Spice Route and the Kerala Coast

Background Note1 for the March 4th Meeting

Jointly Organized by the Government of Kerala and UNESCO

1. Afghanistan: Afghanistan, the seat of the ancient Gandhara kingdom had good

relationship with Kerala as the link between the silk trade and the spice trade routes. A
remarkable recent discovery is of a bilingual silver coin written in Greek on the obverse side
and Kharoshti (Prakrit language) on the reverse collected for the first time in Tamilnadu
from a megalithic grave near Kambaiyanalloor in Dharmapuri district. This coin is a rare issue
of the Scythian ruler Aspavaram, son of Indravarma, who ruled the Taxila region about 30-40
CE.

2. Burma: Rangoon has had good trade contacts with Kerala as part of coastal trade.
Ships from Tamralipti and Amravati were said to have sailed from Burma. Tamralipti
(Tamulk) situated in the Ganges delta became the main port of the Ganga basin from where
ships sailed to Ceylon, Southeast Asia and Indonesia.

3. China: China has had ancient connections with Kerala in maritime trade. Chinese
junks have paid many a visit to Kerala. Kerala landscape along the coast and backwaters is
riddled with Chinese fishing nets, without which the Kerala beauty is incomplete. In the 5th
century CE, Chinese ships were seen as far north as the banks of the Euphrates; the length of
their voyages, however, gradually lessened, and by the beginning of the 15 th century they
came no further than the Malabar Coast. Import of cotton fabrics, spices and drugs into
China had already reached the greatest extent even during the Sung dynasty towards the
end of the 12th century and the ports of Canton and Quanzhou flourished as the most
important havens of the foreign trade. If there is one city in China which qualifies to be the
earliest international city in the world, it is Quanzhou in the coastal Fujian (Fukien) province
of China. It vies with Quilon on the Kerala coast for its antiquity. Buddhism was first
introduced here. China’s trade with Southern Asia reached its high tide during the 11 th and
12th centuries. Even when the southeastern and southern provinces of China passed into the
sway of Mongols since 1277, the foreign trade went on unaltered and perhaps with more
vigour. A few more ports such as K’ingyuan (King-po), Shang-hai, Kang-ju were also opened
to foreign trade. In 1296, an order prohibiting exportation of gold and silver was issued
1
This background note was prepared by Dr. K.S Mathew assisted by Sundeep Abraham
 along with the order restricting the trade with Quilon and Pantalayani on the Malabar Coast.
The Chinese merchants had a factory of their own in Calicut in the first quarter of the 15th
century. By about the middle of that century, they ceased to visit India altogether. It was
called China cota in the local language. Chinese vessels, around 20 to 25 in number, used to
visit Calicut with fine linen cloth and brass wares and took spices in return till the first
quarter of the 15th century. But till the rise of the port of Calicut to such an importance, the
main port visited by the Chinese junks was Quilon and frequent embassies were exchanged
between the King of Quilon and the Emperor of China. When the Portuguese reached
Calicut, their memory was quite fresh in the minds of the people. The works of Wang Ta-
yuan (Tao i chihlio dated 1349), Ma Huan (Ying yai shang lan 1425-32), Fei Hein (Hsing ch’a
shong lan dated 1436) Huang Shang ts’eng (Hsi yang chao kung tien lu dated 1520) make
mention of the Chinese trade conducted on the Malabar coast. The Chinese names of
several items used in Malabar such as cinacatti, cinavala, cinavedi speak for the long Chinese
contacts with the Malabar coast. ‘Kishkenda Kandum’ refers to sea trade with China.

4. Denmark: Denmark tried to start trading enterprises in Asia as early as 1472, when
an expedition under the German sailors Dietrich Pining and Hans Pothorst was sent out by
the Danish King Christian I to find a Northwest-passage north of Canada in order to reach
China. In 1616 a Danish Ostindisk Kompagni was founded by King Christian IV. Four years
later the Danes acquired their first trading-settlement in India. It was located at the village of
Tarangambadi on the Corromandel coast within the territory of the nayak of Tanjore. Among
the Europeans this place was called Tranquebar. The Danes built a fortress at the beach of
Tranquebar and named it Dansborg. In the first years one or two company-ships reached
Tranquebar annually from the Danish capital Copenhagen. Mainly Silver coins and bullion
were transported from Denmark to India. The most important commodity of the return
voyages was pepper, which was the most-requested Asian product in Europe around 1600.
The Danes were forced to move to certain regions with a reasonable pepper-production, like
the Malabar Coast or Southeast Asia. This fact implied that the Danes participated in the
traditional intra-Asiatic trade on the Indian Ocean, which connected various regions as
China, Southeast Asia, Arabia and East Africa. Whereas the trade between India and
Southeast Asia was predominant in the 17th century, the Danes concentrated only on the Bay
of Bengal and the Malabar Coast. Tranquebar could maintain its position as the main
emporium of Danish trade in Asia. The Danes were able to establish further factories in
Balasore, Patna besides Calicut and Colachel in the Malabar Coast to sell weapons to local
rulers. In 1756, the Danes also occupied the Nicobar Islands. The islands got the name from
Denmark and two minor settlements were founded. The Danish settlements in Asia were
sold to Great Britain in 1845.

