Maritime Silk Road

The Maritime Silk Road or Maritime Silk Route is the maritime section of the historic Silk Road that connected Southeast Asia, China, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian peninsula, Somalia, Egypt and Europe. It began by the 2nd century BCE and flourished later on until the 15th century CE. The Maritime Silk Road was primarily established and operated by Austronesian sailors in Southeast Asia, Tamil merchants in India and Southeast Asia, and by Persian and Arab traders in the Arabian Sea and beyond. The network followed the footsteps of an older maritime network, the Maritime Jade Road of Taiwan and maritime Southeast Asia, as well as the maritime spice networks of Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, India, and the Indian Ocean, coinciding with these ancient maritime trade roads by the current era. The Maritime Silk Road is a relatively new trading network compared to other historical networks of Asia, but its importance is increasing. The Maritime Jade Road, a jade trade network, in Southeast Asia which sprang in Taiwan and the Philippines was an independent trading network in operation thousands of years before the Maritime Silk Road. This independent network was in existence for 3,000 years from 2000 BCE to 1000 CE. The trade was established by links between the indigenous peoples of Taiwan and the Philippines, and later included parts of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and other areas in Southeast Asia. It was in existence prior to the Maritime Silk Road, and was led by the animist sea-faring societies of Southeast Asia. Lingling-o artifacts are one of the notable archeological finds originating from this animist-led trade network. During the operation of the Maritime Jade Road, Austronesian spice trade networks were also established by Islander Southeast Asians with Sri Lanka and Southern India by around 1000 to 600 BCE. These networks of jade and spice would later help establish the Maritime Silk Road, which slowly began by 200 BCE, but only flourished later on, coinciding with existing and older trade networks.