Moluccan Spice Trade Network

Timeline

1. 1513–1515Malacca · Malay PeninsulaThe Estado da Índia made Moluccan purchasing an annual routine task; merchant ships departed Malacca via the Java and Banda Seas to the northern Moluccas, forming a fixed link with Indian Ocean routes.
2. 1515Ternate Island · TernateSerão trained Ternate forces with European firearms in exchange for priority clove purchasing rights. Portuguese merchants established small warehouses on the island, competing with rival sultanates like Tidore; the northern Moluccan clove-producing areas were gradually drawn into the European colonial trade system.
3. 1515–1516Bacan (Moluccas) · BacanPurchased cloves were shipped via Malacca to Goa, then distributed to Lisbon and Antwerp markets. Traditional Muslim middleman routes were squeezed, and the Moluccan plantation economy grew increasingly dependent on Portuguese pricing and shipping.