Book contents
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps and Charts (in Color Plates)
- Illustrations (in Color Plates)
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Indian Ocean between Tang China and the Muslim Empire (Seventh–Tenth Century)
- Part II Globalization during the Song and Mongol Periods (Tenth–Fourteenth Century), and the Downturn of the Fourteenth Century
- Part III From the Globalization of the Afro-Eurasian Area to the Dawn of European Expansion (Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries)
- Introduction
- Chapter 14 Ming China: From Expansion to Withdrawal into Threatened Territory
- Chapter 15 India: The Flowering of the Sultanates and the Expansion of Vijayanāgara
- Chapter 16 Southeast Asia: Era of the Merchant Sultanates
- Chapter 17 Western Asia: Revival of the Persian Gulf
- Chapter 18 Egypt and Yemen: Advances in State Trade and the End of the Kārimī
- Chapter 19 East Africa and the Comoros
- Chapter 20 Madagascar (Fifteenth–Sixteenth Century): The Rise of Trading Ports and Development of the Highlands
- Chapter 21 The Portuguese in the Indian Ocean
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index of Geographical Names
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Chapter 14 - Ming China: From Expansion to Withdrawal into Threatened Territory
from Part III - From the Globalization of the Afro-Eurasian Area to the Dawn of European Expansion (Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 October 2019
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps and Charts (in Color Plates)
- Illustrations (in Color Plates)
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Part I The Indian Ocean between Tang China and the Muslim Empire (Seventh–Tenth Century)
- Part II Globalization during the Song and Mongol Periods (Tenth–Fourteenth Century), and the Downturn of the Fourteenth Century
- Part III From the Globalization of the Afro-Eurasian Area to the Dawn of European Expansion (Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries)
- Introduction
- Chapter 14 Ming China: From Expansion to Withdrawal into Threatened Territory
- Chapter 15 India: The Flowering of the Sultanates and the Expansion of Vijayanāgara
- Chapter 16 Southeast Asia: Era of the Merchant Sultanates
- Chapter 17 Western Asia: Revival of the Persian Gulf
- Chapter 18 Egypt and Yemen: Advances in State Trade and the End of the Kārimī
- Chapter 19 East Africa and the Comoros
- Chapter 20 Madagascar (Fifteenth–Sixteenth Century): The Rise of Trading Ports and Development of the Highlands
- Chapter 21 The Portuguese in the Indian Ocean
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index of Geographical Names
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Summary
Following the consolidation of the empire under Hongwu at the end of the fourteenth century, the reign of Emperor Yongle (1402–1424) was a period of prosperity for China. Agricultural progress allowed for demographic growth. In 1400, the country had 65 million inhabitants in 1400, out of a world population estimated at 350 to 375 million. Its capital, Nanjing, counted 500,000 inhabitants in 1400 ce (Morris 2013: 156). The production of iron increased, but – unlike during the period of the Northern Song – production occurred far from coal mines: this iron was probably “largely made with wood and charcoal fuel” (Pomeranz 2000: 63). Advances were also made in the textile sector and in porcelain manufacturing, which became a significant industry during the fifteenth century.
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- The Worlds of the Indian OceanA Global History, pp. 458 - 476Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019