 Kozhikode was then an important entrepôt in south-western India where Chinese and West Asian trade met.The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama visited the Kozhikode in 1498, opening the sailing route directly from Europe to Asia.The Portuguese efforts to lay the foundations to Estado da Índia, and to take complete control over the commerce was repeatedly hampered by the forces of Samoothiri of Kozhikode.