Mammali Marakkar – Regent of the seas (Regedor do Mar)
Posted by Labels: Ali Raja, Malabar - Portuguese, mamali Marakkar, Mammali, Regent of the Seas
And his connections
to the Maldives
The balanced trade networks between the Red Sea and the Far
East had Malabar and Gujerat as the fulcrums with the Arabs controlling the
west and the Chinese controlling the east. The delicate balance with traders
spread over many ports in the Indian Ocean and smaller seas, working on a large
amount of trust, ferried goods and spices, based not only on the barter system but
also various currencies of the trade and gold. As the ships of the desert, the
camel trains moved men and material over the northern Indian deserts and
steppes, while the winds of trade or the monsoons moved small ships and junks
between these distant ports.