The age of discovery - chronicles of an Indo-Centric world

this might be ASB, if it is please move this to the appropriate forum. So I wanted to write the chronicles of a an alternate history in which the Europeans did not have sailing ships or navigating devices(like the sextant) to cross the oceans with, but Instead, the Indians were the ones to invent and use such ships, which caused an Indian age of sail, and an Indian-dominated world.
Here it is:

"The age of discovery is generally dated to back to the beginning of the 15th century going by the Christian era, or the late 8th century going by Muslim era. It began as emperor Harihara II of the Vijayanagara empire, after several decades of relatively succesful rule, comissioned two ships to be constructed in Goa, in order to recreate the Chola empire. But instead of sailing to the east, to what is known as soth east Asia, where the Chola empire expanded into, he intentionally sailed to the west instead of the east like the Cholans. The purpose of this expedition is unclear, as no reason was officially stated by the emperor, but modern scholers suggest that the likely reason for this expedition was to compete with Arab seafarers who were currently in control of most of the Indian ocean's traderoutes.

And so, in 1402 CE, emperor Harihara II comissioned an expedition to the islands of Chagos, Lakshadweep and Sesel( OTL Seychelles), to begin colonization and possible takeover of the islands. He avoided the maldives, as it was already an indpendent kingdom of its own. The Maldivians knew Chagos quite well, and often their traders and fishermen came there, and it could serve as a possible springboard from which traders might sail as far Mali in search for gold, or even reach the fabled Europe. The Laccadives proved to be no problem, in terms of colonization. Twelve ships, carrying a total of six-hundred colonists and soldiers claims the islands in the name of Vijyianagara's empire, and founded the first colony of Kavaratti. A month later, a group of 18 ships founded the colony of Folhavali on the island of Chagos, While sailors sent to Sesel have befriended with the natives, and founded several outposts for trade and fishing.

After two years, the colonies proved to be succesfull. Further islands were claimed and colonized throught the entire Indian ocean, and every day a different ship left the ports of Vijayanagara to provide the colonies with further supplies and population. The response of the Maldivians was negative, to say the least. Their trade has been greatly reduced, and they protested against the empire's colonization policy, though they were impotent in this matter and could not act to fully defend themselves properly. They knew better then to provoke a much stronger country, and so they suffered quitely, and were ignored - on the most part - by the empire.

Trouble began to rise in 1404, though, after emperor's Harihara II's death. His sons competed for the throne, and the political chaos in the capital forced Vijayanagara to evacuate or abandon some of it's colonies, with only a handful remaining intact. Some of the outer colonies were taken over by the Maldivians, as well. The crisis lasted for 2 years, with several claimants - all sons of the former emperor - rising to the throne, only to be murdered in a few months period. eventually, the crisis was solved when emperor Deva Raya rose to throne, and ended all the bickering."
 
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I suspect you're overestimating the degree of ignorance about the Indian Ocean basin. For all the story making Cheng He out to be on a voyage of exploration, anyone with access to a decent library or a few experienced sailors would be able to get a reasonable idea of the geography anywhere between Madagascar and Japan. I very much doubt Vijayanagar would not have had a way of getting this data without sending out scout vessels, and they would very probably also have had a reasonable idea of the requirements to survive the voyage. South into Australian waters or east of the Ryukyu Islands would be another story. Or maybe an attempt to reach fabled Europe by sailing around Africa in the south...

I wrote something like that once, but it was pretty silly

https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=19193&highlight=Ram+Kara&page=3
 
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Thank you for the hope-crushing :(

Hey, I'm not trying to discourage you. I'd love to see this developed. All I'm saying is, you can make it more ambitious than that. Indian thalassocracy from Sansibar to the Straits of Malacca, expeditions around the Cape in quest of the gold of Mali and the exotic wares of Europe, maybe an accidental landfall in Brasil, or an attempt to bypass chinese-controlled water to the South takiong them into Melanesia and Micronesia, then Polynesia and onwards.

