In 'Conquerors: how Portugal forged the first global empire', Roger Crowley leaves the impression that the Portuguese, despite their small numbers, were quickly able to use force to impose a measure of control over trade on the west coast of India. Had Asian powers not sought to build up naval power before this to control the wealth of trade? Also, is he right to say that taking control of this trade was not the goal of Zheng-He before the Chinese treasure fleets were cancelled?
The Indian Ocean trade before Portugal arrived was extremely peaceful due to the experience the Sailors had with the weather conditions. They were able to consistently and very accurately predict when and where to sail. This led to a situation where the trade itself was far more profitable than actual piracy. The Portuguese however, saw piracy as a void they had the power and (questionable) authority to fill. Even then, they mostly did it by selling Cartaz(licenses) which gave merchants permission to trade in the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese had legal authority( to board your ship and seize your cargo if you didn’t have one. Although Portugal always had small numbers, they had an efficient chain of feitorias(forts) along the coasts that allowed them to operate effectively.
Conflict eventually happened with the Gujarati’s, Mamelukes, and eventually Ottomans trying to fight the Portuguese. The Mamelukes didn’t do so well since their admiral decided to invade Yemen instead, and the Ottoman strongman in charge didn’t survive long enough to make the impact they were looking for. Roger Crowley is correct in leaving the impression that the Indian Ocean trade was relatively unprotected despite how lucrative it was for everyone involved.
The book you mention hadn’t come out when I did my research, so I can’t very exactly verify what is said on Zheng He. However, he was a very interesting footnote/tangent I researched in the meantime. What I remember was that his mission was along the lines of displaying Chinese power and exacting tribute rather than direct control. So once more, I’ll agree with Roger Crowley, unfortunately, I did not log my sources to back this information up.
I don’t recall the specifics, but I can leave you the relevant sources I used for the Portuguese involvement in the Indian Ocean. I’ll be looking into Roger Crowley’s book soon.
Sources:
De Barros, Joao, and Diogo Do Couto. The History of Ceylon from the Earliest Times to 1600 AD Allen, Richard B. European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean Bethencourt, Francisco. Portuguese Oceanic Expansion, 1400-1800 Boxer, C. R. The Portuguese Seaborne Empire, 1415-1825 Casale, Giancarlo. The Ottoman Age of Exploration