Transregional Trade and Traders: Situating Gujarat in the Indian Ocean from Early Times to 1900 [Hardcover]

This book demonstrates the central position of Gujarat in the historical trading economy of the Indian Ocean World. Over a period of two thousand years, Gujarati traders exchanged commodities with maritime merchants from Africa, Arabia, Southeast Asia, China, and Europe. The fifteen chapters in the book reflect this global history in sections organized under the headings of 'Historiography, Method, Sources' , 'Commodities', and 'Trading Networks and Diasporas'.Blessed with numerous safe harbours, accessible ports, and a rich hinterland, Gujarat has been central to the history of Indian Ocean maritime exchange that involved not only goods, but also people and ideas. This volume maps the trajectory of the extra-continental interactions of Gujarat and how it shaped the history of the Indian Ocean.Chronologically, the volume spans two millennia, and geographically, it ranges from the Red Sea to Southeast Asia. The book focuses on specific groups of Gujarati traders and their accessibility and trading activities with maritime merchants from Africa, Arabia, Southeast Asia, China, and Europe. It not only analyses the complex process of commodity circulation, involving a host of players, huge investments, and numerous commercial operations, but also engages with questions of migration and diaspora.Paying close attention to current historiographical debates, the contributors make serious efforts to challenge the neat regional boundaries that are often drawn around the trading history of Gujarat.ContentsList of Illustrations and TablesIntroduction Edward A. Alpers and Chhaya GoswamiPart One: Historiography, Method, Sources1. Forty Years On: Gujarat in the Indian OceanEdward A. Alpers2. Gujarat in the History of the Indian Ocean:Navigating Maritime PastsLakshmi Subramanian3. Gujarat and Long-Distance Trade in the IndianOcean Region before the Sixteenth CenturyPhilip Beaujard4. Early Historic Gujarat and the Trading World of the Western Indian OceanHimanshu Prabha Ray5. The Coml“&