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Indian Ocean Monsoon Navigation
Indian Ocean monsoon navigation is a body of knowledge for long-distance voyaging based on the alternating southwest and northeast monsoons, enabling…
Timeline
- 100–1200India's west coast (Malabar Coast) · KeralaIndian Ocean merchants organized long voyages around monsoon windows: westward to the Red Sea and East Africa during the southwest monsoon, eastward to Southeast Asia during the northeast monsoon, forming a predictable annual trade rhythm.
- 1331–1340Calicut (modern Kozhikode) · KeralaIn the 1330s, Arab and Indian fleets loaded and unloaded at ports according to the monsoon cycle; navigators determined their course by combining celestial observation, ocean currents, and coastal landmarks, as recorded in detail in the travels of Ibn Battuta.
- 1400–1600Strait of Malacca · Strait of MalaccaAfter Zheng He's fleets and European explorers entered the Indian Ocean in the 15th–16th centuries, monsoon navigation was combined with the magnetic compass and more precise charts, extending the range of transoceanic voyaging without replacing the monsoon rhythm itself.
Sources
- The Travels of Ibn Battutah — Ibn Battuta (2002)
- The Indian Ocean in World History — Milo Kearney (2004)