1. Indian Ocean & African Trade
Networks of Communication & Exchange
Chapter 7

2. Not Just Trade… Travel Migration Imperial conquest
Religious interaction
Cultural interaction

3. Indian Ocean

4. Unique…
First real ocean humans could cross rather than just clinging to shorelines
Place where Africa & Eurasia come together
Waters are warm
Wind system tailor-made for long-distance voyaging
Oceanic trade & travel longer here than anywhere
Lack of unity…connects lots of unique cultures

5. Monsoons Predictable Sail with the wind, both ways
Discovered by all Indian Ocean peoples

6. Three Distinct Regions
South China Sea
East coast of India to the islands of Southeast Asia
West coast of India to the Persian Gulf & the east coast of Africa

7. Early Voyages
Could cross the top of the ocean & still follow a coastline
Early as third millennium BCE, sailors traversing waters between Mesopotamia & and the Indus in simple craft
Madagascar settled by people from Southeast Asia during first millennium

8. New Technologies
Triangular lateen sail

9. Ecological Variety Served as stimulus to trade
East Africa – mangroves; frankincense
India – teak (wood) ; pepper
Arabia – horses; pearls
SE Asia – nutmeg
China – pottery; silk

10. Human Variety
Connects Africa, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and East Asia
Vigorous cross-cultural interaction
port cities

11. Religion Missionaries used the routes
Indian merchants had Brahmin priests travel spreading Hinduism
Spread of Buddhism
Spread of Christianity

12. Trans-Saharan

13. The Trade Southern traders brought salt across Sahara
Equatorial forest traders brought palm oil
Romans supplied wheat & olives
Sahel were the middlemen

14. The Challenge of Geography
Desert to north
Oceans to east and west
Difficult equatorial travel in rain forest
Mountains separate east and west
Few external contacts

15. The Bantu
Hypothesis – cultural unity came from the peoples who occupied the southern Sahara & had to migrate southward; therefore common roots of culture (desertification)
Evidence comes from path of spread of bananas, copper, & iron smelting
Although over 2,000 distinct languages, they come from Bantu language family