Calicut was a major trade city for the Indian Ocean trade and one of the many sites of encounter in South and Southeast Asia. Traders used the monsoon winds to exchange spices from the Southeast Asian islands with Chinese and Indian products and goods from the west. Chinese, Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim cultural and religious influences spread along with this trade. In the competitive and profitable spice trade, which was not dominated by a single political power, merchants from many different cultures coexisted, following shared norms that maximized profit and minimized conflict. However, this was a fragile coexistence that was easily upset by violation of those norms. Students will examine a variety of primary and secondary texts and images to identify key steps in the development of Calicut as a trade city. They will then analyze primary sources on Calicut and the Indian Ocean trade from different perspectives to recognize how different travelers’ perspectives were shaped by their motives and experiences. At the same time students will recognize that the common goal of acquiring spices brought together traders from different places, with both positive and negative consequences.