5. Egypt: Berenice or Berenike has been one of the most ancient trading partners with
Muziris, and possibly even earlier - with Tyndis and Nelcynda. The Vienna Document shows
 the richness of trade between these two ports. Spices from Asia and Africa were received at
the Egyptian ports of Berenike and Myos Hormos and transported by caravans to the
Mediterranean port of Alexandria from where they were shipped to Europe since ancient
times. Tamil-Brahmi inscribed potsherds recovered from the Red Sea ports of Bernice and
Qusier al-Qadim gives personal names of the Indian traders involved in trade with Egypt
under the Romans. The trade between Egypt and ancient Kerala for spices has been well
documented in the ancient maritime manuscript – Periplus Maris Erythraei (Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea). Strabo, the Greek philosopher and geographer, speaks of as many as 120
vessels sailing annually to India from the port of Myos Hormos which was an important
emporium after Alexandria. In the medieval age, merchants from Cairo too had their trade
relations with Malabar, especially with Calicut. The Al Karimi merchants from Cairo who
wielded extraordinary influence in the period between 12th and 15th centuries on the spice
trade established a monopoly of the trade between Yemen and Cairo where they had their
headquarters. Qus, near Cairo, was in fact the entrepot of the Indian commodities in which
the Karimis traded. The Karimi merchants constituted of an “organization or corporation, an
organized body of merchants closely knit together, a collective group of men who associated
themselves for the pursuit of a common commercial goal – trade of pepper and spices.” In
the 15th century, Sultan Barsbay established a state monopoly over the spice trade in
Mamluk Egypt. When the Portuguese fleet of Cabral reached Calicut, there were merchants
from the Mamluk Egypt doing business in Calicut. Egyptian coins like xerafins (or Ashrafi
struck by Sultan Barsbay in 1425 CE, were in use in the Malabar Coast. Alexandria was the
first to send a Christian missionary, Pantaenus to India.

6. Eritrea: Eritrea is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form
Erythraía (Greek alphabet Ερυθραία), and its derived Latin form Erythræa. In the past,
Eritrea had given its name to the Red Sea then called the Erythræan Sea. Eritrean history is
home to some of the oldest civilizations on the continent. Together with northern Somalia,
Djibouti, and the western Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely
location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru," meaning god's
land), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. [5] The ancient Puntites were a
nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh
Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. Several historical records indicate that Eritrea has a long
history of trade with Kerala. Adulis was a major port in this country. During 1st Century AD,
Aksum began a rapid rise to prominence through the port of Adulis connecting Rome with
the East in trade. Goods from Rome flowed down the Red Sea to Adulis, Aksum’s major port,
and from there to India and vice versa. Control of Adulis allowed Aksum to be the major
power on the Red Sea. Pliny the Elder is the earliest writer to mention Adulis (N.H. 6.34),
who misunderstood the name of the place, and thought its name meant that it had been
founded by escaped Egyptian slaves. He further stated that it was the 'principle mart for the
Troglodytae and the people of Ethiopia'. It is mentioned by the Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea which describes it as an emporium for the ivory, hides, slaves and other exports of the
interior.
7. Ethiopia: Ethiopia was in ancient times considered as part of India and the Arabian
Sea trade or then known as the Red Sea trade network was routed through the Ethiopian
port of Adulis. This Frontier State, known in ancient times as the Kingdom of Aksum, was
also seen as the entry port to India by the Romans. The modern city of Axum or Aksum was
the original capital of the eponymous kingdom of Axum. Axum was a naval and trading
power that ruled the region from ca. 400 BC into the 10th century. The kingdom was also
arbitrarily identified as Abyssinia, Ethiopia, and India in medieval writings. Axum was the
center of the marine trading power known as the Aksumite Kingdom, which predated the
earliest mentions in Roman era writings. It is believed it began a long slow decline after the
7th century due partly to Islamic groups contesting trade routes. Eventually Aksum was cut
off from its principal markets in Alexandria, Byzantium and Southern Europe and its trade
share was captured by Arab traders of the era.

