History suggests that the maritime trade had greater interaction in this area and over the centuries, sub-continental coastlines have provided natural ports of call to the distant traders of the South East Asia and West Asia.

The liberation of Bengali trade by the effective Mogul conquest of riverine Bengal also helped to strengthen shipping from Calcutta/ Mongla/ Chalna/ Chittagong to the littoral ports of the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. Emperor Akbar established an imperial naval department called Nawara and appointed Amirul Bahar to look after the riverine navigation with a view to increasing trade and commerce with in the empire. Even at that time this part of Bengal was famous for excellence in the art of navigation and the Nawara used to buy ships and boats made of Sundari. British, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese and Arakanese came across a flourishing trading system in South Asia, which linked the business centres of East Bengal with Kolkata/Calcutta through the river routes of Mongla and the Sunderban.

The Arakanese (Maghs) Pirates, the Ferringhees (Portuguese), Dutch and English renegades begun systematic piracy and robbery in the Sundarban area. With some small and light galleys they did nothing but coast about that sea, and entering into Sunderban through the rivers like Marjjal (now known as Zulfiquar channel), Malancha, Jamuna, Arapangsia and into the channels and arms of these rivers and between all these isles of the lower Bengal and often penetrating even beyond the Sunderban up into the countryside, surprised and carried away whole towns, assemblies, markets, feasts etc. They used to torch people and make women slaves great and small, with strange cruelty and burning all they could not carry away. Not a householder was left on the sides of the rivers and they swept it with the broom of plunder and abduction leaving none to inhibit a house or kindle a fire the entire tract. In a labyrinth of rivers the adventurers could dive and dart, appear and disappear, ravage the countryside and escape with impunity and hence this area has been the victims of exploits and depredations of foreign and native adventurers alike. For ages this area was known as Magher Mulluk due to terror created by the Maghs and the Portuguese armada. And probably there are seen in the mouth of Ganges/Sunderban so many fine isles quite deserted, which were formerly well peopled, and where no other inhabitants are found but wild beasts and specially tigers. Bengali rulers even built Forts in the confluence of Sibsa/Marjjal, Araibaki (Known as Ferringhee Fort) and Malancha and Jamuna. There are still channels in the Sundarban, which is known as Ferringhee Fari/Khal, Ferringheer Doania khal as these used to be places for heavy encounter with the Maghs, Arakenese pirates beside the confluence of Marjjal, Malancha and Pussur and Arapangsia. Khulna encompassing Mongla was set up as a first sub division in 1842 to hold in check Mr. Henry Sneyd Rainey  who did not seem to acknowledge the restraints of the law in the area. While in-charge of the sub division, Bankim Chandra helped very largely in suppressing river dacoits in the area and establishing law and order in the river routes/canals. The Government of British India also established a port at Morelganj at the  request of Mr. Robert Morel in 1869, which was to expedite the movement of merchandise via Mongla.

Even foreign ships visited this port. Khulna. Mongla, Gouramva, Lakhpur, Bagerhat (got prominent due Khan Jahan Ali), Fakirhat, Rampal, Chaksree (remnants of a fort recorded) and Morelganj at that time supplied good quality of cheaper rice, pulse,  coconut, battle nut, tobacco, indigo and salt. All these items including rice of Barisal were ferried by boats to Calcutta and Saptagram through Mongla