Gulf of Cutch

The Gulf of Cutch connected the ports of Kachchh with the Arabian Sea and the wider western Indian Ocean. Mandvi, founded as a port in 1580 under Rao Khengarji, became one of the principal centres of this maritime world. By the eighteenth century local merchants and shipowners sustained coastal voyages and longer passages towards Arabia and East Africa. Tuna, Mundra and Jakhau also supported shipbuilding.

Navigators relied on detailed coastal knowledge to avoid the gulf's hazards and choose suitable landfalls. The sailing network linked Sindh, Kachchh, Kathiawar, Surat, Bombay and Malabar, while larger vessels followed the monsoon routes overseas. Hindu and Muslim seafaring communities participated, and sailors also worked at loading and unloading cargo. Dutch visitors to Mandvi in 1750 encountered active shipping, wealthy local merchants and links with the inland economy. The gulf's early modern commerce therefore rested on local ports, shipyards and navigators as well as on the merchants who financed voyages.