Historiography has long recognized the strategic importance of Diu as a commercial hub in the Indian Ocean, despite the decline it experienced in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. A great deal of Diuese commerce, along with the island’s privileged connections with East Africa (especially Mozambique), was sustained by the activity of the Banias—Hindus and Jain—who had long used this small island as a platform for trade. This article analyzes the forms of organization, commercial and financial techniques, and main roles of the Banias of Gujarat, one of the largest and most important urban merchant communities in India and in other Asian and African markets along the Indian Ocean. In the case of Diu, we seek to understand the extent to which the financial capacity and commercial experience of the local Banias allowed them to dominate most commercial activity in Mozambique from the late seventeenth century onwards. We examine the internal structure of the Banias’ merchant communities, the hierarchical dependencies and trade links between the Banias of Diu and of Mozambique, and, lastly, the adaptation of their experience and commercial techniques to the East African coast.

历史学家早就认识到Diu作为印度洋商业枢纽的战略重要性，尽管它在17世纪下半叶经历了衰落。长期以来一直使用这个小岛作为贸易平台的巴尼亚人（Banias）的活动维持了许多Diuese贸易，以及该岛与东非（特别是莫桑比克）的特权联系。本文分析了古吉拉特邦的巴尼亚人的组织形式，商业和金融技巧以及主要角色，古尼亚特人是印度以及印度洋其他亚洲和非洲市场中最大，最重要的城市商人社区之一。如果是Diu，我们试图了解从17世纪后期开始，当地的巴尼亚人的财务能力和商业经验使他们在莫桑比克的大多数商业活动中占主导地位的程度。我们考察了巴尼亚人商人社区的内部结构，迪乌和莫桑比克巴尼亚人之间的等级依存关系和贸易联系，最后，考察了他们的经验和商业技巧如何适应东非海岸。