How did Portugal come to dominate trade in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century?

How did Portugal come to dominate trade in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century?

In conclusion, the Portuguese transformed and influenced the maritime trade system in the Indian Ocean by force. They took over trading cities, destroyed Muslim trade ships, and imposed taxes to get their way. Now the Portuguese are dominant in the region and are very wealthy.

What did the Portuguese trade in the 16th century?

The main Portuguese goal was trade, not colonization or conquest. Soon its ships were bringing into the European market highly valued gold, ivory, pepper, cotton, sugar, and slaves. The slave trade, for example, was conducted by a few dozen merchants in Lisbon.

How did the Portuguese affect trade?

The Portuguese destroyed the Arab trade routes in the Indian Ocean between Africa, Arabia and India. The Portuguese replaced Arab control of the trade in ivory, gold and slaves with their own. They traded up the Zambezi river and interfered with the existing inland African trade.

What is the significance of Portugal having control of trade in the Indian Ocean?

Portugal's purpose in the Indian Ocean was to ensure the monopoly of the spice trade. Taking advantage of the rivalries that pitted Hindus against Muslims, the Portuguese established several forts and trading posts between 15.

When was Portugal most powerful?

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal became a leading European power that ranked with England, France and Spain in terms of economic, political and cultural influence.

Why were the Portuguese kicked out of Japan?

Following a failed Christian uprising in 1637 – 38, all Japanese Christians were forced to renounce their religion or be executed. From 1639, under the sakoku ('closed country') policy all Portuguese were forbidden from entering the country.

Why did the Portuguese not enjoy more success?

Why did the Portuguese not enjoy more success in their first voyage? When da Gama finally met the leader of Calicut, the conference went badly. The Portuguese had brought few goods of value to India, and the ruler expected gold in return for the spices that da Gama desired.

What did the Portuguese attempt to achieve?

The Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama, who reached Calicut in western India in 1498, becoming the first European to reach India. The second voyage to India was dispatched in 1500 under Pedro Álvares Cabral.

How did the Indian Ocean trade lead to political change?

Trade stimulated political change as ambitious rulers use well derived from commerce to construct larger and more centrally governed states or cities; experienced cultural change as local people were attracted to foreign religious ideas from Hindu, Buddhist, or Islamic sources.

What diseases spread on the Indian Ocean trade route?

. David Arnold in 'The Indian Ocean as a Disease Zone, 1500-1950' discusses the diffusion of cholera, smallpox, plague and influenza in the Indian Ocean area.

How did the Portuguese impact the Indian Ocean?

• Task: Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sailed around the southern tip of Africa and reached India in 1498. Portugal, over the next centuries, changed the flourishing trade relationships in the Indian Ocean. Your task is to read the maps and documents below to determine how Portugal impacted trade in the Indian Ocean.

Where did the Portuguese control the sea trade?

• Goa soon became the chief port of western India; Hormuz controlled the Persian Gulf, and Malacca became the gateway from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, while a string of fortified trading posts secured the coast of East Africa and the gulf and shores of India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Why did the Portuguese move along the Atlantic Coast?

• In accordance with the Pope’s edict, the Portuguese moved along the Atlantic coast, while the Spanish focused on the Mediterranean coast. The profit motive was not far behind as a driving force. Europe had long dreamed of opening trade routes to India and East Asia.

When did the Portuguese reach the southern tip of Africa?

• In 1472, the Portuguese Captain Sequira reached Benin in Nigeria. Thereafter, Portuguese excursions thrust them forward in a relentless quest for the southern tip of Africa. The route around the southern tip of Africa to the Indian Ocean was not unknown.