How were the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean trade similar?

How were the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean trade similar?

The Silk Road and Indian Ocean trading routes were similar in that they both served the purpose of moving luxury goods from East Asia to the markets of the Mediterranean and Europe via the Middle East. Both routes specialized in luxury goods, namely silk, porcelain, and spices.

What trade route can the Indian Ocean trade routes be compared to?

the Silk Road

What was traded along the Indian Ocean route?

The Indian Ocean trade routes connected Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa, beginning at least as early as the third century BCE. Domestication of the camel helped bring coastal trade goods such as silk, porcelain, spices, incense, and ivory to inland empires, as well. Enslaved people were also traded.

How did the geography of the Indian Ocean encourage a thriving trade system?

The Indian Ocean trade routes used the geography to their advantage by utilizing the several islands along the way. The increased ports allowed for more goods to be traded. They found goods such as horses and camels and realized that there was trade to be done in Sub-Saharan Africa.

How did the compass help the Indian Ocean trade?

At sea, sailors could use these compasses to figure out which way they were headed, and they could use them to point their ship wherever they wanted to go. Although merchants had sailed these waters before, the compass made their travels much easier and faster, thus increasing their efficiency in trade.

Which countries connect with Indian Ocean?

The Indian Ocean is bounded by Iran, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to the north; the Malay Peninsula, the Sunda Islands of Indonesia, and Australia to the east; Antarctica to the south; and Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to the west.

What technologies facilitated trade in the Indian Ocean?

The efficiency and volume of trade in the Indian Ocean was also facilitated by the introduction of new maritime technologies. The Chinese introduced the compass and massive trading ships called Junks which were able to carry larger cargoes.