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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

Portuguese maritime power disrupted the character of trade in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century. Review.

  • UPSC 2025
  • The Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Century: Political History

When the Zamorin of Calicut received Vasco da Gama in 1498, he did so with none of the apprehension the moment perhaps deserved — Calicut's prosperity rested on its role as an open entrepôt, and the Portuguese were, initially, granted the same trading and warehouse privileges as any other merchant power.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the History Optional PYQ Master Pack.

What the full answer covers

  • The Shift from Open Commerce to Armed Trade
  • Instruments of Coercive Monopoly
  • Real Disruption: Declining Arab Dominance and Trade Diversion
  • The Limits of Portuguese Control
  • Toward Accommodation Rather Than Replacement

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