The Boundless Sea

by David Abulafia

Atlantic: Angra as a nodal point 752; and Baltic 721–2; of Copenhagen 721–2; eastern Atlantic from Neolithic times xxii; and Greenland 398, 402–4, 407, 408; Muslim 467; Norse trade with North America 414; tin trade 332–8

  at Ayla 167

  Baltic 338, 339, 364–5, 366, 367, 418, 420, 427, 428; and Amsterdam 676; and Atlantic 721–2; and the Danes 713, 714, 715–16, 721–2; and the Dutch 675, 676, 677, 685, 686; of Veckinchusens 441

  ‘Barbary’ 657

  battle for control of maritime trade 526, 594–610, 667

  Bermudian 766

  Brazilian 560–61, 748, 880; slave trade/economy 490, 553, 560, 748

  British see also trade: English: Canton trade 709, 825; with Japan 846; opium 825–6, 827; strike disruptions 896; through Suez Canal 850–51

  Buddhism’s attitude to 236

  Caribbean 520, 521, 590; British blocking of trade with North America 780, 781, 785; contraband trade in Spanish islands 771, 772, 776; Havana 592, 617; Hispaniola 586; between Jamaica and the English colonies in North America 777; networks 520, 527; slave trade see slavery/slaves: Caribbean

  Chinese 236–50, 643, 709; Britain and Canton trade 709, 825; with Denmark 709, 712, 714, 725; and ethnic diversity in China 238; fur trade 785–6, 791, 792–6, 797, 806; with Hawai’i 815, 816; Hong downturn after Second World War 893; Hung’s ban on Chinese merchants trading overseas 219, 220; and imperial court 154, 163–4, 216, 236–8, 239–40, 241–2, 244, 248, 250; with Iraq 185; with Japan 201–2, 212–20, 228, 638, 647, 649; and Java 163–4; with Khmer Empire 244; with Mexico 592; Ming ban on private trade 257, 261; Ming restrictions on foreign trade 286–7, 289, 290; with Moluccas 574; networks 822–3; with North America/USA 709, 780–96; opium 825–6, 827; with Philippines 620–21, 622–5; porcelain see porcelain: Chinese; with Portugal 627, 636–7, 652; Quanzhou and ‘commercial revolution’ 239, 243–50; with Russia 801, 802, 806, 807, 808–9; with Siam 277; silk 108, 153, 163, 170–71, 172, 239, 242, 244, 652; with Siraf 171–2; Song liberalization 240, 273; South China Sea trade of Quanzhou 244–50; sucking away Chinese cash 188; with Sweden 725, 726; and tribute xix, 236, 257; women’s investment 239

  Chola 273

  Christian trading republics emerging 173

  coffee 95, 709, 711, 721, 725, 831

  and Confucianism 236

  and containers see containerization

  copper see copper

  and crusade 420, 422

  Cuban 772

  Danish 667, 709, 711–19; Baltic trade 713, 714, 715–16, 721–2; with China 709, 712, 714, 725; with India 712, 713, 714, 715; and neutrality in Napoleonic Wars 712; slave trade 709, 712, 716, 720, 722; spice trade 714–15; tea trade 709, 715; with West Indies 711–12, 713

  Dutch xix, 197, 627, 674, 676; Amsterdam 677; and the Baltic 675, 676, 677, 685, 686; in Brazil 686, 748; cloth 678; with East Indies 678, 682, 684–5; and the English 687–91; in exotic goods 660; grain trade 675, 676–7; herring trade 668, 674, 683, 685; intra-Asian trade 674; with Japan 694–5, 846; pepper 678; with Russia 677–8; and São Tomé 683; and the Spanish 683, 876–7; spice trade 678, 684, 688, 736; and struggle for ocean route supremacy 5, 667, 679–91; in West Indies 683, 686

  Dutch–Portuguese struggle in 677, 682–3; and Amboyna control 689–90; and Dutch global trade 678, 679–82; Dutch supplanting of Portuguese trade 668, 674; and Lisbon trade 677, 682–3, 684; and ocean route supremacy 5, 667, 673–5, 677, 679; Philip II’s ban on Dutch trade 676–7; Philip III’s ban on Dutch trade 683, 684; and Portuguese trading stations in west Africa 683; and St Helena 756; and success of Dutch merchant fleets 668; and Viana do Castelo’s ignoring of rules 686

  Egyptian 70–79; Indian Ocean 70–79, 99–102; with Punt 47, 73, 75, 76–9; Red Sea trade 46, 79, 110–11, 594; and tribute 77

  English 448–9, 451–2, 455–6; and Bristol 457–64; and the Dutch 687–91; grain trade 389, 391, 444, 458; with Hansa 419, 453, 458; with Portugal 700; with Russia 659; spice trade see spices/spice trade: and the English; wine trade 457, 458–9

