s largest sea-based network of communication and exchange

southern China to Eastern Africa

Grew from diversities

environmental, cultural

desire for goods not available at home

porcelain from China

spices from Southeast Asian islands

cotton goods, pepper from India

ivory, gold from East African coast

incense from southern Arabia

transportation costs lower than Silk Roads

ships could accommodate larger and heavier cargoes than camels

carried bulk goods, products for mass market

textiles

paper

timber

rice

sugar

wheat

Facilitating trade

monsoons

alternating wind currents that blew predictably

northeast in summer

southeast in winter

early CE: construction of “interlocked human world joined by the common highway of the Indian Ocean”

understanding of monsoons

technology of shipbuilding, oceanic navigation

drew from ingenuity of many peoples

Chinese

Malays

Indians

Arabs

Persians

Swahilis

Technological innovations

improvements in sails

new kinds of ships

Chinese junk

Indian/Arab dhaows

new ways of calculating latitude (astrolabe, etc.)

evolving versions of magnetic needle, compass

China’s economic growth led to massive outflow of Chinese products

Permanent settlements of foreign traders

located at various points along Indian Ocean trade routes

merchants learned local languages, cultures, trading practices

retained links to home societies

diasporic communities

position to facilitate commercial exchange among different peoples, introduce new religions to host society

Southeast Asia

located between China, India (major civilizations)

series of cities, states, kingdoms on both islands and mainland

all connected in various ways to growing commercial network of Indian Ocean

traders, sailors introduced Buddhism, Hinduism, later Islam

vehicle of cultural and economic exchange

Buddhism

Srivijaya (Malaysia)

history

Malay sailors, long active in waters around Southeast Asia, opened all-sea route between India and China through Straits of Malacca

the many small ports along Malay Peninsula, coast of Sumatra began competing intensely to attract traders, travelers going through straits

control

dominated Straits of Malacca (critical chokepoint) from 670 to 1025

factors provided resources to attract supports, fund embryonic bureaucracy, create military and naval forces

plentiful supply of gold

access to source of highly sought-after spices

cloves

nutmeg

mace

taxes levied on passing ships

politics

Indians as advisers, clerks, officials

Sanskrit titles to subordinates

capital city: Palembang was cosmopolitan

parrots were said to speak four languages

religion

drew on indigenous beliefs that chiefs possessed magical powers and were responsible for prosperity of people

used imported Indian political ideas, Buddhist religious concepts

“higher level of magic” for rulers

prestige of association with Indian civilization

sponsored creation of images of Buddha and various bodhisattvas

faces resembled deceased kings

inscribed with traditional curses against anyone who would destroy them

major center of Buddhist observance and teaching

attracted thousands of Buddhist monks and students

Sailendra (central Java)

agriculturally rich

allied with Srivijaya

mounted massive building program (8th-10th) featuring Hindu temples, Buddhist monuments

Borobudur

most famous building

enormous mountain-shaped structure

ten levels

three-mile walkway

elaborate carvings illustrating spiritual journey (ignorance/illusion → full enlightenment)

largest Buddhist monument in world but distinctly Javanese creation

carved figures have Javanese features

scenes clearly set in Java, not India

shape resonated with ancient Southeast Asian reverence of mountains as sacred places, abode of ancestral spirits

represents process of Buddhism becoming culturally grounded in new place

Hinduism

Champa kingdom, Vietnam by 1000: Shiva was worshipped, cows honored, phallic imagery prominent

Khmer kingdom: Angkor Wat

prosperous, powerful Khmer kingdom of Angkor

Angkor Wat: temple complex constructed during 12th century

largest religious structure in pre-modern world

sought to express Hindu understanding of cosmos centered on mythical Mount Meru (home of gods)

later used by Buddhists as well with little contradiction

kingdom exported exotic forest products, received Chinese, Indian handicrafts

welcomed considerable number of Chinese merchants as permanent diasporic community

Islam

Sea Roads drew many Southeast Asian peoples into wider world of Islam by 1400

Southeast Asian rulers hoped to attract Muslim traders from Persia, Arabia, India by embracing Islam

blended easily with Hindu, Buddhist, shamanistic practices

rise to international maritime culture by 1200 and after

shared by individuals living in widely-separated port cities around Indian Ocean

attractiveness of faith, immense prestige, power, prosperity of Islamic world → widespread conversion → commercial transactions

non-Islamic people (e.g. Buddhist rulers in Burma) found it useful to assume Muslim names

Malacca

southeastern edge of Malay Peninsula

illustrates growing role of Islam in Southeast Asia, connection between commerce and state building, cosmopolitan quality of Indian Ocean network

established in early 14th by prince from neighbor Sumatra

quickly transformed from small fishing village to major port city

became capital of Malay Muslim sultanate until conquered by Portuguese in 1511

location on Straits of Malacca: central role in trade of entire Indian Ocean basin

population

by later 15th: ~100,000

largest city in Southeast Asia

15,000 foreign merchants established themselves in Malacca

attracted by stable government, low customs duties, openness to all merchants

spoke dozens of languages

from China, Japan, Java, Vietnam, India, Philippine Islands, Egypt, East Africa, elsewhere

diasporic communities had own neighborhoods in the city

sultan appointed four merchants from the major settlements

oversee trade

resolve disputes

intermediaries between his government and the foreign merchant communities

some also served as officials

one of the world’s first globalized cities

sold:

books from Islamic Middle East

textiles from India

spices from Spice Islands

carpets from Java

silk, porcelain from China

sugar from Philippines

gold so readily available, children used it in their games

loose imperial control over coastal Malaya, eastern Sumatra

distinctive Malay ethnic identity (15th: people began referring to selves as Malay)

rise is due to relationship with China (major economic, political power in region)

sent tribute missions to China

envoys received “seals...and suits of colored silk”

