Gujarat South Arabian and Persian Gulf ports, who migrated in and out of Cambay with the rhythm of the monsoons. But others were men with Arab or Persian patronyms whose families had settled in the town generations, even centuries earlier, intermarrying with Gujarati women, and assimilating everyday customs of the Hindu hinterland. The Age of Discovery heralded the dawn of pioneer Portuguese and Spanish long-distance travel in search of alternative trade routes to "the East Indies", moved by the trade of gold, silver and spices. In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama is said to have discovered the Europe-to-India sea route
The Portuguese in Dhaka Khan allowed the Portuguese to make a settlement on the bank of Ichamati River (about 25 km south of Dhaka) as the Portuguese showed loyalty to the Mughals. The place where they made settlement located in present-day Muktarpur–Mirkadim area of Munshiganj is still known as "Firingibazaar". Narinda church is thought to be functioning again at this time as Father Anthony Barbier mentioned to spend Christmas at the church in his visit to Dhaka in 1713. From documents of 1789 it can be seen that the only church active at that time is the one in Tejgaon (current Holy Rosary Church,