Indian Ocean Trade Networks and Their Socioeconomic Impact on Medieval India (900-1500 CE)

Abstract

This paper examines the multifaceted impact of Indian Ocean trade networks on medieval India between the 10th and 15th centuries, a period characterized by significant commercial expansion and cross-cultural exchange. Through analysis of archaeological evidence, textual sources, and maritime histories, this study investigates how participation in these extensive trade networks transformed India's economy, urban development, social structures, and cultural landscape. The research demonstrates that Indian Ocean commerce generated profound changes in medieval Indian societies through the establishment of cosmopolitan port cities, the creation of merchant communities with transoceanic connections, the facilitation of cultural and religious transmission, and the reconfiguration of political economies along the subcontinent's coastline. Rather than representing a peripheral activity, maritime trade emerges as a central force in shaping medieval India's development, challenging land-centric historiographical approaches and highlighting the importance of oceanic connections in understanding the subcontinent's medieval history. This perspective contributes to broader scholarly discourse on premodern globalization, the relationship between commerce and state formation, and the historical origins of economic interdependence in the Indian Ocean world.