Malacca was base for Chinese naval expeditions into Indian Ocean world

Chinese trading ships anchored in its harbor

profitable for merchants of Malacca: pepper

grown in Sumatra and Southern Thailand

much passed through Malacca on way to China

in China: great demand, could be sold for three times what it cost in Malacca

centrality in world of Indian Ocean commerce: source of pride

when Portuguese arrived, some Chinese were willing to assist conquest

springboard for spread of Islam

much blending with local, Hindu, Buddhist traditions

city had reputation for rough behavior (like many port towns)

center for Islamic learning

East Africa (Swahili civilizations)

emerged in 8th century

commercial city-states all along East African coast (Somalia-Mozambique)

Early ancestors

small farming, fishing communities

spoke African Bantu languages

traded with Arabian, Greek, Roman merchants

commercial life of western Indian Ocean after rise of Islam stimulated growth of Swahili cities

local people and aspiring rulers found opportunity for wealth, power in the demand for East African products

interior societies

gold

ivory

quartz

leopard skins

slaves

coast

iron

processed timber

as a result of these commercial opportunities:

African merchant class developed

villages turned into sizable towns

clan chiefs became kings

Politics

thoroughly urban, compared to farming/pastoral societies of East African interior

cities of 15,000-18,000 people

Lamu

Mombasa

Kilwa

Sofala

etc.

each city was politically independent

governed by own king

competed with other cities

no imperial system or larger territorial states

city-states did not control a critical choke point

Economy

cities were commercial centers

accumulated goods from interior, exchanged for products of distant civilizations

Chinese porcelain, silk

Persian rugs

Indian cottons

occurred largely in Arab vessels but Swahili craft navigated coastal waterways

generated class-stratified urban societies with sharp distinctions between mercantile elite and commoners

Culture

participated in larger Indian Ocean world

welcomed Arab, Indian, Persian merchants, some of whom settled in diasporas

ruling families of Swahili cities claimed Arab or Persian origins to bolster prestige

Swahili language was grammatically African Bantu but written in Arabic script with many Arabic loan words

Religion

rapidly became Islamic

introduced by Arab traders

voluntarily and widely adopted

linked Swahili cities to larger Indian Ocean

soon dotted with substantial mosques

Ibn Battuta (Arab scholar, merchant, public official) visited in early 14th

Muslim societies where religious leaders often spoke Arabic

all eager to welcome learned Islamic visitors

African Muslims, not colonies of transplanted Arabs

spoke African tongues in everyday life

Great Zimbabwe

impact of Indian Ocean trade extended well into African interior

hundreds of miles inland, between Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, lay rich sources of gold

in demand on Swahili coast

Great Zimbabwe grew as result of growing trade in gold to coast, wealth from large herds of cattle

peak: 1250-1350

constructed huge stone enclosures entirely without mortar

walls 16 feet thick and 32 feet fall

Banana

originally domesticated in Southeast Asia

when/how it reached Africa is unclear

often: Malagasy-speaking sailors from Indonesia who crossed Indian Ocean, arrived in Madagascar

banana production spread inland

enhanced agricultural productivity

enabled population growth

laid economic foundation for growth of chiefdoms, states (e.g. Bunyoro, Buganda)

Chinese maritime voyages

major presence in South China Sea and Southeast Asian port cities since 11th

enormous fleet commissioned by emperor Yongle of Ming dynasty launched in 1405

followed over next 28 years with 6 more expeditions

First voyage

over 300 ships, 27,000 crew

180 physicians

hundreds of government officials

5 astrologers

7 high-ranking or grand eunuchs

carpenters

tailors

accountants

merchants

translators

cooks

thousands of soldiers and sailors

visited many ports in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, India, Arabia, East Africa

captained by Muslim eunuch Zheng He

sought to enroll distant peoples, states in Chinese tribute system

dozens of rulers accompanied fleet back to China

presented tribute

performed required rituals of submission

received abundant gifts, titles, trading opportunities

established Chinese power and prestige in Indian Ocean

exerted Chinese control over foreign trade

Abrupt end

after 1433, authorities simply stopped such expeditions, allowed fleet to deteriorate in port

death of emperor Yongle

chief patron of voyages

Seen as waste of resources

opinion of many high-ranking officials

China was self-sufficient “middle kingdom”, center of civilized world

required little from beyond borders

aware of own antiquity

believed strongly in absolute superiority of its culture

should they desire something from abroad, others would bring it to them

believed real danger to China was north (barbarians)

viewed voyages as project of court eunuchs (despised by officials)

Private settlements

private Chinese merchants, craftsmen continued to settle and trade in Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, Southeast Asia

did not have support of government

state turned back on what was within its reach - large-scale maritime empire in Indian Ocean basin

Consequences

no lasting outcome, so long neglected in China’s historical memory

withdrawal from Indian Ocean facilitated European entry

allowed Portuguese to penetrate region

faced only eventual naval power of Ottoman Empire

may have resulted differently had Vasco de Gama encountered Zheng He’s fleet as his 4 small ships sailed into Asian waters in 1498

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