The port at Kozhikode held the superior economic and political position in medieval Kerala coast, while Kannur, Kollam, and Kochi, were commercially important secondary ports, where the traders from various parts of the world would gather.[7] The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama visited Quilandy in 1498, opening the sailing route directly from Europe to South Asia.[8] The port at Kozhikode acted as the gateway to medieval South Indian coast for the Arabs, the Chinese, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and finally the British.[3] 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 Zamorin of Calicut. The Kunjali Marakkars, the famous Muslim warriors, were the admiral of the fleet of Calicut. By the end of the 16th century the Portuguese – now commanding the spice traffic on the Malabar Coast – had succeeded in replacing the Muslim merchants in the Arabian Sea.