India's Land and Sea Trading Networks
The items they traded include: spices, diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and a variety of woods. The Indians traded with places that were close and far, like Africa and Sumeria.
Trade on Land:
Trade on Land:
- The Silk Roads were a large part of trade over land. Traders used to bring from western Asia and they went all the way to Rome.
- Indians acted as middlemen when they found the Silk Roads and became profitable
- Indians bought the Chinese goods, then sold them to traders from Rome
- They bought trading stations on the Silk Roads which were fertile parts in the desert
- Indians used coastal routes around the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf to transport goods to Rome
- Collected spices from Asia
- Gold coins from Rome were found in southern India. Romans spent lots of money on Indian luxuries
- India traded African gold and ivory for cloth
- Traded rice and wheat for Arabian dates and horses
- India traded many of its products for Chinese silk in southeast Asian islands
- Rise of banking
- Bankers lent money to merchants and charged them interest
- Many Indian merchants went to live abroad and spread Indian culture
- Indian culture effected the arts and architecture in south and southeast Asia
- Trading lead to the spread of Hinduism to Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Borneo
- Buddhism spread to China