Malacca Strait Trade Route

Timeline

1. 500–1000Malacca Strait · Malacca StraitSoutheast and South Asian merchants mastered monsoon patterns, connecting ports like Srivijaya through the Malacca Strait with Indian and Arab ports, forming stable maritime trade routes between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, transshipping sandalwood, amber, and glassware.
2. 1000–1240Palembang · PalembangThe Srivijaya Kingdom, centered on Sumatra's Palembang, controlled the northern Malacca Strait sea lanes, taxing passing merchant ships and providing anchorage services; Song envoy Zhao Rukua's Zhu Fan Zhi records its flourishing trade.
3. 1241–1250Malacca Strait · Malacca StraitIn the mid-13th century, monsoon trade reached unprecedented scale; Southern Song Chinese merchant ships, Indian Gujarati fleets, and Arab merchants transshipped porcelain, pepper, and spices through the strait. Ports like Temasek (Singapore) rose, and the strait became a key chokepoint of Eurasian maritime trade.
4. 1400–1511Malacca · Malacca StateAfter its founding, the Malacca Sultanate unified strait sea lane management, made Malacca an international commercial port, enacted port regulations and tariff systems, and brought the monsoon trade routes formed since the 13th century to their zenith, becoming Southeast Asia's most important trade center before the Age of Discovery.