Global+Maritime+Expansion+Before+1450


 * __The Indian Ocean__**

Vibrant trade in the Indian Ocean was due to the Indian peninsula that stretches out into the middle of the ocean and provides a safe coastline to navigate along and coves that could be used by seafarers to get protection from storms. The seasonal winds--or monsoons--also aided in navigation because they were so predictable and could be used to the advantage of sailors or could be avoided and thus the sailing here was easier and less dangerous than anywhere else. Moreover, the unification of the Islamic world allowed all Muslim trading cities along the Indian Ocean to tie the region together and create one giant network. China's rulers became interested in these trade ports and sought out direct contacts with them. The Ming started an expedition headed by Zheng He; however, this expedition was far larger than neccessary in order to take back trade and may have been a way of asserting Ming power and making other powers aspire to be just as great as them. These expeditions succeeded in creating trade between China and its southern neighbors but the profits did not pay off the cost of the fleets for the expedition. Zheng later sent three more voyages that extended out to the African Coast. Later, Ming rulers turned back away from the Indian Ocean trade and focused on internal affairs within their own empire. __The Pacific Ocean__ (Map of routes by mariners originating from Southeast Asia ending by the Hawaiian islands) Some of the most amazing and interesting voyages across the pacific ocean were by the Polynesian people. Even though these voyages were so great and popular, there were no actual written data saying that the events actually occurred. Many people explored southeast Asia and settled in the east indies. The people who expanded to these new places were called the Polynesian people. At about 500 ce. The Polynesian people reached, and settled in the Hawaiian islands. The sweet potatoe became a popularpart of the Polynesian people's diet. Sweet potatoes were originally domesticated in South America. Evidence of new settlements in the eastern pacific lead to expansions to Polynesian mariners. Some evidence of this is there is a similar language spoken of western pacific and the Malaya to them. Also the accidental voyage could not have brought new foods, plants, and domestic animals to the settlements. Ben Finney and his Polynesian crew created a boat that was sixty-two feet long with a triangular shaped sail that he created himself. With this and using the currents, wind, paddles and stars to navigate he traveled across the pacific ocean successfully.


 * __The Atlantic Ocean__**

One of the greatest mariner groups in the Atlantic Ocean in the Middle Ages was the Vikings. These vigorous, ruthless raiders would attack the European coast in their open ships for several long centuries. In the act of sailing along the European coast they discovered many new lands such as Iceland in 770, Greenland in 982, and parts of North America in 986. Navigation was not a skill used by the Vikings. They found their way through by knowledge of the heavens, which made their travels easy for them. Fifteen years after the Vikings discovered North America, Leif Ericsson founded a short-lived Viking settlement on Newfoundland but was eventually deserted when a colder climate came around. Later on after the Vikings deserted Newfoundland, southern Europeans took their knowledge of Mediterranean maritime skills and used them in the Atlantic. This helped Genoese and Portuguese expeditions in the 14th century found the island of Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries. Other then European, and Viking exploration in the Atlantic there was also the Africans who took their share of exploration to. The Syrian geographer al – Umari (1301-1349) tells that Mansa Kankan Musa the ruler of West African Mali passed through Egypt on his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. Musa told of voyages across the Atlantic that were undertaken by Mansa Muhammad. Muhammad sent fleets of four hundred plus vessels packed with supplies across the Atlantic but when he sent his second fleet no one returned. Little trade occurred in the Atlantic between south and Central America. The southern Amerindian voyagers were the ones to colonize the Indies on a trade run. By 1000, the Amerindians were known by the term Arawak (also called Taino). They moved up from the Lesser Antilles (Barbados, Martinique, and Guadeloupe) to the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Bahamas). The Carib undertook that same route and ended up overrunning the Arawak settlements in Lesser Antilles and raiding parts of Greater Antilles in the late 15th century. Both of these colonization’s, the Arawak and Carib took voyages to the North American mainland through the Atlantic Ocean.