  English Channel 319–20

  exotic see exoticism: exotic goods, luxuries and foods

  exponential and transformative growth of maritime trade 880

  free navigation rights and trade rights 679–82, 822

  free trade 219, 419, 682, 804, 824–5, 826

  French 562–3; Atlantic, from Neolithic times xxii; with China 709

  Frisian 352–3, 355

  fur see furs/fur trade

  German 173, 421 see also Hansa, German; Glückstadt trade with Guinea 719

  and globalization see globalization

  grain see grain trade

  Greek 872–3

  and Greenland 398, 402–4, 407, 408

  Guinea 504–8, 719, 754; coast 489, 490, 504, 669, 717

  Hanseatic 419–20, 426–8, 429–31, 432–46

  Hawai’ian 815–17

  Icelandic 390–92, 461–3

  illicit, between Portuguese and Spanish hemispheres 642

  Indian 265; ‘country trade’ 713, 715, 825; with Denmark 712, 713, 714, 715; and New Julfans 706, 707

  Indian Ocean 47, 51–2, 53–4, 90, 99, 149, 238, 241; and Ceylon 118; and Dilmun 66–7; and Egypt 70–79, 99–102; between Gerrha and Babylonia 94; between Mesopotamia and Indus Valley 66–7, 69; with North America 780–96; and the Omanis 832; and Periplous tēs Eruthras thalassēs 104–9, 124; and the Romans 52, 110, 877; and Singapore/Temasek 286; and Śri Vijaya 149; and Strait of Malacca 279 see also Melaka (Malacca): Strait of Malacca; Sumerian 57–62

  Indo-Roman 52, 110–23, 877

  intra-Asian 674, 871

  Irish 457

  Japanese 189, 632–3, 647–50; with Britain 846; with China 201–2, 212–20, 228, 638, 647, 649; with the Dutch 694–5, 846; and imperial court 194; imports 194; in Inland Sea 652; with Korea 194, 198, 630; and Macau 638; masked as tribute xix; official/unofficial distinction 235; with Philippines 629, 648; and Portuguese 652, 654; with Russia 846; with US 846–7

  Javanese 163–4

  Korean 194, 198, 216, 630

  Lapita 15

  Levant 460–61

  in luxuries see luxury goods

  between Madagascar and Melaka 548

  and Majapahit 280

  and mapmakers 471

  Mediterranean centres and the crusades 420

  merchant guilds 183, 184, 249

  merchants see merchants

  Mexican: with China 592; with Havana 592, 617

  monopolies 233, 277–8, 335, 441, 447, 506, 563, 600, 690, 695, 723, 773, 784 see also East India Company, English; VOC (United East India Company)

  Moroccan 511, 561, 657, 834–40

  ‘Muscateer’ involvement with European trade 831–2

  Muscovy 659, 678

  Norse trade with North America 414

  North American see also trade: US: with Bermuda 766; Caribbean trade blocked by British 780, 781, 785; with China, 709, 780–96; fur trade 785–6, 791–6, 816; and Indian Ocean 780–96; with Jamaica 777; with the Norse 414; wheat trade 878

  North Sea 353–5, 390, 430; networks 348, 444

  Norwegian 390–92, 871–2; and Bergen 443–4; and Hansards 442–6; intra-Asian trade 871

  Omani 829, 831–4

  opium 824, 825–6, 827, 828

  Orkney 373, 444

  Pacific: Manila as hub of 618 see also Manila galleons; networks 795, 815–16, 817; role in island societies 15; and Spain 29; Torres Strait islanders 9–10; and the USA 785, 791–5

  pearl 54 see also pearls

  in Persian Gulf 46, 53–4, 170–73

  Philippine 614, 617, 620–21, 622–5, 629, 648; with Manila galleons see Manila galleons

  Phoenician 81, 83, 322–3

  Portuguese 459, 469–71, 474, 563, 697–703; in Africa 510–11; with Brazil 560–61, 748; in calico cloth 635; with China 627, 636–7, 652; in cotton 635; and the Dutch see trade: Dutch–Portuguese struggle in; with England 700; and global trade networks 470–71, 617, 700–702, 703; and Havana 592, 754;
and Japanese 652, 654; mastery of trade routes in all oceans 704; methods 634; and trading stations in west Africa 683

