Trade of the Portuguese Royal and Private Traders in India from the 16th to the 19th Century

Abstract

The 16th–19th centuries was the period that witnessed the ups and downs development of the trade of the Portuguese Crown and the Portuguese private traders in India. In fact, the maritime trade of the Portuguese Crown only developed significantly in the 16th century; from the 17th century, because of different reasons, it declined gradually. Finally, it had to depend on the British at the end of the 19th century. In contrast with the Portuguese Crown trade, although the commerce of the Portuguese private merchants had to face a lot of difficulties, it continued to expand its role and influence during the four centuries (16th–19th). This article summarizes the trade of Portuguese royal and Portuguese private commercial activities in India from the 16th to the 19th century. On that basis, the authors of this article analyze and point out the core characteristics which fully and comprehensively reflect the development of commercial activities of the Portuguese royal family and merchants in India during this period. To conduct this research, the authors rely on the research results of scholars around the world directly or indirectly related to this issue and use two main research methods of Historical Science, including the historical method and the logical method. In addition, the authors also use several other research methods such as analysis, synthesis, statistics, and comparison. The completion of this study will make a scholarly contribution by helping researchers to have a more comprehensive and in-depth view of Portugal’s commercial activities in Asia in general and India in particular from the 16th to the 19th century.