8. France: The French colony in Kerala was at Mahe besides Puduchery on the east
coast. They had a brief sway in the spice trade. They supplied military equipment to the local
chiefs in exchange for spices.

9. Germany: German merchants were distributers of spices in central and northern

Europe. They procured spices from the Venetian and Genoese markets until the Turks waged
war against Venice blocking the land route for spice trade and the Portuguese opened the
sea route to India. King Manuel I granted German merchants special commercial privileges
which were never given to anyone. He permitted German merchants and financiers to
establish a house (factory) of their own in the city of Lisbon and to conduct trade in very
liberal conditions. These extraordinary privileges were granted for a period of 15 years. Thus
he opened the field to German merchants and through these privileges attracted them to
invest their money in the Portuguese trade with Malabar. As a result, several German firms
shifted their concern from Venice to Lisbon. They discontinued visiting the Venetian market
and began to send the spices purchased from Lisbon to Antwerp, Bremen, Hamburg,
Lubbock, Danzig, Augsburg, Nuremburg, and Ulm. The Germans under special conditions
were permitted to send their own ships to Malabar to purchase spices according to the
treaty signed on 1st August, 1504. German companies supplied necessary metals such as
copper and silver to the Portuguese factory at Antwerp to be taken to India to purchase
pepper and other spices. The Fuggers of Augsburg wielded great influence in the European
banking and commerce in the 15th and 16th centuries. Since they owned copper and silver
mines at Hungary and Tyrol, they established their sway on minting and mining copper and
silver which were of great importance for the Portuguese trade. They also collected copper
from Sweden and Denmark and delivered to the King of Portugal either at the factory in
Antwerp or the Casa da India in Lisbon. In return, they purchased pepper from Lisbon and
 took it to the great centers of trade in different parts such as Hungary, Poland, Russia,
Antwerp, Augsburg, Ulm, and Nuremburg and so on. Nuremburg was one of the main
emporiums of spices from where they were sent to Hungary. By the second half of the 16 th
century, they had concluded contracts with the king of Portugal to come directly to Malabar
to export pepper to Europe.

10. Greece: Greece, since the time of Alexander the Great has always been interested to
trade with India which also led to the great march across Asia opening up the silk route and
laying the foundation of the sea trade beginning with the Indus. Greek was the commonly
spoken language along the Red Sea trade as against Latin being used in the Mediterranean.
It were the Greek satrapies in Asia which lead to the creation of the spice trade and not to
mention that the Periplus Marie Erythraei and all other ancient maritime records are seen
compiled in Greek. The Sangam literature makes mention of the trade conducted by the
Yavanas (Greeks) at Muziris (Cranganore). Muchiri (Muziris), the important seaport near the
mouth of Periyar, is described by a Tamil poet in the following words “The thriving town of
Muchiri, where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas, bringing gold, come splashing the
white foam on the waters of the Periyar which belongs to the Cherala, and return laden with
pepper”.

11. Indonesia: Kalinga (Orissa) is believed to be the carrier of civilization to Indonesia.

The Sailendra dynasty is founded from the Sailodbhavas of Kalinga. In Suvarna Pushkarini
tank in Madura, there is a fresco similar to the sculptures of Borobedur in Java. Hindu
Indians colonized Borneo around the 4th century CE. Java appears to be colonized in the 1 st
century CE. By 8th century, Sumatra, the westernmost island of Indonesian archipelago
became a Hindu kingdom. From that time till the 12th century, Indonesia dominated the
Indian Ocean trade. East Asian plants like banana and coconut were introduced into the
African continent. Bali was an important Indian settlement, a rich and civilized kingdom
ruled by Buddhist Indians. Temple architecture, culture and traditions of Bali are also very
similar to those found in Kalinga. On the ceramic side, Walker identified 3 vessels of Indo-
Roman rouletted ware of 1st century CE belonging to the Buni grave complex on the north
coast of Java. Besides, rouletted ware is also reported at Kobak Kendal and Sembiran in
Indonesia.