Columbus didn't happen in a vacuum, either.
 
alright... What do you think of what I did now, then?

It looks a lot more likely to me. Especially the fact that it doesn't all go like clockwork - real history is messy. I wonder what the reaction of the Muslim states to the west will be.

What do the colonies provide, BTW? There must be something on the Laccadives worth having. I just don't know a lot about the economics of the Indian Ocean.
 
It looks a lot more likely to me. Especially the fact that it doesn't all go like clockwork - real history is messy. I wonder what the reaction of the Muslim states to the west will be.
Currently, not much. At future it will be much greater. Especially Oman's and the Timurid empire's(who will not fall in this TL).

What do the colonies provide, BTW? There must be something on the Laccadives worth having. I just don't know a lot about the economics of the Indian Ocean.
They are mainly for imperialistic purposes, though for a lesser extant. They are like springboards for future expeditions(perhaps to Europe?) and to competem with Arab seafarers who currently control the Indian Ocean traderoutes.
 
Next chapter:
"Emperor Deva Raya wanted to enhance his father's enterprises after his rise to the throne. His only problem was that several of islands and trading posts along the Ocean either simply collapsed, or were taken over by the Maldivians.

The emperor now did not know how to respond. He feared that a war with the Maldivian mariners would have negative consequences, but he wanted to establish a firm hold on the Indian ocean as well, and if further missions were to be sent to reach Europe and explore Africa, then he might need these islands.

Finally, it was decided: Ships filled with soldiers will take over the now-Maldive Vijayanagaran former colonies, but not without a warning, first. Emperor Deva Raya sent an ultimatum to the Maldive Sultan, demanding the evacuation of all Maldive ships, officials and soldiers from colonies in the Indian ocean, and Maldivian secessions of these islands to the Vijayanagara empire.

For forty days the Sultan considered it, and after these forty days of agonizing considerations and endless discussions in a nattmept to reach the right answer, the Sultan gave a harsh and well thought response to Deva Raya: No.

The emperor was furious. He believed(and perhaps reightfully so) that the colonies belong to him. The ships, now full with soldiers for once more, sailed towards the colonies in a massive lineary formation, with a mission for the Empire. But alas, they have encountered a terrible storm: only a handfull of the ships(the ones that left the line before the storm, to sail for colonies that were in different directions) reached their destinations. The rest were either sunk by the storm, or dispersed throughout the sea, some of which onlky to be captured by Maldivian Mariners.

The cost of this expedition was huge, and now a new one was to be made, if the emperor's wanted to carry on all his dream for a colonial empire, spanning the farthest corners of the world. A new expedition was ordered, with much good gold spent. If this one fails, then Vijayanagara will be forced to sign a humiliating peace with the Maldivians, as the Imperial coffins were starting to run low on gold.

The new expeditionary force was stronger and larger then the previous: 16,000 troops in total, transported aboard over one hundred and fifty vessels, with most of the vessels either being constructed specifically for this purpose of war, or were originally tradeships, converted to transport ships. The pyrpose of this expedition was slightly different, as well: Not only will the stolen colonies be broght back to their rightful owners, but also the Maldive islands themselves will be taken.

Needless to say, this expedition was much more succesful: In 1409, ten thousand troops landed on the city of Male, the capital of the Maldives, and quickly besieged it. Coming in the dead of night, in a failed attempt to surprise the local defenders, the soldiers loaded from the ships and unto the city. Despite their attempt at a surprise attack failed, theier superior numbers and quality overwhelmed the defenders, and after only several hours of vicious street fights, the Maldivian sultanate fell, eliminating the currently greatest threat to Indian-ocean domination by the Vijayanagara empire. The other colonies were taken with little or no resistance in the course of the following week. The Sultan was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty, which reduced the Maldive Sultanate to only the isles it comes from, and him to a mere government.

The way for Indian-ocean domination now seemed open, but other states will not remain quiet for long."
 
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