The Indian Ocean is in a prime location to promote trade among many civilizations, it is a natural trade route that allowed ancient civilizations to grow tremendously. Trade could occur between Africa, the Middle East, India, and even China in ancient days because of the Indian Ocean. It was an easy connection to many large empires and created faster trade. The physical shape of the Indian Ocean is ideal for trade. Since it is shaped in somewhat of a half circle, many civilizations could connect through the ocean without the need of long journeys. Biologists have stated that changes happen where there is the highest population. With this logic, changes would most likely occur in the Eastern Hemisphere, more specifically the Middle East. Along …show more content…
Some civilizations relied on the ocean more than others. In places such as East Africa, the terrain was arid and not ideal for agriculture. In south east Asia there are thousands of islands and the only way to communicate is through the ocean. Areas that were more reliant on the ocean for survival advanced in maritime skills more rapidly than others. Technology advanced in four different zones: East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Many factors determined the design of boat being used. These factors included: local material, strength of winds, ocean currents, and the cargo being shipped. ( ) In East Africa and Southeast Asia, the early water vessels were made out of logs that were dug out into canoes and rafts that were made of papyrus reeds. These worked well for river travel, but were not well suited for long distance ocean travel. In the Middle East they used rafts made out of reeds as well which were waterproofed with bitumen. In East Africa there is evidence of plank boats sewn together from two thousand years ago. Typically rafts and canoes were used for short distance and river transport and larger more complex ships were built for long distances and ocean
From the beginning to end, the ships had to go through many changes in order to accommodate all of the cargo. The first ships used suffered greatly in the African water because they were wooden. As time passed the ships were modified for the journeys. For example, copper was added to help fight against shipworms. Rediker mentions in the book the details of how the ship is built and he even includes the measurements of the wood used and the supplies needed. Shortly after explaining this, he mentions the beatings some of the crew had to take if they were to mess up any part of the ship.
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
When the country was founded, the geography was a bigger obstacle than it is today. Before the Industrial Revolution, the primary way to move anything was on water. Rivers and Oceans were the original roads and the fastest and least expensive way to move goods. Most of the population "[was] located either at tidewater or along broad, navigable streams that could not be used to produce much water power" (Nye 44). These geographic features made it possible to move items to areas further away from the coast. Moving things one of the three modes of land transport, "by foot, on a horse, or in a wheeled vehicle" (Cowan 94) were too expensive and difficult with no developed roads. People began to look for ways to make this travel more affordable by creating waterways like the Eire canal to connect places. However, most were unsuccessful and the idea passed. Steam engines also made river travel more feasible. It was not difficult to take a barge full of goods down river; however, it would take months to pole the boat back upriver and usually was not even attempted.
1.) As a whole, the entry of the Europeans into the Asian sea trading network had relatively little effect on the entire system. The entry of the Europeans into the network led to the establishment of new trade routes in the Indian Ocean to the southern Atlantic near the Cape of Good Hope. In water, the Europeans were superior militarily, but on land against fortified Asian settlements, the Asians far surpassed the Europeans technologically. The only superior items that the Europeans had were small, fast sea vessels such as caravels, clocks, and weaponry. This situation of inferiority led to the Europeans’ plan of adaptation to the Asian network instead of trying to control it. Although the Europeans had little to offer, the agricultural items introduced such as crops first cultivated in the Americas proved to be very sustainable and led to large amounts of population growth, but the growing numbers eventually led to the spread of epidemic diseases that ultimately ravaged both Asian and European populations.
Both routes allowed states to grow. The Silk Road allowed states to grow in Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean allowed states to grow in Southeast Asia. These states allowed for more trade along the route to where a variety of goods could be traded instead of mainly just the important items. Where a group of traders are, ideas are bound to be exchanged and then rapidly spread throughout the state (Strayer
Mineral and human wealth caused new cultural and economical forces to be introduced and trade shifted to the Atlantic seaboard
The Vikings in their time were the best shipbuilders and sailors in the world. Their ships were very strong as they were made out of a very long-lasting type of wood, which was oak wood. They thought of many creative ways to make their ships more durable, such as dipping sheep?s wool in tar and then filling in the ships gaps to make it waterproof. The Vikings had long voyages, passing many parts of Europe and simultaneously speeding at least glimpses of their amazing technology skills to the people who saw there ships. For example many people from Ireland and Brittan must have seen their ships as they travelled from their homeland Scandinavia to France in the year 798. But their amazing technology skills would have not been spread throughout the world with out the help of navigation.
