Indian Ocean Trade:1450-1750 CE

What is this? What is it for?

Jan Pieterzoen Coen, early Dutch governor (1614)

"Your Honours should know by experience that trade in Asia must be driven and maintained under the protection and favour of Your Honours' own weapons, and that the weapons must be paid for by the profits from the trade; so that we cannot carry on trade without war nor war without trade."

Women in Southeast Asia

• According to Pomeranz, what kind of power did the Southeastern Asian women have? How and why did they achieve this power?

• What sources would you like to examine to support or undermine Pomeranz’s essay?

Dutch ship lost in battle in 1613; records show it contained:• 15,000 bags of pepper• 312 kg of cloves• 77 kg of nutmeg• 1,317 diamonds

Underwater archaeologists later found thousands of pieces of porcelain in the ship as well…

VOC shopping list, 1608

• 50,000 butter dishes

• 10,000 plates

• 2,000 fruit dishes

• 1,000 of various other items

• From 1600-1650, VOC delivered to Europe well over 3 million porcelain pieces!

Portuguese ship Guia, shipwrecked in February 1625.

“Made In China”

“Made In China”

• What is Shaffer’s argument? Does her interpretation change how we understand Europe and/or China?

• What sources would you like to examine to support or undermine Shaffer’s argument?