12. Iran: Home of the ancient city of Susa, with its port located at Charax Spasinou, Iran
played a vital part in the spice trade especially during the Persian regime of the Sassanid
Empire. According to Pliny the Elder, "The town of Charax is situated in the innermost recess
of the Persian Gulf, from which projects the country called Arabia Felix. It stands on an
artificial elevation between the Tigris on the right and the Karún on the left, at the point
 where these two rivers unite, and the site measures two [Roman] miles [3 km] in
breadth. . . . It was originally at a distance of 1¼ miles [1.9 km] from the coast, and had a
harbour of its own, but when Juba [Juba II, c. 50 BCE—c. CE 24] published his work it was 50
miles [74 km] inland; its present distance from the coast is stated by Arab envoys and our
own traders who have come from the place to be 120 miles [178 km]. There is no part of the
world where earth carried down by rivers has encroached on the sea further or more
rapidly. . . .". Although it was nominally a vassal of the Seleucids and, later, the Arsacids, it
seemed to retain a considerable degree of autonomy at times. It became a centre for Arab
trade, largely controlled by the Nabataeans, at least until they became assimilated by the
Romans in 106 CE. Charax was a rich port with ships arriving regularly from Gerrha, Egypt,
India, and beyond. It was also the beginning of the overland trade route from the Persian
Gulf to Petra and Palmyra. In 116 CE the Roman Emperor Trajan visited Charax Spasinou –
his most recent, easternmost and shortest-lived possession. He saw the many ships setting
sail for India, and wished he were younger, like Alexander had been, so that he could go
there himself. It was enlarged by an Arabian chieftain, Spasines, and afterward named
Spasines and Charax Spasinou after him. It was a major trading center of late antiquity as
evidenced by the hoards of Greek coins recovered during excavations there. Ormuz
commanded the narrows through which the trade of the East with Persia, and through
Persia with Europe, had to pass. The city was formerly on the mainland, and Marco Polo saw
it there, but at the end of the 13th century it was, apparently to avoid the attacks of
predator tribes, moved to the island Jerun. This island had no fresh water nor vegetation;
but its immunity from raids, and its harbor which allowed ships to lie close to the town,
combined to bring to Ormuz all the sea-borne traffic from India and the caravan-borne traffic
from Aleppo, to break bulk in its bazaars. From Ormuz, Indian wares found their way, in
smaller boats more suited to the navigation, to Basra, where the trade routes divided. Some
caravans started for Trebizonda and others for Aleppo and Damascus.