Across the Indian Ocean, from 650- 1750 C.E., commerce had many changes and continuities. Trade along this route stayed the same with its spread of goods from one place to another, but changed because of the ways goods were traded along this trade route. Ships were still the main mode of transportation however they were made differently. However, countries that traded in the Indian Ocean expanded while African countries still traded heavily. The Islamic Empire and some European counties controlled much of the trade.
Using their wooden ships, they raided, traded, explored and settled in Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands. They developed different kinds of ships to help them navigate the ocean, seas and even narrow, shallow rivers. One kind of ship was the “knarr.” The knarr was a short, sturdy cargo ship that was mainly used for long ocean voyages and hazardous trips. It mainly used sails, but also had oars in the event that there was no wind on the open water. Another ship was known as the “karve”. They were very similar to the knarr, but had shallower h...
One of the most consequential measures that shaped the relations between Africa and the Atlantic World was the development of the Atlantic System from the sixteenth to nineteenth century. The Atlantic System, or often referred as the Atlantic Slave Trade emerged when the need of labor sources, for large plantations in the Western Hemisphere, heightened. While the transportation of slaves began in small proportions with the enslavement of around twelve African slaves, it soon advanced into a wide range of international shipments with approximately five hundred slaves. Different regions of the world, such as Europe, Africa, and America inevitably received enormous advantages and disadvantages towards the social, demographical, and political factors.
The inception of the Atlantic trade marked the most principal aspect of the Age of Exploration that helped create the world and society of the present day. Vastly spanning from the ports of London to the coastlines of West Africa and Brazil, the Atlantic trade created trading relationships that still have an impact on how countries today interact with one another. The devolvement of the Atlantic trade forever changed and impacted each area under its realm of influence. With both positive and negative impacts, the Atlantic trade was the main force that established both positive and negative connections between the Old World nations and the New World civilizations that were
Maritime trading also reached into the Atlantic Ocean to England. Some of the goods traded included glass, color dyes, metals, horses, ebony and ivory, linen, coral, honey, spices, oil and precious stones. Maritime trading would not be possible for the Phoenicians without developed nautical technology. Phoenicians were known for having extremely advanced ships and navigation. Ships were built with a keeled hull, which allowed them to travel on the open seas.
They went by river using boats, and dependent on the direction they were traveling they needed to use a different style boat. The Nile River flowed south to north because northern Egypt had a lower elevation than southern Egypt. When a boat was traveling upstream, or against the current smaller boats were used to pull larger boats. When boats were traveling downstream, with the current, they typically went with just oars, and no smaller boats pulling them along (Document C). Food was probably one of the main items being pulled by the tugboats and sailboats, along with popular trade items. One of the trade items could include silk. The boats went four knots during flood season and even slower the rest of the year (Document C). Given that the Nile River is the world’s longest river traveling from one city to another and back at such a slow speed would have taken a long time, and was likely not an occupation that only occurred during the flood season. The Nile River itself, again contributed to the ways of life in Ancient Egypt, as a source of transportation from one location to another.
Johannes Postma was the author of the book called “The Atlantic Slave Trade” and was born in Zwagerbosch, Netherlands in 1935. He received his PhD from Michigan State. He is now a professor at Minnesota State University and has written “The Dutch in the Atlantic Slave Trade”. As well as co- editing of “Riches from Atlantic Commerce: Dutch Transatlantic trade and Shipping.”
Concealment of Reality “Because an illusion is an illusion. Reality always exists despite the facade” – Kasie West, Pivot Point. Appearance vs reality is a very common theme that has been explored for centuries amongst all sorts of media, especially literature. The potential to express this topic is limitless and means something different to everyone, be it about relationships and emotions between people or be it discussed among the highest pillars of philosophy. This fascinating concept of how the appearance may shroud the reality is amongst many that William Shakespeare explores in his widely acclaimed plays.