Why European Trading Companies Established Coastal Trade Centers

European chartered companies (VOC, EIC, RAC, etc.) planted factories and forts on coasts for strategic reasons:

1. Ocean Access: Direct connection to global sea lanes for import/export.
2. Natural Harbors: Safe anchorage for large ships (e.g., Bombay, Calcutta, Batavia, Cape Town).
3. Proximity to Production: Near source regions for spices, textiles, timber, minerals, slaves.
4. Local Markets: Coastal cities were commercial hubs with merchant networks.
5. Naval/Military Control: Coastal forts secured sea routes, projected power, suppressed piracy/rivals.
6. Logistics: Easier resupply/reinforcement from Europe than inland.
7. Diplomatic Leverage: Coastal enclaves served as bases for treaty negotiation with inland rulers.

Coastal nodes were the indispensable infrastructure of the early modern global economy.