Calicut
Daniel Jaramillo
History 271
Professor Estey
February 12, 2014
Calicut
Calicut was a port located in the southern coast of India. It was a very important part of the Indian Ocean Trade because it served as a meeting place for merchants from all around the place where they could buy, sell and trade goods that they had to offer. Calicut was a very important for several reasons such as the fact that it was located in a place that could be easily accessed by sea as well as the fact that it was situated in a tactical location where merchants could stop for 3 months while the winds changed direction. The later caused the port to become a cosmopolitan port meaning that there were various people from different cultures and religious backgrounds interacting with each other in a same place in peace and harmony. Related to this was the tolerance that existed in terms of religion; people were not judged or treated differently because of their religion. Another attractive feature from Calicut was the fact that if there were a shipwreck, the owner of the ship still had claim over their possessions and if someone was to take something, it would have been considered theft. The trade in Calicut was foreign to the Europeans until May 20th of 1498. This day marked the arrival of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama who had sailed for nearly 11 month in search for a new trade route that would link Europe with India. During this time, European high-class people began to develop a taste for Indian spices due to their introduction in food preparation, since prices for the spices were so high; it was hard for merchants to make a significant profit. This was the main reason for the da Gama’s journey, to find if there was a way to remove the Indian middlemen from trade and have straight access to final products. Shipping spices was seen as a business that could be potentially exploited by the Europeans due to the easiness to transport. Spices do not go bad after long voyages and can be
History 271
Professor Estey
February 12, 2014
Calicut
Calicut was a port located in the southern coast of India. It was a very important part of the Indian Ocean Trade because it served as a meeting place for merchants from all around the place where they could buy, sell and trade goods that they had to offer. Calicut was a very important for several reasons such as the fact that it was located in a place that could be easily accessed by sea as well as the fact that it was situated in a tactical location where merchants could stop for 3 months while the winds changed direction. The later caused the port to become a cosmopolitan port meaning that there were various people from different cultures and religious backgrounds interacting with each other in a same place in peace and harmony. Related to this was the tolerance that existed in terms of religion; people were not judged or treated differently because of their religion. Another attractive feature from Calicut was the fact that if there were a shipwreck, the owner of the ship still had claim over their possessions and if someone was to take something, it would have been considered theft. The trade in Calicut was foreign to the Europeans until May 20th of 1498. This day marked the arrival of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama who had sailed for nearly 11 month in search for a new trade route that would link Europe with India. During this time, European high-class people began to develop a taste for Indian spices due to their introduction in food preparation, since prices for the spices were so high; it was hard for merchants to make a significant profit. This was the main reason for the da Gama’s journey, to find if there was a way to remove the Indian middlemen from trade and have straight access to final products. Shipping spices was seen as a business that could be potentially exploited by the Europeans due to the easiness to transport. Spices do not go bad after long voyages and can be