NYSED Global History and Geography Online Resource Guide

 

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Rise & Fall of West African Empires

Rise & Fall of West African Empires

 

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Mongols Conquered China

Mongols Conquered China

For many centuries the Indian Ocean was the center of the Afro-Euraian spice trade in which Arab merchants were the intermediaries between Europe and the Orient. These merchants crisscrossed the Indian Ocean in dhows borne by monsoon winds carrying spices, and other Asian luxury items.  The Ming Admiral Zheng He led seven expeditions into the Indian Ocean, but his Ming masters retreated from further contact with the outside world. After 1453, European access to Indian Ocean trade routes was disrupted; Europeans struggled to establish new routes to India, the Spice Islands and beyond. When Vasco da Gama reached India (1498), Europeans became directly involved in Indian Ocean trade.

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Trade

Unit:

Unit 3C

Standards:

Geography
Economics
Mogadishu Zanzibar Kilwa Molacca Ormuz Bombay Calicut Singapore Guangzhou  Indian Ocean Trade Cities of Interest
 
Related Turning Points:  Related Topics:

  • Ming Dynasty - Expeditions of Zheng He
     
  • Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
     
  • Trans-Atlantic Trade Routes
     
  • Columbian Exchange
     
  • Trans-Siberian Railroad
     
  • Capetown to Cairo Raidroad
     
  • Suez Canal
     
  • Panama Canal
     
  • Vasco da Gama
     
  • Ferdinand Magellan

 

 

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