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Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats to Trading Ships

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Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World

Part of the book series: Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies ((IOWS))

Abstract

The peopling of Madagascar by Austronesian-speaking communities is one foremost—and indisputable—witness to their long-distance ventures across the Indian Ocean.2 Linguistic, anthropological, and various other types of evidence regarding Austronesian expansion west of Southeast Asia have been thoroughly studied during the past century. In this chapter, I will concentrate only on the maritime orientations of those people of Insular Southeast Asia who are known to have played a role in long-distance ventures in the Indian Ocean in proto-historic and historic times. I will therefore necessarily favour a view of Indian Ocean history that is taken from the shores of the western façade of Insular Southeast Asia.

[The Javanese…] are all very proficient in the art of navigation, to the extent that they claim to be the most ancient navigators. […] There is no doubt that they have sailed all the way to the Cape of Good Hope and that they had been in touch with the outer [i.e., Eastern] coast of the Island of São Lourenço [Madagascar] where one finds many coloured and Javanised indigenous peoplewhom they say are their descendants.

Diogo do Couto, Décadas da Ásia 1

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  1. École française d’Extrême-Orient, Paris, France

    Pierre-Yves Manguin

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  1. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Gwyn Campbell

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Manguin, PY. (2016). Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats to Trading Ships. In: Campbell, G. (eds) Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World . Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33822-4_3

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