Chapter Five. The Makran-Baluch-African Network In Zanzibar And East Africa During The XIXth Century

What is it about?

Along the shores of the Indian Ocean, relations between the people of the Asian, Arabian and East African coasts were innumerable and stretched back to time immemorial. Such links and relationships were to be sought in those elements that constituted the equilibrium of the Indian Ocean, that is, in the monsoons, in the presence of commercial thalassocracies (the well known ‘merchant-states’), in the presence of mercantile laws, and in the many routes of people and goods. Starting from the sixteenth century onwards, the European fights for conquest of commercial monopolies, and in all those factors essential to the creation of multiple ties, contributed to the consolidation of a red thread that connected three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.

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Why is it important?

The history of the Indian Ocean has gained a renewed interest as it reminds us of the greatest mobility and traversal with such an impact that it forces us to rethink how the processes of such encounters operate and what the areas stand for. Many stories still remain untold inside this cosmopolitan interregional arena. The challenge is therefore great to try to reshape our understanding of Africa and Asia.

Perspectives