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During the 15th century Portuguese navigators pressed farther and farther down the uncharted west coast of Africa. They were searching for a sea route to India, whose highly valued spices promised wealth to European traders. |
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In the winter of 1497-1498, a Portuguese explorer named Vasco da Gama made a voyage that forever changed the balance of trade around the world. A fleet of ships under his command was the first to sail from Europe to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern trip of Africa. Vasco da Gama returned to Lisbon in 1499 with a cargo of spices that pad for his expedition's coast sixty time over. Before the discovery of this new route, Europeans has been dependent of traders in the Middle east who brought spices from Asia partway by sea, then by long overland caravan treks. |
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