Contact between the Kilwa Sultanate and Zheng He's Fleet (1407)

Name: Contact between the Kilwa Sultanate and Zheng He's Fleet (1407)
Start: 1407

Type Event Region East Africa Time 1407

Around 1407, as Ming fleets expanded diplomatic and trade networks across the Indian Ocean, the East African Kilwa Sultanate, a key Swahili Coast tra…

Timeline

1407Western Indian Ocean waters · Indian OceanIn 1407 Zheng He led his fleet on the second western ocean voyage, consolidating routes from Champa and Java to Calicut (Kozhikode), further extending Ming envoy and trade networks in the Indian Ocean.
1407Kilwa Kisiwani · TanzaniaThe Kilwa Sultanate controlled trade between the Mozambique Channel and Somalia, importing eastern goods such as porcelain and silk via Arab and Gujarati merchants and exporting gold, ivory, and slaves, linking with the Indian Ocean system built by Ming fleets.

Sources

Ming China and Its Contacts with Coastal East Africa, c. 1400–1600 — Janet L. Abu-Lughod (1989)
When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405–1433 — Louise Levathes (1994)