Indian Ocean Trade Summary

Both the Chinese and the Portuguese sought involvement in the Indian Ocean trade but each group used methods that juxtaposed each other. The Chinese had a lot of goods that those involved in the Indian Ocean trade routes desired. On the other hand, the Portuguese did not really have any goods to trade; no one needed iron pots or the wool clothing that they produced. This led the Europeans to take a different approach; since they could not trade in the way others could, they had to use coerce their way in. Their methods involved the conquest of various Indian Ocean nations and therefore it was much more abusive than the ways of the Chinese. Following the descriptions of Malacca, Ceylon, and Hormuz as found in personal accounts by Ma Huan and
Specifically, Ma Huan was able to accentuate the extreme diversity by including cultural anecdotes and legends. Ma Huan, begins with noting the naked people on the island he goes through before his arrival to Ceylon saying that the “men and women have naked bodies, all without a stich of clothing, like the bodies of brute beasts”. His response to this occurrence shows that, their behavior was quite different from that of the Chinese. He most likely includes this information to entertain his readers since it shows the great difference between these foreign nations. With this in mind, he never showed any bigotry, and this reflected the open-minded attitude that the Chinese had for other cultures; they were interested in learning more about how other people lived. He also goes on to talk about specific customs such as how the people covered their bodies in cow feces, their burial rituals, the way they dress, their diet, etc. This was followed by a brief description of goods and currency, although, this was not nearly as extensive as the Portuguese’s descriptions. The small portion of the text that focused on trade and produce was only a general statement and not nearly as in depth as one would be for someone with the purpose of conquering a nation. This could be attributed to China’s self-satisfaction in regards to their power and their influential position in the trade routes. They were aware that their valuable goods were in demand so they did not find it as necessary to be conscious of the other country’s economies. For this reason, one can infer that the Chinese did not have as much of an interest in the commercial advantages of Ceylon, because their writing showed more curiosity towards their customs and