The Great City of Calicut

The Great City of Calicut Located on the Malabar (s issuehwestern) seashore of India was its port city of Calicut. Calicut, Kozhikode, was the capitol of a state which served as an important, if not the virtually important, state in the region in which it lay. Although Calicut lay on the coast, on that point was no place along its shore deep enough for ships to anchor. Still, as early as the fourteenth century, Calicut conducted a considerable amount of clientele.According to the patriarchal sources of Ibn Battuta, Ma Huan, and an annonymous crew member of Vasco da Gama s, Calicut flourished as a spirit of manage because of their resources and trade systems, among another(prenominal) factors, making lasting impressions on these and other foreign visitors. In the account recorded in the Roteiro (Logbook), of Vasco da Gamas anonymous crew member, various resources of Calicut were given. Calicut was a supplier and producer of some(prenominal) desired spices, including ginger, p epper, and the cinnamon-like spice, cassia.By the fifteenth century, Calicut had established a system for cultivating pepper. Among spices that were brought to Calicut and traded with other countries were cloves from the island of Melqua and authentic cinnamon from Cillion. In addition to their lifelike resources, the people of Calicut created and sold silk. iodin time the silk was acquired from the silkworm, it was boiled, dyed, then weaved into kerchiefs. Not only was Calicut admired for their resources, but Calicut established trade regulations among foreign countries that was both respected and appreciated.For example, Moroccan traveler-ambassador Ibn Battuta chronicled in his ribla (around 1356), book of travels, that when a ship wrecked along the Malabar Coast, all items from the ship were taken to the treasury. However, in Calicut, the owner of the wreckage was permitted to recollect his items. Merchants appreciated this, thus attracting further business. This policy was strategical of Calicut in that although they did not gain an immediate profit from the wrecked ships, long-term, trade efficiency increased, ultimately benefitting Calicut even more.In Chinese Muslim Ma Huans book, The Overall Survey of the Oceans Shores, published in 1451, he gives a detailed description of Calicuts trading process. Once a vessel arrived in Calicut, two chiefs were appointed to it to oversee transactions. The king of Calicut sends a chief, an accountant, and a broker to inspect the accountant books. After a involution is chosen to fix prices, the price of apiece good brought to trade to Calicut is fixed, a description, much like a receipt, is given to both parties.Next, the chief, the accountant, and the commander of the see ship all shake hands and agree to never renounce or change the price fixed for the goods. Then the accountant and affluent men bring riches to be assessed and priced. This process takes between one and three days. This description shows t hat because Calicut had such a high volume of trade, a system was developed and practiced to a T in launch to maintain trade efficiency. This also assured that no one was cheated out of goods/money.According to the accounts of the above travelers, the development of Calicut was aided in part by their natural resources and trading systems and regulations. Chief among other factors as to why Calicut was so fundamental is that it served as a trading route, allowing duties to be paid to the Sultan. However, during these times, the state of Calicut was in religious divide. The king and the people were Hindu, while the chiefs were Muslim. Although the two religions respected each other, this divide may progress to been seen as weakness among foreigners, which may have ultimately contributed to the decline of Calicut.