Indian Ocean Spice Trade Network of the 1470s

Timeline

1. 1471–1475Malabar Coast · KeralaPorts such as Calicut and Cochin were controlled by local rulers like the Zamorin, who granted pepper purchasing and export licenses. Arab and Gujarati merchants traded silver coins and cloth for pepper, which they then shipped to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. In the 1470s Vijayanagara's power expanded southward, and coastal political maneuvering affected port tax rates, but spice output and demand kept Malabar at the core of Indian Ocean trade.
2. 1472–1478Cambay · GujaratGujarat under Mahmud Begada controlled ports such as Cambay, gathering goods from across the Indian Ocean and re-exporting them to West Asia. Merchant ships crossed the Arabian Sea to Aden, then traveled overland to Cairo, finally reaching Venetian merchants. Mamluk Egypt, as gatekeeper of the Red Sea route, taxed transit trade, forming a multi-layered intermediary structure from South Asian production sites to Mediterranean consumer markets.
3. 1475–1480Aden · YemenMonsoon shipping linked East African Swahili ports with India's west coast and Aden in an annual trade cycle. European cities such as Venice had strong demand for pepper and cinnamon and were willing to pay high prices along the Mamluk–Venetian trade route. By 1480, the traditional Indian Ocean spice network still operated efficiently, but Portuguese exploration southward along the African coast had approached the system's outer edge, and the signs of imminent change grew ever clearer.