Structural Evolution of the Indian Ocean Spice Trade Network: Core Nodes of Goa, Malacca, and Hormuz

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-701-9_29How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Indian Ocean trade; spice trade; port cities; maritime networks; Goa; Malacca; Hormuz; early globalization

Abstract

The Indian Ocean spice trade was a cornerstone of early maritime commerce, linking production centers in Southeast Asia with markets in South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. This study examines the structural evolution of the trade network through a comparative analysis of three key port nodes: Hormuz, Goa, and Malacca. Adopting a trade network perspective, the paper explores the multifunctional roles of ports as logistical hubs, commercial centers, and instruments of political control. Findings indicate that the spice trade developed a multi-layered, interconnected network characterized by regional circuits, staged commodity flows, and dynamic interdependencies among ports. Over time, the network evolved from decentralized regional systems to an integrated maritime framework and eventually contributed to the early global trade system. The analysis highlights the critical influence of port nodes in facilitating trade, coordinating commercial activities, and shaping the spatial organization of pre-modern global commerce. This study enriches the understanding of Indian Ocean economic history and provides insights for comparative analyses of historical trade networks.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Han Yang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/30
TI  - Structural Evolution of the Indian Ocean Spice Trade Network: Core Nodes of Goa, Malacca, and Hormuz
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 11th International Conference on Social Sciences and Economic Development (ICSSED 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 265
EP  - 281
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-701-9_29
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-701-9_29
ID  - Yang2026
ER  -