Indian Ocean Trade Network in the 1460s

Timeline

1. 1461–1465Gulf of Cambay (Gujarat) · GujaratIn the 1460s, under Sultan Mahmud Shah, ports such as Cambay and Surat became the busiest transshipment centers of the western Indian Ocean. Gujarati merchants exported cotton cloth, indigo, and saltpeter, and imported East African gold, Arab horses, and Persian gems, linking the Red Sea and Persian Gulf routes.
2. 1463–1468Calicut and the entrance to the Red Sea · Malabar CoastCalicut was the main loading port for pepper and spices; Arab and Gujarati merchants transshipped goods via Aden to the Red Sea, then overland to Alexandria in Egypt, and finally into the Mediterranean market. In the 1460s, this route was the most important source of Eastern goods for European merchants such as the Venetians.
3. 1465–1470Strait of Malacca · Strait of MalaccaIn the late 1460s, the Malacca Sultanate under Mansur Shah controlled the strait's chokepoint, gathering Chinese, Indian, Arab, and Javanese merchants. Pepper, tin, agarwood, and sappanwood were transshipped through Malacca, linking the eastern end of the Indian Ocean trade network with the South China Sea tributary system and forming a transoceanic commercial loop.