Surat Maritime Trade Port

Type Object Region Gujarat Time c. 1500

Surat, at the mouth of the Tapi River in Gujarat, was one of the most important commercial ports on the western Indian Ocean in the 16th century, lin…

Timeline

1500–1560Surat, mouth of the Tapi River · GujaratSultans such as Mahmud Begada promoted port development; Hindu Bania merchant communities and Muslim shipowners handled exports of cotton, indigo, pepper and textiles, and Surat gradually replaced Calicut as the main west-coast port.
1561–1570Surat port and foreign merchant warehouse district · GujaratThe Portuguese maintained naval power at nearby Daman and Diu, while Ottoman and Persian merchant ships arrived via Hormuz; the port gathered Gujarati textiles, Malabar pepper and Southeast Asian spices, and customs and wharf duties became a major source of revenue for the sultanate.
1573–1700Surat · GujaratAfter Akbar's forces captured Surat, a governor and customs house were installed and the port was brought into the imperial fiscal system; the British East India Company first reached Surat in 1608 and set up a factory, making the port an important gateway for Mughal outward trade and for the entry of European colonial powers.

Sources

The Indian Ocean in World History — Milo Kearney (2004)
Merchants, Companies and Trade: Europe and Asia in the Early Modern Era — Sushil Chaudhury, Michel Morineau (1999)