Indian Ocean Trade Compare And Contrast Essay

545 Words3 Pages
The Indian Ocean region was a trading hotspot from 650 C.E. to 1750 C.E. This area has stayed similar in the fact that India has always been a major trading power in this area, but in later times other countries began to take control and dominate the Indian Ocean and its influence on commerce. When the Muslims first began using trade routes in the Indian Ocean basin they used past technologies such as the compass and lateen sails to travel around the Indian Ocean, and by around 1750 C.E. They were still using these nautical technologies to help them navigate through this region. Also from the beginning anybody that wanted to sail in this region had to have a firm grasp about what the monsoon winds were and how they affected their ability to trade in the Indian Ocean, and even today they still need to know about them to sail in this area. Because India was in such a prime spot in the India Ocean it was not afraid to use that power and make as much money as they could off of the trade routes in the Indian Ocean, and India's economy depended on that trade later on in time because of the huge European demand for Indian spices that would soon emerge. India remained in control of trade in the Indian ocean because its location in the center of the ocean made it a perfect stop for traders. Because of all this increased trade in the Indian Ocean, countries that lie on it began to move away from an agricultural mindset to one with ideas about specialized production. These countries knew that trade was booming in the Indian ocean so they began creating products that could be traded with other countries that were in high demand so they could make a lot of money. Also later on European countries tried to exclude the Muslim middle men, that made the most of goods from the Indian Ocean region, from the equation by sailing around Africa to the Indian Ocean. This led to many new
Open Document