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Read the text on the right and then review the Documents below:
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Trade and Cultural Diversity on the Malabar Coast Malabar is a narrow strip of about 360 square miles of land squeezed between the Arabian Sea on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent and the mountain chain called the Western Ghats. The Ghats serve as a barrier broken by passes leading to the southwestern and southeastern parts of the subcontinent. This geography forced the Malabar coast to always look outward to the sea. As a result, its population acquired an extraordinary diversity over the centuries. The name "Malabar" itself was given by the Arab sailors who began docking on the coast as traders in the seventh century. By the 1300s, Malabar society was a melting pot of cultures. The Hindus formed the majority, but they, too, were internally differentiated. While the privileged groups consisted of Nambudiri Brahmans and a warrior group called the Nayars, the vast majority were the Ezhavas. Followed by the Hindus were the Christians, whose presence in Malabar, according to legend, dates back to the first century, when St. Thomas is said to have landed on the coast and preached the gospel. Whatever the truth of these legends, records establish the Christian presence by the end of the second century. During the next few centuries, Christians from Persia and Mesopotamia sought refuge here, giving rise to the group called Syrian Christians. A small number of Jews from Yemen and Babylon established an enclave in Malabar before the Christian era, and in the first century they were joined by other Jews who were fleeing from the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. The evidence for the first Muslim settlement on the coast dates to the ninth century, after which their presence all along the coast grew with the rising importance of Malabar in the Indian Ocean trade. The Muslims consisted of two groups: the Pardeshis (foreigners), and the Mappillas (those from the local population who had become Muslims through marriage and conversion). Calicut was the most important port city on the Malabar coast. Its rise was due to the eleventh-century ascendance of the Zamorin, the "Ocean King," who, with Arab help, emerged as the dominant ruler over the territory and encouraged overseas trade and traders. Located at the source of pepper production, Calicut served as the hub of the spice trade. Ships set sail each year from Aden, Jiddah, and Hormuz toward the Indian subcontinent. Many came to Calicut, where they bought pepper and exchanged Western goods for the spices carried by traders who came to the port from the South China Sea and Melaka. Shops and warehouses dominated the coastline, and the port city attracted merchants from Arabia, Persia, Egypt, Southeast Asia, and China. Some lived there temporarily, while others settled permanently. The visitors to Calicut spoke glowingly of the integrity of traders, the organization of trade, and the security provided by the Zamorin. When Ibn Battuta visited Malabar in 1342, he was impressed with the prosperity and prestige of Muslim merchants, particularly that of the Pardeshis. Although these merchants enjoyed the support of the Malabar rulers, they refrained from using their political influence to proselytize. Over time, many Arab merchants made Malabar their home, mixed with the local population, lost contact with the Arabic language, dress, and names, and adopted local social customs. Conversion to Islam occurred largely among the Hindus of lower ranks-those who worked as mariners and fishermen and who provided services on ships. Through these gradual processes, Islam was Indianized. The Christians, too, shared the local cultural milieu, incorporating the social distinctions and practices of Malabar. The Hindus, who were dominant in the agrarian economy, received patronage from the Zamorin who, mindful of the economic value of trade, also protected the Muslims. In the diverse world that maritime trade had built in Malabar, religious and cultural differences flourished without discord.
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