Indian Ocean Monsoon Trade System

Timeline

1. 800–1180Gujarat and the Malabar Coast · West CoastArab and Persian merchants dominated the western Indian Ocean routes, consolidating and distributing goods at ports such as Gujarat and Calicut, then sending them on to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and the East African Swahili coast.
2. 1181–1190Strait of Malacca—entrance to the South China Sea · Malay PeninsulaMonsoon fleets passed Ceylon and the Malay Peninsula into the South China Sea, exchanging porcelain, spices, and shipborne goods with Southern Song ports such as Quanzhou and Guangzhou and Southeast Asian port cities such as Srivijaya, forming an integrated Indian Ocean–South China Sea rhythm.
3. 1200–1500Hormuz and Aden · Persian Gulf–Red Sea hubFrom the 13th to the 15th century, hubs such as Hormuz and Aden continued to link the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean world, in the last peak of monsoon trade before the Portuguese entered the Indian Ocean.