13. Iraq: Ancient Babylon, the seat of the Mesopotamian Civilization has had very
ancient ties with Kerala with regard to the spice trade. Logs of teak from Kerala have been
found in the ruins of temples and the palace of Nebuchadnezzar in Mesopotamia. Before the
sail ships took the Hippalus route, mercantile ships had to sail from Basra (or Busra) in Iraq.
Later, during the Sassanian period, Seleucia Ctesiphon became a major trade center for spice
after Cana in Yemen was abandoned following the breach of the Marib dam. Bishops to the
St. Thomas Christians in Kerala were sent from the port at Seleucia Ctesiphon.  From the
Greek classics we learn that commercial traffic between the Seleucid Empire and India was
borne partly by the sea route via Gerrha on the west coast of Persian Gulf. From an Aramaic
inscription of the 4th century BC, one obtains valuable information that a coastal trade route
to Seleucia through the Persian Gulf and thence via the Tigris existed during this period.
14. Italy: Rome has had a legendary romance with ancient Kerala influenced by aromatic
spices. It had allowed its own economy to stagger because of its unending appetite for
Kerala spices. As rightly argued in the Roman senate, the balance of trade was not in favor of
the Roman Empire when looked at the imports from Rome. Large amount of gold and coins
were brought to India for purchasing commodities of high value from the Western coast of
India. Indo-Roman trade can be traced from 500 BCE to 500 CE. The discovery of large
hoards of Roman coins in various parts of India speaks aloud for the flourishing external and
international maritime trade between the Roman Empire and India since the first century
BCE till the third century CE. The discovery of the ancient port of Muziris at Pattanam
has added more spice to the legacy of this ancient trade alliance. There is evidence to prove
that foreign merchants especially from the Roman Empire resided at Muziris. The Tabula
Peutingeriana speaks of a temple dedicated to Augusts at Muziris. This witnesses the Roman
settlement in Muziris. This is proved from the second century A.D. papyrus kept in the
Vienna Museum. This papyrus document is of great importance for the trade relations
between the Mediterranean world and India. It contains a commercial contract that foresees
the transport of goods from Muziris to the Red Sea, then on to Coptos, and across the Nile to
Alexandria. The contract signed by the merchant of Alexandria and Muziris helps us
understand the importance of Muziris in the Roman trade with India. The great demand for
spices, pearls and semi-precious stones in Rome made Muziris the important port of call for
Roman vessels. Pepper and other spices were brought to Muziris (Kodungalloor) via the
River Periyar which is well connected with the hinterland producing pepper in large quantity.
Even the products collected from other ports on the Malabar Coast like Naura, Tyndis and
Nelcynda and so on were shipped from Muziris. Some of the products of the northern parts
of India were brought to the Muziris port for shipment to Alexandria. This linkage was
broken with the decline of Roman Empire and also the rise and spread of Islam. The Italians
of Genoa and Venice continued to profit from the spice trade even after the decline and fall
of the Roman Empire in the 6th century CE. Italians, specially Florentines, occupied an
important place among the financiers who were connected with the Portuguese trade on
the Malabar Coast. Bertholameu Marchioni was amongst the most prominent foreign
financiers having establishment in Lisbon in the beginning of the 16th century. He took part in
fitting out a ship in 1500, 1503, 1505, 1519 and 1522 to Malabar to purchase spices. For
quite a long period, he continued to be one of the principal financiers and merchants of the
Portuguese king in his trade on the Malabar Coast. Gualterotti and Frescobaldi, two
important groups of Florentine bankers had their factories in Flanders and took active part in
the trade of spices in Europe. Likewise, Girolamo Sernigi was another Florentine banker who
had office in Lisbon and fitted out a ship to Malabar Coast in 1500 under Pedro Alvares
Cabral. Though they had no direct relationship with Malabar, the Italian Venetians
purchased oriental commodities from the hands of the Muslim merchants at Beirut, Alleppo,
Alexandria and Constantinople to distribute them to all the various parts of Europe. The
trade in spices was the nourishment and sustenance of the Republic of Venice. Venice itself
was a very important commercial trade centre and its prominence went on increasing ever
since the mortal remains of St. Mark were transferred from Egypt to Venice in the 9 th
century. They considered the spice trade one of the major branches of the international
trade and became the sole suppliers of these commodities at that time. Venetian coins
 called ducat was held in great esteem throughout the Malabar Coast. From Venice, the
merchandise found its way to Germany, Flanders, France, and Hungary and so on. The term
“Malabar” was brought to the notice of the Europeans for the first time by the detailed
report of Marco Polo (1292-1293), an Italian who visited India in the thirteenth century. The
cartographic information prepared by him was presented as birthday gift to Prince Henry,
the Navigator of Portugal who made use of it in acquainting the Portuguese mariners with
the Malabar Coast and in generating zest in their minds to discover a direct maritime route
connecting the Malabar Coast with the Atlantic ports. Venetian merchants funded the
Portuguese trade with Malabar. The Affaitati family, known for its banking activities in
Cremona established banking activities in Lisbon before discovery of the sea route to India. It
concentrated its interest in the trade of spices and obtained permission of the King of
Portugal to participate in direct trade in spices with Malabar. They established factories in
Flanders, England, Seville, Valencia and Medina el Campo besides one in Lisbon.

15. Jordan: Jordan was a part of the ancient Kingdom of Arabia with its capital at Petra.
The Nabataeans of Arabia were excellent mariners and it is believed that the Arabian Sea
trade was operated by the Nabataean mariners. The seat of the ancient Arabian kingdom
headquartered at Petra was the main trading centre in the spice trade with the Syrian
Kingdom. From before the dawn of history, the Arabs had been the carriers of the
merchandize of the East across the Indian Ocean, and after the discovery, in the first century
of our era, of the succession of the seasons which enabled ships to cross and recross with
regularity, they monopolized this carrying trade. They were not producers, but traders. Not
only did they monopolize the sea-borne traffic, but they also, in Southern India, distributed
the merchandize thus brought, to the consumer on land. What is the more remarkable is
that, as there is little wood on their coasts suited for shipbuilding, Indian-built ships, manned
by Arabs, appear to have been in use when the Portuguese reached India.

16. Lebanon: The land of the Phoenicians, the ancient mariners of lore who mastered
the mercantile trade in the Mediterranean Sea was a vital port in the trade between Asia
and Europe. Goods transported from the East by the Silk route and the Spice route found
their way to Beirut through Damascus and was shipped to Venice and Rome since ancient
times. Beirut was the main port from where Venetians exported spices they purchased in
Syria. There can be little doubt that the Lebanese sea farer did profit from the spice trade
with ancient Kerala. There are even evidences of Syrian Christians of Lebanese origins in
Kerala who participated in the ancient spice trade.