  Red Sea 46, 79–84, 96, 174–82, 187; Egyptian 46, 79, 110–11; Indo-Roman 110–23; as spice route 52, 170–71, 594, 600, 603, 605–6, 672

  religion’s intertwining with 144–6

  resin see resins

  role in Pacific island societies 15

  Roman: Indo-Roman 52, 110–23, 877; pepper 113–16, 877

  Russian 422, 427–8, 839; with China 801, 802, 806, 807, 808–9; with the Dutch 677–8; with East Indies 802; with England 659; fur trade see furs/fur trade: Russian; with Japan 846; and the northern Pacific 800, 803–9

  sandalwood see sandalwood

  Scandinavian ports serving as northern European distribution centres 722

  Siamese 233, 277–8

  silk see silk

  and Singapore/Temasek 286, 288–9, 824–5

  Sirafi 171–2

  Slav 423

  slave see slavery/slaves: slave trade

  Socotran 130–31

  South American trade with northern European ports 880

  South China Sea 137, 138, 140, 141–2, 145, 149, 162–5, 240; and Ayutthaya 278–9; networks 240, 617, 822; and Quanzhou 244–50; and Singapore 288–9; and Śri Vijaya 149

  Spanish 455, 634–5; and Caribbean see Caribbean: and the Spanish; and Casa de Contratación 555; and the Dutch 683, 876–7; fur trade 806; grain trade 587–8; and Havana 592, 617; inter-colonial 592; methods 634–5; scorned by the nobility 696; between Seville and the Americas 703; slave trade see slavery/slaves: and the Spanish

  Spanish inter-colonial 592

  spice see spices/spice trade

  Spice Islands 574

  Śri Vijaya as intermediary between Indian Ocean and South China Sea trade 149, 273

  sugar see sugar

  Sumatra and Malay peninsula trading empires 131, 133; Śri Vijaya see Śri Vijaya, Sumatra

  Sumerian 57–62

  Swedish 709, 722, 724–6, 871

  taxes and trade agreements 838–9

  tea see tea: trade

  tin 332–8

  and tribute xix, 214, 236, 238, 257 see also tribute

  Ubaidi 53–4

  US: with China 709, 781, 784–96; fur trade 785–6, 791–6, 816; with Hawai’i 816; international trade of eastern ports 845; with Japan 846–7; and the Pacific 785, 791–5, 845–6; restrictions 879; whaling 845; wheat trade 878

  Venetian 594, 595, 601, 675

  Welsh 457

  wine see wine

  between Zabaj and Oman 156

  trade routes xvii–xviii, 52

  acceleration from 1490s in linking oceans 517–19

  between Alexandria and India/Ceylon 103

  around Cape Horn 785, 791–2, 793, 807, 845, 851, 875

  Atlantic ports to Indian Ocean 606

  from Aydhab and Qusayr to Far East 179

  battle for control of maritime routes 526, 594–610, 667

  of Bronze Age Greece 314

  Buddhism’s spread along xx, 146, 166

  Caribbean 521

  between China and India 125, 137, 138–9

  described by Carletti 648

  and Dilmun 61, 65, 66–9

  Dutch struggle/supremacy in ocean routes 5, 667, 679–91

  between England and Alexandria 848–9

  and globalization xvi–xvii, 879

  Greco-Roman route linking Egypt with south India xviii, 106–10, 877

  Hanseatic 424–5, 438

  and Hormuz 598

  Indian Ocean 124; to Atlantic ports 606; between Egypt and the Indies 99–102; ‘Silk Route of the Sea’ see Indian Ocean: ‘Silk Route of the Sea’; to South China Sea 255, 272, 338

  Islam’s spread along 146, 166

  between Macau and Japan 635

  networks of see trading networks

  overland xix–xx, 99; for amber 339–42; between Ayla and Gaza 167; and Hormuz 598; through Petra 167; Silk Road see Silk Road

  across Pacific 29, 648

  through Panama Canal 859

  from Persian Gulf: in 8th century 170–71; to India 184

  Portuguese mastery of oceanic routes 704

  Red Sea highway 70, 111–13, 166–7, 181–2, 517, 594, 600, 603, 605–6, 634, 672

  shifts in southern France with La Tène culture 334–5

  Silk Road see Silk Road

  from Siraf to India 184

  across South China Sea 138, 241, 250, 272, 606; to Indian Ocean 255, 272, 338

  Spanish control of Pacific routes 29

  spice routes 52, 170–71, 173, 523, 600, 606, 617, 672

  and Strait of Gibraltar 470, 475 see also Gibraltar: Strait of

  through Suez Canal 849–51, 866

  transatlantic 562–4, 606

  across Yellow Sea 649

  trade winds 16

  trading diasporas 697–708

  trading licences 634

  trading networks

  Aden as nodal point in global network 182

  Ålander 874–6

  Armenian 705–8

  Atlantic 302, 391–2; and the Azores 751–2; Bahama 520; between islands 488; links with Mediterranean 470, 517; and Manila galleons see Manila galleons

