Overview

Dhows have carried the trade of the western Indian ocean from times deep in history up until the present day. The trade between Arabia, East Africa and India has always been borne on the triangular seasonal winds which link the litorals of three continents. Abdul Sheriff is famed for his work on Zanzibar and the East African coast. His books have shown the integral importance of the Indian and Arabian peninsulas to the East African trade. This time he brings all areas into equal prominence. He has in this book given importance to the great movements of Indian Ocean history which interacted with the dhow trade, such as the Indonesian migrations and their effect on Madagsacar. This volume closes with the arrival of people from far away such as Zheng He with his Chinese expedition, and the Portuguese Vasco da Gama.This book, and the succeeding volume which will bring the history up to the present day, are a major correction to the rigidities of studies based on separate continents. Water was a faster mediumof transport than any overland system. Oceans and water bring peoples together. This book is a major contribution to burgeoning Indian Ocean studies.

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9781847016065

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Abdul Sheriff was Professor of History at the University of Dar es Salaam and Director of Zanzibar Museums. He is author of Slaves, Spices & Ivory in Zanzibar, the Editor, with Ed Ferguson, of Zanzibar Under Colonial Rule, and the Editor of The History & Conservation of Zanzibar Stone Town (all titles James Currey and Ohio University Press)

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