Commercial Interactions between India and China, 1200-1500

FAIN: FB-54274-09

Tansen Sen
CUNY Research Foundation, Bernard Baruch College (New York, NY 10010-5585)

The proposed study is an attempt to undertake a detailed analysis of the commercial exchanges between India and China from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries in the wider context of cross-continental interactions. Based on textual and archeological sources, it will focus on the impact of the expansion of Chinese maritime networks, the role of Chinese and Indian diasporic communities, and the consequences of the Ming naval expeditions. It will also explore the contribution of the ports and merchant communities located in Southeast Asia to sustaining trading activities between India and China. The study asserts that the examination of the commercial underpinnings of India-China interactions not only reveals the multifaceted networks of exchange within various regions of Asia and the role of commerce in integrating Asian societies, it also helps comprehend the process through which European commercial enterprises entered and dominated the trading networks across Asia.