Exchange in the Indian Ocean
Seek ye knowledge, even to China.
—Hadith (9th century)
Learning Objectives
- E: Explain the causes of the growth of networks of exchange after 1200.
- F: Explain the effects of the growth of networks of exchange after 1200.
- G: Explain the role of environmental factors in the development of networks of exchange in the period from c. 1200 to c. 1450.
The saying from the Hadith, traditionally attributed to the prophet
Muhammad, provides guidance to Muslims, encouraging them to travel and learn. Following this advice, it is understandable that Dar al–Islam—literally the House of Islam, or Muslim world—might be called the world’s first global empire. It connected societies from North Africa to South Asia.
Even before missionaries and imperial armies spread Islam around the world, Muslim merchants traveling to non-Muslim lands in search of trading partners were paving the way. In fact, Arab merchants had been traveling to South Asia for centuries before Islam began expanding. Muslim merchants’ connections to Dar al-Islam interacted with developments in sailing technology and environmental knowledge to transform the Indian Ocean into an economic hot spot during the Postclassical Era.
Sections
Causes of Expanded Exchange in the Indian Ocean
Effects of Expanded Exchange in the Indian Ocean
Think As a Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: APPROACHES TO MAKING HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS
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Reflect
REFLECT ON THE TOPIC ESSENTIAL QUESTION
1. In one to three paragraphs, explain the causes and effects of the growth of networks of exchange after 1200 and the way environmental knowledge supported that expansion.
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