Malacca Strait Commercial Port Network

Timeline

1. 1200–1377Palembang · SumatraSrivijaya used Sumatra's Palembang as its hub, controlling trade at the strait's southern entrance and attracting Indian, Arab, and Chinese merchant ships, forming an early prototype of an entrepôt port network.
2. 1381–1390Along the Malacca Strait · Malacca StraitAfter Srivijaya's decline, multiple ports along the strait competed; ports in the southern Malay Peninsula and Riau Islands took on entrepôt functions, laying the trade foundation for the rise of the Malacca Sultanate in the early 15th century.
3. 1400–1511Malacca · MalaccaThe city of Malacca became the strait's core entrepôt, integrating Chinese, Kedah, and Javanese routes; Ming envoys and the Portuguese visited in succession, and the commercial port network became highly centralized.