The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world taking the shape of a capital ‘M’. The ocean itself covers twenty-six million square miles and it acts as a link to many important continents and regions around the world. The Indian trading network was established in 800 A.D. and was a place where people used trade routes for bulk trading. The Network extended from the coast of East Africa, to Arabia, to the Persian Gulf, India, across to Burma, down through the Malacca Strait that runs between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. For thousand of years the Indian Ocean has provided a fast and relatively safe route for traders to make their way from place to place, all previously stated facts being written from Ocean
…show more content…
Spices were a great value and importance in status level, and Portugal wanted more for itself and trade. Spices such as pepper, nutmegs, cinnamon, and cloves were high demand in Europe as they acted as preservatives, medicines, food enhancers, and perfumes. Portugal sought for the Indian Ocean due to their jealousness of the Muslims popularity and wealth . Especially on the western half of the Indian Ocean, the trade was dominated by Muslim merchants. The Muslim merchants had that power mainly because they had money to build ships. With those ships, the Muslims took many voyages to receive all the needed materials and goods for trade and when they arrived at the Indian Ocean Trading Network the prices for their goods, were substantially high. Although the price values were high, people on the Indian Ocean still purchased the goods regardless because their value was an importance to them. The trade on the Indian Ocean was based on the merchants and what they had to offer, rather than one’s wealth, informed by Ocean of Trade: South Asian Merchants, Africa and the Indian Ocean, c.1400–1550 authored by Pedro Machado. Jealousy, disagreement on religion, and power is what drove Portugal to the Indian Ocean. Portugal’s reason for going to India at first wasn't for conquest or for the gathering of city states, a city state is a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state, but it was primarily for commercial purposes. Commercial purposes meaning that their wanting India’s goods for
Spices were a great value and importance in status level, and Portugal wanted more for itself and trade. Spices such as pepper, nutmegs, cinnamon, and cloves were high demand in Europe as they acted as preservatives, medicines, food enhancers, and perfumes. Portugal sought for the Indian Ocean due to their jealousness of the Muslims popularity and wealth . Especially on the western half of the Indian Ocean, the trade was dominated by Muslim merchants. The Muslim merchants had that power mainly because they had money to build ships. With those ships, the Muslims took many voyages to receive all the needed materials and goods for trade and when they arrived at the Indian Ocean Trading Network the prices for their goods, were substantially high. Although the price values were high, people on the Indian Ocean still purchased the goods regardless because their value was an importance to them. The trade on the Indian Ocean was based on the merchants and what they had to offer, rather than one’s wealth, informed by Ocean of Trade: South Asian Merchants, Africa and the Indian Ocean, c.1400–1550 authored by Pedro Machado. Jealousy, disagreement on religion, and power is what drove Portugal to the Indian Ocean. Portugal’s reason for going to India at first wasn't for conquest or for the gathering of city states, a city state is a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state, but it was primarily for commercial purposes. Commercial purposes meaning that their wanting India’s goods for