  and Ayutthaya 278–9

  Bahama 520

  between Baltic and North Sea 366

  Caribbean 520, 527

  centring on the Azores 488

  Chinese 822–3

  and date palms 53

  Dutch network in East Indies 684–5, 688, 689–90, 821

  exploiting Portuguese control loopholes 745

  global 182, 188, 594, 643; and Cape Verde 752–5; of the Danes 709; and European weapons arriving in Far East 644; and Hawai’i 815–16, 817; and introduction of alien plants 643–4, 752; and Portugal 470–71, 617, 700–702, 703; and Scandinavia as centre of interconnected global operations 711; of the Swedes 709

  between Hamburg and South America 880

  Hanseatic 444

  between Iceland and Norway 391–2

  India as interchange point between 187

  of Indian Ocean 43, 90, 93, 124, 125, 147, 167–70, 279

  between Indonesia and Malaya 147

  and interconnection of oceans xxi

  Japanese 647–8

  Lapita 15, 19

  linking Mediterranean to Indian Ocean 167–70

  and Madeira 748–50

  and Manila 620–22

  Mediterranean 322, 338; and the Dutch 676, 682; links with Atlantic networks 470, 517

  and Melaka 272, 295, 569, 636

  North Sea 348, 444

  Norwegian shipping network 391–2, 871

  Pacific 795, 815–16, 817

  Portuguese 470–71, 617, 700–705

  of primary produce xix

  and Ryukyu Islands 231–4, 614

  Sephardic 838, 840

  and Seville 586

  South China Sea 240, 617, 822

  of Śri Vijaya and South China Sea 148–65

  and Sumatra 233

  in Torres Strait 10

  Tranquebar, India 713, 714, 715

  Transoxiana 170

  treasure ships 774

  in Caribbean 763, 764–5

  Chinese 254, 259, 260, 266, 267

  Spanish 665, 673, 686, 764–5, 851

  Trekh Sviatitelei 794

  Trevor-Roper, Hugh xxiv

  Tri Buana 283–4, 287

  tribute 21, 26, 77, 230

  and China xix, 142, 236, 238, 257, 262, 270, 281, 293, 622

  food tribute to chieftains on Hawaiki 38

  Frisian 360

  in gold 546

  and Japan 192, 213, 215

  Korean 192

  and Manila 618

  and Melaka 295

  Mongols’ demand for 223, 279

  from People of the Sea 213

  Russian, on people of Siberia 801

  and Siam 277, 295

  silver 360

  and trade xix, 214, 236, 2
38, 257

  from Zanzibar 546

  Trier 342

  Trieste 851, 872

  Trinidad 521, 592

  Trinidad 577

  Trinity 463–4

  Trinity College, Cambridge 905

  Tristan da Cunha 755, 758

  Triton 787

  Trujillo, Rafael 586

  Tryall/Trial 737

  Tsushima island 191, 195, 204, 216, 218, 224

  Korean invasion 223, 225

  Mongol invasion 223

  Tuamoto 26

  Tuareg Berbers 500

  Tudors 534

  Tun-sun 144

  tuna 196, 467

  tunny-fishing 54

  Tunisia 173, 182, 184, 186

  Tupac Inca Yupanqui 727

  Tupaia (Polynesian navigator) 16–17, 31, 812–13

  Tupí Indians 553, 560, 561

  Tupinambá Indians 519

  Turks/Ottomans 318, 456, 536, 537, 601–10

  and Basra 604, 606

  Constantinople’s fall to 460, 594

  and Diu 602

  and Egypt 601–2, 603

  Franco-Ottoman alliance 603

  and Hormuz 608

  and India 603, 605

  and Indian Ocean 601–10; Ottoman–Portuguese conflict 549, 594, 599–607, 610

  and Italy 601

  and Mamluks 600

  and Mediterranean 604, 607

  and Melaka 577, 607

  and the Moluccas 607

  navies 566

  Ottoman government of Iraq 831

  and Persian Gulf 604, 606

  and Persians 599, 604

  and the Portuguese 600, 602–3, 607

  printing refusals 608

  and Red Sea 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 608

  ships see boats/ships: Ottoman

  and the spice trade 602, 603

  sugar supplies threatened by 485

  Sunni Turks 599

  and Syria 594, 601

  and Venetians 595, 603, 607

  and Yemen 603–4

  turquoise 99, 107

  turtles 9, 10, 105, 112, 278

  Tuscany 486, 682

  Livorno see Livorno

  Tyneside 869

  typhoons 146, 176, 226, 228, 245, 620, 623, 637, 643

  Tyre 81–2, 83

  Tyrkir (German slave) 410, 411

  U-boats 881, 882, 888, 891

  U Thong 277

  Ubaid 53–4

  Ulf the Unwashed 342

  ‘Umar, Caliph 167

  Umm an-Nar 52, 61, 65, 67

  Unalaska Island 793

  UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) 901

  UNESCO 908

  United American Company 805

  United East India Company, Danish (later Danish Asiatic Company) 712, 714