The Exploration of the World’s Oceans

Trading-Post Empires

1. 
   Portuguese Trading Posts
   
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     Portuguese mariners built the earliest trading-post empires
     
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       Their goal was not to conquer territories, but rather to control trade routes by forcing merchant vessels to call at fortified trading sites to pay duties there
       
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       Vasco da Gama obtained permission from local authorities to establish a trading post at Calicut when he arrived there in 1498
       
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       By the mid-16^th century, Portuguese merchants had built more than fifty trading ports between west Africa and east Asia
       
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         At Sao Jorge da Mina, they traded in west African slaves
         
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         Mozambique they attempted to control the south African gold trade
         
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         From Hormuz they controlled the Persian Gulf
         
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         From Goa they organized trade in pepper from India
         
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         At Melaka they oversaw shipping between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean
         
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         Channeled trade in cloves and nutmeg in through Ternate in the spice islands of Maluku
         
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         Posts at Macau and Nagasaki offered access to the markets of China and Japan
         
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     Alfonso d’Alboquerque
     
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       Equipped with heavy artillery, Portuguese vessels were able to overpower most other craft they encountered
       
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         Sometimes aimed their cannons onshore
         
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       The architect of this policy was Afonso d’Alboquerque, commander of Portuguese forces in the Indian Ocean during the early 16^th century
       
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         His fleet seized Hormus in 1508, Goa in 1510, and Melaka in 1511
         
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       From these strategic sites, Alboquerque sought to control Indian Ocean trade by forcing merchant ships to purchase safe-conduct passes and present them at Portuguese trading posts
       
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         Ships without passes were subject to confiscation along with their cargoes
         
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         His forces punished violators of his policy by executing them or cutting their hands off
         
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       Albo was confident of Portuguese naval superiority and its ability to control trade in the Indian Ocean
       
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       Although heavily armed, Portuguese forces did not have enough vessels to enforce the commander’s orders
       
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         Arab, India, and Malay merchants continued to play prominent roles in Indian Ocean commerce
         
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         Usually, without taking the precaution of securing a safe-conduct pass
         
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         Portuguese ships transported half the pepper and spices that Europeans consumed during the early and middle decades of the 16^th century
         
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         Arab vessels delivered shipments through the Red Sea, which Portuguese forces never managed to control, to Cairo and Med trade routes
         
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     By the late 16^th century, Portuguese influence in the Indian Ocean weakened
     
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       Portugal was a small country with a small population (1 mil in 1500) and was unable to sustain a large seaborne trading empire for very long
       
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       The crews of Portuguese ships often included Spanish, English, and Dutch sailors, who became familiar with Asian waters while in Portuguese service
       
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       By the late 16^th century, investors in other lands began to organize their own expeditions to Asian markets
       
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         Most prominent were the English and Dutch mariners
         
2. 
   English and Dutch Trading Posts
   
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     Like their predecessors, English and Dutch mariners built trading posts on Asian coasts and sought to channel trade through them
     
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       Did not attempt to control shipping on the high seas
       
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       They occasionally seized Portuguese sites, most notably when a Dutch fleet conquered Melaka in 1641
       
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       Portugal would continue to hold many strategic sites until the 20^th century
       
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         Goa remained the official capital of Portuguese colonies in Asia until Indian forces reclaimed it in 1961
         
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       English and Dutch entrepreneurs established parallel trading networks
       
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         English merchants concentrated on India and built trading posts at Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta
         
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         The Dutch operated more broadly from Cape Town, Colombo, and Batavia (modern Jakarta)
         
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     English and Dutch merchants enjoyed two main advantages over their Portuguese predecessors
     
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       They sailed faster, cheaper, and more powerful ships
       
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         Offered both an economic and military edge over their competitors
         
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       Conducted trade through an efficient form of commercial organization, the joint-stock company
       
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         Enabled investors to get handsome profits while limiting risk to their investors
         
3. 
   The Trading companies
   
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     English and Dutch merchants formed two particularly powerful trading companies
     
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       The English East Trading Company, founded in 1600
       
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       Its Dutch counterpart, the United East India Company known as the VOC established in 1602
       
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         Private merchants advanced funds to launch these companies, outfit them with ships and crews, and provide them with commodities and money to trade
         
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       Although they enjoyed government support, the companies were privately owned enterprises
       
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         Unhampered by political oversight, company agents concentrated on profitable trade
         
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         Their charters granted them the right to buy, sell, build trading posts, and even make war in the companies’ interests
         
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       The English and Dutch companies experienced immediate financial success
       
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         In 1601, five English ships left with 30k in silver silver; returned in 1603 with spice worth more than 1m
         
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         The first Dutch expedition doubled the investment of the underwriters
         
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       Due to their advanced nautical tech, powerful military arsenal, efficient organization, and relentless pursuit of profit, the English East India Company and the VOC contributed to the early formation of a global network of trade