Indian Ocean Spice Trade

Timeline

1. 1–1000Malabar Coast · KeralaThe southwest monsoon enabled Arab and India's west coast merchant ships to travel seasonally; the Malabar and Gujarat ports exported black pepper, which was transshipped via Aden and the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, forming an early Indian Ocean–Red Sea–Mediterranean spice chain.
2. 1001–1200Southeast Asian Spice Islands · Maluku IslandsArab and Gujarati merchants penetrated deep into Southeast Asia to obtain cloves and nutmeg; the trade network covered Ceylon, the Bay of Bengal, and ports on the Swahili Coast of East Africa, forming a multi-centered transshipment system, with cities like Calicut becoming gathering places for international trading houses.
3. 1241–1250Calicut · CalicutAfter the Mongol Empire unified the Eurasian overland routes in the 1240s, Indian Ocean maritime spice trade and the overland Silk Road complemented each other: Arab and Indian merchants arrived at Calicut by monsoon to purchase pepper, then transshipped it to Aden, Alexandria, and the Persian Gulf, with Venetian and other Mediterranean merchants also participating indirectly via the Levant.
4. 1498–1500Calicut · KeralaThe Portuguese opened the Cape route for direct voyages to the Indian Ocean, challenging Arab merchants' dominance at Calicut and along the Malabar Coast; the traditional monsoon spice trade network began to be replaced by the European colonial trade system, ending the medieval Indian Ocean commercial order.