The maritime trading world of East Asia from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries

Abstract

This essay offers an overview of shifting East Asia maritime trade configurations from the thirteenth century to about 1700. Rapid growth in Sino-Japanese trade began in the late twelfth century, and was partly driven by the acute need for Chinese coins within Japan’s economic system. Despite the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan in the late thirteenth century, by 1300 trade between China and Japan had rebounded. In 1374, Ming emperor Hongwu prohibited Chinese merchants from venturing overseas, restricting foreign commerce to the tributary system. When the Chinese maritime ban was lifted in 1567 (although not for direct China-Japan trade) a period of flourishing East Asian trade ensued. The impact of the Portuguese and Dutch in East Asian shipping is considered.

Matched Nanban terms

• anchor Portuguese-Japanese

Provenance

• openalex (W4416856615)
  2026-04-30T19:43:43.011369+00:00

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