17. Malaysia: An important emporium of spices where Arabs flocked together was
Malacca. To protect their monopoly in the Indian Ocean trade, the Portuguese attacked and
 set up a fortress at Malacca in 1511. Clothes brought from Gujarat and copper brought from
Europe to Cochin were sent to Malacca to bring pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, maces
and so on from Cochin and finally to Portugal. The convenient time of departure for Malacca
was August and May and the return trip could be in December, January, September or
October. Malacca and Cambay were closely connected with each other in trade. The close
commercial link of Cambay or Cambaya or Kambat with Aden in the west and Malacca in the
east through Calicut in the south was graphically described by the Portuguese writers of the
1st quarter of the 16th century. Malacca which is located at the limit of the monsoons could
not be reached by the merchants from Cairo and other ports of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf
areas in a single monsoon. Merchandises were brought from Malacca to Calicut by Gujarati
merchants and sold from there to west Asia.

18. Mozambique: Mozambique was a major trade centre in East Africa for spices where
Gujarati merchants traded their wares. When Vasco Da Gama landed here in 1498, he came
across a number of Gujarati merchants selling cloves, clothes, pepper, ginger, pearls, silver
rings and rubies.

19. Netherlands: When Philip II of Spain took over the administration of Portugal and its
overseas territories, the Spanish ruler who was very orthodox did not permit the Dutch to
purchase spices from the Portuguese outlets of spice trade. They looked for ways and means
to have direct trade with the spice producing areas. John Huyghen van Linschoten who
belonged to a business family provided the required information. He left his parents at the
age of sixteen to join his two brothers in Spain where they had established a business of
their own prior to 1576. Six years after his departure from Holland, he decided to seek
employment in the Indian fleet on account of lull in the business. He sailed for India on 8
April 1583 along with one of his brothers. He spent five years in Goa (1583-88). He met a
Dutchman named Dirck Gerritsz who was born in Enkhuizen. Linschoten left for Europe on
20 January 1589 in the company of Gerritsz. As soon as he reached Holland, attempts were
made to write down the experience during his travel. His Itinerario was allowed to be
published in 1596 by the States-General. He gives details of the Portuguese shipping in his
book written originally in Dutch. This was translated into English in 1598. Hakluyt Society
brought out the book in two volumes in 1885. The availability of various sorts of
commodities for trade was clearly mentioned in this work. Similarly the weakness of the
Portuguese forces in the Indian Ocean regions was well brought out in this work. This was an
eye opener for the Dutch who so far used to get the spices from the Portuguese factories in
Flanders. The early Dutch exploratory voyages conducted by what are known as the ´pre-
companies´ did not venture to Malabar, which was the principal source of pepper for Europe
until the end of the sixteenth century. The Dutch attempt to control the European spice
trade received a powerful stimulus with the formation of the Dutch East India Company –
Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie in 1602. The VOC successfully established its commercial
 presence in Southeast Asia. The Dutch occupation of the Portuguese settlements in Malabar
by 1663 initiated a struggle to gain control of the spice trade between the VOC and those
Asian traders who had so far been enjoying a free hand at these ports. The greatest
attraction of the Dutch was pepper available in Malabar.

20. Oman: Muscat developed as a trading hub alternate to Hadramout in Yemen and

also after trade shifted from Yemen to Busra as the gateway to Kerala. Most of the ancient
architecture in Kerala can trace a link with Muscat. The ancient Muslims who arrived in
Kerala are believed to be from Muscat. It is also believed that the Cheraman Perumal, the
Chera King of Kerala who converted into Islam lies buried in Muscat. Muscat was a vital
emporium on the coastal sea route as well as the monsoon sea route.

21. Pakistan: Karachi was the port where the spice merchants docked to sell their goods
to the merchants plying the silk route. The ancient Greeks referred to the area around
Karachi as "Krokola," which was the site where Alexander the Great once set up camp after
his Indus Valley military campaign. In the 8th century, the Arabs called the area "Debal" port,
and Muhammad bin Qasim launched his invasion of the southern part of Asia from there. 

