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The impact of Zheng He's expeditions on Indian Ocean interactions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2017

Tansen Sen
Tansen Sen*
Affiliation:
Baruch College, The City University of New York
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

This article examines the consequences of the Ming maritime expeditions led by Admiral Zheng He (1371–1433) in the early fifteenth century on Indian Ocean diplomacy, trade, and cross-cultural interactions. The presence of the powerful Ming navy not only introduced an unprecedented militaristic aspect to the Indian Ocean region, but also led to the emergence of state-directed commercial activity in the maritime world that extended from Ming China to the Swahili coast of Africa. Additionally, these expeditions stimulated the movement of people and animals across the oceanic space and might eventually have facilitated the rapid entry of European commercial enterprises into the Indian Ocean region during the second half of the fifteenth century.

Keywords

Indian OceanZheng HeMing DynastyCross-cultural interactionsChinese navyCirculations of animals
Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , October 2016 , pp. 609 - 636
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2017 

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