Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and arrived at Calicut on India's Malabar Coast in 1498, establishing the first known direct sea route from Western Europe to South Asia. The voyage allowed Portugal to bypass Middle Eastern and Venetian intermediaries in the spice trade. It opened a period of Portuguese commercial and military activity across the Indian Ocean.
Relevance to Trade History
Established the direct maritime link between Europe and the spice-producing regions of South Asia, reshaping existing trade networks.
Read the full story in our article The Historical Spice Trade.
Source: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. See our Sources & Methodology page for how we select and verify references.