22. Portugal: Until the last quarter of the 15th century, the Indian Ocean was to the
Christian nations of the West a closed sea, penetrated only by a few daring explorers. The
Cape of Good Hope was unknown, and the routes overland from the Red Sea and the
Persian Gulf had been barred to Christians by the advance of the followers of the Islamic
faith. Prince Peter of Portugal visited Venice in 1428 and from there brought the works and
maps of the Venetian traveler Marco Polo as an acceptable gift to his brother, Prince Henry
the Navigator. Though the latter died in 1460, the inspiration he got from these continued to
operate in the minds of the Portuguese and the hope derived from the Venetian works that
India could be reached by rounding the Cape of Good Hope was realized by the end of the
century. Since the discovery of the direct trade route circumnavigating the African continent
in 1497 CE, the Portuguese began to monopolize trade of spices in Europe by supplying
spices to Flanders, Hungary, France, England and Germany at the expense of Venice who
could not procure their merchandise as the Egyptian Mamluks began to lose their monopoly
of Indian ocean trade in spice. Contacts of the Europeans with Malabar on a regular basis
started with 1498 when Vasco da Gama reached the port of Calicut and subsequently in
1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral established commercial relations with the coastal Malabar on a
strong footing. The effective relations of the Portuguese continued till 1663 when they lost
all their civilian establishments for the Dutch. The information provided by the Portuguese
reports whether official or private, civil or ecclesiastical has great significance for the
reconstruction of the history of Medieval Malabar.
23. Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia was a large expanse of desert between the fertile-
crescent and Persia. In the medieval period, there was extensive trade between the Malabar
port and Saudi Arabia at Mecca and Medina as evidenced by many historians such as Marco
Polo and Al-Biruni. Jedda was a major port for the traffic of the East that went through the
Red Sea. North of Jedda, the navigation of the Red Sea is made difficult because of reefs and
shoals, and at Jedda, the shipping vessels stopped and goods were transferred to smaller
boats that went to Suez. The Red Sea merchants lived in Jedda and had their factories in
Calicut.

24. Somalia: In antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in
the Horn of Africa connecting the region's commerce with the rest of the ancient world.
Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices,
items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians,
Mycenaeans and Babylonians. During the classical era, several ancient city-states such as
Opone, Mosyllon and Malao (ancient) that competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and
Axumites for the wealthy Indo-Greco-Roman trade also flourished in Somalia. In the Middle
Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade including the Ajuuraan
State, the latter of which maintained profitable maritime contacts with Arabia, India,
Venetia, Persia, Egypt, Portugal and as far away as China. Somali sailors used the ancient
Somali maritime vessel known as the beden to transport their cargo. After the Roman
conquest of the Nabataean Empire and the Roman naval presence at Aden to curb piracy,
Arab and Somali merchants barred Indian merchants from trading in the free port cities of
the Arabian peninsula because of the nearby Roman presence. However, they continued to
trade in the port cities of the Somali peninsula, which was free from any Roman threat or
spies. The reason for barring Indian ships from entering the wealthy Arabian port cities was
to protect and hide the exploitative trade practices of the Somali and Arab merchants in the
extremely lucrative ancient Red Sea-Mediterranean Sea commerce.[7] The Indian merchants
for centuries brought large quantities of cinnamon from Ceylon and the Far East to Somalia
and Arabia. This is said to have been the best kept secret of the Arab and Somali merchants
in their trade with the Roman and Greek world. The Romans and Greeks believed the source
of cinnamon to have been the Somali peninsula but in reality, the highly valued product was
brought to Somalia by way of Indian ships.[8] Through Somali and Arab traders,
Indian/Chinese cinnamon was also exported for far higher prices to North Africa, the Near
East and Europe, which made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator,
especially for the Somali merchants through whose hands large quantities were shipped
across ancient sea and land routes. Somali sailors were aware of the region's monsoons, and
used them to link themselves with the port cities of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
25. Spain: The gold mines of Spain were the source of the Roman gold coins found in
India. Trade in spices by Rome declined after these mines were exhausted. When Spain and
Portugal were merged in 1580, the staunch Catholic king of Spain issued command to
exclude Lutheran Dutch and English merchants from trading in spices from India. This led to
these countries seeking the eastern sea route to Asia across the Pacific. Spanish Jesuits set
up their base in Goa and Cochin and governed the St. Thomas Christian church in Kerala.

26. Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka and Kerala were sister trade emporiums were much goods were
to be found in common due to exchange of goods as good neighbors. Sri Lanka has provided
Kerala with many skilled artisans as well as coconut climbers. Contacts between India and Sri
Lanka are more than any overseas countries. The India which captivated the imagination and
excited the desire of classical and medieval times was that half of the world which stretches
from the east coast of Africa eastward to Japan. It consisted of, or rather the geographical
idea contained, the Middle, the Greater, and the Lesser India. Ethiopia and South Arabia,
with Socotra, Zanzibar, and the other islands down to Madagascar, all formed Middle India.
India proper and Ceylon, including much of what is now the Chinese Empire, was the Greater
India. The Lesser or Farther India was composed of the Golden Peninsula of Malacca, and of
the thousand spice islands which form a bridge almost to Japan. According to Strabo, “As for
Taprobane, it is said to be an island situated in the high sea within a seven days sail towards
the south from the most southerly parts of India, the land of the Coniaci; that it extends in
length about eight thousand stadia in the direction of Aethiopia, and that it also has
elephants. Such are the statements of Eratosthenes; but my own description will be specially
characterized by the addition of the statements of the other writers, wherever they add any
accurate information.” Copper from the Portuguese factory at Cochin was taken to Ceylon in
the months of August and September and the return trip with cinnamon and other
commodities took place in the month of November or December.

