Calicut: trade access turns into conflict

Cabral's formal arrangements with the Zamorin of Calicut included exchanged hostages, royal gifts, a security certificate, a factory, and a commercial treaty. Cabral even intercepted a ship carrying war elephants at the Zamorin's request, so the relationship initially involved practical cooperation. When established Arab merchants resisted Portuguese priority in the spice market, Cabral answered by seizing a merchant ship from Jeddah. The factory massacre, Portuguese reprisals against merchant crews, and bombardment of an unfortified city turned a dispute over market access into a decade-long war.