Indian Ocean Trade AP World History

Indian Ocean Trade  1 st ocean that humans could cross  Warm water year round  Sailor friendly – predictable monsoon winds; severest storms were usually in the extreme south  Earliest ocean trade  Not far from coast by sailing the “M”  Considered the “larger Mediterranean”  Varied physical environments  Traded spices, horses, timber among many things – cross cultural trade  Pg. 184  Became an alternative to the Silk Road during times of crisis or decline of trade along the road  Much human diversity; e.g. Melaka (city on the Malay peninsula) had 84 languages  Madagascar was settled by SE Asians during the 1 st millennium (Malayo-Polynesian language)  Labor movements  Malaysia is 30% Chinese  Indians to east Africa  geographical center of world trade  Dar al-Islam promoted world trade