The Impact of Zheng He’s Expeditions on Indian Ocean Interactions
Termin: Mittwoch, 21. Juni 2017
Uhrzeit: 16.00 Uhr
Ort: Karl Jaspers Zentrum für Transkulturelle Forschung , Voßstraße 2, Gebäude 4400 69115 Heidelberg
Eintritt: frei
Am Mittwoch, den 21. Juni 2017, hielt Tansen Sen am Karl Jaspers Zentrum einen Vortrag zum Thema “The Impact of Zheng He’s Expeditions on Indian Ocean Interactions”.
This presentation examines the consequences of the Ming maritime expeditions led by Admiral Zheng He (1371-1433) in the early fifteenth century on Indian Ocean diplomacy, trade, and cross-cultural interactions. The presence of powerful Ming navy not only introduced an unprecedented militaristic aspect to the Indian Ocean region, but also led to the emergence of state-directed commercial activity in the maritime world that extended from Ming China to the Swahili coast of Africa. Additionally, these expeditions stimulated the movement of people and animal across the oceanic space and might have eventually facilitated the rapid entry of European commercial enterprises into the Indian Ocean region during the later half of the fifteenth century. The presentation argues that Zheng He’s expeditions marked a key watershed moment in the history of intra-Asian and Indian Ocean interactions.