27. Syria: The ancient Greek kingdom of Syria was a very vital country to Kerala's
fortunes. Syria, lies on the strategic silk route as well as the King's Highway along which the
spices from Kerala were transported to Damascus. Damascus was a very important trade
centre from the time of the Greek Seleucids till its occupation by the Ottoman Turks. The
ancient and prosperous Christian trading community of Kerala takes its name from this
country and they are called Syrian Christians because their liturgy is in Syriac, the language
of Syria.

28. Turkey: The ancient Armenia succeeded by the Byzantine Empire was the bridge
between Asia and Europe on the land route. There are some evidences that Christian
 merchants from Armenia and even Bishops came to Kerala. Turkey continued to play a vital
role in spice trade through the Turkish Moors. One of the conditions that the Portuguese
mariner Vasco Da Gama imposed on the kings of the West Coast of Kerala was that they
would not sell any pepper to the Turkish Moors who had been handling the spice trade until
then.

29. United Kingdom: Spices were originally supplied to England from Flanders by
Venetians and then the Portuguese. The English East India Company established factories on
the west coast at Tellichery (Thalassery) and Anjengo. When the Travancore state
monopolized spice trade and procured spices from the farmers at a low price and supplied
them to the Dutch in exchange for military equipment, the British at Madurai offered a
higher price to those merchants who supplied them at their factory in Madurai. By 1634-35,
they gained permission to use all the Portuguese ports in Kerala from the Zamorin. They
faced struggles from the rivalry traders-Dutch and French. With the treaty of Seringapatam
in 1792, Malabar was handed over to British by Tipu Sultan. Malabar was added to district of
Madras Presidency.

30. Yemen: Yemen was the gateway to Muziris until the 4th century AD. As the principal
producer of aromatic resins in antiquity the kingdom of Hadramout sought an entry into the
flourishing maritime trade of the first century BC by founding the port of Cana. It was the
port at Cana where expert navigators were available who could steer ships using the
Monsoon trade winds to Muziris bypassing the pirates off the coast. It was also at Cana that
fresh drinking water was supplied from the Marib Dam to survive the long voyage and also
as a source for Frankincense and Myrrh which was much in demand in Kerala for its aromatic
properties. Queen Sheba of Saba is supposed to have visited Solomon at Jerusalem with a
caravan of spices on camel back. Ibn Batuta describes Aden as a place of great trade, to
which merchant ships of large burden resorted from Cambay, Tanna, and all the ports of
Gujarat and Malabar. The port's convenient position on the sea route between India and
Europe has made Aden desirable to rulers who sought to possess it at various times
throughout history. Known as Arabian Eudaemon in the 1st century BC, it was a
transshipping point for the Red Sea trade, but fell on hard times when new shipping
practices by-passed it and made the daring direct crossing to India in the 1st century AD,
according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The same work describes Aden as 'a village
by the shore', which would well describe the town of Crater while it was still little-
developed. There is no mention of fortification but at this stage, Aden was more an island
than a peninsula as the isthmus was not then so developed as it is today. Al Mukalla (also
known as Mocha) is on the Hadhramaut coast, about 500 km east of Aden, in what was then
the Aden Protectorate and is situated not far from "Cane" or "Qana”, the ancient principal
Hadrami trading post between India and Africa, with incense producing areas in its
hinterland. Socotra appears as Dioskouridou ("of the Dioscurides") in the Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea, a 1st century A.D Greek navigation aid. From the Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea, we are able to derive that extensive trade relations existed between Socotra and India.
Even the name Socotra derives from the Sanskrit dvipa sukhadhara ("island of bliss"). . Like
the Syrian Christians of Kerala the local Christians in Socotra believe that St. Thomas visited
Socotra and converted the local population into Christianity. Ocelis (Greek: Okêlis) also was
an ancient port on the Red Sea, on the Arabian side near or at Bab al-Mandeb, the strait
separating the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden. Pliny the Elder reports their destination and
describes Ocelis as the first stop on the sea journey from Egypt to India.