Southernization refers to the multifaceted process that started in southern Asia and spread to other parts of the world. During the time of Schaffer, the culture of the Indian ocean was the most dominant player in the Afro Eurasian trade system and included commercial exchanges from China, India, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The merchant cities were concentrated in the Indian ocean and self-governed themselves to limit violence and trade monopolies because they were all interested in preserving their wealth.
Due to its predominancy, the Indian ocean impacted other cultures’ way of dressing, language, religion, and interaction. For example, cotton cultivation and textiles for export virtually clothed the world, typical diet such as rice and fish due to shared environment. This effect could have changed depending on who was dominant during the Indian ocean trade because all the players differently impacted the interactions. European cultures were impacted in the Middle Ages because of the wealthy Europeans who wanted access to the world economy.
India Ocean trade led to the spread of Buddhism in China through the disunited realm and cultural exchange between India and China, creating opportunities for social revolution economic, political, and technological development for the Chinese. In addition, the gunpowder for igniting flames and the south-pointing needle were adopted and developed in new versions (Shaffer, 2019). The Arabs were responsible for spreading sugar, cotton, and citrus fruits crops that were important in creating more intensive agriculture in the Middle East. The everyday trade items were pepper, Indian cotton, and silk cloths. These influenced how people dressed because cotton was the leading clothing in the Indian trade. A diet such as palm, rice, fish, spices, and palm wine became common, determining the most valuable items. For example, one ounce of pepper was equivalent to an ounce of gold, marking pepper as one of the valuable items of the Indian trade.
Reference
Shaffer, L. (2019). Southernization. In R. E. Dunn, L. J. Mitchell & K. Ward (Eds.), The new world history (pp. 242-258). University of California Press. Web.